Articles
The Faith of Jacob
June 9, 2019
The Faith of Jacob
By Derek Long
God had chosen to use the descendants of Jacob to fulfill the
promises He made to Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 25:23; 28:3-4). Jacob along with his mother Rebekah, who favored him (Genesis 25:28), used deception to get his father Isaac to bless him instead of Esau (Genesis 27:5-29). Jacob eventually comes to realize at certain points in his life it was due to God’s care for him that he was blessed. In Genesis 31:24 Jacob tells Laban, “Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.” Jacob realizes God had blessed him while Laban had been trying to use Jacob for his own selfish gain. Jacob’s faith is cited as an example for us to imitate by the Hebrew writer. Hebrews 11:21 says, “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.” What are some important things we can learn from the faith of Jacob?
• Jacob’s faith is said to be displayed, “when he was a
dying” (Hebrews 11:22). Scripture encourages people to display faith in their youth. For example, 1 Timothy 4:12 says, “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” It is equally important though for individuals to live a life of faithfulness to God in their latter years. Jacob did not feel living by faith was only important until he received his father’s blessing, until he got married, until he returned to Canaan, or until he entered Egypt. Jacob displayed his faith in God and in the promises of God at the time of his death. We cannot afford to give up our faith but we must endure to the end to be saved. Hebrews 10:35-39 says, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but of any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” Revelation 2:10 encourages the brethren to, “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Paul reminded Timothy a crown of righteousness was in store for him because he fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:6-8). A failure to be faithful when we face death will cause us to lose our reward.
• Jacob’s faith is seen according to the book of Hebrews when he, “blessed both the sons of Joseph” (Hebrews 11:21). The account of Jacob blessing the sons of Joseph is recorded for us in Genesis 48. Joseph is told his father Jacob is sick and comes to his father. Jacob reminds Joseph of the promises God had made to him. Jacob said, “God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.’ And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem” (Genesis 48:3-7). Jacob still expresses faith in the fact God will make of him a multitude of peoples and give the land to his descendants as a possession. Just as Abraham and Isaac before him received the promises and never saw their fulfillment but believed them, Jacob had received these promises from God and never saw their fulfillment in his lifetime but believed them to be true. Jacob
predicts Joseph’s two sons will each receive an inheritance in the land of Canaan like Reuben and Simeon would. In order to make such a statement, he obviously believes God will give the land to his descendants but also gives a detail we would not know nor possibly expect at this point in the narrative. Additionally, Jacob speaks about Ephraim becoming greater than Manasseh. Jacob lays his right hand upon Ephraim as he blesses the sons of Joseph and when Joseph points this out Jacob says, “I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations ... In thee shall Israel bless, saying, ‘God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’” (Genesis 48:19-20). Jacob prophetically foretells how Ephraim’s descendants will become greater than Manasseh’s. As we read the account of Israel’s history, especially in the days of the divided
! kingdom, we see this is fulfilled as Jacob said.
Jacob’s faith was displayed at other times and in different ways than the two things we have looked at in this article. However, these two points are important for us to notice. Are we prepared to display faith even in the face of death? Will we trust God to fulfill his promises and will we act upon His promises when facing death even if those promises were not fulfilled within our own lifetime?
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