September 5 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Genesis 49:9–18

Devotional

Jacob waits for God’s salvation. He is waiting for death to come. He is willing to die. Jacob is also able to die, because grace has entered his life. Jacob wants to die because he longs for God. Therefore it is no surprise, when we read in verse 33, “He gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.” Man often wants to hold on to the final moments of life because he is not prepared to enter eternity. Yet Jacob lays himself in the arms of death. Death does not come to Jacob; in fact, it is the other way around. Jacob himself comes to death.

The beat of Jacob’s pulse becomes weaker; the breathing becomes less. A few more minutes and Jacob gives up the ghost. Jacob is no more. With respect to his name, he will nevermore deceive; he is unable to sin ever again. His name Jacob, “the deceiver,” has gone into the grave forever. His new name, Israel, is lifted up and brought home. That is where Abraham is; that is where Isaac is; that is also where Rahab, the thief on the cross, and the publican are. Above all, that is where the Lord Himself is. There His people will never be separated from God again.

Whether you are sick or healthy, do you have an expectation beyond death? Where will you be in eternity? Do give an honest answer to this question. “Oh,” says one, “I do not know.” Another person answers, “I hope I will be all right.” A third one says, “I have never thought about it.” But time is so short and eternity is so long. Your fleeting life, compared to eternity, is no more than a drop in the sea. Therefore, what will you have left when in a little while everything falls away? For Jacob, death was not a leap into the dark. What is it for you?

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.