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Obituary of Jacob

Words of Faith Final

Obituary of Jacob
Words of Faith 8-29-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 49
[29] Then he gave them these instructions: "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, [30] the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field. [31] There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. [32] The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites."
[33] When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
[Genesis 50:1] Joseph threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him. [2] Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, [3] taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

I wonder how an obituary might read for Jacob…

JACOB (2006-1859 BC), the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, died this week at the age of 147, surrounded by his entire family.
Born a twin in Lahai-Roi, Canaan, to Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob was known in childhood as a boy of quiet and gentle disposition. Affectionately called "heel-grabber" as a child, Jacob was home-schooled. He was a very bright child who became the primary heir favored by his father's blessing. Jacob struggled to come to grips with God and His call all his life. His spiritual wrestling led to a midlife name change to "Israel." The husband of four wives, Jacob (Israel) leaves twelve sons and one daughter. Jacob was reunited only a few years ago with his most famous son, Joseph of Egypt, after a separation of many years.
Jacob worked for many years in the shepherding business. For many years Jacob grieved and struggled with his own shortcomings. It was said that Jacob had an unquenchable desire for God's blessing. He had a deep piety that habitually relied on God despite all else. In the end, he died as a man of genuine faith. He learned in his life where the real blessings came from, and he fought with both God and man to be privileged to hand these blessings on to his children.
Jacob was preceded in death by his beloved wife Rachel and is survived by three wives, twelve sons, one daughter, and many grandchildren. Arrangements are being handled by the Egyptian government on behalf of the family. Final interment will be at Machpelah, near Mamre, Canaan.

Obituaries and eulogies tend to be kind. There was undoubtedly a great deal more pain and struggle than noted here. But perhaps the point is that in the end Jacob "got it." After a life of heal-grabbing and wrestling, tricking and scheming, he came to grips with the reality that his father and grandfather had experienced. God is real. God is in charge. God has a plan. God will carry out His plan with us or in spite of us. And Jacob got to be part of that adventure.

Lord, thank You for Your patience with me. Thank You for walking with me through the various struggles of life, paying more attention to Your victories than to my failures. Thank You for gripping me so I can be a part of Your adventure. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.