Archive for June 8th, 2009
June 14, 2009: Jacob’s Death and Burial
The text for this lesson is Genesis 49:29–50:14.
Key Points
- Jacob requested burial in Canaan, rather than in Egypt, because Canaan was the land to which God had promised to send the One through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed—Jesus (Genesis 12:1–3; 46:2–4).
- Law: Death is a time of tremendous grief.
- Gospel: We do not grieve as those who have no hope, because Jesus has overcome death and the grave.
- Law: We ourselves must also face death. Gospel: Because Jesus died in our place, we can look ahead to God’s promised land of heaven.
- Law: How we deal with death—our own and that of a loved one—can sometimes give a witness of doubt, worry, and fear.
- Gospel: By God’s grace, comforted with the assurance of our resurrection in Christ, we are able to testify to the hope that is in us.
Context
After Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, their father Jacob presumed him dead (Genesis 37). However, the Lord preserved and prospered Joseph in Egypt (Genesis 39–41). After Joseph helped his brothers during a famine (Genesis 42–45), Jacob came to settle in Egypt (Genesis 46). Joseph and Jacob were happily reunited. Before Jacob died, he blessed his sons (Genesis 49:1–28).
The Messiah first promised to Eve (Genesis 3:15), then to Abraham (Genesis 12:7; Galatians 3:16), Isaac (Genesis 26:3), and Jacob—renamed Israel (Genesis 35:9–12), would come through Judah (Genesis 49:8–12). Matthew 1:1–2 traces Jesus’ lineage from Abraham to Judah. Matthew 1:17 presents Jesus as the promised Christ, “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10).
