(Genesis) Genesis 49:29-33 — J. Vernon McGee

We read verse 29, and this is Jacob now, "...and he charged them," that is, his sons, "...and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people.". You see, death to him was not an end of it all. He was going to be with his people.

"...Bury me," that is, his body, "...bury me with my fathers in the cave," that is, in the field of Ephron, the Hittite. Now, this is the cave that Abraham bought, and he wanted to be buried there because that one was bought and paid for.

Jacob's Hope in the Resurrection and God's Promises

And he wanted to make sure he stayed in that land until the day that he'd be raised from the dead to live in that land. He goes on now in verse 30, depicting all of this, "...in the cave," that is, in the field of Machpelah, "...which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron, the Hittite, for a possession of a burying place.".

Now, you see how much this man knew of his own history. It's quite remarkable. I don't think he carried with him a written record at this time. He says, there they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah, his wife.

And there I buried Leah. Now, it's not that he's interested in being buried with Leah. After all, Rachel is buried up at Bethlehem. But he wants to be where he'll be raised from the dead at the resurrection when God fulfills his promises to this nation.

Jacob's Final Words and Death Among His People

And you see, it's going to beat each one of these tribes, too. And now he goes on in verse 32, "...the purchase of the field and of the cave," that is, therein, "...was from the children of Heth. And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.".

And I think this is quite interesting. Up to the very last, Jacob kept his feet on the floor. He started out in life, a man that was a man of the flesh. He took hold of his brother's heel at birth, and he's named Suplaner, and he lived up to that name.

Jacob's Life of Self-Reliance and Striving

It is certainly characteristic of him. He'd seize everything that he could hold on to. He was always reaching out, trying to be first, and he started out by going on all fours. He took what he wanted by any method.

Now, as a young man, he walked in his own strength and ability, depended on his own cleverness and ingenuity. He's able to take care of himself. He didn't need God, and he learned his lessons when he visited Uncle Laban, self-sufficient, self-opinionated, self-assertive, aggressive, and contemptible and despicable.

Peniel and the Breaking of Jacob's Self-Sufficiency

And then he comes after that experience to Peniel at the Brook Jabba. God crippled him. God had to break his leg to get him, and I think God was prepared to break his neck. And he went through life limping.

In other words, he started out on four legs. He went on two legs. Now he's going to go on three legs. He's going to use a staff. He'll walk on a walking stick, and he could not any longer walk by himself.

Jacob's Final Dependence on God

And now, here at death, he's still sitting up in bed, and he's leaning on his staff, but now the time has come. He just pulls his feet up in bed, puts down the staff, and he lays down and dies. This is Jacob.

He'd walked a long ways through life, and he'd come a long ways.