At this point we have completed our study of the third stage of Jacob's history. In the first stage of his history, we saw his disposition. In the second stage of his history, we saw the trials and disciplines that he suffered. In the third stage of his history, we saw that God not only disciplined him, but also dealt with his being and his natural life. Even after his natural life had been thoroughly dealt with, we see that the discipline of God was still upon him. God dealt with him in this way for the purpose of creating in him a character that he did not possess before.

The section from chapter thirty-seven to the end of Jacob's old age may be considered the fourth stage of Jacob's history. We may also say that this was the period of the maturing of Jacob, the brightest period in Jacob's entire life. Proverbs 4:18 says, "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Jacob shone brighter day by day until his death. During this period of almost forty years, Jacob did not do much, yet before God he was transformed fully into a man of grace and love.

We can see from the Bible that a Christian need not regress and decline in his old age. The three top apostles in the New Testament all shone brightly at the time of their death. When Peter wrote his second Epistle, it was close to the time of his departure from his tabernacle. But he still reminded and exhorted the brothers while he was yet in his tabernacle. In particular he said that he was an eyewitness of the Lord's glory and power. There was absolutely no waning of the brightness of Peter's shining. As for Paul, he said, "For I am already being poured out, and the time of my departure is at hand...Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense me in that day" (2 Tim. 4:6-8). We can see from these sentences that the hope he had toward the Lord was brightly shining. With the apostle John, who wrote his Gospel, his Epistles, and the book of Revelation during his old age, this shining is most apparent. The Gospel he wrote says, "In the beginning was the Word." The first Epistle he wrote says, "That which was from the beginning...the Word of life." Revelation also says, "The things which you have seen...and the things which are about to take place after these things." John wrote "from the beginning" all the way to "forever and ever." There was no decline at all in the life of the aged John. Therefore, our old age need not be days of deterioration. The history of Solomon's old age (1 Kings 11:1-8) should not be the history of our old age. God shows us that our old age should be days of fullness. Even though David sinned, his ending was better than his beginning; he ended by preparing for the building of the temple. Although Peter denied the Lord three times, in the end he was for the Lord. Although Mark once withdrew from the work because of difficulty (Acts 13:13; 15:37-38), he still wrote the Gospel according to Mark, and eventually he was profitable to Paul for the ministry (2 Tim. 4:11). The histories of these men show us that they all did very well in the last stretch of their journey.

Let us come back to Jacob. In the beginning he was crafty and deceitful to the uttermost, yet in the end he was transformed into a lovely person, a useful person in God's hand. If we compare Jacob with Isaac and Abraham, we may say that Jacob's ending was better than that of Abraham and much better than that of Isaac. The shining in Jacob's later years comes almost as a surprise to us. We may think that a person like Jacob is without much hope and not worthy of being perfected. Even if he improved, we may think that he would not end up being of much use in God's hand. But individually speaking, Abraham's and Isaac's endings were not as good as Jacob's. Both Abraham's and Isaac's later years seem a little rusty. However, Jacob's later years were shining and fruitful. God was able to accomplish in him in his later years all that was absent in his early years. Let us look at some of the events in Jacob's later years.