In chapter twenty-seven Jacob spoke in a deceitful way to Isaac, his father (vv. 19-20, 23). In 27:19 Jacob lied to his father, saying, "I am Esau thy firstborn." When Isaac asked how he had found the venison so quickly, Jacob said, "Because the Lord thy God brought it to me." Then Isaac said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau" (v. 22), and he asked, "Art thou my very son Esau?" (v. 24). To this, Jacob replied, "I am." Thus, Jacob's speaking in chapter twenty-seven was absolute falsehood.

Jacob's speaking in chapters twenty-nine through thirty-two is full of self-interest, self-ambition, and self-gain. Through his speaking recorded in these chapters many aspects of the self are exposed. Jacob's speaking was so selfish that it almost seemed that he did not have a spirit. If we had a brother like that among us, we would doubt that he had been truly regenerated.

Jacob's speaking to his brother Esau in chapter thirty-three was a performance. In this chapter Jacob several times addressed Esau as, "My lord" (33:13-14). Deep within, Jacob never recognized Esau as his lord. The reason he addressed his brother in this way was that he was afraid Esau would kill him. Jacob was an actor, a politician, and his display of humility before Esau was a performance.

By the time of chapter thirty-five, however, Jacob's speaking had undergone a change. His speaking in this chapter begins to resemble that of a regenerated person, a child of God.

In the chapters that follow Jacob's loss of Joseph, Jacob spoke very little. This indicates that, as we grow in life, our speaking will firstly change in nature. The characteristic of our speaking will change. Eventually, the amount of our speaking will be greatly reduced. The more we grow, the less we shall speak. At present you may not be able to withstand the temptation to speak. But after some years have gone by and you have had much more growth in life, you will not speak no matter how great the temptation is.

We can trace Jacob's progress in life by following his progress in speaking. The change in his speaking reveals his growth. Eventually, Jacob grew to the point that, even when he lost Joseph, he had very little to say. However, many of us have a great deal to say over such insignificant matters as losing a pair of socks. If a young brother in the brothers' house loses a pair of socks, he may shout, "Where are my socks? What has happened to them?" But when Jacob lost Joseph, the treasure of his heart, he did not say very much. This was a healthy sign. But talking a great deal over a pair of socks is a sign of immaturity, a sign of childishness. Too much talking reveals that you are childish. In this we see that our speaking is a sign of how much we have grown. There are some among us who used to be quite talkative several years ago. But now they talk very little. I hope that after another period of time, they will hardly talk at all. The reason for their not talking will not be that they are unhappy; it will be the fact that they have grown in life. The more we grow, the less we talk.

Consider Jacob's reaction at hearing the news that Joseph was alive and in Egypt. He said very little; in fact, he said hardly anything at all. If we had been Jacob, we would either have been furious with the other sons, ready to beat them, or we would have been extremely excited, running from one son to another and saying, "Joseph is still living!" In either case, there would have been a great deal of talk. But Jacob said very little. Furthermore, he had little to say after he had gone down to Egypt. When Jacob was ushered into the presence of Pharaoh, he did not say anything. Rather, he simply blessed Pharaoh. There was nearly no talk, but there were strong blessings (47:7, 10).

Because of his maturity, Jacob's word in chapter forty-nine was very weighty. Every word he uttered here became a prophecy. Because this chapter is so deep, it is closed to many Christians. They have neither probed the depths of this chapter, nor do they know what it is talking about. In Genesis 49 we see a person who has fully matured. This man does not speak in a shallow, light, idle manner; he speaks in a way that is full of life and maturity. This indicates that our growth in life will be manifested in our speaking.

This message on prophesying with blessing is quite deep. It is not deep in doctrine; it is deep in experience. Although few among us have come to the level of this experience of life, this message is still needed as part of our life-study of Genesis. It will help us both in the growth of life and in the matter of speaking. Be impressed with the fact that your speaking reveals where you are. Whenever you are about to speak, you should say to yourself, "My speaking reveals me." Realizing this will help us a great deal.

Jacob's word in chapter forty-nine is the kind of word that cannot be found elsewhere. It is not a word of instruction, encouragement, or exhortation. Neither is it merely a weighty word nor just a word of prediction. Rather, it is a word of prophesying with blessing. Although it is a prophecy, it is a prophecy saturated with blessing. It is not easy to speak this kind of word. Isaiah was the highest among the prophets. However, among the many prophecies in his book, it is difficult to find one prophecy with blessing. Isaiah prophesied, but he did not prophesy with blessing. But in Genesis 49 Jacob not only prophesied; he prophesied with blessing. His blessing flowed out of his prophetic word.