In this message we come to Jacob's departure, which we shall consider in some detail.
Genesis is a long book, composed of fifty chapters. The record of Jacob's life occupies more than half of this book, about twenty-five and a half chapters. In past messages we have seen how Jacob was born, how he had been selected by God before his birth, and how he was striving, even when he was still in his mother's womb. He continued his striving throughout most of his life. Jacob lived to be one hundred forty-seven years old. In Genesis 49 we read of Jacob's departure from this life. The quality of a man's life and the outcome of his life are determined primarily by the last stage of his life, not by the first stage. It can be compared to runners in a race. It does not mean much that you run well at the beginning of the race. The final result is what counts. In this message we come to the final stage of the life of this wonderful person, Jacob. We need to see how he behaved himself at the time of his departure.
In the Bible, the best departure from this life besides that of the Lord Jesus was the Apostle Paul. When Paul was about to depart, he declared, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me in that day" (2 Tim. 4:7-8). What an excellent departure this was! I hope that we all shall be able to make such a declaration at the end of our race. Although the departure of the Apostle Paul was most excellent, I still love the departure of Jacob, for his departure was lovely and pleasant. Paul's departure was simple. He had no wife and no children. At the time of his departure, he was alone in prison, and there were not many complications. With Jacob, however, there were a great many involvements.
Due to God's ordination and due to his own striving, Jacob became involved with various matters and people. For example, Jacob had four wives: Leah, Rachel, and the two maids. Although his heart was to have Rachel, he was cheated by Laban, who gave him Leah instead. Of course, Rachel was also given to him. In actuality, who was Jacob's genuine wife—Rachel or Leah? According to the record of Genesis, Jacob treated both Leah and Rachel as his genuine wife. He buried Leah in the cave of Machpelah where Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Rebekah were buried. By burying Leah in the cave of Machpelah, where the genuine wives of the fathers were buried, Jacob indicated that he recognized her as his real wife. Later, however, as he was departing, he made a sovereign arrangement for Rachel. By doing this, he was telling his descendants that he considered Rachel his real wife. Jacob's life was so involved that it is difficult to determine who his real wife was.
Jacob's four wives gave birth to twelve sons, each of whom was in a category of his own. If there had not been so many categories among Jacob's sons, it would have been impossible for the history of Israel, the history of the church, and even our own personal history to be represented by them. In the prophetic blessing pronounced upon Jacob's twelve sons in chapter forty-nine, we see a representation of the history of Israel, the history of the church, and of our personal history. In order to have such an all-inclusive picture, there was the need of an intricate involvement. Throughout his life, Jacob became involved not only with his wives and sons, but also with various geographical regions. He was born in the good land, but he journeyed to Padan-aram, and later returned to the good land. During the years of his retirement, he moved to Egypt with his family. Each of these moves produced more involvements. Jacob became involved even with Pharaoh, the most powerful person on earth at the time. Jacob had involvement upon involvement, including involvements with the Arameans and the Egyptians. This involvement is also seen in his burial in the good land. The Canaanites thought that it was an Egyptian funeral when it actually was a Hebrew one. A company of Egyptian horsemen and chariots attended the burial of a Hebrew gentlemen. Besides all this, Jacob was involved with God. What involvements Jacob had! If we put together all the portions of the Word that speak of Jacob's involvements, we shall rejoice before the Lord and say, "Praise the Lord! Hallelujah for the Lord's rich word!"
In spite of Jacob's manifold involvement, he departed from this life in an excellent manner. His departure was not only triumphant; it was also pleasant and excellent. No one wants to face death. It is always a sad thing for someone to die. Nevertheless, I am fond of the record of Jacob's departure. In this record we do not have a morbid picture, but a very pleasant painting. After reading this message, I believe that many will be convinced that, in certain respects, Jacob's departure was more inspiring than that of the Apostle Paul. More than three chapters are given to the account of Jacob's departure, but only a few verses are given to Paul's. Let us now consider the details of Jacob's departure, one by one.