What do you want to do or see happen before you die?
Do you have a “bucket list” of places you want to visit or events you wish to attend before you take your final breath? Is there a relationship you want to “mend” or a will you need to finish before it’s too late? Are you delaying doing a generous deed or giving an encouraging word to someone you love? Is there someone you daily pray for who doesn’t “know” the Lord, and you want to see them accept Jesus before you die?
Our death is certain, but we do not know the time or circumstances of it. Therefore, we should accept each day as a gift and focus on the relationships and concerns that are most meaningful.
Today, we rejoin the intriguing story of how God is working in the tangled mess that Joseph’s brothers created by selling him into slavery when he was seventeen. The primary focus of today’s writing will be on Jacob and his “bucket list” desire, and his death in Egypt. To do this, I will attempt to highlight several key events in chapters 45-49 in Genesis.
What did Jacob want to do before he died?
As we rejoin the story in Genesis 45, the brothers have returned from their second trip to Egypt with the astonishing news that Joseph is alive! Jacob, who has grieved for his “dead’ son for over twenty years, was stunned and did not initially believe their report. However, he was convinced when he saw all the carts loaded with goods that Joseph had sent with them. The truth took hold in Jacob, and ” the spirit of their father revived.” And what did Jacob say when he realized Joseph was alive? “I’m convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” Genesis 45:28.
God reassured Jacob that the promise is still alive.
In Genesis 46:1, we are told that Jacob put his words into action. ” So Israel (Jacob) set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.”
He wanted to see Joseph before he died, and to do this, he must leave his beloved Canaan. Leaving behind what is known and comfortable to us is not an easy thing to do, but Jacob, at age 130, takes the risk and leaves the land God has promised him behind. What an act of trust this was! And God rewards him for taking this step of faith.
What does God do, and how does He respond to Jacob’s courageous act of faith? It’s interesting how God acts when we put our trust in Him. In this instance, God visits Jacob in a vision, calls him by name, and says to him,
“I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.” Genesis 46:3-4.
God tells Jacob that his wish to see Joseph before he dies is also His will for him and that a change of location will not cancel His promise to him and his forefathers. God’s promises are not limited by or contingent upon our circumstances. He is God, and we can rely upon Him to keep His word to us. As Paul reminds us in Romans 8:35,37,
” Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
What’s going on in your life that God is not aware of? What challenges are you facing that God cannot use for good for you?
What do you want to do or see happen before you die? Is it within the “will of God,” and will it honor Him? If so, go for it, take that step of faith and trust God to work with you to make it happen. Sometimes the greatest things in our future can be scary and unsettling, but you serve the God of Jacob, the Father of our Lord Jesus, whom He raised from the dead. Don’t limit God by your fear or the inadequacy you feel within yourself. Trust God let Him guide and provide for you.