And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed.
A sick old man hears that Joseph has come, and he pulls himself upright in bed for the last great act of his life. Two questions follow. Where does a man at the end of his strength find any strength? And why does the record call him Jacob in one half of the sentence and Israel in the other?
Why Only Joseph Is There
Jacob's other sons were in Egypt too, yet none of them is at the bedside. Commentators read this as deliberate.
J. G. BellettWhen he hears that his father is ill, Joseph comes to his bedside, bringing his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him. None of the other sons of Jacob are present. The Spirit of God, through Jacob, has a special business with Joseph.
That business is the birthright. Reuben, the eldest, had lost his place, and this chapter settles who gets it.
J. G. BellettThe birthright might have been either sold or forfeited by the firstborn himself. His own acts might take it away, though his father's favouritism or prejudice could not. And we find this happened. Esau sold it, and Reuben forfeited it... But in the case of the forfeiture by Reuben, who is to take it? It reverted to the father; but on which of the sons would he confer it? That was the question, and this chapter answers it.
Strength Summoned, Not Owned
The sitting up costs him something. His body is failing and his sight is going. That is where his whole trust moves onto God.
Hamilton SmithJacob — the man of nature — is weakened by age and sickness. The world he had clung to so tightly is fast fading from his view, his eyes being dim because of age (verse 10). But his natural strength weakens and his natural sight grows dim. Everything earthly is fast slipping from his grasp. In that hour he rises above the loss of all earthly joys and finds in God his only trust and unfailing resource.
So his weakest hour is his strongest.
William KellyWe must not pass over the reference to this chapter in Hebrews 11:21. Dying, Jacob was stronger in faith than in all the vigour of his life, tried and energetic as it had been. It was then that by faith he blessed each of the sons of Joseph above nature's thoughts.
Two Names in One Sentence
The message comes to Jacob. The man who sits up is Israel. Writers say this change of name carries meaning.
C. H. MackintoshNow, we know there is nothing in Scripture without its own specific meaning, and so this interchange of names carries some instruction. In general it may be said that "Jacob" sets out the depth to which God had descended; "Israel," the height to which Jacob was raised.
The name Israel means "prince of God," and from this point in the story it fits him.
F. B. HoleDying, dependent, and with the "Fruitful" man filling his mind's eye, he became a worshipper. He rose at last, as the fruit of God's discipline, to what really was God's purpose for him. It is worth noticing that all through Genesis 48 he is named Israel, for he was displaying the marks of "a prince of God" at last.
Bed or Staff
Hebrews 11 also looks back at this scene, and there Jacob worships leaning on his staff, not sitting on a bed. The Septuagint is the old Greek translation of the Old Testament, and it reads staff where the Hebrew reads bed. One writer shows how both are true.
William KellyHe worshipped on the top of his staff, clearly leaning on it in his weakness. Remarkably, this act came before the blessing of his grandsons, and Genesis 47:31 records it as the Septuagint gives that verse. No doubt both the Hebrew "bed" and the Septuagint's "staff" are alike true; and the Septuagint gives "bed" in Genesis 48:2.
The First Words from the Bed
Once seated, he does not talk about Egypt, his sickness, or his years. He goes back to where God first met him, and to what God promised.
L. M. GrantJacob gathered his strength to sit on the bed. Then Jacob speaks to Joseph of God's first recorded appearance to him at Luz (or Bethel) in Canaan. There God gave him His special blessing, promising to multiply him into a multitude of people and to give that land to his descendants for an everlasting possession (vv. 3-4). Jacob was therefore not interested in any other land on earth.
Summary
- Sickness starts it. A father's illness brings Joseph and his two sons to the bedside. No other brother is there. The Spirit of God has particular business with Joseph.
- Strength is summoned. He must brace his own body upright, yet his faith is stronger than in all his vigorous years. When nature is weakest, God is his only resource.
- The name lifts. Told the news as Jacob, he sits up as Israel. Jacob marks how far God stooped; Israel, how high God raised him. That name runs through the rest of the chapter.
- The promise reaches back. The first thing he says from that bed is not about Egypt. It is about Luz, where God promised the land to his descendants for ever.
- The blessing goes forward. Propped on the bed, he settles a forfeited birthright. Hebrews points back to this scene, where his faith was stronger than in all his vigorous years.