The close of Israel’s life is beautiful to see. He approached death in the quiet confidence of one who was in God’s hands — not as a Hezekiah who, facing death, said: “Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me.” Isaiah 38:1414Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me. (Isaiah 38:14). Israel’s words, by contrast, were: “Behold, I die; but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.”
How happy to learn of this aged one, confident at the end, and making this splendid testimony to his confidence in God’s providential care for his people and the fulfillment of His promises in days to come. The believer may have this same spirit of quietness, should God call him out of this scene, for through faith in a crucified and resurrected Saviour he is assured that “to depart, and to be with Christ, is far better.”
When Jacob, in earlier years, was returning with his family after his sojourn with Laban he secured a parcel of ground in Shechem to which he attached great value, for he had not only paid a lawful price for it, but had defended it with sword and bow. This is the same property referred to in the narrative of Jesus’ visit with the woman of Samaria: “Then cometh He to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.” John 4:55Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. (John 4:5). How familiar to the Lord would be the history of this piece of land and Jacob’s well, on which He rested on that eventful afternoon.
This possession Jacob gave to Joseph as a special gift in addition to the general inheritance that would be shared with his brethren. It was perhaps his thought to thus give Joseph a deeper attachment to the land of his fathers, a possession that would ever remind him that his true place was not in Egypt, but in Canaan where God’s promises to His own were to be consummated. It was, in any event, a true love-token, given in secret to him whom he loved so dearly, reminding us of the expression of God the Father, concerning the special place accorded His beloved Son, when He said: “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.” Hebrews 1:99Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (Hebrews 1:9). It is evident that Joseph valued this special gift from his father, for it was in this parcel of ground that his bones were interred approximately 400 years later, when they were brought up out of the land of Egypt. The family burial plot would normally be in the field of Machpelah, (in Hebron) “Which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.” It was there that Sarah, Abraham, Isaac Rebekah, Leah and Jacob were all buried, but Joseph’s earthly resting place was separate and distinct from the others. This would remind to that the Lord, too, was placed in a tomb separate from all others; “A new sepulcher, wherein was never man yet laid.”
ML 01/21/1968