his twelve sons had gone away, and Jacob had been utterly emptied out. He was so empty that when the good news came, he was not excited by it. In fact, his heart was numb (Gen. 45:26). When the news came regarding Joseph, Jacob had not only been transformed; he was completely filled with the divine life. He had become mature. Even in chapter 37 Jacob could not bear God’s image or exercise God’s dominion. Although he was transformed, he was not yet mature. His partiality toward Joseph proves that he was not mature. This partial love was a weak point. Do not think that a transformed person cannot be partial in his love or have other weak points. Therefore, God sovereignly placed Jacob under His hand that he might become mature....In order to become mature, Jacob firstly had to suffer the loss of Joseph, the treasure of his heart. It seems impossible that Joseph could have been lost. He could easily have died of a certain illness, but how could Jacob have lost him? Although he was not to die, because he was still very useful, he had to be taken away from Jacob. Jacob actually did not react to all these dealings in the last stage for his maturity. He no longer had his own activity. Rather, without any struggle, he absolutely submitted to his circumstances. He took all the situations as they happened (43:11, 13). Concerning the probable loss of his sons, he said, “If I am to be bereaved of my children, I shall be bereaved” (43:14). What submission this was! In his early days Jacob always trusted in his own skill and ability. However, after the dealings in the last stage, his trust was no longer in himself, but in God. Jacob had come to know God’s mercy. In his experiences through all his life, he eventually realized that it was God’s mercy, not his skill and ability, that had counted in his situations. And he had also learned that this merciful God is all-sufficient, not only almighty, to meet his needs in every kind of situation. Hence, Jacob said to his sons, “May the All-sufficient God grant you mercy before the man” (43:14). Now his trust and rest are altogether in the mercy of his all-sufficient God, no longer in himself and in his ability. Here we see a man who has been fully transformed for maturity. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 1199, 1185, 1201) Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msgs. 93-94
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 13:54:02 +0000