DRAWING NEAR

November 21

Defeating Death

"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to
come. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons
of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By
faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of
the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones" (Heb.
11:20-22).

Faith triumphs over death.

Commentator Matthew Henry said, "Though the grace of faith is of
universal use throughout the Christian's life, yet it is especially
so when we come to die. Faith has its great work to do at the very
last, to help believers to finish well, to die to the Lord so as to
honor Him, by patience, hope and joy so as to leave a witness behind
them of the truth of God's Word and the excellency of His ways."

God is honored when His people die triumphantly. When we've lived a
life to His glory, and joyfully left the world behind to enter into
His presence for all eternity, He is pleased, for "precious in the
sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones" (Ps. 116:15).

Many believers who have dreaded facing death have experienced a
special measure of God's grace that made their final hours the
sweetest and most precious of their lives.

Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph are examples of men who faced death with
great faith and confidence. Each "died in faith, without receiving
the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a
distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on
the earth" (Heb. 11:13). They hadn't seen all God's promises
fulfilled, but by faith they passed them on to their children.

These men didn't have perfect faith. Joseph was exemplary, but Isaac
and Jacob often vacillated in their walk with God. Yet each ended his
life triumphantly. That's the reward of all who trust God and cling
to His promises.

Like every believer before you, you haven't seen the fulfillment of
all God's promises. But certainly you've seen far more than Isaac,
Jacob, or Joseph did. How much more then should you trust God and
encourage those who follow you to do the same?

Suggestions for Prayer:

Thank God for His marvelous grace, which triumphs over sin and death.

For Further Study:

Read the final words of Jacob and Joseph in Genesis 48:1--49:33 and
50:22-26.

Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.

All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org


~~~


Genesis 48:1--49:33
48:1 Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told,
"Indeed your father is sick"; and he took with him his two sons,
Manasseh and Ephraim.
2 And Jacob was told, "Look, your son Joseph is coming to you"; and
Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed.
3 Then Jacob said to Joseph: "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in
the land of Canaan and blessed me,
4 "and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply
you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land
to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.'
5 "And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you
in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as
Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
6 "Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they
will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.
7 "But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in
the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance
to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that
is, Bethlehem)."
8 Then Israel saw Joseph's sons, and said, "Who are these?"
9 And Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has
given me in this place." And he said, "Please bring them to me, and I
will bless them."
10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not
see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and
embraced them.
11 And Israel said to Joseph, "I had not thought to see your face;
but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!"
12 So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down
with his face to the earth.
13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward
Israel's left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's
right hand, and brought them near him.
14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's
head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head,
guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.
15 And he blessed Joseph, and said: "God, before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to
this day,
16 The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; Let
my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham and
Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
17 Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the
head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father's
hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.
18 And Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one
is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head."
19 But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also
shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his
younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall
become a multitude of nations."
20 So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will bless,
saying, 'May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!' " And thus he
set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am dying, but God will be
with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
22 "Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers,
which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow."
49:1 And Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather together, that I
may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:
2 "Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel
your father.
3 "Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my
strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to
your father's bed; Then you defiled it; He went up to my couch.
5 "Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their
dwelling place.
6 Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to
their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their
self-will they hamstrung an ox.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it
is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel.
8 "Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand
shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's children shall
bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse
him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from
between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the
obedience of the people.
11 Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey's colt to the
choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the
blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk.
13 "Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a
haven for ships, And his border shall adjoin Sidon.
14 "Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens;
15 He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He
bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves.
16 "Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That
bites the horse's heels So that its rider shall fall backward.
18 I have waited for your salvation, O LORD!
19 "Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last.
20 "Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal
dainties.
21 "Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.
22 "Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His
branches run over the wall.
23 The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him.
24 But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were
made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is
the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
25 By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty
who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the
deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my
ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They
shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him
who was separate from his brothers.
27 "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the
prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil."
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their
father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one
according to his own blessing.
29 Then he charged them and said to them: "I am to be gathered to my
people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of
Ephron the Hittite,
30 "in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before
Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of
Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place.
31 "There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried
Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.
32 "The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the
sons of Heth."
33 And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet
up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his
people.

Genesis 50:22-26
22 So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's household. And
Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.
23 Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation. The
children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on
Joseph's knees.
24 And Joseph said to his brethren, "I am dying; but God will surely
visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He
swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."
25 Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying,
"God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from
here."
26 So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they
embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.

In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.

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of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
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In Christ,



Peter

Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com

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