And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the length of his life was 147 years. Sermons
I. WHAT IT WAS. 1. It was not anxiety about temporal support, for that had been generously made sure to him by his son Joseph. 2. It was not concern about the future fortunes of his family, for these had been graciously taken under God's protection. 3. It was not uncertainty as to his own personal acceptance with Jehovah, for of that he had long ago been assured. 4. It was scarcely even fear of his approaching death, for besides being a thought with which Jacob had long been familiar, to a weary pilgrim like him the event itself would not be altogether unwelcome. 5. It was dread lest his lifeless body should be interred in Egypt, far from the graves of his ancestors in the holy land. II. WHENCE IT AROSE. 1. From the deeply-seated instinct in human nature, which makes men wish, if possible, to sleep beside their fathers and friends. Though religion teaches us to believe that every spot on earth is in a manner holy ground, yet it does not induce a spirit of indifference as to the last resting-place where we shall lie. 2. From a firm faith in the Divine promise that his descendants should yet return to Canaan. Even if Jacob did not anticipate that this would immediately occur, if, as is probable, he had already dark forebodings that the period of exile and servitude spoken of by Jehovah to Abraham was about to commence, he was yet able to detect a silver lining in the cloud, to see the happy time beyond, when his children, in accordance with the promise "I will surely bring thee up again," should return home to their presently abandoned inheritance. III. HOW IT WAS REMOVED. 1. By Joseph's promise. Requested by his aged parent to convey his body back to Canaan, when the life had departed, Joseph solemnly, engages to carry out that parent's wishes to the letter. "I will do as thou hast said." 2. By Joseph's oath. As if to remove every possible ground of apprehension, the old man further binds his son by an appeal to heaven. "And he said, Swear unto me; and he (Joseph) sware unto him." The venerable patriarch's anxieties were at an end. "And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head." - W.
And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen. I. THEIR QUIET POSSESSION OF THE LAND.1. They had the means and appliances of prosperity, 2. They enjoyed their freedom by a firm and honourable tenure. II. THEIR PROSPERITY, (T. H. Leale.) People Egyptians, Jacob, Joseph, PharaohPlaces Canaan, Egypt, Goshen, RamesesTopics Age, Egypt, Forty, Forty-seven, Goshen, Hundred, Jacob, Jacob's, Length, Seven, SeventeenOutline 1. Joseph presents his father, and five of his brothers before Pharaoh.11. He gives them habitation and maintenance. 13. He gets the Egyptian's money; 16. their cattle; 18. and their lands, except the priests', to Pharaoh. 23. He restores the land for a fifth. 28. Jacob's age. 29. He swears Joseph to bury him with his fathers. Dictionary of Bible Themes Genesis 47:28 5430 oaths, human Library Two Retrospects of one Life'And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been.'--GENESIS xlvii. 9. 'The God which fed me all my life long unto this day; the Angel which redeemed me from all evil.' --GENESIS xlviii. 15,16. These are two strangely different estimates of the same life to be taken by the same man. In the latter Jacob categorically contradicts everything that he had said in the former. 'Few and evil,' he said before Pharaoh. 'All my life long,' 'the Angel which redeemed me from … Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Growth by Transplanting Seven Sanctified Thoughts and Mournful Sighs of a Sick Man Ready to Die. The Shortness and Misery of Life. A Cloud of Witnesses. Elucidations. A Believer's Privilege at Death Genesis Links Genesis 47:28 NIVGenesis 47:28 NLT Genesis 47:28 ESV Genesis 47:28 NASB Genesis 47:28 KJV Genesis 47:28 Bible Apps Genesis 47:28 Parallel Genesis 47:28 Biblia Paralela Genesis 47:28 Chinese Bible Genesis 47:28 French Bible Genesis 47:28 German Bible Genesis 47:28 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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