Gen 45:26-27 | KingComments | STEP | When Jacob sees his son’s blood-baptized tunic, there is no doubt in his mind: his son has been torn apart by a wild beast ( ). Now that he is told that Joseph is still alive, he does not believe it. We believe bad news rather than good news, we believe the lie rather than the truth. Only through the work of grace do we believe the truth. Jacob’s “was stunned” or “his heart grew numb” – which is the literal translation – when his sons tell him that Joseph is still alive. Life comes back to him after they have “told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him”. In this we can see a picture of the living power of the Word of God (the words of Joseph) and the Holy Spirit (the wagons that Joseph sent). Now Jacob is called Israel, for his power of mind is coming back. Jacob does not speak of Joseph’s glory, but of the fact that he is still alive. That’s enough, that’s what it’s all about. The only thing he wants is to see him. After that, he can die peacefully. The Lord Jesus has said that only when someone is born again, born of water and Spirit, he can see and enter into the kingdom of God ( ). Water is a picture of the Word of God ( ). This means that only the Word of God, through the activity of the Holy Spirit, is capable of creating new life. That is, in the picture, what revives Jacob’s numb heart. If our hearts are numb, new life only comes when we start reading God’s Word again. In it we hear the words of the true Joseph, the Lord Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit, Who dwells in us, these words begin to live for us.

‏ Genesis 45:26-27

Joseph Is Still Alive!

When Jacob sees his son’s blood-baptized tunic, there is no doubt in his mind: his son has been torn apart by a wild beast (Gen 37:33). Now that he is told that Joseph is still alive, he does not believe it. We believe bad news rather than good news, we believe the lie rather than the truth. Only through the work of grace do we believe the truth.

Jacob’s “was stunned” or “his heart grew numb” – which is the literal translation – when his sons tell him that Joseph is still alive. Life comes back to him after they have “told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him”. In this we can see a picture of the living power of the Word of God (the words of Joseph) and the Holy Spirit (the wagons that Joseph sent).

Now Jacob is called Israel, for his power of mind is coming back. Jacob does not speak of Joseph’s glory, but of the fact that he is still alive. That’s enough, that’s what it’s all about. The only thing he wants is to see him. After that, he can die peacefully.

The Lord Jesus has said that only when someone is born again, born of water and Spirit, he can see and enter into the kingdom of God (Jn 3:3 ; 5). Water is a picture of the Word of God (Eph 5:26). This means that only the Word of God, through the activity of the Holy Spirit, is capable of creating new life. That is, in the picture, what revives Jacob’s numb heart.

If our hearts are numb, new life only comes when we start reading God’s Word again. In it we hear the words of the true Joseph, the Lord Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit, Who dwells in us, these words begin to live for us.