Genesis 45:25 - Meaning and Application

Here we have the good news brought to Jacob. At first, it almost knocked the breath out of him. When his sons came in without warning, crying out, “Joseph is still alive,” each one eager to be the first to say it, Jacob may have thought they were mocking him. If so, the insult would have hurt him. Or the very name Joseph may have reopened his grief, so that his heart failed him (Genesis 45:26). It took a while before he could take it in.

He was already anxious and afraid about the others. At that moment, it would have been enough for him to hear that Simeon had been set free and that Benjamin had come home safely, because he had almost given up hope for both of them. But to hear that Joseph was alive sounded too good to be true, so he fainted because he did not believe it. We fail in courage because we do not believe. David himself would have lost heart if he had not believed (Psalm 27:13).

Little by little, the proof revived Jacob’s spirit. He had once easily believed his sons when they said, “Joseph is dead,” but now he could hardly believe them when they said, “Joseph is alive.” Sensitive, easily hurt hearts are more shaped by fear than by hope. They tend to accept discouraging news more quickly than encouraging news.

At last Jacob became convinced, especially when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him. Seeing the evidence helped him believe, and then his spirit revived. Death is like those wagons sent to take us to Christ. Even the sight of it drawing near should strengthen us. Now Jacob is called Israel again (Genesis 45:28), because he is beginning to recover his strength.

It pleased him to think that Joseph was alive. He says nothing about Joseph’s honor or success, though his sons had told him of that. It was enough for him to know that Joseph lived. Those who are content with smaller comforts are often best prepared to receive greater ones.

It also pleased him to think of going to see Joseph. He was old, and the journey was long, yet he was willing to go, because Joseph’s duties would not allow him to come. Notice that he says, “I will go and see him,” not, “I will go and live with him.” Jacob knew he was old and would not live much longer. “I will go and see him before I die,” he says, “and then let me die in peace.” Let me see him, let my eyes be refreshed by that sight before they close, and that will be enough. I need nothing more to make me happy in this world.

It is good for all of us to make death familiar to us, and to speak of it as near. Then we will remember how little time we have left to do our work. We will do it with all our strength, and we will enjoy our comforts as people who know they must soon die and leave them.