THE LAST ACT OF A DYING MAN

Hebrews 11 is the “faith hall of fame.” The chapter begins with the classic definition of faith and then walks us down the hallway of fame with vignettes about some of the great heroes of faith displayed like portraits on the wall. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah and others are beautifully pictured and briefly sketched in a sentence or two that capture their acts of obedience and walk of faith. These brief reminders are there to encourage us and build our walk of faith.

Verse 21 has arrested me: “By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff” (NKJ).

At first reading, this hardly seems like the kind of act to be included with Noah “building an ark,” Abraham “going out not knowing where he was going,” or Moses “leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea.” But there it is — in the midst of the “hall of fame” with all the others!

By the time Jacob’s life was at an end, his natural eyesight was gone, but his “faith sight” was crystal clear. When Joseph brought his sons in for the blessing of his father Jacob, Joseph carefully arranged his sons so that Jacob’s right hand (signifying the greater anointing and blessing) would be upon his firstborn and his left hand would be on the son born second. However, by the “eye of faith” Jacob knew that the second-born son was to be used by God in a greater way than his brother and so, even though blind, he crossed his hands and laid his right hand on the second born and the left on his older brother. Both grandsons were blessed but not in the order that tradition dictated.

The Scripture says that after blessing his grandsons, Jacob leaned on his staff and worshiped. This phrase is difficult to translate from the original. It probably does not mean that Jacob literally stood up, leaned on his walking stick, and worshiped. Most likely it means that he lay back on his bed and worshiped. Frankly, exactly how it happened is immaterial. What is really important to understand is that Jacob valued his relationship with God so strongly that he went out of this life, and into eternity, worshiping. The last act of a dying man was to worship his God!

What does this say to us about the value of worship? Authentic worship is not about us, it is all about Him. Authentic worship is an act of faith, not a declaration of war, not an assertion of rights, not a condemnation of the devil . . . it is an act of faith as we express praise and adoration to God. Trite little songs and poems about dancing and jumping, about exercising our dominion and our rights, are hardly worship; at best they are expressions of pleasure and joy in serving Jesus. Authentic worship is not a performance; instead, it is a humble and unrestrained act of adoration of the Creator. Real worship is totally focused on Him and has nothing at all to do with me or you or anybody else!

What does it say to us that the final act of a dying man is worship? I believe this act of faith shows us how deeply Jacob valued his relationship with God. Jacob had gone through some very serious challenges in his life and he had seen God provide for him and his family in miraculous ways. He knew the pain of being lied to by his sons after they had conspired to kill their brother Joseph. He knew the terrifying pain of believing that he had lost one son only to find out that another had been taken hostage by the Egyptians.

Jacob thought Joseph was dead, but he later saw God’s magnificently sovereign plan being unfolded by Joseph’s advance entrance into Egypt. Jacob had seen the extremes of life, the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. He easily could have chosen to finish life as a cynical and beaten man, but instead he chose to finish his life in an act of faith, an act of worship. Maybe Jacob, in this act of faith, one more time slowly pushed himself up from his bed, and one last time took up his walking stick. Slowly, so slowly, he pushed himself upright in defiance of his age and infirmity and, using his staff for balance, begin to magnify the Lord with the verbal sacrifice of praise and worship. I can almost hear the tired voice of Jacob as he begins to worship and give praise to the Almighty!

I like that imagery — it is a picture that belongs in the “faith hall of fame.” May we all learn to walk by faith as worshipers of El Shaddai/The Almighty!