QT 1/23/2026 Gen 49:29-33, Who are we living for? God or a bucket list?

Genesis 49:29–33 (ESV) —

29 Then he commanded 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 at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying 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 in it were bought from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

 

NOTE: Rachel was buried near Bethlehem, but Leah was buried in the field that Abraham had bought many years ago. I'm a little surprised he did not want to be buried by Rachel or why he did not have Rachel buried there. It is possible that when Rachel died, he was unaware of the plot, having been out of country 20-plus years and having never seen any of his family members buried. When Isaac died, he and Esau buried his father, but that was after Rachel died (if I am remembering the story correctly).

 

It doesn't really matter, except that by commanding his sons to bury him there, he leaves a legacy to his own people that they own land in the promised land. By the time Joseph dies, his favorability has already passed, and so his bones will be held until their return to the promised land. As we will see in the next passage, because of Joseph's current favorability, Pharaoh sends quite a delegation to bury his father.

 

What is the point? I guess it was Jacob's faith. He knew that someday all of Israel would live in the land, and he wanted to be buried in the land that God had promised. Most of his children would die and be buried in Egypt (except Joseph). But still, God's promised land was more important to him. Most of us don't think about the end of life and how we want to be remembered. But the answer to that question really depends upon how we are living now. Do we want to be remembered as a child of God's family or some famous whatever? I will be a failure if I am not remembered as a child of God's family.

 

PONDER:

1. What is most important to me?
2. If my epitaph was written now, what would it say?

 

PRAYER: Father, I have another year or 30 years. I don't know. But whatever it is, I don't want to stop now. I want to serve you, and not my flesh. I gladly give up everything on my bucket list (which I don't really have) to be known as a man who served you all of his life.