Reflection for V’yechi
“Dying Words Live”
Acts 7:9-16
Hebrews 11:21-22
excerpted from TorahScope Apostolic Scriptures Reflections
The fourth and final installment of the lives of Joseph and his brothers, as the Book of Genesis comes to a close, focuses on what happened after Jacob was reunited with his son Joseph, and how the remaining years of Jacob’s life took shape. Once again, the Bible student is reminded of how the scene, of Jacob’s final days in V’yechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26), was employed by Stephen in his defense before the Sanhedrin:
“The patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt. God was with him and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He made him governor over Egypt and all his house. Now a famine came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction. Our fathers found no food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers the first time. On the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family was revealed to Pharaoh. Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his relatives, seventy-five souls. Jacob went down into Egypt and he died, himself and our fathers; and they were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver from the children of Hamor of Shechem” (Acts 7:9-16, WMB).[1]
The words of Stephen are an indication that the history of Ancient Israel, played a very important role in forming the Jewish psyche of the First Century. If the Sanhedrin could be convinced that God would allow the sons of Jacob to be buried, in what by the First Century was “cursed” Samaritan territory but still in the Promised Land—then surely God could work new things with the arrival of the Jewish Messiah through Jewish people who had been faithful to Him.
Considering V’yechi, and also how Joseph himself died, we see how Joseph’s request for him to be buried in the Promised Land was honored. In fact, the author of Hebrews considered this request to be a significant act of faith, a kind of foretelling of the Exodus of Israel from Egypt:
“Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am dying, but God will surely visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’ Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, ‘God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.’ So Joseph died, being one hundred ten years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt” (Genesis 50:24-26, WMB).
“By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was near, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones” (Hebrews 11:21-22, WMB).
While we ponder the final words of Jacob, as he spoke blessings to Manasseh and Ephraim in Genesis 48, and blessings over his sons in Genesis 49, and even how Joseph asked that his remains be transferred to the Promised Land—it is not at all difficult to see why they would be mentioned within Stephen’s defense. These are all a part of the final words of Ancient Israel’s Patriarchs before they died, and were things strongly remembered by those who followed them. Whether is is an old man like Jacob (147 years old) or a slightly younger Joseph (110 years old) on their respective deathbeds, or a much younger person like Stephen being pummeled to death by an angry mob—final words have a tremendous impact on not only their immediate listeners, but in each of these cases, countless readers and hearers of the Holy Scriptures ever since. The life testimonies of Jacob, Joseph, and Stephen continue to affect and mold us today in the Twenty-First Century!
Certainly down through the centuries, we know how the Jewish people have revered the blessings bestowed upon the sons and grandsons of Jacob. Blessing one’s children to be fruitful and prosperous in life, is a part of the traditional Shabbat dinner. Likewise, via reflection upon the Scriptures and life experience, all who have looked to the God of Israel, have appreciated the need to bless members of one’s family, and even others in close proximity.
Also important from V’yechi, is the need to honor one’s final wishes given before death. The request of Joseph to be buried with the rest of his family, was an important one. It might bring up dramatic images of the Twelve Tribes trampling through the desert sojourn for forty years, carrying the mummy of Joseph to its ultimate resting place in Shechem. When you fast forward to the end of the Book of Joshua, it is confirmed how Joseph’s final request was indeed honored:
“They buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver. They became the inheritance of the children of Joseph” (Joshua 24:32, WMB).
For Believers today, a great lesson can be learned about being mindful of what is being communicated at all times, because in actuality, not one of us knows when our lives may end—and what just might be the final words people actually remember us by. This is why many families make a legitimate habit of speaking blessings, or always saying “I love you,” as a parting statement or valediction when speaking to one another. We each need to recognize how our words have tremendous meanings to hearers, and when they are the last thing locked into the memory, they have the potential to possess never-ending consequences.
Perhaps you are familiar with the adage to not let the Sun set on your anger, meaning that you should make sure that you have resolved all conflict before you go to sleep at night. This is derived from statements affirmed in Ephesians 4, where the Apostle Paul admonished Believers in Asia Minor, on the need for them to work together as a united Body of Messiah. Within this he quoted from Zechariah 8:16:
“that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Messiah, from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts. They, having become callous, gave themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you didn’t learn Messiah that way, if indeed you heard him and were taught in him, even as truth is in Yeshua: that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth. Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry, and don’t sin’ [Zechariah 8:16]. Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath, and don’t give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:14-27, WMB).
This admonition is great instruction for Believers today. If we would all take this advice seriously, then today’s Body of Messiah would actually be built up and grow properly. On a communal scale, this would be awesome, but it cannot work unless it is first employed in your dealings with those family members to whom you are intimately acquainted. Too many people are handicapped by a harsh word, unloving rebuke, or just plain mean-spirited comments from parents, spouses, or children. These unfortunate ruptures of relationship, manifest themselves within the community of faith on a larger scale. If one’s own familial relationships are somehow off kilter and disjoined, this has a strong tendency to manifest itself on a much wider scale among fellow Believers.
Let us each remember the blessings offered by our spiritual forbearers to their offspring! We need to be molded into men and women who speak blessings to all we encounter—whether they be of our immediate family or not. Let us remember that even a word of testimony might have been used by the Lord, to prick the conscience of a young Saul as he witnessed the stoning of Stephen (cf. Acts 8:1). Perhaps seeing Stephen die a martyr’s death, would later be used by Him to blind this zealous persecutor of the faith, and make him one of the most useful workers ever in His Kingdom!
Words do make a difference. If you think about what you would like to leave your loved ones with, in terms of words of wisdom or encouragement, speak those words to them often! Leave those you care about, with a blessing of sincere love from your heart. Allow what you say, to have a positive impact on succeeding generations of grandchildren and dear friends. Quite frequently, dying words count and live beyond our respective lives. May yours be remembered long after you depart this Earth.
NOTES
[1] Editor’s note: Some have pointed out a possible difference between what Stephen stated in Acts 7:16, and what the Torah stated in Genesis 49:30 and 50:13, about Abraham purchasing the cave at Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite. I. Howard Marshall, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Acts (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 138 indicates how Stephen’s stating that the sons of Jacob were buried at Shechem, was actually based in “a local tradition.” Also not to be confused is how some specific rhetorical device may be employed in Stephen’s speech, to make a particular point to the Sanhedrin. David G. Peterson, Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Acts of the Apostles (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), 253 suggests, “Luke appears to have telescoped into one various biblical traditions about the burial sites of the patriarchs (cf. Gn. 23:10-19; 33:18-20; 49:29-32; 50:13; Jos. 24:32).”
The main issue in Stephen’s employing a reference to Shechem, is how in the First Century C.E., it fell within Samaritan territory. Part of Stephen’s polemic was against those who would restrict God’s activity to one particular “approved” location (Ibid.; Marshall, 139).
