turnipg08

                Jacob's reaction to this shows that he is still grieving for either Rachel, Joseph, or both; and does not really show any signs of healing. Jacob says in Genesis 42:38, "My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow."

                And Judah later quotes Jacob as saying, "You know that my wife bore me two sons. One of them went away from me, and I said, 'He has surely been torn to pieces.' And I have not seen him since. If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery."

                Benjamin was Jacob's last living memory of his wife Rachel. When Joseph was seemingly lost forever, Jacob desperately clung to Benjamin and this did not seem to let up, even after many many years. Jacob never really healed from the grief and he carried it throughout this entire time, (we will show this momentarily).

                When Jacob wants to send his sons to buy more grain, they insist that they will have to bring Benjamin with them. In 43:14, Jacob finally agrees and says, "If I am bereaved, then I am bereaved." (The importance of this will be referred to later.)

                When the brothers return with Benjamin, Joseph reveals himself to them and sends them back to get his father Jacob and their whole family. The brothers go back to their father and tell him,

                " 'Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.' "

                One would expect that Jacob would rejoice, but instead, we find that "he did not believe them"! It was not until he saw the carts and heard the detailed explanation, that he finally believed. Then the bible says that the spirit of Jacob "revived" and he said, "I'm convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die." (Genesis 45:26-28)

                Jacob's story is very interesting because it contains a number of elements that apply to the concept of this manual. For now, be it enough to say that because Jacob still carried the grief of the loss of his loved ones, he found it difficult to believe what his sons were telling him.

                Unhealed grief can hinder us from from believing God and His Word, at least in certain areas. And even worse, it can place an emotional block between us and God. Thus, we find that we are not as open to Him and therefore do not come to Him: The only one who can help our faith, and the only one who can heal us.

                When grief hinders our believing, we begin to lose faith; and when we lose faith, we begin to lose our diligence; and when we lose our diligence, we begin to lose hope; and when we lose our hope, we begin to die.

                Yes, we may go to church on Sunday. We may smile and laugh with our brothers and sisters. We may even be in ministry, teaching everyone about faith. But inside we are crying, and maybe even dieing. Some of us simply go day by day, week by week, month by month, just barely holding on to our faith. Others overcompensate for the loss and try convincing themselves and others how much "faith" they have. Others just give up and try "doing" something nice to make up for their minimal relationship with the Lord.

                Whatever the case may be, God is ready, willing, and able to heal those areas of our lives, and bring us back into closer fellowship with Himself. He loves our fellowship and will do anything to help us find that love and that fire again.