When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last breath, and went to his people.
Genesis 49-33 NET
As Jacob came to the end of his life, he gathered his sons together and gave them his patriarchal blessing, looking into what he saw in the future for each of them. These blessings were not prophetic in the sense that God had given Jacob foreknowledge of their future. But they did reflect what Jacob saw in his sons and their character.
This verse describes Jacob as doing three things after blessing his sons. First, he pulled his feet up onto the bed. This pictures him sitting on the side of his bed as he gave his blessings. When he finished, he laid down on the bed and brought his feet into bed with him. He was ready to go.
Jacob then breathed his last. He died. And after he had died, he went to his people, joining them where they were. This was, in part, the family burial plot back in Canaan, where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Leah were buried (Gen. 49:29-32).
Death Is Not the End
But it was more than just being buried in the family plot. What happened to a person after they died was not a well-developed concept at this time. But there was some expectation of future existence–that he would be with his ancestors, not just as dry bones sharing a tomb, but with some conscious existence.
What is described here concerning Jacob’s death is a beautiful description of what awaits those, like Jacob (Gen. 48:15), who have faithfully followed the Lord. This life we now know will someday come to an end. We will breathe our last breath.
But it is not the end. We will go to our people–those who have gone before us. But even better, we will experience life anew in the Father’s house (John 14:2-3). Death is not the end. It is the beginning of the glorious future that awaits us. Are you ready to go?
