Jacob and Joseph are both mentioned for what they did just before they died. Both had great accomplishments during their lives. But it is noted in Hebrews 11 what they did in their old age and not all those other accomplishments.

Hosea 12:2-5 2 The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him. 3He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God: 4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us; 5 Even the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is his memorial.

Let’s look at some of the accomplishments in Jacob’s life. The two things mentioned in Hosea are his taking his brother’s heel and his encounter with the angel. Jacob is one of the only ones in the Old Testament that saw angels and heaven.

Genesis 28 tells of the story when Jacob saw the angels going up and down a ladder from heaven. He then heard God’s voice. God told him the same thing he had told Abraham earlier.

Genesis:28:13-15 13: And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;14: And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15: And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

In Genesis 31, Jacob had an angel of the Lord appear to him and tell him that God wanted to bless him, and give him of the riches of Laban. Laban tried to cheat Jacob out of his wages, but God gave him the best of Laban’s herds by making all the herd to be spotted and ringed.

Genesis:31:11-13 11: And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. 12: And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. 13: I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

Angels again appeared to Jacob after he left Laban.

Genesis:32:1-2 1: And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2: And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

Now let’s go to Hebrews to see what God placed there as an example of faith on Jacob’s part.

Hebrews:11:21: By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

The action of faith by Jacob told is his blessing of his grandsons. Now let us go to beginning of the chapter to see why this is included and not the other things that happened to Jacob.

Hebrews:11:1-3 1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2: For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3: Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Here we are told that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. In the verses we went over about Jacob seeing angels, these are things seen…therefore there was no faith needed. Secondly the first mention of an action of faith is that God used words to make things. This is our example, words are the substance of our faith. Jacob blessing Joseph’s sons were words of faith. Now let us look at the words Jacob said over Joseph’s sons. Jacob not only spoke over Joseph’s sons but he also spoke over all of his twelve sons before he died. But let us study the blessing for Joseph’s sons because Hebrews mentions it.

Genesis:48:1-5 1: And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2: And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. 3: And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4: And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. 5: And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

Here Jacob starts the blessing mentioning how God had blessed himself. He says that Joseph’s children were going to be his children just as Reuben and Simeon were. This is the first indication that Joseph’s two children would be of the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph is not listed as one of the tribes, but his two sons are. Now let’s read the blessing.

Genesis:48:9-22 9: And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.10: Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11: And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. 12: And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13: And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him. 14: And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

15: And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, 16: The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. 17: And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. 18: And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. 19: And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. 20: And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21: And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 22: Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

Notice that in this blessing Joseph put his oldest son first, but Jacob did not. This is an act of faith on Jacob’s part. In verse 19 it tells us that he knew that the younger would be greater than the older. Now let us study the blessing. He tells them that they would receive the blessing of Abraham and the blessing that the Angel gave to Jacob. He then tells Joseph that he would have one portion above his brothers. Or in other words, there would be two portions for his sons among the children of Israel.

These brothers both became what Jacob said, but many years later. This is an example we should follow. We can also either bless or curse others by what we speak over them.

James:3:8-13 8: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9: Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 10: Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 11: Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 12: Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. 13: Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

It is very important to watch our mouths. It shows us here in James that what we say either shows how bitter we are inside, or how wise we are. We need to chose daily what we speak to others and about others.

Now let’s study Joseph’s life. In Acts a very good summary of Joseph’s life is given.

Acts:7:8-16 8: And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs. 9: And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, 10: And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 11: Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance. 12: But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 13: And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh. 14: Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. 15: So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers, 16: And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

Notice that here is told about what happened to Joseph as a result of his brothers envy. It also shows his favor with Pharoah. Now let’s look at some of this in Genesis.

Jacob was known for angels, but Joseph was known for dreams, and the interpretation of dreams.

Ge:37:5-11 5: And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. 6: And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 7: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. 8: And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. 9: And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 10: And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? 11: And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

Ge:40:7-9a, 12-13, 16a, 18-21 7: And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day? 8: And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you. 9: And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, 12: And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days: 13: Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.

Ge:40:16: When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, 18: And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: 19: Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. 20: And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. 21: And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand: 22: But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.

All these accomplishments were great, but Hebrews does not mention any of them when showing how Joseph walked in faith. That is because dreams are not acts of faith. Only one thing is given.

Hebrews 11:22: By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

Let’s look at the story in Genesis. When Joseph was dying he gave instructions to the children of Israel about what to do when they left Egypt. This is a word of faith. He was telling them that they would leave Egypt.

Genesis:50:24-26 24: And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 25: And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. 26: So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Now Joseph spoke in faith and told the children of Israel would leave Egypt. He told them that God would visit them and bring them out of Egypt back to the land he sware to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These are the word’s of faith of Joseph. Here he says to keep his bones in Egypt until they leave, even though he had gone to bury his father’s bones in the land ten days after Jacob died, he did not tell them to go and bury him in Canaan then, but to wait until God redeemed the children of Israel from Egypt.

Ge:50:2-8 2: And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel. 3: And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days. 4: And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5: My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again. 6: And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear. 7: And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8: And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.

It took four hundred years for God to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt. But Joseph spoke of the deliverance on his death bed. In the next study, we will go into details about that deliverance, but here we will mention that Moses did do what Joseph had commanded when God delivered them.

Ex:13:19: And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.

Now remember that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years, so they carried Joseph’s bones all this time. When they finally entered into Israel they finally buried his bones beside his father’s bones.

Joshua:24:32: And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

This shows us that even though it took many years for the fulfillment, Joseph’s words of faith did come to pass. Both Jacob and Joseph show the importance of our words. Let’s go again to Hebrews.

Hebrews :10:23: Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

The word profession here is really confession. Jacob did this. He held fast to his confession of faith, and so did Joseph. Even though they did not see the manifestation of their confession of faith, they spoke it out in faith. It took many years to come to pass, but the words they spoke did come to pass because they spoke it in faith. We also are to hold fast to our confession of faith without wavering.

Heb:11:13: These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

This is what Jacob and Joseph did. They both died in faith. They did not see the answer to the promise in their lifetime, but there were persuaded of them and confessed it out.

Hebrews :11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

These two men pleased God because of the faith they had, and God rewarded them because they both diligently sought God. We please God in the same way, when we are diligent to speak God’s word over our life.