Genesis 35:9-29 Blessing and Sorrow

Sometimes we experience great joy only to find that sorrow is at our doorstep. We get a promotion, win a big game, marry a godly person or learn that a child has trusted the Lord. The next day we find that we have cancer, a parent dies or a plane crashes into the Twin Towers.

When these kinds of things happen together we experience the extremes of joy and sorrow. The emotional shock can cause us to lose perspective. However, the Bible provides examples of people who experienced joy and sorrow back-to-back. These accounts help us to keep things in focus as our emotions threaten to overtake the truth.

Genesis 35:9-29 is a good example. The Lord appears to Jacob at Paddan-aram and blesses him by announcing his new name, Israel. Then the Lord reiterates the promise that he had given to Abraham and states that he will fulfill it through Jacob.

Can you imagine the joy you would have if the Lord spoke to you as He did to Jacob? What if the Lord gave you a new name and pronounced a blessing for you? Elation at the highest level would fill your entire being.

Jacob responded by building an altar (35:14). He poured a libation on it and worshiped the Lord. He called the place Bethel, the house of God.

Within two verses his wife Rachel gives birth to a son. What joy Abraham must have experienced. Life is going great for him. How happy is a father to have a child.

Joy comes with the birth of a child, but childbirth itself also brings the pangs of discomfort for the mother. In Rachel’s case these birthpangs were severe, and she ultimately dies from the experience.

Boom. Jacob is left with the joy of the Lord, the joy of a child and the sorrow of a lost wife and companion.

Notice where Rachel died. She died on the way to Bethlehem. That place reminds us of another One who would burst onto the scene hundreds of years later. Jesus Himself experienced great sorrow in His life. Eventually, he suffered the greatest sorrow by dying on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Isaiah puts it this way, “He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despise, and we did not esteem Him” (Is 53:5).

This Jesus not only suffered but He suffered for you and me. Isaiah continues, “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried, Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell on Him, and by His scourging we are healed” (Is 53:4-5).

Jesus not only died on the cross, but He rose again bodily from the grave. This resurrection brought the most magnificent joy one could ever have. In fact, it brings eternal joy for those who put their trust in Him.

Jesus fulfilled the pattern of joy and sorrow. His experience demonstrates that life will be filled with times of joy and times of sorrow. However, the end of all things is not meant to be sorrow. It is designed to be joy for those who trust in Him.

If you and I are feeling burdened by the load of sorrow in these days, we must go to the Scripture. The accounts presented there are given as examples for us. The pages of Scripture show us that sorrow and joy are part of life. They teach us that the Jesus Himself suffered sorrow. However, in the end he experienced great victory and joy as He rose from the dead.

Jesus paid the penalty for our sins when He died for us. Notice also that Isaiah says “Our sorrows He carried.” Your and I are not alone in our sorrow. The Lord is with us. In fact He carried our sorrows with Him on the cross.

The themes of blessing and sorrow are well documented in the Scripture. They will also appear on the pages of our lives. When blessing and sorrow both come our way, let’s trust in the Lord. He is an ever-present help in times of trouble.