Jacob's Account

“Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. 'No,' he said, 'in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son.' So his father wept for him.

Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.” Genesis 37:34-36

With such a narrative, the readers are allowed access to the entire story, but only in the present moment within the story. The future is unraveled as the reader reads on. Naturally, it is easy to miss the point of view of individual characters.

From the beginning of chapter 37 of Genesis, the readers are told, “This is the account of Jacob” (verse 2). Yet, we are only given hints of his reactions (i.e. verse 11: “His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.”). By the end of the chapter, the readers see how mournful Jacob is with the news of Joseph’s “death.”

As Christians, we are told many times that God listens and answers our prayers. As though little faith that I have, I do agree. Time, however, is always the issue. We, as readers, recognize that Joseph is not dead. To Jacob, however, death of his son is the only reality. Yet, the omnipotent God, the God of Jacob's ancestors, Yahweh, keeps his silence for many years. No revelation through dreams, no messenger angels, no miraculous visions. God keeps his silence as though to block all paths towards Joseph for the family. I am sure one of the sons could have started tracking Joseph down as a desperately attempt (or maybe one might have, but I feel like God would have had their eyes blinded and ears shut). Surely, God had plans for Joseph, but as for Jacob, it was complete and utter silence for years on end.

Yes, we do know that God will provide everything for us at the hour of our death, at the hour of his coming, but what comfort shall we seek from him in the present sense?