Jacob came home. Three words that mean everything to a dying father. Whatever this means for you today, let it encourage you that those estranged from you, from God, can come home.
“Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28 Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. 29 Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.” (Genesis 35 v 27-29)
If we hadn’t read the story of Jacob, we would miss the importance of those opening three words. He had left home at least 20 years previously after deceiving his father, Isaac, and now here he is, the prodigal returning home. Even after all the family disputes, here he is, the son at his father’s deathbed. If you have wandered away, you can come home, you can return.
The text beautifully states that he was ‘gathered to his people’; a phrase pointing to a homecoming, a gathering and a reunion with those who had gone before.
It also says how the two estranged sons are together burying their father. Death has a way of levelling out what is really important in life. I remember being at the hospital bed of a man who was dying, and there gathered around were two old, estranged friends who shared a common bond of friendship with the man. They both loved their dying friend, and his death brought them together after many years of being separated.
An estranged son is home. Two divided brothers together. A father dies in peace.
Isaac’s life was far from perfect, but to die this way was surely a blessing to him.
Whatever you have done, wherever you have wandered, the story of Jacob whispers the same invitation: you can come home.
Missions Paul 