The 11 brothers had found out that the man over all Egypt was Joseph, and they returned to Canaan to tell their father the news. Jacob had been waiting all this time alone, under the sovereign dealing of God for his maturity in the divine life. When his sons reached home, Jacob’s reaction showed that he had become fully matured. His maturity was manifested in several ways.

Firstly, he assigned no blame upon hearing that Joseph was still alive. Instead, his “heart became numb…[and his] spirit…revived” (Genesis 45:26-27). As young people, our emotions can be very strong.  We may be depressed one day and excited the next. For example, if we had been Jacob, we may have been glad to hear Joseph was alive, but then also angry and full of blame at the sons for lying. But Jacob had no emotional reaction. His heart was numb, but his spirit revived.

The second manifestation of Jacob’s maturity was that he offered sacrifices to God. He did not go to God to pray for things, to praise, to give thanks, or to seek God for anything. He simply entered into fellowship with God. In type, he offered Christ to God for fellowship. Christ is the reality of the sacrifices, and Jacob did not just have one sacrifice but “sacrifices,” (46:1) signifying that he had many aspects and experiences of Christ with which to commune with God. Because he was mature, Jacob’s response to the news was simply to have more fellowship with God.

Lastly, when Jacob finally met with Joseph, there was no looseness in his behavior. He was controlled and calm.

Jacob’s behavior was not a performance but the overflow of his growth in life. Since we are not at the same stage in the divine life as Jacob, we should not pretend to have the same level of maturity.  If we act as if we are numb in heart and revived in spirit, this will only deaden us.  However, if we act genuinely, this will help us to grow. Our need is not to try to become a person who acts like Jacob did in his maturity. Rather, our need is simply to grow. Eventually, by the growth of the divine life, we will become persons with a calm emotion but revived spirit, and we will be able to worship and fellowship with God to a higher degree.