Faith of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
Each of these patriarchs died in the firm confidence of "things hoped for," and pronounced prophetic blessings upon his descendants accordingly. The patriarchal benedictions were the expressions of a faith in the promises of the covenant, which was strong enough to bear the test of a death-bed.
I. ISAAC'S BLESSING. (Hebrews 11:20) The prophecy here referred to was divinely inspired. It was not the utterance merely of parental love. The Holy Spirit revealed to Isaac the fortunes of his two sons; and, believing the revelation, he felt himself impelled by an irresistible impulse to declare it. The sin of Rebekah and Jacob in intercepting for the latter what his father had intended for Esau did not make the promise of none effect. Had Isaac been announcing only his own pleasure, he would most certainly have recalled the words which Jacob had appropriated so treacherously; but the patriarch felt that he dared not do so. He was persuaded that he had been made only the mouthpiece of the Divine will respecting the person who stood before him at the time. He saw that the blessing of the firstborn had been providentially directed towards his younger son, and he confessed his inability to reverse it (Genesis 27:33). Isaac blessed his sons "by faith" in the revelation regarding them of which he was the recipient.
II. JACOB'S BLESSING. (Hebrews 11:21) It was faith in a Divine testimony made in turn to Jacob that caused him (Genesis 48:5, Genesis 48:15-20) both to predict that Joseph should have a double portion in Israel through his two sons, and to bestow the larger blessing upon Ephraim, the younger. The patriarch knew that it would be a greater honor to these two young men to become each the head of a little Israelitish clan, than even to take rank through their mother as Egyptian princes. And behind this benediction of his grandsons there lay also Jacob's firm faith in that provision of the covenant which gave the land of Canaan to his posterity. He had exacted from Joseph a promise upon oath that he should not be buried in Egypt, far from the graves of his kindred; and he devoutly thanked God, "leaning upon the top of his staff," for the assurance that his body should rest in the land of promise (Genesis 47:29-31). All this shows Jacob's faith in the future return of the Hebrews to Canaan as the land of their inheritance. And his faith looked also, we are persuaded, to the "heavenly country" of which the land promised to Abraham was only the type.
III. JOSEPH'S BLESSING. (Hebrews 11:22) Amid the stern realities of the dying hour, the illustrious Joseph evinced the same bright and strong faith which had distinguished his father and his grandfather. It had never counted for much to him that he was Pharaoh's prime minister. He had always been at heart a Hebrew, not an Egyptian. His hope was in the covenant promises. So, foreseeing the affliction of his people in Egypt, and their eventual exodus, he resolved that his body should not be buried in that land. His embalmed remains must be made useful, during the whole period of their bitter bondage, as a witness to Israel of the faithfulness of the God of Abraham. And the tribes must carry his bones with them when they go to take possession of their inheritance. Joseph's faith is so great that he is content that his coffined clay should meanwhile remain unburied. So he died, leaving with his brethren this blessing: "God will surely visit you" (Genesis 1:24, Genesis 1:25). His tender farewell shows us how steadfastly the eye of his faith was gazing upon the unseen.
CONCLUSION. The Christian Hebrews of the first century needed "like precious faith" with these three patriarchs, to enable them to discharge the duties and endure the sufferings to which they were called in connection with their Christian discipleship. And so also do we Gentile believers of these last times. Only faith in "things to come"—confidence in the life and immortality which have been brought to light through the gospel—will enable us to live obediently and to die triumphantly.