firstborn, saved early and during this present time that they in their turn may deliver those

who have not been so favoured, when the time comes for the knowledge of the Lord to

cover the earth as the waters cover the seas.

Before Jacob died he gathered his sons together, to tell them what should befall them

"in the last days" (49:). The prophecy, though it finds partial fulfillment in Israel's past,

looks to the period of the second coming of the Lord and the time of Jacob's trouble and

restoration. By far the largest space is devoted to the future of Judah and Joseph. In both

come prophecies of Christ. Verse 10 speaks of "Shiloh" and the "Sceptre" in connection

with the royal tribe of Judah, and in Joseph's line Christ again figures as the "Shepherd"

and "Stone" of Israel of whom Joseph was such a type.

A brief outline may help to set out the chief points.

When Jacob had finished this prophecy, he spoke of his approaching death and

commanded that he should be buried together with Abraham and Isaac. Joseph lived to

nourish and care for his brethren, and when he was about to die, he too gave command

that his bones be carried up to the land of promise, saying "God will surely visit you".

The book, which commences with the creation of heaven and earth, concludes with the

history of one obscure man and his twelve sons, and stresses the fulfillment of God's

promise concerning the "land" and the close connection that resurrection would hold to

that fulfillment. The Scriptures focus upon a small space and a limited number, not

because the wider circle is forgotten, but because in the smaller sphere we may the better

see the purpose of the ages which indeed transcends the promised land and embraces the

heavens and the earth, and goes beyond the pale of the chosen people to embrace every

nation, tongue, people and language, and behind the promises made to Abraham, Isaac

and Jacob, to that promise made before the age times.