Genesis 47:8–9: “Pharaoh said to Jacob, ‘How old are you?’ And Jacob said to Pharaoh, ‘The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.'”

November 1st, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

At 130 years old, Jacob was probably the oldest man in Egypt and much older than anyone the king had met before. Jacob’s answer is a fascinating one. He started by directly answering Pharaoh’s question, but then quickly followed up with a witness. He said that his age was great and that his life, like his forefathers, was a “pilgrimage.” He used the word for “a stranger” twice in the sentence, to emphasize the idea. Jacob was clearly saying that he was a pilgrim and a sojourner. Jacob was telling this young pharaoh that both he and his fathers had lived lives on earth that were touched with the sense of eternity. That should sound familiar to us. As God’s children, we are told to regard ourselves the same way and to recognize that this world is only a temporary home, as Hebrews 11:16 tells us: “they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country.”

Jacob continued his witness by pointing out that the days seem few. He meant something like, “How quickly time passes; be careful, life is short.” Then he added, “and evil have been the days,” meaning, “I regret much of what I’ve done in my life and have made a lot of mistakes.” Remember, this is the “heel-catcher,” speaking near the end of his life. He had been a master manipulator of people and possessions, which brought many tragedies to this weather-beaten old timer.

Life really is a pilgrimage and a journey. As Peter said, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles” (1 Peter 2:11–12). When this life is mistakenly seen as permanent, then all that seems to matter is the here and now. But when we get a clear picture of ourselves someday standing before God, then in the light of eternity, the here and now becomes relatively unimportant. For pilgrims, Jesus’ words take on new weight:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matt 6:19)

“LORD, as pilgrims, open our eyes to see the eternal consequences in everything we say and do this day.”