LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Blessing in Spite of Suffering
"And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh" (Genesis 47:8-10).
Jacob's life was by no means easy, simple or pleasant. It was marked from the beginning by confrontation, deception and pain. A great part of these conditions were his own making, due to his character and temperament, but also a great part was the product of causes beyond his control. Jacob deceived and was deceived; he cheated and was cheated; he made to weep, but he too was made to shed bitter tears and to drink his last sip from the cup of suffering.
As an old man, he saw how famine knocked at the doors of his house and settled in the midst of his own life, of his family and of the nation that God had promised to give him. Impoverished, in bitterness, full of pain, hungry, he came to present himself before the Pharaoh of Egypt. Opulence versus scarcity, life full of pleasures versus life that only accumulated sufferings, wealth versus poverty, the ostentatious attire of a king versus the rags of an old man coming weary from a long journey.
"How old are you?", asked Pharaoh. "Not that old, even though you see me in this condition", Jacob replied. "Not as old as I look. But they have been very bad, life has been very hard for me".
Then he said to her before taking his leave, "But even though my life is bankrupt, even though I am running from a famine, even though I have no strength, even though my soul aches so much, I still have the strength to do something". And lifting up his hand on high, Jacob said to him with solemn authority, "Pharaoh, God bless you". And that blessing was worth far more than the sum of all the treasures of Egypt. (Jose R. Frontado).