Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 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 sojourning.” And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents. – Genesis 47:7-12 ESV
I have a difficult time reading this passage without thinking of the old song by Buck Owens and Roy Clark that gained fame on the TV show, Hee Haw. The song was entitled, “Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me.” The opening stanza reads:
Gloom, despair and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
That seems to be the very sentiment of Jacob as he and the Pharaoh meet for the first time. When asked how old he is, Jacob states, “All the years of my travels are 130. All the years of my life have been few and painful; the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors” (Genesis 47:9 NLT). The English Standard Version translates the Hebrew word, ra` as “evil”, but it can actually refer to pain, difficulty, and sorrow, which makes more sense given the context. The New Living Translation provides what would appear to be a much better rendering of Jacob’s thoughts. First of all, it’s interesting to note that Jacob viewed 130 years of life as a short time. But he was comparing it to his grandfather, Abraham, who had lived to be 175-years old. His own father, Isaac had lived to be 180. So Jacob considered himself to be a young man. But he described the years of his life as anything but enjoyable. They had been full of gloom, despair and agony. Jacob seemed to see his life as having been full of deep, dark depression and excessive misery. Which is sadto realize when you look at how God had been a part of his life all along the way. There is no doubt that Jacob had experienced difficult times in his life. He had seen his fair share of sorrow and gone experienced more than a few setbacks and disappointments, but in general, he had lived a blessed life. He had a large family made up of many wives and sons. He had large flocks and more than enough wealth to live comfortably. Yes, he had been cheated by his uncle and forced to work for him in order to gain the hand of his daughter, Rachel. But God had blessed Jacob and he was able to leave his uncle’s employment a wealthy man. He was also able to return home to Canaan and be welcomed with open arms by the brother he had cheated many years before. Their relationship was healed and Jacob’s place in the family was restored. And while Jacob had endured the loss of his youngest son, Joseph, he had just recently experienced the joy of finding him alive and well in Egypt. Not only that, his son was the second-most powerful person in Egypt and had arranged the relocation of Jacob’s entire family to the fertile land of Goshen.
But all Jacob could see was the negative. His life had been short on years and long on misery. He was an unhappy camper. Even when Jacob had received news that Joseph was still alive, all he could muster in response was, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive! I will go and see him before I die” (Genesis 45:9 NLT). And when the two of them were reunited, Jacob greeted Joseph with the cheerful words, “Now let me die since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive” (Genesis 46:30 NLT).
To say that Jacob was a negative person would be an understatement. Here he was seeing his long-lost son for the first time in decades and all he could muster by way of response was, “Now let me die!” He had been given safe passage to Egypt and escape from the famine in the land of Canaan. He had been awarded prime pasture land in Egypt to care for his flocks and family. He had been welcomed with open arms by Pharaoh himself and had a son who was powerful and influential. Nowhere in any of this does Jacob express gratitude for God’s goodness. He does not offer God any thanks for His providential hand in his life and the gracious return of the son he had long thought dead.
The text records:
So Joseph settled his father and his brothers. He gave them territory in the land of Egypt, in the best region of the land, the land of Rameses, just as Pharaoh had commanded. Joseph also provided food for his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household, according to the number of their little children. – Genesis 47:11-12 NLT
This was all the result of the sovereign, merciful, gracious work of God Almighty. Jacob and his family were smack-dab in the center of the will of God. They were right where they were supposed to be. But rather than focus on the goodness of God, Jacob seemed to be fixated on what he believed to be the difficulties of his own life. Life on this planet will always be marked by peaks and valleys, ups and downs, joys and sorrows. The great king, David, had to endure years of pain and suffering as he ran from the anger of Saul. He had been anointed king of Israel, but would have to wait years before the throne was actually his. David wrote Psalm 59 during the time of his life when Saul had sent soldiers to watch his house in order that they might kill him. And while this was a difficult time for David, he was able to write:
But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love. – Psalm 59:16-17 NLT
How easy it is to view our lives through a lens clouded by doubt, despair and a fixation on difficult. How many times have we expressed words similar to those of Buck Owens and Roy Clark?
Gloom, despair and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
But the goodness and greatness of God should overshadow our gloom, despair and agony. The unfailing love of God should outweigh our excessive misery. And the providential care of God should be more than enough to replace our need for any kind of luck, good or bad.
