We are still in chapter 37 of Genesis with our word for today. שַׂק sack, blanket, sackcloth. It is used 48 times in the Old Testament. We see people wear it to humble themselves before others as a sign of respect. 1 Kings 20:31-32 His officials said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let us go to the king of Israel with שַׂקִּ֨יםsackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.” Wearing שַׂקִּ֨יםsackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says: ‘Please let me live.’” We also see people humbling themselves before God as part of prayer for God to save them. 2 Kings 19:1-4 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on בַּשָּׂ֔קsackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests, all wearing בַּשַּׂקִּ֑יםsackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace…It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.” 1 Chronicles 21:15-16 And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, בַּשַּׂקִּ֖יםclothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.
Sackcloth is the dress of mourners probably made of the hair of goats or other animals, usually coarse and dark colored material. It is in this sense that we see our word used in our chapter for today. Genesis 37:32-35 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not.” And he identified it and said, “It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” Then Jacob tore his garments and put שַׂק sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. This was part of the mourning process to help people grieve during their loss. God allows us to feel the emotion of sadness because he wants to lead us to acceptance. With all seven of the negative emotions God wants to eventually lead us to gladness. The reason a lot of us never get to gladness is because we are not willing to go through the pain of one of the seven negative emotions we are feeling. When we are sad God is saying to us through this emotion to trust him with this emotion of sadness because it will lead us to acceptance which will then give us hope. Whenever there is hope there is gladness. God uses hope to get us to experience gladness of heart. I’ll close with this passage that reminds us that God is the one who heals us and gives us gladness. Psalm 30:11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my שַׂקִּ֑י sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.
