Genesis 50 - The Burial of Jacob; the Death of Joseph
Verses 1-3 tells us…Jacob is embalmed and mourned & buried in CANAAN.
“Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Forty days were required for him, for such are the days required for those who are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.”
The Egyptians mourned him 70 days: Jacob was mourned for 70 days among the whole nation of Egypt. A royal mourning period in Egypt was 72 days. Jacob was obviously a greatly honored man & WAS MOURNED EVEN AS THEIR PHARAOHS WERE MOURNED.
Verses 4-14 tells us…Jacob’s body is brought to Canaan, and he is buried next to Leah, the wife who blessed him with his first four sons.
“And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying, ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.’“ And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.” So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering. Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan. So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them. For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.”
Joseph went up to bury his father: This was a dramatic burial. The entire clan gathered together to pay tribute to this man who was the last link with the patriarchs. The life of this man’s grandfather overlapped with the sons of Noah.
They mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation: This was, no doubt, a day of rededication of the sons of Israel to the God of Israel, the God of the great covenant made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Verse 15 tells us JOSEPH comforts the fears of his brothers.
“When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.”
Even after ALL THIS TIME WITH JOSEPH, SEEING HIS GOODNESS, COMPASSION, LOVE, AND FORGIVENESS…Satan stepped in to WHISPER FEAR INTO THEIR HEARTS. They feared that perhaps Joseph would turn on them after Jacob’s death. Knowing human nature, this wasn’t an unfounded concern.
And may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him: Here they FREELY acknowledged all the evil which they did. What they worried about was justice. They feared righteous retribution. Joseph, with his high status and prestige in Egypt, was certainly capable of bringing this retribution…JOSEPH WAS SECOND ONLY TO PHARAOH IN POWER AND AUTHORITY IN ALL OF EGYPT.
Verses 16-18 tell us…the unlikely story of Joseph’s brothers.
“So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.” ‘ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
a. Before your father died he commanded: This story is probably concocted by the brothers.
WHY?
Because NO WHERE DOES ALMIGHTY GOD TELL US THIS IN SCRIPTURE. IT ALSO TELLS US THAT THEY KNEW HOW MUCH JOSEPH LOVED AND HONORED HIS FATHER. SATAN MADE SURE THAT “DOUBT AND FEAR” CREPT INTO THEIR HEARTS AND MINDS…causing them to FORGET all the GOODNESS, HONESTY, BLESSINGS, FAVORS, AND KINDNESSES JOSEPH DID FORRRRRRR THEM LONGGGGGGG BEFORE HE WAS EVER REUNITED WITH HIS FATHER. AND THIS ALSO TELLS US THAT JOSEPH’S BROTHERS didn’t feel they had the moral right to ask Joseph for mercy, since they sinned against him so greatly. So they put the request for mercy in the mouth of their honored and dead father.
Joseph wept…HOW HEART-BREAKING IT MUST HAVE BEEN FOR JOSEPH…AFTER ALL THESE YEARS AND ALL HE HAD STOOD FOR WITH THE EGYPTIANS, AND MORE SO WITH HIS BROTHERS AND THEIR FAMILIES…FOR THEM TO COME TO HIM AND BASICALLY ACCUSE JOSEPH OF HAVING ULTERIOR MOTIVES FOR BRINGING THEM TO EGYPT. BASICALLY THEY WERE TELLING JOSEPH, WE FEAR YOU HAVE DECEIVED US ALL ALONG… YOU HAVE BROUGHT US HERE, TO SAVE US ALL, ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN PATIENT, KNOWING THAT OUR FATHER WOULD SOON DIE, AND THEN YOU COULD PUNISH US FOR ALL THAT WE DID TO YOU. AND EVERYTHING THEY SAID….SHOWED THAT THEY DID NOT REALLY KNOW JOSEPH OR HIS HEART, NOR BELIEVE HIM, AND STILL DOUBTED HIS LIFE LONG HONOR AND WALK WITH ALMIGHTY GOD AND WITH THEM.
Fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants”: They backed up their plea for mercy with a genuine display of humility.
Verses 19-21 tells us…ONCE AGAIN…Joseph comforts his brothers.
“Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”
Am I in the place of God? Joseph first understood & WANTED THEM TO UNDERSTAND ONCE AND FOR ALL THAT HE WAS NOTTTTTTTTT in the place of God. It wasn’t his job to bring retribution upon his brothers. If the Lord chose to do it, He would have to find another instrument than Joseph.
I MEAN THINK ABOUT THE THINKING OF MANKIND AND THE WORLD, THEN AND NOW….from a HUMAN perspective, Joseph DID HAVE THE RIGHT and MOST CERTAINLY THE ABILITY AND THE POWER to bring retribution upon his brothers, but he knew God was God, and he was not.
As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good: Joseph did NOT romanticize the wrong his brothers did. He plainly declared, “you meant evil against me.” Although this was true, it was NOT the greatest truth. The greatest truth was “God meant it for good.”
RIGHT HERE WE ARE REMINDED, THAT AS CHRISTIANS, THOSE WHO KNOW, LOVE, AND CALL JESUS CHRIST, SAVIOR, REDEEMER, AND LORD…SHOULD LOOK FOR, EXPECT ALWAYS the overarching and overruling hand of God in OUR LIVES. We SHOULD KNOW, AS DID JOSEPH DURING THOSE 13+ YEARS OF SLAVERY & IMPRISONMENT, to KNOW that no matter what evil man brings against us, God can use it for good.
Joseph did NOT have the SCRIPTURE of Romans 8:28, but he had the truth of it in HIS HEART…WHICH IS BETTER, AMEN?
JOSEPH KNEW ROMANS 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
SADLY, FOR SOME CHRISTIANS, THOSE WHO LOVE JESUS, WE HAVE THE PROMISES IN SCRIPTURE, BUT WE DO NOT HAVE THE FAITH, TRUST, & BELIEF OF IT IN OUR HEART.
JOSEPH GIVES US ANOTHER UNSHAKEABLE TRUTH AND REMINDER AS WELL AN ENCOURAGEMENT HERE, WHICH IS….
Ultimately, THOSE OF US WHO ARE JESUS, & CHILDREN OF ALMIGHTY GOD….OUR LIVES ARE NOTTTTTTTTT IN THE HANDS OF MEN, but in the hands of God, who overrules all things for His glory. AMEN?
HERE IS A PERFECT PICTURE OF ROMANS 8:28.
The story goes….There was an old minister who had a unique gift to minister to the distressed and discouraged. In his Bible, he carried an old bookmark woven of silk threads into a motto. The back of it, where the threads were knotted and tied, was a hopeless tangle. He would take the bookmark out and show the troubled person this side of the bookmark and ask them to make sense of it. They NEVER could. Then the pastor would turn it over, and on the front were white letters against a solid background saying, “God is love.” When events in our life seem tangled and meaningless, it is because we can see only one side of the tapestry, AMEN!
To save many people alive…This was the IMMEDIATE good in the situation. NOT FOR ONLY THE LAND AND PEOPLE OF EGYPT, AND THE WORLD AT LARGE, BUT HAD GOD NOT SENT JOSEPH AHEAD TO EGYPT, HIS LARGE family WOULD HAVE HAD NO WHERE TO GO, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE COME TO EGYPT TO LIVE…AND THEY ALLLLLLLLL WOULD HAVE PERISHED IN THE FAMINE AS WELL.
AND IF THE FAMILY HAD SURVIVED THE FAMINE, AND HAD REMAINED IN CANAAN, it would have assimilated into the GODLESS, PAGAN, & WORLDLY Canaanite tribes surrounding it. Only by coming to Egypt could they be preserved and grow into a distinct nation.
AS ALMIGHTY GOD SHOWS US THROUGH THE STORY OF JOSEPH IN GENESIS….
IF Joseph’s brothers NEVER sell him to the Midianites, then Joseph NEVER goes to Egypt.
IF Joseph NEVER goes to Egypt, he NEVER is sold to Potiphar.
IF he is NEVER sold to Potiphar, Potiphar’s wife NEVER falsely accuses him of rape.
IF Potiphar’s wife NEVER falsely accuses him of rape, then he is NEVER put in prison.
IF he is NEVER put in prison, he NEVER meets the baker and butler of Pharaoh.
IF JOSEPH NEVER meets the baker and butler of Pharaoh, he NEVER interprets their dreams.
IF he NEVER interprets their dreams, he NEVER gets to interpret Pharaoh’s dream.
IF he NEVER gets to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, he NEVER is made prime minister.
IF he is NEVER made prime minister, he NEVER wisely administrates for the severe famine coming upon the region.
IF he NEVER wisely administrates for the severe famine coming upon the region, then his family back in Canaan PERISHES from the famine.
IF his family back in Canaan PERISHES from the famine, then the Messiah JESUS CHRIST CAN’T COME FORTH from a dead family.
IF the JESUS CHRIST can’t come forth, then Jesus NEVER came.
IF Jesus NEVER came, then you & I are dead in your sins and WITHOUT HOPE/SALVATION GIFT in this world.
BE GRATEFUL TO ALMIGHTY GOD AND JESUS CHRIST FOR THEIR GREAT, VAST PLAN, AMEN?
And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them…Because Joseph TRUSTED the overarching hand of God, EVEN in all the evil that came upon him through his brothers, he showed the love and compassion to them he did. JOSEPH WAS NEVER ABOUT REVENGE, OR JUSTICE…JOSEPH HAD JESUS HEART…HE WAS ALL ABOUT FORGIVENESS, LETTING GO, AND SHOWING JESUS LOVE AND COMPASSION TO THOSE WHO DID NOT DESERVE IT, AMEN?
BUT THINK ABOUT OUR OWN LIVES, MORE TIMES THAN NOT, the problem we have in loving others and in freeing ourselves from bitterness we may have towards them, is REALLY, AT ITS ROOT, a problem of not knowing who God is and trusting Him to be who He says He is, AMEN?
AND WE SEE JOSEPH’S HONESTY, HIS LOVE, HIS WORDS AND HEART IN ACTION…Joseph’s love for his brothers was shown not only in feelings and words, but also in practical action. He actually DID PROVIDE for his brothers and their families.
Verses 22-24 tells us Joseph is still in Egypt, but his heart was in Canaan.
“So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father’s household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph’s knees. And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
God WILL SURELY will surely visit you and bring you out of this land to the land which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob: Joseph was the human agent most responsible for bringing this family to Egypt. Yet he knew that because of the covenant God had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, this would not be their resting place. They were headed - EVENTUALLY IN GOD’S PERFECT TIMING - back to Canaan.
Verses 25-26 tells us of the death and embalming of Joseph.
“Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.”
He was put in a coffin in Egypt…According to this passage and Hebrews 11:22, Joseph was NEVER buried. His coffin laid aboveground for the 400 or so years until it was taken back to Canaan. It was a silent witness & REMINDER TO THE 12 TRIBES OF ISRAEL…for all those years that Israel WAS going back to the Promised Land, just as God said.
All during that time, when a child of Israel saw Joseph’s coffin and asked what it was there for and why it was not buried, they could be answered, “Because the great man Joseph did not want to be buried in Egypt, but in the Promised Land God will one day lead us to.”
You shall carry up my bones from here…This promise WAS fulfilled some 400 years later, when Israel left Egypt in Exodus 13:19.
This command showed that Joseph’s heart was in the Promised Land. It also proved him to be a man of great faith, TRUSTING IN THINGS NOT YETTTTTTT SEEN….told to us in Hebrews 11:22.
We should REMEMBER, that SOME PROMISES of God take a long time to fulfill, and we must persevere in trusting God.
George Mueller was a remarkable man of faith who ran orphanages in England. In a sermon preached when he was 75 years old, he said 30,000 times in his 54 years as a Christian he received the answer to prayer on the same day he prayed it. But not all his prayers were answered so quickly. He told of one prayer that he brought to God about 20,000 times over more than 11 years, and he still trusted God for the answer: “I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. Therefore, beloved brethren and sisters, go on waiting upon God, go on praying.”
AND GENESIS 50 TELLS US AND SHOWS US THAT Joseph died looking forward to God’s unfolding plan of redemption, and that is where the Book of Genesis - the Book of Beginnings - ends.
It concludes looking forward to the continuation of God’s eternal, loving, wise plan. IT POINTS THE WAY TO SALVATION, REDEMPTION IN OUR JESUS CHRIST!