Genesis 50:1-3
Joseph mourned the loss of his father. With a final kiss he commanded his physician servants to embalm his father. Embalming was done as a religious practice in Egypt, but Joseph doesn't want this done for the traditional reason. Egyptian mummification involved magic and mysticism. The preservation of the body was for the afterlife. Internal organs were put in jars and the body dehydrated, laced with preservatives and then wrapped up. It was as if they thought someone would unwrap and reassemble them and they would begin the afterlife, picking up their wealth and honor. Joseph wanted the embalming done only to physically preserve the body to take him home. There were different processes of mummification depending on how prominent you were and how much money you had. The methods ranged from the full forty-day mummification process to drying the body out in the sun. With Joseph's rank, his father received the best preservation process.
The is some indication Jews normally mourned for 30 days after the body was laid to rest almost immediately. Yet, later we'll see seven-day mourning. Jacob was obviously well respected in Egypt, so he was treated as royalty where the period of royal mourning was seventy-two days.
Genesis 50:4-9
After the 70 days of mourning Joseph spoke to those in Pharaohs court seeking permission to go bury his father in Israel. Joseph did not address Pharaoh directly at this time. This may have been because of his contact with the dead body. Others feel it is because of his appearance. In mourning, he would not have shaved or kept himself. He would have been shaggy, bearded; all of which was offensive to Egyptians.
His request to Pharaoh was to fulfill the oath he made to his father on his death bed. Pharaoh gave his approval. This shows his love and respect for both Joseph and Jacob. The trip to Israel became a state funeral procession. Dignitaries of Egypt and of Pharaoh's court went with them. All the members of Joseph's house, along with his brothers. Those of his father's household went. There wasn't much left in Goshen. A security detail of chariots and horsemen went along. This had the appearance of a mini Exodus. How fitting, that Jacob was given such an honorable procession back to his home land.
Genesis 50:10-14
Atad means thorn or briar. The threshing floors were special places that came to have religious significances. In this case, we don't know where Atad was; the location near the Jordan suggests they came up the Jordan valley and then crossed into Egypt near Jericho, taking the same route Moses would bring the Israelites into the promised land in the future. This gives further support for the picture of this Exodus type return to usher Jacob home to the Promised Land.
The family mourned there in the Promised Land. Through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, this land was given to them by God; they would not possess it for some time. They had been gone from the land for 17 years. Some present there were seeing the land for the first time (i.e. Ephraim, Manassas). It would be the last time for any of this generation to see this land.
Their family paid their father a great tribute. The Canaanites saw this deep mourning of the Egyptians and call this place Abel Mizraim, meaning 'mourning of Egypt'. The threshing floor is sometimes the picture of judgment and thorns the picture of sin. It is sin that brings death, sin that causes mourning and loss. It is sin that will be judged
It's amazing how quickly these folks returned to the land in order to bury their father. In a few hundred years they'll be too afraid to cross over and possess the land. We also have to wonder, if they had a clear understanding that this was the Promised Land, why didn't they stay there after they buried their father? We really don't know. But Joseph and his brothers returned to Egypt.
Genesis 50:15-17
It's fascinating how much this patriarch was a stabilizing force in the family. With him gone, the brothers suddenly began to worry again about Joseph. Is see this as a fear that comes from the enemy, playing to their sinful natures. It was as though they were wondering, 'what if Joseph treats us like we treated him?' These are grown men. Men who had been through much. Men who had just lost their father. For seventeen years now, they had lived under Joseph's care and blessing. They really had no reason to suspect this other than they are projecting feelings they knew they were capable of. This is simply a guilty conscious
17 A man burdened with bloodshed will flee into a pit;
Let no one help him. (Prov 28:17)
16 These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren. (Prov 6:16-19)
The brothers worried about Joseph taking retribution on them now that their father was dead. Joseph had done nothing to give them the idea he would do such a thing. They didn't even ask for mercy of their own. They concocted this story and made the words their fathers. Joseph wept in response. This was likely because the lack of trust his brothers had for him. He had done nothing but show mercy and kindness to them.
Genesis 50:18
The sons of Jacob could have done many things here. Their father was gone. They could have turned on Joseph as they had done in the past. They could have deceived and plotted to accomplish a favorable outcome. Instead, what we see is humility; men changed by God through the events of their life. Judah had become a leader and hand taken a position of leadership among his brothers, even in a bit of a shadow of the leadership of Joseph. A good leader knows the position of humility. A good leader knows how to be a servant.
Also, within the picture of humility I believe we see the conviction of sin. Reuben, Simeon and Levi had been shown the weight of their sin:, while they may be forgiven by God, sin still had consequences. Their father spoke of their tribe, their future and how their children's children would walk in a similar life as they had in sin. This is our worsts fear, is it not? We want our kids to grow up not to repeat our mistakes and bear the bad side of our character, but to rise above and beyond the limits we had in our life.
The brothers had no basis to ask for anything from their brother. Instead they asked for forgiveness. albeit in a round-about way, on the basis of being servants of the God of Joseph's father. It's hard for us to forgive someone who wronged us in our flesh; sin messed with our thinking. Pride taints us, emotions lead us to the wrong place, feelings lie to us, the words of the Lord about forgiveness seem faint and only for others in not so serious circumstances. However, as you stand before God and look next to you and find the one who wronged you standing before God, the dynamic changes. The mercy of God reminds us of what we deserve, the grace of God reminds us we ought to be about grace, the kindness of God leads us to repentance. The baggage of bitterness, hatred, retribution, vengeance suddenly become very heavy. God moves us to forgive and we are freed from so much.
The brothers took a position of humility and fell down before his face. This was to fall before him to show they were low and submissive to him, he was greater. They placed themselves in service to him. This was the final act of repentance, forgiveness and healing of this family.
Maybe you find yourself in a similar place, where you have no basis to ask for, or expect forgiveness by your own merit, by your own actions that may have been hurtful or even just prevented healing. It is freeing and healing to repent of that previous position and take a new position, one of falling before God first and maintaining that posture as you turn to those you are separated from. Ask for forgiveness and offer forgiveness on the basis of being a servant of God. See what God does for you. See what God does with the relationship. See what God does to the relationship of those around you who see this action on your part. While you may be thinking, "That may work for most but my situation is different, its hard, its bad." God is entirely faithful and good. If you earnestly respond in faith, He will do a work like you won't believe. Look at every miracle in the bible; the setting and situation right before involved pain, sorrow, brokenness; many times for years and years. Then…. God….
God had turned their worst circumstances to blessing. They carried the burden of guilt and shame for so long when repentance was due. They could have been released so much earlier in life to learn that God can redeem the worst of us and the worst of our circumstances. The Lord promised:
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:15)
Then God displayed his purpose, His ability to make it happen through redemption and salvation through the worst of circumstances. Just in Genesis we see:
- Eve started us off bad.
- Adam volunteered to join her in sin
- In spite of Cain, another son came in Seth.
- Noah in a culture like ours
- Abraham, ran off to Egypt in a famine, brought Hagar back to bear the son of flesh.
- Abraham & Sarah bore the son of promise
- Isaac blessed the right son accidently
- Jacob received the right blessing in the wrong way.
- Joseph beaten left for dead.
- Joseph sold into slavery
- Joseph thrown into prison by actions of Mrs. Potiphar
Joseph sees the hand of God in all that happens. The thing his brothers meant for evil, God used for good. God isn't at the mercy of evil. He doesn't sit around wringing his hands waiting for someone good to come along. He is sovereign and controls all circumstances, even through the sinful actions of his people.
Genesis 50:22-26
Joseph lived to 110 years old, and 93 of those years were lived in Egypt. He lived to see 3 more generations and they were brought before him as he was dying. He promised them that God would visit them and bring them out of the land and take them home. The phrase 'surely come to your aid' is the double Hebrew 'to care, to care'. When they returned, not if they returned but when, they were to carry his bones back with them.
Joseph died and was embalmed and put in a coffin. Why not a big funeral procession back to Canaan and bury him next to his father? A couple possibilities come to mind:
- A different Pharaoh in power, with no Joseph as viceroy, there was no authority to promote an extravagant trip like this.
- By keeping the body of Joseph with them, he continued to be a symbol of promise that a day would come when they would take him home.
22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones. (Hebrews 11:22)
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (Hebrews 11:13)
But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:21)
Joseph was ready for his trip home when the deliverer came to get them in a few hundred years.
19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you." (Exodus 13:19)
32 The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph. (Joshua 24:32)
It was about 476 years later around 1400B.C. that Joshua completed the promise made to Joseph. He buried him on the same plot of land bought by Abraham and inherited by Ephraim though his father Joseph, and allotted to that tribe by Joshua.
But this wasn't the city they longed for, not by far. They were still sojourners. For they waited for the city which as foundations, whose builder and maker was God. This city for which they waited, and for which we wait, is the unshakable kingdom of God.
God's promises are true. We may not live to see them or receive them but future generations will. Remain faithful to God, holding fast to His ways. Learn from the good the Lord brought in the lives of those who went before you and don't make the same sinful mistakes they made. You have the advantage of learning from other's failures, so you don't have to go through those same lessons. Know your God, Your Redeemer, Your Savior; know His word and ways; know what he expects of you. Remember, the next generation is watching you. This is the testimony of a disciple; it is not always easy but it is always worth it.
This closes out the book of Genesis.
What a ride! What an adventure!
But it doesn't end, it continues throughout the bible, and even to this day with you.
©2019 Doug Ford
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