God's Good Purposes 15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. The Death of Joseph 22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph's own. 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. After the death of their father, the brothers imagined that Joseph might finally try to get his revenge after all these years of taking care of them as guilt had been eating away at them for so long and they knew what they deserved--and probably because they knew what they would have done if they were in Joseph's place. However, Joseph was a man that understood that he was a man in need of forgiveness and that he needed to forgive in the same measure that he wished to be forgiven (a principle that Jesus would teach us in the New Testament but we see all throughout the Old Testament).
The brothers went to Joseph and tried to put words in their dead father's mouth saying that he told them to ask that Joseph please forgive them--we see no such conversation and I'm fairly certain it didn't happen because Jacob had plenty of time to give final instructions regarding this matter to Joseph during the long conversation that he had with him and his sons when he spoke to them first if this was on his mind. Furthermore they suddenly view themselves as "servants of the God of your father." Maybe at least some of them have had a transformation, but we know that Joseph has been the one used of God throughout this story to bring about salvation for the nation of Egypt and the nation of Israel (though it is not yet a nation--that will happen in the book of Exodus). About the only thing I believe out of everything they said was when they fell down before him and said, "We are your servants," because they realized that he was in authority over them--though even this is probably laughable (and sad) to Joseph because they are his family and he probably would never make his brothers bow down to him again after the first couple encounters with them where he remembered the dream that God had given to him. I'm also interested why Benjamin would go along with this at all, because he had no part in what happened to Joseph, and Joseph had done nothing but spoil his little brother and treat him like one of his own sons--maybe even a little better. Even though they had no evidence to jump to this conclusion I again this this has everything to do with their guilty consciences and what they know they would do if the roles were reversed, which does not speak very highly of any of these children of Israel whom God has chosen to make a people out of for Himself or from whom His Messiah would come-but that's just like God to work things out in a way that only He can so that He gets the glory for it. He takes dirty, rotten sinners like you and me and transforms us into a new creation and makes us into the likeness of His Son so that we may be the image bearers of God that we were always meant to be--becoming temples of the Holy Spirit and letting God live in and through us. Joseph answers his brothers in a similar fashion to say one of the most profound statements ever in the entire Bible, and it's one of those verses that people love to hang on their wall that seems to sum up so much of the Bible (and all of history for that matter) in just a few words--"...You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good...." His answer is actually much more than this, but this reminds me of another verse from the book of Romans with a similar meaning that many like to quote, "28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28). That passage in the book of Romans is even more rich if you include verses 29-39. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:28-39) We do not see any more of the story from here other than we know that Joseph continued to care for his brothers and their children and grandchildren and their great-grandchildren until he died at the age of 110. Joseph spoke ones more to his brothers as a prophet of God--we have seen him fulfill the roles of prophet speaking to man for God, priest as he intercedes to God on behalf of the people, and king as he rules over the people to bring God's law and order to the kingdom. He lets the Israelites know that God will not leave them in Egypt, but He will one day return them to the land of Canaan (just like He promised to Moses so many years ago). Joseph believed God would do this and made the Israelites promise to take his bones with them when they left and for this Joseph is included in the "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews 11, "22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones." After this God is going to be silent for about 400 years until a very special child will be born that will be the deliverer for his people to take them out of their bondage and lead them into the Promised Land? Does that sound even slightly familiar to you, maybe like what Jesus did for us spiritually? There will be many connections between the next main character in the biblical narrative, Moses--the mediator of the Old Covenant--and Jesus--the mediator of the New Covenant. As we press on through the Old Testament pay attention to what is the same and what is different. On one hand God is making a physical nation for Himself with culture, boundaries, laws, borders, and customs. How is this similar to Christ building the Church and what can we learn from the Old Covenant that is still applicable to the New Covenant? What things were simply there to point to Christ which have already been fulfilled in Him? What parallels are there for us in how God commands us to remember what He has done and how this changes the very language that we use to refer to God and worship Him? Why is it that there was so much death and cleansing needed to approach God and why did the people still worship from far off and why is it that we can now "Boldly approach the throne of grace." as it says in Hebrews 4:16? Do we forget something about the holiness of God and what it means to be holy and what it means when He tells us, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." and what it means to be called "HOLY TO THE LORD" and to be members of a holy, royal priesthood? We don't really understand these commands and promises and the extent of our ministry unless we dig deep into the Old Testament to understand these beautiful words, so that is where I plan to go next--though there are also other places that I wish to go and may find the Lord leads me other places too as I desire to speak to you about what is going on in the world today and our cries for both justice and mercy. I ask that you bear with me as we not only study the story of the nation of Israel but our story of a people saved from the bondage of sin, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and lad through the wilderness of life where one day we will cross the Jordan River in death and enter into the Promised Land of heaven (our Canaan)--the New Jerusalem promised in the book of Revelation.
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Jacob's Death and Burial 28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. 29 Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah-- 32 the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people. 50 Then Joseph fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days. 4 And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.’” 6 And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” 7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he made a mourning for his father seven days. 11 When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim; it is beyond the Jordan. 12 Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, 13 for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father. I've been talking about this the past few times, but finally Jacob reaches the end of his life and gives instructions to be buried alongside Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah in the cave near Mamre.
Joseph gave orders to his physicians (since Jacob was already dead, this probably means "morticians") to care of his father's body and embalm him at the time of his death, and the whole of the land of Egypt mourned for 70 days--more than 2 months. This is on par with the mourning period for the loss of a king--this is how the people thought of Israel since he was the father of Joseph. Joseph goes to Pharaoh telling him that his father made him swear to bury him in Canaan alongside his wife and ancestors, and Joseph asks for permission to leave Egypt to go to the funeral. Not only does Pharaoh say "yes," but Pharaoh sends all of his servants, the elders of his household, and the elders of Egypt (a royal delegation), and all of the adult went to the funeral--only the children, flocks and herds remained in Goshen. And a military escort from Egypt was given with chariots and horsemen. And when they got to the land of Canaan, they mourned again for another seven days--both the Israelites and the Egyptians. And the Canaanites saw this and great expression of grief from the Egyptians and called the place Abel-mizraim, which means "the mourning of Egypt" (or "the meadow of Egypt"). Joseph buried his father in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre as his father instructed and Joseph returned to Egypt along with all of the nation of Israel with him. Their journey back to the promised land will be nothing like this in the books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Instead of having a military escort from Egypt, they were going to have the Egyptians in hot pursuit and they would spend 40 years--not a matter of weeks wandering through the wilderness. Jacob Blesses His Sons 49 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come. 2 “Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father. 3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. 4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch! 5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. 6 Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. 7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. 8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. 11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. 13 “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon. 14 “Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds. 15 He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labor. 16 “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward. 18 I wait for your salvation, O Lord. 19 “Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels. 20 “Asher's food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal delicacies. 21 “Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns. 22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall. 23 The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely, 24 yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), 25 by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. 26 The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers. 27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil.” We have already seen Jacob bless the sons of Joseph first and give them their inheritances as part of his last will and testament. Now it is time for Jacob to do the same for his natural-born sons. He called together all of his children and their families as witnesses. This is not primarily a list of material possessions, but instead an mission statement for each according to what God had revealed for that son and their descendants, as God would uniquely equip each tribe for a specific purpose so that the entire family would be fully equipped to accomplish everything that God had prepared for them--much like how God equips the members of the Church, the Body of Christ, with various spiritual gifts. Much is said about some tribes and little is said about them, but we should not take this as their having an unimportant role in history or in their nation. Every member had a vital role to play.
Jacob does bless his sons from oldest to youngest this time. To Reuben, God gifts the strength and dignity and power of his father Jacob, but at the same time Jacob warns that this will come with the instability of water, and a curse not only on Reuben but all of his descendants because he defiled his father's bed and couch having sexual relations with his father's concubines that we studied earlier. Once again we see that sin affects more than just ourselves and can bring about a multi-generational curse that only God will be able to undo because otherwise, the natural pattern of things is for the sons to pick up the traits (good and bad) of their father and repeat them generation after generation (especially the bad traits). Next Jacob addresses Simeon and Levi. He addresses their violence against the Canaanites who defiled their sister Dinah. Jacob seems to say in the presence of everyone to hear that these two are bad examples to follow and that they should be careful about association with them and that their fierce anger and desire for vengeance displeases the Lord, and that they will continue to be divisive forces for Israel and that they will be scattered among the land (Levi will not really have a tribal land because the priesthood would later belong to them and Simeon would be given land within the land of the tribe of Judah, but they would not stay there in the southern kingdom and would abandon their brothers in the south to join the 10 northern tribes and would therefore be without a land that belonged to them). While parts of these blessings and curses will continue throughout generations, we see that God will still use these dishonorable men for honorable purposes such as the tribe of Levi bringing forth Moses and Arron (remember Moses having a temper just like his ancestor Levi?) to lead God's people out of Egypt and to serve as the mediators between God and man as a tribe of priests. Today we are told that every Christian is part of a royal priesthood not in the order of Aaron or even Levi, but in the order of Melchizedek--the royal priest that we studied about during the time of Abraham. Part of our job is to be mediators between God and man and to help make peace and it's hard to do that when we want to take vengeance on our own. One of the longer blessings here goes to Judah, and this is where we begin to see that God has chosen the tribe of Judah for the line of succession for Messiah. Up to this point, we may have believed that God had chosen Joseph, but it is clear here that Judah will be a tribe of not just leaders, but kings, and that God's plan is that when the nation is one day ready for a king (which will not be for many hundreds of years) that the scepter never pass from the tribe of Judah. We can see even here that Saul was never the right choice for king as he was from the wrong tribe--he was from the tribe of Benjamin, but David was from the tribe of Judah. He was always the man that God wanted to be king and through David one day Jesus the King of Kings and Lord of Lords--the Lion of the Tribe of Judah would be born, not just to be King of Israel, but to be Lord of Heaven and Earth that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11). Jacob gives the blessing to Zebulun that his people will live by the sea and they will be a safe haven for ships. Having land by the sea is a double-edged sword because it is good for business, but it also means that you are one of the first points of invasion from enemy forces that would come by sea. We'll see that Zebulun is in the land we'll later know as Galilee during the time of Jesus where many of the people are fishermen and sea merchants by trade. We'll even see prophecy about the Messiah later that says that the land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be a land of darkness (because they will be contaminated by the wickedness of the pagan Gentiles around them) but that out of the darkness will sine forth a great light--the Light of the World. We see that the border of Zebulun's land will extend all the way to Sidon (this is a major city in modern-day Lebanon). Not much is said of Issachar, though the description of him sounds much like the description of Ishmael that we heard earlier in Genesis where Ishmael was called "a wild donkey of a man" and that the would be strong and stubborn and force to be reckoned with. Here it seems that Issachar would not be a wild donkey though but one that had been tamed and become very docile, and would be happy with wherever the grass was greener and this would lead to him becoming a servant of other nations. We'll get more of an idea what this probably means when we get to the time of the Exile. The tribe of Dan would be given wisdom to be judges and to judge the people of Israel, but he would be as dangerous to them as a venomous snake as Dan would lead the 10 northern tribes into idolatry and apostasy and is the only tribe of Israel that we see is cut off and not mentioned as part of the kingdom of God in the book of Revelation (kind of like Judas Iscariot of the 12 apostles). Dan would be just as dangerous to his family as he was to their enemies as a snake strikes as anything that moves close to it. The Lord longs for, desires and waits for the salvation of the tribe of Dan, but from what we read, that day does not come. Almost nothing is said about the tribe of Gad other than they would live in a place frequently raided and they would become a people that would give pursuit and it sounds like they would not only take back what was theirs but raid the camps of the raiders. As they would eventually live on the east side of the Jordan River they would not have the river as protection against invaders like many of the other tribes did (Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh also lived on the east side of the Jordan). They would have the Ammorites to their east and the Moabites and Edomites to their south.and the Arameans (Syrians) and Hittites (ancient Lebanese people). While all of Israel was surrounded by enemies, it would be those on the east side of the river that would have a particularly difficult time and have to help defend their brothers and drive away the raiders and bear the brunt of the losses. The tribe of Asher would be a people that would be farmers that would grow rich, delicious food for themselves and all of the tribes of Israel. They would also eventually live along the coast and people would come from far and wide to trade with them. Naphtali also has little mentioned about him other than he would be like a doe that bears many fawns. I assume this means that this tribe is going understand the commandment to "be fruitful and multiply" and take that job seriously. They would eventually have a tribal land to the north bordering both Syria and Lebanon Now we get into a long blessing for Joseph--remember he doesn't have his own tribe because two have his sons have receive status as sons of Israel and would have their own tribes and tribal land in his place, but Joseph and his other sons would be blessed. The tribe will be fruitful, probably referring both to descendants and the work of their hands and they will overflow beyond their natural borders like vineyard growing over the wall that tries to contain it. God will defend him from the attacks of his enemies and given him the strength to remain strong and unbroken. The Mighty One of Israel is promised to be his Shepherd and the Stone of Israel (a place of refuge and defense). Jacob says that by the Lord Joseph would receive blessings from him from every conceivable place., and that his favor and blessing would not pass from Joseph and his descendants. Last but not least is the tribe of Benjamin. Through Jacob, God will identify them like ravenous wolves who will devour their prey and divide the spoil among themselves. They are definitely a force to be feared and reckoned with throughout most of the Old Testament--even Saul (who would become the apostle Paul) came from this tribe and takes on some of these characteristics both in his being the one hunting down the early Christians and then later the one defending the Church from attacks from without and within. One thing that I'd like to note is that when we get to the book of Joshua, it appears as if the people had forgotten these blessings and the land that some of them had been promised, and that's understandable as they've been through 400 years of slavery and I'm sure that division of the land into tribal regions wasn't the most important story to pass along to their children. We'll see that the land is divided into regions and lots are cast (probably one of the reasons we call a piece of property a "lot") to decide which tribe would get which piece of the land and in every case the lot fell according to what God had already promised. There was not a single instance where the promise that God made back here in Genesis 49 differed from what the descendants of these sons of Israel received in Joshua 14-21. Much of the book of Joshua is the exact fulfillment of these promises and blessings. Much of the rest of the Old Testament is the fulfillment of the "curses" that we see as the people continued to refuse to obey God even after they had received the land and God would have to use other kingdoms to discipline and sometimes even conquer His people and some of the people called by the name of the Lord would turn against their own brothers and ally themselves with the enemy or lead their brothers away from the Lord into the worship of false gods. Some would completely give up or lose their homeland and others would be so overrun with paganism that you'd never know that the area on the east of the Sea of Galilee called the Decapolis would have ever belonged to the Jewish people. Next time, we'll look at the death and burial of Jacob and the funeral meant for a king that was given to him by Joseph and the Pharaoh of Egypt. After that, there will probably be one more blog about some final thoughts from Joseph summing up his life before his death and burial and the end of the book of Genesis. I'd be interested to hear what you've learned and taken away from our study in the book of Genesis. Feel free to join our Discord server (the invite link is in the navigation for this site) and discuss with others there your thoughts and questions, and feel free to join our small group meetings as we study The Gospel Project as it traces the gospel from Genesis through Revelation--a three-year journey that hits most of the main points of Scripture and reinforces theological truths. While the small group time is mostly meant for those who are already Christians who are desiring to grow in their faith and knowledge of the Word of God, we encourage non-Christians who are truly seeking for the questions to Origins, Meaning, Morality, Destiny, and Identity to join our server and ask these questions and find a God that is big enough to deal with your questions, doubts and fears. You may not always get the answers you want, but hopefully in our studies together you will find the truth of who God is, who you are, what your purpose and identity are, how you should live (knowing what's right and wrong), and your destiny--which hinges completely on your response to the gospel and what you believe by faith about Jesus, the Son of God. Genesis 48-English Standard Version Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh 48 After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).” 8 When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.” 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” 12 Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). 15 And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, 16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” 17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.” This seems to be a strange passage, but what is going on here is that Joseph is getting a "double blessing" from his father before his death by Jacob treating Joseph's sons as his own and including them in his inheritance so that "the tribe of Joseph" would now be replaced by "the tribe of Ephraim" and "the tribe of Manasseh" (making Israel a nation of 13 tribes, not 12). Any children that Joseph fathers after them will belong to him and not be counted in the tribes of Israel.
Jacob then tells Joseph where the tomb of Rachel, his mother, is and the circumstances under which she died and why it was that she was buried at Bethlehem and not buried with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebekah. Much like at the time of Isaac blessing his sons, the eyes of Jacob were weak so that it was hard for him to see, and Joseph tries to force Jacob to put the extra blessing on his firstborn as that is the custom, but Jacob knowing full-well that God wanted him to bless the younger (and hasn't that seemed to be a pattern so far in Genesis--God's blessings fall to the one He chooses without regard to the traditions of man?), he crosses his arms and puts his right hand on the younger son and his left hand on the older son. Both sons of Joseph had the Abrahamic covenant passed onto them (as did all of the other sons of Israel) and they were blessed with the protection and watch care of God and His angels. Jacob makes it clear to Joseph that Ephraim will be greater than Manasseh, and we'll see this as we continue to study the Old Testament. Jacob then reminded Joseph and his sons that one day they would return to the covenant land of Canaan and Jacob gave a special piece of land to these sons of Joseph that would not belong to the other sons of Israel--a particular mountain slope that Jacob had taken from the Amorites. This promise and blessing will stick with Jospeh as he will leave instructions that his mummified body will be carried out of Egypt with the Israelites during their Exodus. He knew that his final resting place was among the land of his fathers in the Promised Land of Canaan. Jacob's Family Settles in Goshen 47 So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.” 2 And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” 4 They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.” 7 Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” 9 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.” 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11 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. 12 And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their dependents. Joseph and the Famine 13 Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. 14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 15 And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” 16 And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.” 20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh's. 21 As for the people, he made servants of them from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” 25 And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” 26 So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's. 27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years. 29 And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” 31 And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed. This is the conclusion of what we talked about yesterday. Joseph executed the plan that God had given him to move his family from Canaan to Goshen where there was plenty of pasture and water for their flocks and herds and plenty of land for their people.
Once the task had been finished, Joseph reported back to Pharaoh that the his family had made the move safely and were settled into their new homes. Joseph knew that Pharaoh would want to meet some of his family in-person, so he selected five representatives to come with him before Pharaoh and had told them all what to say, as he knew Pharaoh would ask them about their occupation, and Joseph said that each of them to a man should tell Pharaoh that they had always been and to this day were shepherds and herdsmen. It was the "family business." They made sure to say that their stay was temporary (they were sojourners) because there was no longer any good pasture for their flocks and herds in Canaan, and they asked permission to live in Goshen so that they and their flocks and herds would survive the great famine that was upon them. Pharaoh not only did as Joseph asked, but he assumed that Joseph's character, integrity, and gifts of administration were also family traits and trusted Joseph to select that best shepherds and herdsmen from among the Israelites to watch over and care for the flocks and herds of Pharaoh--I say herds of Pharaoh because notice how Joseph uses the opportunity to allow the people of Egypt who cannot afford to feed themselves and their livestock to make payment to Pharaoh with their livestock in exchange for food for their families, and when they had given to Pharaoh all they owned, they sold themselves and their land to Pharaoh so that Pharaoh owned all the land and animals and people with the exception of the priests who were in the employment of Pharaoh and were never hurting for money and never had to sell their land or livestock. It would seem a perfect combination that a bunch of shepherds just came into the land right when Pharaoh was going to need them because the people were about to pay for their food with their livestock. Pharaoh also wanted to meet Jacob, Joseph's father. He asked him how old he was and what his life had been like. At the time, Jacob was 130 years old, and described his life as "short and evil" compared to the lives of his fathers--partially true that he lived a shorter life and he had much trouble in his life and didn't experience the full blessing of the Lord because he had been been a rebel and a bit of scoundrel for most of his life--getting what he wanted by trickery and deceit which led to broken family relationships, and playing favorites with wives and children so that there was much animosity and discord between the members of his family--it would be fair to call them a very broken and dysfunctional family (at least, they were before now, but it seems that God is going to use this time under Joseph's leadership to bring healing and unity). Jacob blessed Pharaoh (remember God's promise that He would bless those who bless Abraham, Isaac Jacob and their descendants and curse those who curse them), and Joseph moved Jacob to the best place that Egypt had to offer--the city land of Ramses, and God moved Pharaoh's heart to provide for the people of Israel as if they were his own people and to give them provision according to each person's family size--those with more mouths to feed got a bigger amount of provision. God blessed the people of Israel and they were fruitful and multiplies greatly and God gave Jacob another 17 years of life with all of his children and grandchildren and probably some great grandchildren in the land of Egypt. Before he would die he would make Joseph promise that his final resting place would not be in Egypt and that his bones would be taken back to Canaan and that he would be buried alongside of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah, and Joseph swore this to him and would one day make the children of Israel swear a similar oath regarding his bones--that when they one day left to return to Canaan, that they would take his bones with them and bury him alongside his father and mother, grandfather and grandmother and great-grandfather and great-grandmother in the tomb of the patriarchs. Both should be commended for their faith as they realized that God had promised them an eternal inheritance that was not the land of Egypt, but the land of Canaan and their instructions for where to bury their bones reminded them and their family about this eternal covenant and the promise that God would one day return His people to the Promised Land. Joseph Brings His Family to Egypt 46 So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. 4 I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.” 5 Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 They also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, 7 his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters. All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt. 8 Now these are the names of the descendants of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, 9 and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan); and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Yob, and Shimron. 14 The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah; altogether his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three. 16 The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 17 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, with Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. 18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons. 19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin. 20 And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On, bore to him. 21 And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22 These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob—fourteen persons in all. 23 The son of Dan: Hushim. 24 The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob—seven persons in all. 26 All the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his own descendants, not including Jacob's sons' wives, were sixty-six persons in all. 27 And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy. Jacob and Joseph Reunited 28 He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. 29 Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.” 31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.” We see Jacob's identity return to that of the person God had called him to be---Israel, the one who had wrestled with both God and man, and we see that he returns once again to the place of Beersheba, one of the places where he had and encounter with God and built an altar and made sacrifices, which is something we haven't seen from him in quite some time.
Once again, God renews his covenant with Israel and while God had told Abraham and Isaac to stay away from Egypt in the past, God tells Israel not to be afraid of the trip to Egypt because God still plans to make a great nation of His people--Jacob need not worry about being towards the end of his life and needing to provide for his family, because God is going to be the one to provide for them. This is more than a family reunion, as Jacob and all of his children and grandchildren pull up roots and are transplanted from Canaan to Egypt--they bring everyone and everything with them, and to make that point, a genealogy is given of all the heads of the families that make the trip, and there are many--66 not including wives or those who were part of the household but not born of Jacob. Let's compare this number to that in the book of Numbers (names so because God had Moses number the people a couple of times, once as they were coming out of Egypt, and another time before they entered the Promised Land) and we'll see that using similar counts--not counting women or non-Israelites who were part of the camp, there were 603, 550 men of fighting age who were counted at the time of the Exodus--over 9,000 times as many people. Surely God made good on His promise to make a great nation out of them. Judah once again is seen as the leader of the family as he is sent ahead to make contact with Joseph so that he can get directions to the land of Goshen that has been prepared for Israel and his sons and their families and Judah led his family to their new home where Joseph was waiting for them. And Joseph prepares them for their meeting with Pharaoh and tells them what to say, because Joseph knows that he needs to keep his people under the protection of Egypt and to experience the blessing of Egypt while not being corrupted by the pagan religion and culture of Egypt. So Joseph tells them to be sure that each of them to a man tells Pharaoh that they are and always have been shepherds and herdsmen because that job was culturally detestable to the Egyptians (probably because the livestock and those who took care of them were smelly, and they wanted to keep that odor out of their cities). This is not that different today that society doesn't look on farming and raising of livestock as a noble position and thinks of these people as somehow less educated and they usually live well outside the cities places of wide-open pasture and lots of fresh water for their land and animals. Joseph's plan is going to work and Pharaoh will agree to let the Israelites have the entire land of Goshen--some of the most fertile land in all of Egypt as it is part of the Nile Delta. Joseph Provides for His Brothers and Family 45 Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. 4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. 10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ 12 And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13 You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him. 16 When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, “Joseph's brothers have come,” it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ 19 And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20 Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’” 21 The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. 23 To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.” 25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” Joseph finally breaks down and tells his brothers of his identity. The Egyptians are in awe at Joseph's weeping and the sons of Israel are in shock and unable to speak when Joseph tries to inquire about the health and well-being of Jacob. They fear that Joseph will take vengeance out on them and their families for what they did to him so many years ago, yet one of the greatest teachings of God's providence and sovreignty lies in the verses here in this chapter, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. " (Gen. 45:4-8)
He tells them to come to Goshen, even before he speaks to Pharaoh about this knowing that he can get the best land of Egypt for his father's flocks and herds and that all of the house of Israel can be taken care of for the next five years of famine that are to come. He tells them to bring all of their families with them and their father--all of their children and grandchildren--and he embraces and weeps with each of them starting with his brother Benjamin. Word finally reached Pharaoh (because there was no way of hiding it due to Joseph's outburst of emotions) that Joseph's brothers were in Egypt, and it pleased the Pharaoh to welcome them and treat them like dignitaries. Pharaoh tells Joseph to order his family to come to Egypt so that Egypt can provide for them and orders Joseph to send along wagons from Egypt for the elderly and little ones that could not possibly walk through the desert to make the journey and to transport all of their valuables (though Pharaoh told them to "pack light" because he would take care of them), and that they would be given the best land and the best food--nothing good would be withheld from them. Joseph did as Pharaoh asked and sent his brothers on their way, each with a new change of clothes and provisions for the journey and he also gave his brother Benjamin 300 shekels of silver and five changes of clothes--this time no one should question why favoritism was being shown to Benjamin. Instead of Jacob sending Joseph the best that the land of Canaan had to offer (remember when they took gifts to Joseph the second trip?), Joseph sends 10 donkeys to his father laden with the best gifts that Egypt had to offer--a sign that Egypt was more than ready to take care of him and his entire family. And he sent another 10 female donkeys laden with grain, bread and provisions for his father's journey back to Egypt. Then I love Joseph's final instructions to his brothers just to remind them how well he knows the, "Do not quarrel on the way." The brothers return to their father and their good news must come with a time of confession for what they had done so many years ago. Jacob's heart cannot believe it at first until he sees all the gifts that Joseph has sent and he says "It is enough"--he believed what he saw and he said, "My son Joseph is alive. I will go and see him before I die." This chapter gives us a small picture of how God intends to provide for us. We don't need to worry about anything because everything will be taken care of by God the Father since we are brothers and sisters of Jesus through His blood. God will not withhold anything good from us because He would not withhold anything good from His Son. And God has prepared the way to take care of his covenant people--even using a pagan king to do so--to protect his people not only from the famine, but from the wickedness of the Canaanites. Jacob would be reuinited with his long-lost son Joseph and would get to see his grandchildren from Joseph--Manasseh and Ephraim, and Joseph and Benjamin (and the other brothers too) would get to spend as much time together as they wanted and redeem the time that had been lost. Even in all this though, Joseph remembers to point his brother's eyes back to God to say it is He who made the way and is providing for them. |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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