Recap: (see Genesis 35b) Judah became the forefather of David, and Jesus. Joseph was sold as a slave in Egypt, and when Pharaoh had dreams, Joseph explained that they pointed to impending famine. He was put in charge of the grain stores. When the famine severely affected Joseph’s family they too went for grain. Joseph finally arranged for them to move to Egypt. Some years later, Joseph’s father Jacob (Israel), called his grandchildren to his bedside to bless them before he died.
Read Genesis 50:1-26
1 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. 2 Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, 3 taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
The Egyptian practice of mummification was obviously carried out, requiring forty days for the whole drying and embalming process, before the body could be wrapped. Once that was done the body could be made available for a further period of public mourning.
The next stage would have been burial in a prepared tomb – and for one so important that would have been quite impressive. But Joseph had agreed to return Jacob to the tomb that was in Canaan, so:
4 When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, ‘If I have found favour in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, 5 “My father made me swear an oath and said, ‘I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.”’
A Pharaoh’s first action when gaining power would have been to arrange for a tomb to be constructed for his journey to the afterlife. This was considered to be a necessary and obvious provision. It was only to be expected then, that such an important man as Joseph’s father would have made provision in his own country, and Joseph’s request would almost have been expected.
6 Pharaoh said, ‘Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.’
That would have been sufficient to start a process that would have been well known – a state funeral. It is not stated that Pharaoh himself attended (Maybe because the only way for a Pharoah to attend a state funeral would have been when he was in the coffin!)
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him – the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt – 8 besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. 9 Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.
Would someone like to try to describe the scene? (Maybe not, but asking the question will make people think and imagine the scene anyway!)
10 When they reached the threshing-floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. 11 When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing-floor of Atad, they said, ‘The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.’ That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.
The word Abel ('ebel) meant ‘Mourning’, and Mizraim meant ‘Egypt’.
12 So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: 13 they carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.
With their tribal leader dead, there was a power vacuum. Obviously Joseph was still in a position of great power in Egypt, and could take the opportunity to deal with his troublesome brothers whatever way he chose.
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?’ 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, ‘Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 “This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.” Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.’ When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. ‘We are your slaves,’ they said.
How do we know the brothers were lying? (v15, and besides, Jacob would have given the message directly to Joseph!)
What effect did this have on Joseph (end of v17)? Why?
19 But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
Looking back over his life Joseph could trace the hand of God in it all. And through all the experiences of life, he could say ‘God intended it for good’. Joseph also knew that God had plans for the whole family, and they would have to learn to live together!
22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years 23 and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, ‘God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.’
26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
Apart from Benjamin, his brothers were all older than him. We might assume that some had also died by then. He was again given a fitting burial for a prince of Egypt, but eventually his bones too, would be returned to Canaan (Joshua 24:32).
As we look back over the book of Genesis we have seen the way that God’s purposes have been worked out – sometimes despite the actions of the very people he chose to use. We have also seen that in many cases those purposes were not apparent to the people concerned, also the promises he gave them concerning the future had still not been realised.
But what we have seen is that many trusted God, and that alone was what God wanted – and their faith was credited to them as righteousness.
Perhaps as this study has been short, you could read Hebrews 11:1-21 as a summary of Genesis. If you are going to study Exodus next, Hebrews 11:22-29 would act as an introduction.
