Death. It brings out so many emotions, and Jacob’s family was no different. We see in the very first verses here that Joseph threw himself on his father, kissed him, and wept. His loss was intense. Then, though it must have seemed strange to his brothers, he had his father embalmed according to the Egyptian custom. Joseph was a high-ranking official in Egypt, and the Bible tells us that even the Egyptians mourned with him. Much respect was given in Egypt to Jacob because he was Joseph’s father.
Read verses 3-14. Joseph sought permission to go to Canaan to bury his father. He wanted to honor his father’s wishes. He had given his word and Pharoah allowed it. Verses 7-9 tell us who went along with him to Canaan. We would expect his brothers to have gone but there were also many high-ranking people of Egypt who went along with Joseph to bury his father. Imagine how this must have seemed to the family. They would have expected Hebrew arrangements to be made, but this was turning into quite the Egyptian event. There was a 7-day mourning period at the threshing floor of Atad, and the mourning was loud and bitter. The neighbors then named the place ‘Abel Mizraim’ which means ‘mourning of the Egyptians’. After the mourning was completed, Jacob’s sons carried Jacob to the Cave of Machpelah and buried him with his ancestors as he had requested and then all who had gone with them to Canaan returned to Egypt.
Read verses 15-21. Joseph’s brothers still did not trust him. They were afraid, now that their father was gone, that he would try to punish them. He was certainly in a powerful enough position to do so. They begged for his forgiveness and even threw themselves down before him offering to be his slaves. Many people would have sought revenge after what the brothers had done to Joseph, but it would not have honored God if Joseph had done so (Rom 12:19). It is always God’s will that we leave vengeance in His hands, and we seek to find forgiveness.
Joseph understood that God can use all things for His good purposes, even those things which we consider to be bad or unfortunate (Rom 8:28). He knew that God had a plan and had used even his brothers’ misdeeds to accomplish His will in saving the family, and ultimately, the nation of Israel (Mic 4:11-12). God is always in control. And Joseph reassured his brothers.
Read verses 22-26. Joseph (and his brothers) lived the rest of his life in Egypt. He lived long enough to see the third generation of Ephraim’s children, and the Bible tells us he bounced Manasseh’s grandchildren on his knee also. But when it was time for him to die, like his father, he called his brothers around him and reminded them that God would take them out of this land and back to Canaan. He wanted them to take his bones with them when they left and bury him in Canaan with his father and his ancestors, just as Jacob had requested. This family had a strong tie with the land.
This family already knew, from a previous prophecy (Gen 15:13) that there would be 400 years of enslavement before they left Egypt. But here, Joseph is assuring them that God would come to their aid and take them back out of Egypt as He promised. We will see, later in the Bible, that God does not forget His promise (Ex 3:16-17, 13:19, Josh 24:32). And Joseph died, there in Egypt, at 110 years old.
Responding to God: Praise God that He is always in control and acknowledge that He is Sovereign. Worship Him in His Holiness and Goodness. Thank Him for His mercy and for always keeping His promises. Trust Him to work things for good according to His will. Ask Him to help you to always accept His plan and His will. Pray for the right words and actions to deal with those who are bereaved and for grace to accept the death of loved ones. Vow to always seek to forgive others.
Further Research: Study the history of the Patriarchs as told in Psalm 105 and Acts 7.
Add comment
Comments