The Story Of Joseph Part 36--The Final Chapter

 Exodus 13: 19

The book of Genesis ended with Joseph "in a coffin in Egypt." This may have been the end of his life, but there is still one more chapter to end his story. 

The next book of the Pentateuch is Exodus, which starts with the sons of Israel still in Goshen after Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, and they were, "fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them" (Exodus 1:7). 

Joseph had said that, "God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob" (Genesis 50: 24).

Since the sons of Israel were so comfortable in this land, what will God do to convince them to leave, to go to the Promised Land of Canaan? 

God had "a new king" come to power in Egypt, "who didn't know Joseph" (V. 8). Whether this new king was aware of their history or not, he didn't consider it to be a reason to continue to honor or trust these people who never did mix in with the Egyptians. He was afraid of them, thinking that they might join with some enemy in attacking Egypt. 

This had to be of God, that He would allow the devil to put this idea into his mind, for fear to induce him to be harsh with them. 

The sons of Israel had been living in ease and prosperity, well respected by their Egyptian neighbors. They had multiplied in numbers and in their wealth, but they may have been rather flabby physically, as hot-house plants, and God knew that they would need to toughen up to endure the rigors of a march through the desert and to conquer the peoples who lived in Canaan. 

So, God allowed His chosen family to be enslaved and mistreated, until they were so beaten down emotionally and built up physically, to be ready and willing to leave. 

That's when Moses came on the scene. His story begins in a very interesting way, that we all probably know, but when he was 80 years old he was ready to lead them all out of Egypt. 

God convinced this Pharaoh to let them go by inflicting on them all the "plagues of Egypt," which showed that his Egyptian gods were nothing, ending with instituting the Passover with the blood of the lambs on the door frames. Then they left Egypt. And:

(19) Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, "God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you." (Genesis 50: 25.) 

This is the last chapter in Joseph's story. So the Sons of Israel had kept Joseph's coffin for the 400 years total that they were in Egypt, so they also took it with them, and carried it through the Desert with them for the 40 years they wandered. Then when they finally entered the Promised Land under Joshua's leadership, some of them must have at some point taken Joseph's bones to the ancient burial ground at the Cave of Machpelah, that Abraham had bought so long ago, and lay his bones to rest with his fathers' bones. This was culturally very important to them. 

Joseph had brought his father Jacob's body back to this cave when he died, but he didn't want his own body to be buried there until all his people were there also, as owners of the land, as the Lord had promised. His coffin was a constant reminder to them that God would fulfill His promise to them.

And they also fulfilled their promise to him, after all these years had passed, to finally bury Joseph's coffin. 

O my Father, You planned out the whole human story before You made anything that exists now. And You planned each of our individual stories to fit into Your grand Master Plan. You are so smart and clever! Your wisdom and power have accomplished Your will in everything You have made! 

My Father, all the pieces of all the people and events fit so perfectly together in Your timing to work out all the parts, just like a gigantic puzzle. When we can see how some of these pieces fit together, then we can have a glimpse of the bigger picture that will emerge, just as You planned it all out. How you use our free choices for both good and evil, is amazing, and a convincing testimony of Your greatness and goodness. 

O Father, use me; use my words; use my personality, and continue to build my character. Use every part of me to further Your program, and send me out with all of Your children to witness and testify to every living person of Your love and provision of all we need. Let everyone in every nation hear and understand clearly who You are and how You have sent Your only Son to be our Savior and Redeemer. Let every spiritually unborn child come to the birth in Your family, Father, that all my brothers and sisters and I will all grow up into the full stature of the Son of God, as His body. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, sovereign King of the World and all Creation, to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, do come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 35--The End Of Joseph's Life

Genesis 50: 22-26

Joseph has moved his whole family out of Canaan into Egypt, and has settled them in the most fertile and prosperous region of the land, Goshen. 

Joseph was very highly respected and liked and honored by the Pharaoh and the Egyptians for his skillful management of the 7 years of prosperity and the 7 years of famine, to save their lives from starvation during that time. 

So the sons of Israel prospered and multiplied and enjoyed good lives there in Egypt. 

(22) Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father's household, and Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. (23) Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim's sons; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on Joseph's knees. 

Joseph lived to a good old age, and enjoyed God's blessings of family, seeing his grandchildren and great grandchildren also prospering. 

(24) Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land He has promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob." (25) Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here." 

Joseph was aware of his impending death, as his father Jacob and grandfather Isaac and great grandfather Abraham were of theirs, to give God's blessings to the next generation, to pass on to future generations. 

But Joseph was not to bless his sons, his father Israel did that, in claiming them as his own sons in the number of the Tribes of Israel. And apparently Joseph had no more sons after Manasseh and Ephraim. 

Joseph also wanted to be buried with his fathers, but he did not want to leave his family in Egypt. So he told his brothers to remember him through the generations to carry his bones with them back to the Promised Land when the Lord God would bring them all back to Canaan. 

This is big. Joseph carried his father's coffin back to Canaan for immediate burial, but he was willing to wait as long as needed to go with his people back to that land, when they would own it as their own nation. This is what God had promised, and Joseph believed God, and wanted his bones to participate in its fulfillment.

(26) So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. 

So, when Joseph died, he was embalmed, as was the Egyptian custom for persons of importance and standing. But he was not buried. We are not told where they kept his coffin, but it was cared for from generation to generation for the 400 years the sons of Israel would dwell in Egypt. 

This may be the end of Joseph's life, but there is one more chapter to end his story. 

And the last words of the book of Genesis are, "in a coffin in Egypt." This speaks of death and bondage. What began with "In the beginning God" with life and light and goodness, ends with the opposite. How far our sorry human nature carries us away from what is good and beneficial for us. 

We need God! We all need the goodness our Lord God wants to lavish upon us. We all are desperate without His Holy Spirit in the New Birth to give us back that life and light and goodness that we lost through Genesis, through our own personal beginnings and passage through our lives. 

We have all lost our way, we are all like a stained, uncleanable menstrual cloth before God, in our sinfulness (Isaiah 64: 6). Every one of us has inherited from Adam that damaged DNA that has marred our human nature, and causes every one of us to make a wrong choice or decision that we know is wrong, and do it anyway. We are born sinners, and we are all transgressors, committing sins. 

But God has sent His own Son to be the Lamb of God (John 1: 29, 36), our personal Sacrifice (Leviticus 1), to cleanse us from sin by His Blood splattered on the sides of His altar, the Cross. Then His Holy Spirit can come in to that pristine soul, make our human spirit alive, and cut away, circumcise, the connection of our flesh to that new Life He gives us (Colossians 2: 11), breaking the power sin had over us. 

"Genesis" means "beginnings." We must go to the end for the ending. Even Joseph's story still has a final chapter, and we all will have a final chapter to our stories, too. 

Joseph lived his life so that his final chapter did not detract from it. How we live our lives, the choices we make every day we live, how we see and treat one another, what we've done with what God has given us, will all determine how our final chapter will read. What will be on our tombstone, in our epitaph.

O my Father, You have given us the final answer to everything we can ever ask. You have laid out our whole human story, from before the beginning until after the end. Father, You will not try to "clean" our flesh, but will replace our bodies with spiritual bodies (I Corinthians 15: 44, 49). The spiritual will swallow up the material, the eternal the temporal. And while we live in our flesh bodies now, You have them separated from the spiritual Life that dwells in us as Your children. 

My Father, help us to learn every lesson we need to practice now while we live here on this Earth. Teach us to love one another as unconditionally and passionately as You have loved us! Show us how to share with others how much You love us, in the way each person can understand. Send out all Your children, Father, into every nation, so that every living person will be able to hear. 

O Father, fill Your great house with all of Your uncountable family! 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, our Redeemer and Savior, sovereign King of the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 34--Joseph Has Forgiven His Brothers

 Genesis 50: 15-21

We've just recounted the elaborate and detailed explanation of the funeral arrangements Joseph orchestrated for his father Jacob. Then when they all got back "home" in Egypt, Joseph returned to his house, and his brothers all went back to Goshen.

(15) When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!" 

Then the brothers got to thinking negatively, and thought that Joseph was only nice to them because their father was still alive to see it. But now that he's gone, maybe Joseph, with all his power and authority, will go after them in revenge!

(16) So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father charged before he died, saying, (17) 'Thus you shall say to Joseph, "Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong."' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 

The brothers are suffering from their own guilty consciences, knowing that they really do deserve to be punished for how they treated their little brother. But now they're making up a story to try to convince Joseph to not pay them back. 

Did Jacob even know what they did? Did he ever question that they "found" his special robe, covered in blood? Did he ever doubt their story since back then? 

And Joseph's heart breaks for his brothers, still suffering in their guilt!

(18) Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants." 

After sending the message, they came and bowed down to him again, trying to convince him to not pay them back.

(19) But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? 

Joseph tells them that they don't need to be afraid of him, that he won't do anything to them, because their guilt is between them and God. Even though he does have the power as vizier under Pharaoh in Egypt to do what he wants with them, he won't take God's place in dealing with them.

(20) "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. 

He gives them the bigger picture that they've missed so far: that even though they were looking at the short-term, to get rid of a pesky little brother, that God was using them to orchestrate His bigger plan; He knew that Joseph needed to be in Egypt, having everything happen that happened to him, to prepare him for this time and position, to be able to save many people alive, who otherwise would have starved to death during that severe 7-year famine back then. 

And that he had realized this, and forgiven his brothers long ago, so they also needed to forgive themselves. He didn't even send them back to Canaan when the famine was over, but continued to take care of them.

(21) "So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. 

And their father's death will make no difference, he still accepts them and loves them as his brothers, and he will still take care of them the same as before. They don't ever have to be afraid of him because of his position. 

Joseph and his family continued to live in Egypt. Joseph never saw Canaan again, he was comfortable living in his adopted country, and in his high governmental position he remained in Pharaoh's favor; and his people also remained under the king's protection and provision.

O my Father, You know that it is sometimes hard for us to forgive ourselves, even after we know You've forgiven us. Thank You for telling us how Joseph reassured his brothers of his forgiveness to them, as accepting that You had used them in Your plan for him and them. 

My Father, as Joseph was able to maintain his trust in You through years of disappointing consequences, never faltering in his faith, so I know that no matter what happens in my life, even when I do what I know is right and it still turns out negatively, then I can still rely on Your faithfulness to me, to keep me and care for me as Your child. 

O Father, use me, send out all of Your children, in all the ways each of us can go, to show Your love for us all, and tell them about how You have already taken care of everything we all need, right here in this Earth and with one another. Please help us to love one another as unconditionally as You have loved us. Then they will see how You have sent Your own Son to be our Redeemer, and repent and turn to You for Salvation; or turn away from You, fully aware of what they are refusing. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, our Savior, Redeemer and Messiah, the sovereign King of the World and the whole Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, please come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

The story of Joseph Part 33--Jacob's Funeral

Genesis 49: 29- 50: 14

Jacob had moved to Egypt to be with his son Joseph, and his whole family emigrated from Canaan to Goshen in Egypt. Then he lived another seventeen years in Egypt, so he was 147 years old. 

When he knew he was near his time of death, he blessed his twelve sons, to give God's prophecy to each of them before he died.

(40: 29) Then he charged them and said to them, "I am about 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 of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site. (31) There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebecca, and there I buried Leah--(32) the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth." 

After he blessed his sons, he had them all promise him that they would not bury his body in Egypt, he wanted to be buried with his family in Canaan; and he made sure to give them the exact address and directions to the burial cave.

(33) When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. 

Jacob had been sitting on the side of his bed as he blessed them and charged them to bury him in Abraham's cave. Then he pulled up his feet into the bed. I don't know if he died right then, he may have rested for a while, before he actually died. It must not have been very long, but apparently Joseph was the only one left with him by then. Joseph stayed with his father, even if all the rest of his brothers went home.

(50: 1) Then Joseph fell on his father's face, and wept over him and kissed him. 

Joseph is the one who is with Jacob at the moment of his death, as he is the only one who was there to witness his last breath. He stayed with him to the end.

(2) Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. (3) Now forty days were required for it, for such is the period required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days. 

As an Egyptian official, Joseph gave his father the greatest Egyptian honor that could be bestowed at death, and he had the authority to make it so.

(4) When the days of mourning for him were passed, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, "If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak to Pharaoh, saying, (5) 'My father made me swear, saying, "Behold I am about to die; 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; then I will return.'"  

Pharaoh probably had a busy schedule, so Joseph sent word to him by his close servants, asking permission to leave the country for this funeral, with assurances that he was not abandoning his responsibilities, but would immediately return after the burial.

(6) Pharaoh said, "Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear." 

And Pharaoh respected Joseph and trusted him, so he gave his permission.

(7) So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt, (8) and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father's household; they left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen. (9) There also went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very great company. 

Pharaoh allowed his whole household, all his high officials, and all the Egyptian dignitaries to go with him, and even sent charioteers and horsemen from his military to accompany them. It was a very large entourage.

(10) When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and sorrowful lamentation; and he observed seven days mourning for his father. 

This very great company reached their destination and performed a whole week of ritual funerary ceremonies and mourning.

(11) Now when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "This is a grievous mourning for the Egyptians." Therefore it was named Abel-Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan. 

When all the locals witnessed this, they were so impressed that they renamed the place in honor of this great funeral, calling it, "The Mourning of Egypt."

(12) Thus his sons did for him as he had charged them; (13) 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 had bought along with the field for a burial site from Ephron the Hittite.

So Joseph and his brothers carried out their father's wish, to be buried with his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham.

(14) After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.  

Then Joseph was true to his word to Pharaoh, and returned to his office and position, bringing back with him everyone who went with him, safely. 

This funeral is much more elaborate and is described in much more detail than any other funeral in Scripture.  Israel's sons, under the leadership of Joseph, did more than just bury his body, but carried out all the rituals and ceremonies and involved all the people to give Jacob the honor in death that he never sought in life. This man was the father of the whole nation of Israel, and it was right to honor him thus. 

O my Father, You knew that these people set a store by how their bodies were treated even after death, when they would need them no more. Hebrews wanted their bodies to lie with the bodies of those who went before. And the Egyptians had a religion that taught that their bodies would come back alive, so they furnished in the graves with the bodies all they thought they would need if they came back alive one day. 

My Father, we know that You will raise up everyone who has died, some with spiritual bodies that can withstand standing in Your presence, and others with spiritual bodies that are fitted to suffer retribution forever. These mortal bodies of flesh will not endure. But the Egyptians had the right idea, even if it fell short of Your Truth. 

O Father, please send out Your children to be Your messengers and missionaries to share with the whole world how You love us all so much that You sent Your only Son to take away the sins of everyone in the world who wants to turn to You. Let everyone alive in all the nations understand the importance and value of Your provision of our every need--physical, mental, psychological, material, spiritual, financial, relational--temporal and eternal--and every other need we may have. You are our Source, Father; nothing exists that You didn't imagine. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, our Redeemer and Messiah, sovereign King of the whole World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus! 

 

 

 

 

The Story Of Joseph Part 32--Israel's Prophesies Over His Sons 7-12

 Genesis 49: 16-28

When Jacob was very elderly and he knew he was near death, he fulfilled his duty as the third patriarch to bless his sons by pronouncing God's prophecies over each of them by name. 

Yesterday we noted the first six sons, today we will look at the the younger six.

(16) "Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. (17) Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that bites the horse's heels, so that his rider falls backward. 

This probably refers to the idol, the golden calf, that King Jeroboam set up in Bethel and in Dan, and the main one was in Dan. 

When Solomon, in his elder years, let his foreign wives lead his heart astray to worship with them in their pagan temples, God told him that He would take away the kingdom from him, but after his death, because of his father David (I Kings 11: 11-13). Then God sent the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam, of the tribe of Ephraim, to tell him that he will be the king over ten of the tribes of Israel, and that He would "build you an enduring house as I built for David" if he would be true to the Lord like David did (I Kings 11: 38). 

But he didn't put very much faith in the Lord, for when he received the Northern Kingdom, "Jeroboam said in his heart, 'Now the kingdom will return to the house of David: if this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.'"

This lost for Jeroboam a great dynasty like David's, and gave Dan a trap that would, through all the years of Israel's living in the land, catch the people, as being thrown backward off of a horse. Read about it in I Kings 12: 26-31.

(18) "For Your salvation I wait, O Lord.

And Israel prays for Dan here, to ultimately return to the Lord. But there never was a "good" king in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the kings all are accused of falling into the "sin of Jeroboam," and were eventually conquered and scattered into every other nation of the world. There is no Dan among the final twelve tribes of Israel in Revelation 7: 4-8.

(19) "As for Gad, raiders shall raid him, but he will raid at their heels. 

As I look at the maps of Gad in the Holman Bible Atlas, I am struck by several battle routes crossing over Gad's territory to and from the territories of other tribes and peoples around it, in the time of the Judges. During Gideon's battles with the Amalekites (Judges 6-8) and Jephthah's with the Ammonites (Judges 10:6-12:7), it looks to me like it was likely that these Ammonites and Amalekites may have started a few skirmishes with the Gadites as they traversed their land; if so, then the Gadites most likely defended their families, sending these warriors  on their way. This may be what is referred to here.

(20) "As for Asher, his food shall be rich, and he will yield royal dainties. 

This makes me wonder if the royal pastry chefs were Asherites!

(21) "Naphtali is a doe let loose, he gives beautiful words. 

This is also very brief; it denotes a time of great prosperity and abundance.

(22) "Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; its branches run over a wall. (23) The archers bitterly attacked him, and shot at him and harassed him; (24) but his bow remained firm, and his arms were agile, from the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), (25) from the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. (26) The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers. 

Jacob's blessing on Joseph is loaded with blessings, which continues the blessings he had given to his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who will become so numerous that the rest of Israel will bless one another by saying, "May the Lord make you be like Ephraim and Manasseh!"

(27) "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, and in the evening he divides the spoil." 

Benjamin, like Judah, is pictured in terms expressing a victorious conquest over the enemy. Both are like vicious predators, a lion and a wolf.

(28) All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him. 

Jacob knows his boys; like every good parent, he has watched them since their birth. Childhood personalities persist to adulthood, but characters develop at different rates. And Israel has given each of his sons the prophecy that applies to each one. As the Lord God led him. 

O my Father, Just as Jacob knew his boys, and I know my own children, so You know each of us, even in more exquisite detail. I know that Jacob loved each one of his sons, and I love each of my children, even when they don't love me back. But Your Love for each of us is so much more than even a mother's love, so much deeper and richer and eternal! 

O Father please send out all Your children to tell the world how much You love us, and want to bless all of us with the tremendous blessings Jacob blessed his sons with. Most of these blessings will probably come to reality in what is still future even today. Probably when Your Son returns to set up His Kingdom here for the thousand years! Oh won't that be magnificent! Let every living person know what is ahead of us on this Earth, so they can also participate as full citizens, as Your children. 

For every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Sovereign King, the Lord God Almighty, our Redeemer and Messiah; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 31--Israel's Prophesies Over His Sons 1-6

 Genesis 49: 1-15

Now we are coming toward the end of the book of Genesis and the end of the stories of both Jacob and Joseph. Jacob, or Israel, has come into Egypt from Canaan and has lived the rest of his life in Egypt. He has lived another seventeen years in this foreign country, as many years as Joseph had lived in Canaan when he was taken to Egypt. 

Abraham and Isaac and Jacob provided the bloodline for the people of God, as they were the ones who believed in the True God, so they were special to God; He gave them prophesies to pronounce over their sons as blessings, but these blessing/prophesies ended with these three. 

Israel is now going to tell his twelve sons what is in the future for each of them and their families/tribes.

(1) Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, "Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you in the days to come. (2) Gather together and hear, O sons of Jacob; and listen to Israel your father.  

He is going through a ritual with stylized language to introduce these prophecies.

(3) "Reuben, you are my firstborn; my might and the beginning of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. (4) Uncontrolled 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. 

Reuben is the first child born to Jacob by Leah (Genesis 29: 32). A man's first son is said to be the beginning of the father's strength, and he also started out having dignity and power. But when he defiled his father's bed, in laying with Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid and Jacob's concubine (Genesis 35:22), he showed that he had no self-control, and lost the preeminence. He also lost the right of the firstborn to receive a double-portion of inheritance from his father. This was given to Joseph, instead (Genesis 48: 22).

(5) "Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are implements of violence. (6) Let my soul not enter into their council; let not my glory be united with their assembly; because in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they lamed oxen. (7) Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. 

Simeon and Levi are dealt with together, because they were complicit with each other in deceiving and massacring the whole town of Shechem and Hamor for their mistreatment of their sister Dinah (the story is in Genesis 34: 1-31). And we learn here that they were also cruel to their animals, crippling oxen. So they also showed that they were not qualified to be honored, and will be scattered in Israel. 

We see this in the Levites being the teachers of the Law to Israel, having cities in all the other tribes' territories, never given their own; and the tribe of Simeon was given the extreme southerly territory, below Judah's, and we never hear much from them in the record after the initial conquest of the land.

(8) "Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down to you. (9) Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion who dares rouse him up? (10) The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be obedience of the peoples. (11) He ties foal to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine; he washes his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes. (12) His eyes are dull from wine, and his teeth white from milk. 

The three older sons having been disqualified, this brings us to Judah, who is a prince in his family. The name Judah means "Praise," and his brothers will praise him, and their descendants will bow down to his descendants. He is like a young lion who is sleeping in his den after devouring his prey. 

Then we're told that the kingship will come through Judah's tribe, as the scepter and ruler's staff will be there, until "Shiloh," the "one to whom it belongs," will come; which is a prophecy of Messiah, who will have the obedience of many peoples. He will usher in such a prosperous era that pack animals will be tied up to fruitful grapevines, and wine will be as plentiful as wash water.

Then a description of this King is that His eyes are darker than wine, and His teeth are whiter than milk, a picture of health and strength.

(13) "Zebulun will dwell at the seashore; and he will be a haven for ships, and his flank shall be toward Sidon. 

Zebulun's borders were land-locked, between Issachar, Naphtali, Asher and West Manasseh, pretty far south from Sidon. This apparently suggests that Zebulun will extend its territory to the sea as far as Sidon. We have not seen this yet.

(14) Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between sheepfolds. (15) When he saw that a resting place was good and that the land was pleasant, he bowed his shoulder to bear burdens, and became a slave at forced labor. 

Issachar's name means "to hire for wages" (Genesis 30: 18), and here we see that this tribe is enjoying the "good life" so much that they sink into slavery, using their strength for bearing others' burdens. 

This is Jacob's prophecies concerning his first six sons and their tribes. Some of these predictions have not yet been fulfilled, because he says that these sayings are for the days to come, or the last days. Since we've not seen the end of the last days, then there's still time for God to finish His plans for them. 

O my Father, You are the only One who can say what will happen in the future. Only You have planned out the whole way, because You always do everything You want to do, for Your own pleasure. 

If a human person would have Your wisdom and power, then he would play with Creation as his toys, not always considering the ramifications of what he's doing. But You are not a man, to ever change Your plan. You know already what all the results could be, and You always work everything out to bring out the good results, even when we need to wait through what we consider negative circumstances. We can always trust You implicitly no matter what is going on around us. 

My Father, teach us Your ways, to think Your thoughts, and follow You along the road You have put each of our feet upon. You will never let go of our hand as we take each step, and proceed along, dealing with all of the rocks, stumbling stones, brambles and potholes. Show us the right way to step over or around these obstacles, or how to wade through them, strengthening us and preparing us for the next mile or meter. You know what lies ahead, around the corners, and over the hills and through the valleys. You know what we'll need to learn along the way for what we will encounter ahead. 

O Father, as we travel our paths, send us out to all the world, each one of Your children going to the ones who can hear of Your love in the way they can tell it. Let every living person learn how much You have already accomplished on their behalf, in Your Son, our Savior. Have everyone understand Your way of Salvation to save us from ourselves and the sin that so easily besets us. Give us all the power over wrong to make the right decisions, to love You back and to love one another as You have loved us. That Your will be done here on Earth, as it is in Heaven. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, our Redeemer and Messiah, sovereign King of the whole World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, do come soon, Lord Jesus! 

 

 

 

 

The Story Of Joseph Part 30--Jacob's Blessing On Joseph's Sons

 Genesis 48: 1-22

Now that Joseph has moved his whole family to Egypt where he can take care of them as the second in command after the king, they've stayed there for longer than the rest of the years of famine, prospering in the most fertile region of the whole nation. Life is good, so they've settled down there "permanently." 

(1) Now it came about after these things that Joseph was told, "Behold, your father is sick." So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 

This is years later, and Joseph is bringing his sons because he wants Jacob to see them again. 

(2) When it was told to Jacob, "Behold, your son Joseph has come to you," Israel collected his strength and sat up in his bed. 

He is Israel again, and he collected his strength to sit up on his bed, to greet his son and grandsons.

(3) Then Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, (4) and He said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.'

This is when he started out to come to Egypt sight-unseen because he heard that Joseph was still alive and a lord in this foreign land. And he offered a sacrifice to God in thanksgiving, trusting that this is true. Then God spoke to him, and he knows that he can trust God.

(5) "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) But your offspring that have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the names of their brothers in their inheritance. 

Jacob tells Joseph that instead of just one son, he is claiming both of his grandsons as his own sons, to be counted among his sons. Any other children Joseph will have after these two will be considered grandsons, at the same level as the children of his other sons. But Ephraim and Manasseh will be counted as among Jacob's sons, as Reuben and Simeon and the rest. This is a legal declaration. 

(7) "Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died, to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)." 

Why Jacob would bring this bit of history up here is a mystery. Is he saying that, since she died, he couldn't have any more children by her, therefore he is claiming Joseph's sons as his own?

Now he is starting the ceremony of official blessing.

(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." So he said, "Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them." 

This is all ritual language, as Israel is going to officially bless these descendants of his with God's blessing. This means that they are prophesies that will come to pass in the future.

(10) Now the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 

Because he couldn't see very well any more, Joseph brought his sons so close to his father that he could get to know them by touch and scent and voice, to distinguish one from the other.

(11) Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well." 

Israel is rejoicing in God's goodness to him, in granting him this blessing of seeing Joseph again after believing that he was dead for so many years, and now seeing even two grandsons from his favorite son! This is overwhelming to him!

(12) Then Joseph took them from his knees and and bowed with his face to the ground. 

Joseph honors his father and the Lord God in obeisance, with his face to the ground.

(13) Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right, and brought them close to him. 

Joseph was careful to make it easy for his father to put his right hand on the elder son and his left hand on the younger.

(14) But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn. 

Israel had other ideas, though, and crossed his arms in order to put his hands where he wanted to, not where Joseph wanted him to.

(15) 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 to this day, (16) the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; And may my name live on in them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the Earth." 

Here Israel is blessing Joseph, by blessing both of his sons together. By this time, Joseph notices something, and tries to correct it.

(17) When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim's head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. (18) Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head." 

Joseph thinks his father made a mistake, and tries to correct him, so that the firstborn's blessing will go to his firstborn son. 

(19) But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." (20) He blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying, 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!'" Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 

Israel assures Joseph that he knows what he is doing, because God is going to give the greater blessing to the second-born son over the firstborn. God is leading Israel to pronounce His prophecy accurately. God has often chosen the second-born over the firstborn, sometimes for reasons we can see, other times for His own reasons. But it is God who blesses who He chooses to bless.

(21) Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and bring you back to the land of your fathers. (22) I give you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow." 

Israel is blessing his favorite son with a double portion, and God is in agreement, to bless Jacob with granting this desire of his. God knew that there needed to still be twelve tribes to settle the Promised Land, even when He will not grant the sons of Levi their own land, but will scatter them throughout the others' territories as their teachers. So having two tribes of Joseph will provide the proper number. God always sees the Big Picture, and knows what He is going to do, even when He doesn't tell us about it! He is God, we are not. 

Jacob is now Israel. He is no longer the "Deceiver," but is the "Prince with God." He knows that he is old and will die soon but is confident that God will bring them all back to Canaan, as He promised. And he trusts God and Joseph to keep their promises. 

We do not have any record of Jacob using a sword and bow to take some land by force from this unnamed Amorite. Jacob has always been shown to be, "a peaceful man, living in tents" (25:27), and fearing if the Canaanites and Perizzites might come against him and attack, that, "I will be destroyed, I and my household" (34: 30). So we have a different picture now of this second son of Isaac. Evidently he was sufficiently proficient in warfare to use his sword and bow successfully.

O my Father, You are such a good God. You are the Standard for what is good. And You are the Source of everything that exists. There is so much more to the stories You have given us in Your written Word, all combined into the whole Story of Mankind, that You have revealed to us. I look forward to learning all the details of the stories of all those that You have determined we don't need to know now. And to be able to share my own story with others, all the details that don't seem pertinent at this time. 

But I am anticipating even more getting to know You better, my Lord and my Father. And I know, because I trust You, that I will have all eternity future to continue to learn more and do more in Your service. 

My Father, You are teaching me more every day right now, how much You love me, and care for me and are working all the details of my days to bring about the very best for me. So I want to cooperate with you, in whatever You allow to come across my path, that You will continue to hold my hand, leading and guiding me over, around, and through all the bumps and potholes and brambles on the way. 

O Father, bring all of Your children to the birth, and grow us all up to the maturity of the full stature of the Son of God. Send us all out to tell every living person in the whole world how much You love us all, and are not willing that any would perish, but come to repentance and seek Your face. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, the Lord God Almighty, our Lawgiver and Fulfiller, the sovereign King over the whole World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!