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! 

The story Of Joseph Part 29--Jacob's Request From Joseph

 Genesis 47: 27-31

We saw yesterday how the Egyptians were so thankful to Joseph for saving their lives by making them all slaves of Pharaoh, owning them and their land, and the new economic system he instituted that prevailed for a long time. 

But Joseph cared for his family, so they didn't have to sell their land and themselves for food, like the Egyptians did.

(27) Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen, and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous. 

Joseph's father Jacob and his brothers and their families were able to own their properties and fields in Goshen, because they didn't belong to Pharaoh, like the rest of the land of Egypt. And they prospered and grew in numbers, just as God planned.

(28) Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the length of Jacob's live was one hundred and forty-seven years. 

When Jacob came into Egypt, he told Pharaoh that he was one hundred thirty years old. Now this is seventeen years later.

(29) When the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, "Please, if I have found favor in your sight, place now your hand under my thigh and deal with me in kindness and faithfulness. 

The practice of placing the hand "under the thigh" was a ceremony that was observed when requesting a promise. So Jacob wanted Joseph to promise to do something for him, without fail.

Please do not bury me in Egypt, (30) but when I lie down with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place." 

Jacob did not want his body to remain in this foreign country, he was asking Joseph to carry it back to Canaan to the burial place Abraham had purchased to bury Sarah, the cave and field of Machpelah, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite (Genesis 23: 1-20). This was the graveyard for the Hebrews ever since. 

And Jacob was asking Joseph to carry his body there for burial, in the Promised Land.

And he said, "I will do as you have said." (31) He said, "Swear to  me." So he swore to him. Then Israel bowed in worship at the head of the bed. 

Jacob wanted to make sure that Joseph understood, and would do this for him when he died. He knew that the Israelites would be going back there, and he wanted his body to rest with his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham, and all the other family members who would also be buried there. 

God had promised Jacob that his family would grow to a mighty nation in the greenhouse of Goshen in Egypt, away from the gross immorality of the Canaans; and that God would bring them back to Canaan out of Egypt, which He did after 400 years. 

And when Joseph assured him that he would carry his bones back to Canaan, Jacob bowed in worship to the Lord God who had spoken to him.

O my Father, You are so good to us all. Even those who don't know You, and even refuse to seek You, You bless every day with light and life and sustenance. And Your care for and compassion on Your children is beyond comprehension. 

My Father, You have planned out every step of our lives, and even when we can't see Your hand, we can still trust Your heart. We can trust that You know what lies ahead that we can't see. 

So I put myself and my life into Your hand, Daddy. I want to curl up in Your lap, with Your strong and gentle arms around me, as I traipse the path I find my feet upon, not knowing what I will encounter along the way. I trust that You will never allow me to face anything that You won't help me through. Just keep my hand in Yours, and I know that You'll never let me go. 

O Father, please use me and my words, and send out all of Your children to go out into all the world's nations and peoples to tell every living person everywhere how much You have loved us all, and want everyone to come to repentance, realizing where they stand before You, and that Your Son has solved all of our sin problems. Let every one of Your babies come to the birth, and grow us all up to maturity, to grow into the full stature of the Son of God. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, the 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, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 28--Egypt's "New Normal" Economy

 Genesis 47: 13-26

Joseph has become the lord of all the land of Egypt when he interpreted Pharaoh's dream, in order to prepare during the seven years of super-plenty for the following seven years of severe drought. 

Then he was also in charge of doling out the food to the people. So he was the one who made sure everyone had enough to eat. This is how he did it.

(13) Now there was no food in all the land, because the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 

This means that no food could be grown, no crops could be planted, no harvest of any kind of foodstuffs at all, there was just no water to irrigate the fields, the Nile must have been at an all-time low.

(14) Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 

While the people's finances held out they could still buy the grain that Joseph had stored up, and they apparently had several years of finances. I wonder how many years of finances people today have stored up for a non-"rainy day."

(15) 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, for why should we die in your presence? For our money is gone." 

Now all their money was gone, what could they do now since the drought is still raging in the land and they still can't plant.

(16) Then Joseph said, "Give up your livestock, since your money is gone." (17) So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses and the flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he fed them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 

These people were honest citizens, they didn't expect to get something for nothing, they had no sense of entitlement at all, and wanted to pay something for the food they needed. So Joseph told them they could pay with their animals. So he bartered with them exchanging their livestock for grain. This kept everyone honest.

(18) When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, "We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent, and the cattle are my lord's. There is nothing left for my lord except our bodies and our lands. 

These people are still not able to provide for themselves, and all their money and animals already belong to Pharaoh, so all they have left to pay with is their properties they own, and their own selves. They still don't want something for nothing.

(19) "Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. So give us seed, that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate." 

So they are willing to give up their lands and even their own freedom in order to get food to eat, so they won't starve to death. Still no sense of entitlement. They are still honest people.

(20) So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. Thus the land became Pharaoh's. 

Now all the property and fields and lands of the whole country now belong to Pharaoh, because the people sold them for food.

(21) As for the people, he removed them to the cities from one end of Egypt's border to the other. 

Now that the people were slaves to Pharaoh, he needed to know where they were to command them, so Joseph took them out of the rural areas into the cities where his servants could keep an eye on them. 

Remember this when the governmental authorities start to involuntarily move the rural population to ever more crowded cities, so that the cameras can keep track of each person. Control is what they crave, and we need to recognize this.

(22) Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived off the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore, they did not sell their land. 

The priests were already on the dole, so they always were given their food in payment of their religious services to Pharaoh.

(23) Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land. (24) At the harvest you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and as food for your little ones." 

Now that the seven years of drought are about to end, Joseph is instituting the new normal. The people are not free any more, they're slaves of Pharaoh, and Pharaoh will take care of them now. So Joseph is giving them seed to plant in the fields that now belong to Pharaoh; so whenever anything will grow to harvest, then they must give a 20% tax to Pharaoh, and the rest can be used by them for seed to plant the next season, and for food for them and their families. This looks like a good deal for the people.

(25) So they said, "You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's slaves." 

This looks so good to the people that they are saying, "Thank you so much for making us your slaves!" They have given up their freedom for slavery, because they didn't think they could take care of themselves any more. It's like being in prison, you can't do anything for yourself, but you will be cared for and get enough food to eat every day. Is it worth it?

(26) Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh's. 

So it became the law in Egypt that all the people would pay a 20% tax of all their income to the king, and the government would take care of them. Only the religious institutions were exempt from taxes, because what they earned was from the government, anyway. 

God had brought these conditions onto the people of that whole geographic area (Egypt and Canaan). So God showed Joseph how to save the lives of many people in that area so that they wouldn't starve to death; including his own family. 

God also put this story into His written Word so that we could learn from it. These people had no way to grow their food for this extended time, so, even though they were able-bodied, they were still helpless to take care of themselves. That is why they were so willing to give away their property, possessions and freedom, and become slaves. 

I see today that the government is reducing as many people as they can into this mindset, to think that they cannot earn anything for themselves, so they have a right to be supported by others who can earn wages and make wealth. 

And today government officials are even going so far as to consider if thieves and looters are stealing others' property because they "need" it before charging them with theft. I think this is ridiculous and evil, and only encourages more people to do wrong against their neighbor. 

We as Christians are God's people, and He has given us the ability to make wealth for ourselves so that we can enjoy His prosperity and share with others. 

See Deuteronomy 8: 18; "But you are to remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth ..." God gives each one of us the ability to create wealth.

And II Thessalonians 3: 10-12; "If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, ... Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread;" we are each to work to earn our own living, not mooch off of others.

And Ephesians 4: 28; "He who steals should steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need." We are never to take for ourselves what someone else has earned. We are instead to work to make our own living, to have something to share with someone else who may be disabled or diseased or otherwise unable to work, sharing of our own volition. 

When people who are able-bodied refuse to do physical labor, or people who have intelligent minds refuse to use them to create wealth, then they are shirking their responsibility to take care of themselves and their families, choosing instead to be a leech and a parasite on the society in which they live. This is evil and a detriment to their whole culture. 

God's people need to think God's way and realize that they are royal children of the King, and are expected to give benefit to their society and lift it up to higher standards; for the benefit and prosperity of their whole nation. 

O my Father, You gave us this story of Joseph making a "new normal" for Egypt not as an example for us to follow, but as a warning to be aware of the trap of enslavement. The Egyptian people truly were helped by Joseph's management of the economy, but that is because it was Your way to save lives, especially to save the lives of Joseph's family. You arranged this to let Israel grow into a great nation without the attractions and seductions of the gross immorality happening in Canaan. 

And today it is a good example to recognize when our "powers that be" in the world are attracting and seducing people into modern-day slavery. 

My Father, please wake up and open the eyes of Your people today, to see what is going on, and to realize what each of us can do to either fight against the evil or to promote Your good that You have programmed into this Earth for us to enjoy. 

O Father, teach us how we can go out to the whole world, speaking Your wonderful Truth in the face of destructive deceptions; and to find all of Your unborn babies who are searching for You, even if they don't realize it is You they are looking for. Father, I didn't know that I was looking for Jesus when I searched for Truth, and You found me! Let all of Your children come to the birth, and grow us all up to the maturity of the full stature of the body of Christ. 

For every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will profess that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and Messiah, the Lord God Almighty, King over the whole 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 27--Israel Officially Settles In Goshen

 Genesis 47: 1-12

Joseph had sent the wagons to carry his father and all his household to Egypt from Canaan, so he could take care of them, and make sure they didn't starve. 

He had the authority, as the king's vizier, to determine where to let them live, and gave directions to Judah to lead them into the Goshen area of the land of Egypt.

(1) Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen." 

Now Joseph is making everything legal and official, and informs the king that his family has arrived. 

(2) He took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. (3) Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" So they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers." (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. Now, therefore, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen." 

Then Joseph chooses five of his brothers to introduce them to the king, and they did what Joseph had told them to do, answering politely with their occupation as shepherds.

(5) Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you. (6) The land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock." 

Now Pharaoh is officially welcoming Joseph's family, and granting them as much property as they need in the very best district of his nation. Joseph is already the lord over the whole country, so he is granted to settle them in the most prosperous and lush part of the whole land. It's now legal and in the records. 

And Pharaoh even tells Joseph to hire his family members who have the skills to manage Pharaoh's own herds and flocks. This is continuing God's blessing on Joseph that everything he does succeeds.

(7) Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 

Now Joseph introduces Pharaoh to his father Jacob, and Israel gives a blessing over the king. It is always the greater who blesses the lessor, and Jacob is obviously the elder of the two. And also, God has given Abraham His blessing with which to bless his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob, so Israel has God's blessing to bless Pharaoh. Through this blessing, the whole world will ultimately be blessed (Genesis 18: 18).

(8) Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many years have you lived?" 

Pharaoh is impressed with his extreme age, and asks him how old he is.

(9) So Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning." 

This sounds like he is not considering this long length of life to be anything to boast about, claiming that he's not famous for anything, and has not even attained what his ancestors have. Is this humility?

(10) And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from his presence. 

We are told again that Jacob blessed Pharaoh, so he left him with a blessing, and probably never did come into his official presence again.

(11) So 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 ordered. 

Now everything is signed, sealed and delivered, to make their home in this beautiful, lush and safe land; the best of the whole nation, and the best in the whole world that God determined for them to have at this time. Now they will be able to grow in God's spiritual greenhouse, to multiply in numbers and maintain their faith to worship God.

(12) Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to their little ones.

Joseph was in charge of all the resources in the land, so he was able to provide for his extended family with all the grain and foods they would need, according to the size of each family; so everyone received enough; they all could prosper here. 

There were still more years of famine ahead, but the children of Israel would not have to spend their resources to buy food, Joseph provided for them from the king.

Tomorrow we will see how Joseph dealt with the rest of the citizens of Egypt. 

O my Father, You have told us this story so that we could see how you take care of all the details for us. The children of Israel were special in Egypt because they were Joseph's family, and Pharaoh appreciated and loved him. As long as this king's line were ruling in Egypt, the Hebrews were respected and honored. 

Father, this was the greenhouse You prepared for Your chosen ones. You have moved Heaven and Earth to provide the safe, nurturing environment they needed to grow strong both physically and spiritually. And You gave them all the time they needed to do this in this protected space. 

My Father, You always provide everything we need, whether it is physical, material, financial; or mental, psychological, emotional; or moral, ethical, and spiritual. You give us every advantage and opportunity to be healthy and do the right thing, every time. Please teach Your children that You have already given us everything we need to make the righteous and prosperous decisions, every time. 

O Father, grow Your children, and grow Your family, as You grew Israel in Goshen. Help us to seek Your face and to follow Your ways in all that we do in every area of life, whether at church or at home or at work or at leisure; when arising and retiring, going out and coming in. Send us out into the whole world, to tell every living person how much You love us all. Bring all of Your babies to the birth, and grow us all to maturity, to attain the full stature of the Son of God. 

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

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!