Living on Joseph’s Legacy Exodus 1:1-7

Note To Readers: Welcome back.  Today we are continuing our study of the Old Testament, verse by verse, and where necessary phrase by phrase, and even word by word.  We approach it as ordinary laity who care about the gems that God has hidden in His Word for us.  Please join me on this journey as we begin today, Volume III, commencing with Exodus 1:1-7.   As always, today, and tomorrow, I welcome your thoughts and comments -- they are part of what energizes me.  Please sign up to get updates from my blog Epistoli -- this will include our studies in Exodus as well as some other thought-provoking topics I cover from time to time.  Please share our study with friends and family.   I know you'll enjoy it.  -- Ken Godevenos, Toronto, May 11, 2012.


Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they came each one with his household: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan Naphtali, Gad and Asher.  And all the persons who came from the loins of Jacob were seventy in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt.  And Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation.  But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.

As we start this third volume of our study through scripture, nothing can better describe how I feel more than this first passage in Exodus.  A good word for it may be “over-whelmed”.  In just seven verses the author of Exodus covers life from the time the Israelites went to Egypt during the famine, the death of Jacob, the death of Joseph, the death of all Joseph’s brother and their generation, and the prosperity of those that followed them.  It is a vast amount of history just in this first pages and that causes me to tremble as we embark on this book.  But if we ‘stay the course’, I believe we’ll be blessed with some of God’s greatest gems for life that He hid in this incredible account of the Children of Israel when they were both in the land of Egypt and in the wilderness.  This whole volume covers the first part of Exodus – the redemption from Egypt.

So let’s get right to it.  In these first few verses we are given some interesting facts.  The number of people who came to Egypt originally and counted in Jacob’s family (who were born to him or to his children) numbered seventy.  This number did not include Joseph and his two sons who were already there. 

Daughters are not mentioned in historical accounts at this point in history.  God’s perspective on the equality of woman was still to be revealed to man.  We can see its progression later in the Old Testament.  It was brought to its fullness in the New Testament.  In modern society, there were/are three major issues which got/get the attention of many.  The first was the issue of slavery; the second was/is the issue of female equality; and the third is the issue of homosexuality.  As part of our free will, I believe God allowed us to use our own judgment with respect to both slavery and female equality.  We did not do a good job and so you have, through scripture, a progression of how we as God’s people are to treat both our slaves (servants, employees) and the wonderful female companions, or women in general, God gave to us.  God’s view on these topics evolve and ultimately culminate in the New Testament when God tells us how to deal with our employees, and when God through the epistles of Paul and others, tells us how to lovingly treat and consider our wives.  Where you do not see a progression or evolvement in thinking is on the issue of homosexuality.  God’s position throughout the Bible remains the same – He is against it.  While He loves the homosexual as one of His own, He abhors the lifestyle that the homosexual chooses to follow.  There is no wavering of that position anywhere in the Scriptures.   So, while many liberals may think that Christians are on the wrong side of this issue as they claim we were on the slavery and women’s issues – and admittedly we were at one time – that is certainly not the case when it comes to homosexuality.  That is, it is not the case if our standard is God’s Word on the matter.  An excellent book on this subject is Slaves, Women & Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Culture Analysis by William J. Webb, Inter-Varsity Press, 2001.  I strongly recommend it.

Our passage goes on to say that in the period covered by the first seven verses of Exodus chapter one, Joseph dies, and so do all his brothers, and all ‘that’ generation, I would assume, referring to their peers in age.  The story could have ended there.  The Children of Israel could have died off.  But that was not the case.  That was not the purpose for which God led them to Egypt.  There was still a Covenant He had made with them and He intended to keep it.

So, instead, we read that the sons of Israel (in this case the sons of the sons of the sons of Jacob), his grandchildren and the generations that followed them prospered very well.  They multiplied in numbers and they became powerful in many ways.  They had spread out even further than in Joseph’s days and now they were to be found throughout the entire land of Egypt.

The first thing we need to note here is just what was meant by “increased greatly”.  May I suggest, as others do, this was an understatement.  The reality is that they started with 70 and some few hundred (either three or four) years later, subsequent parts of this book will tell us that they had grown to over six hundred thousand males over the age of 21.  Now, that’s more than a mere “great increase”, wouldn’t you say?

We also must note that the family’s “golden son” Joseph had died.  He was their original passport to favor in the sight of the Pharaohs and therefore in the sight of all Egyptians.  Life was good for many years.  But with Joseph’s death came the an element of fear and with it, the question of “what will happen to us now?”  To be fair, the Children of Israel had been concerned with this before, but Joseph had been able to assure them of God’s presence and protection, even after he himself was no longer going to be amongst them.

Will things get worse from here or better for the Children of God?  For now, they were prospering, but how long would that really last?

Thus opens the book of Exodus, also believed to be written by Moses.  It is in Egypt that this small band of seventy turn into a full-fledged nation.   Like all organisms that are destined to live, the nation of Israel had to pass through the birth canal and for them that was Egypt.  And the birth-pains they were about to experience, as the authors of the introduction to the New American Standard Bible, Open Bible, Expanded Edition suggest, were indeed very severe.

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Joseph’s Death & the End of Genesis - Genesis 50:24-26

And 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 which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.”  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.”  So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

With this passage we come to the end of the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible.  In it, we find Joseph himself, in a manner similar to what his father experienced, being aware he was about to die.  I believe more of us know when our time is just about up than we may want to admit.  There are those who die suddenly in an accident or via a heart attack, of course, but more of us seem to get some warning, than those that do not.  Assuming you and I may get such a warning, the question arises as to whether or not we will be able to handle it as well as both Jacob, and later Joseph, did.

Joseph’s biggest concern as death approached him was the welfare of his brothers and their families.  He wanted to assure them that God would indeed take care of them.  He wanted to remind them that the goal was for God to lead them up from the land of Egypt to the land the Almighty had promised their father Jacob, their grandfather Isaac, and their great-grandfather Abraham.  This was an “oath” of God – a promise that would be kept not only because it was a promise, but also because it was God Who made it.  With this statement and his subsequent request to his brothers, Joseph is showing the depth of his faith in the God of his fathers.  And with it, an understanding that even he who had risen to the position he had in Egypt realized he was just a “wayfarer” there and not a citizen.  His real home was the land that God had promised his people.  That is the understanding that all of us need to have, exhibit, and share with those that come after us.  As true believers, we realize we are only journeying through life on earth, and our destination is the home that our Heavenly Father has prepared for us.  If you are a Christian and reading this, and don’t feel that way – may I humbly suggest that something is out of kilter and you need to find out what it is.

In Joseph’s days, promises were very serious things.  Once made, people did all they had to in order to deliver them.  Would that we would take our ‘promises’ to others and to God as seriously.  Would that we would go out of our way, to any extent necessary, to keep our oaths.  To be a disciple of Jesus or to be like Jesus, to be like His Father, keeping promises made becomes one of the highest priorities.  And that goes from keeping a promise that simply says, “I’ll call you,” to one that says, “Until death do us part.”

Sometimes promises are requested from us.  In this case, Joseph asked his brothers to promise to carry his bones with them to the land God was going to give them when they went – whenever that would be.  And that was it; no more was said.  Given how well the people of God honored oaths and promises, we could be certain that Joseph’s brothers would both accept and deliver their promise to him.

My dad, in his 91^st year, and as he was knew his remaining days were very few due to his advanced cancer, asked a favor of me.  His one desire was that I, being an only child, would not sell the home he and mom had bought in 1953 – the home from which I was married, the home from which mom died, the home his three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren loved to visit, and the home from which he died.  He did not care if we rented it, used it, or left it empty – but he just did not want it sold until I had died.  He realized the generation after me would likely not value it for its historic or sentimental value.  He never posed it as a promise I had to make, but I knew that doing so would make him happy.  I, on the other hand, chose to ‘promise’ him that I would keep his request.  And so I did.  When dad died, we wondered what we would do with the house.  It turned out God had His plans already lined up; we just had to come in line with them as He brought His desire, and something that would have made my dad so pleased, to our minds and then, our pursuit.

My wife and second daughter spent the first year after dad’s death working with an architect to design a home that would allow three generations (my wife and I, my daughter and her husband, and their three children) to enjoy as one family.  And what a home they designed.  They hired a contractor and we watched as dad and mom’s home bought almost six decades ago was taken down, a new larger foundation was built, and a new house was erected.   As I pen this we have all enjoyed the benefits of living together (and yes, dealt with and still face some of the challenges) for close to four years already.  We all know we are in God’s will -- for us at least -- and we have all been able to keep the promise I made to my father.

I was not emotionally attached to the land my father had bought when I was five years old.  But I treasured it for what it meant to our family since my youth.  And when I saw it still had a role to play in the rest of my life and then in the life of one of my children and some of my grandchildren, I learned to really love it.  And I know I will love that way it until my own dying day.  Bible commentator Chuck Smith suggests the love the Jews have for Israel even today was not something that they latched onto in recent years, it was there from the time of Abraham forward, even before they possessed it the first time.

Joseph made his request of his brothers and then he died after having lived one hundred and ten years.  The Scriptures say he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.  There is no evidence that he was ever buried.   He lay in a coffin in probably some austere room for all the years between his death and when God took the Israelites out of Egypt.  Some commentators say that was 300 years, others say it was over 400 years.  It all depends when we start counting.  Either way, it was a long time.  And in that coffin, he lay above ground as, according to David Guzik, “a silent witness for all those years that Israel was going back to the Promised Land, just as God said.”  When a Jewish child would see the coffin and would ask why the corpse in it was not buried, the parent had an incredible opportunity to tell him/her about the Promised Land.

We do not know if Joseph had any indication from God as to how long it would be before the Jews were to leave Israel, but his faith in what God had promised could last as long as it took.  That is what real faith is all about.   It does not have a “limited time application” sticker on it.  If I believe in God and what He said, time is not an issue.  It will happen.

Joseph died, and even though the Egyptians whom he served so well would have wanted him buried in Egypt, he was likely given a royal funeral but then preserved in a coffin as per his wish, until he could be carried to the land God was giving his people.  While we focus on the hope that such a coffin would bring to the generation of Jewish people for the next 400 or so years, we must also be aware of the fact that its exposure was a thorn in the flesh to many Egyptian rulers that followed between Joseph’s death and the Exodus.  The idea of loosing all that population and later slaves was not an easy one to accept.

Matthew Henry points out “Joseph died looking forward to God’s unfolding plan of redemption”.  What a fitting ending for Genesis, the Book of Beginnings.  Henry writes, “It (Genesis) concludes looking forward to the continuation of God’s eternal, loving, wise plan.”  Are you in it?

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Joseph’s Reward - Genesis 50:22-23

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

In this short passage we learn Joseph and Jacob’s households stayed on, after Jacob’s death, to live in Egypt for many years.  There is no direct reference to the households of the other brothers, but we could assume that since they had settled there, they too were included, from a language perspective, under Jacob’s household.  This is supported by verse 24 that follows this passage wherein Joseph at his death is speaking to his brothers and tells them God will take them from Egypt to the Promised Land.

We also learn that Joseph lived to the age of 110.  Our last look at our chronological timeline (from the beginning of Genesis) was back in Genesis 47:27.  Let’s revisit it.

·      3461    The meeting of Jacob and Pharaoh when Jacob’s family moved to Egypt (based on Genesis 47:9 and the dates we had arrived at above)(Jacob was 130 years old)

·      3478    Jacob’s death in Egypt at the age of 147 (based on Genesis 47:28,29)

To this we would, if we could, add the next event.

·      ????    Joseph dies at age 110

This presents our own “chronological timeline” with a problem.  While we know this occurred some time after Jacob’s death around 3478 years from the start of Genesis, we do not know exactly when. The reason is that we have information of how old Joseph was when he died, but not the year in which he was born.  We can only hope that later in Scripture, more information is given to us to allow us to continue down this avenue of time measurement through the Bible.

Literally the text speaks of Joseph “seeing” the third generation of his son Ephraim’s sons. That is, he saw Ephraim’s children (first generation of Ephraim’s sons), their children (Joseph’s grandchildren and Ephraim’s second generation), and their grandchildren (Joseph’s great grandchildren and Ephraim’s third generation).  That was Joseph’s reward – to be able to live long enough to see all these children.  That would be quite a blessing.  My own father lived to see five great-grandchildren.  They kept him young and he loved them all.

The text also speaks of Joseph seeing the sons of Machir his grandson, born to Manasseh and his wife.  Later on we discover this was Manasseh’s eldest son and likely born to him through one of his Aramite or Syrian concubines.  Manasseh was Joseph’s oldest son, but Jacob, back in Genesis 48, had given the younger son, Ephraim the ‘right-hand’ blessing reserved for the ‘first-born’.

All these generations Joseph enjoyed as part of his blessed life.  What is your life like today?  Are you blessed?   Have you placed yourself in a position to be blessed in this manner with family and grandchildren?  Or have you gone your own way because of family feuds, your own stubbornness, etc.?  If so, it is never to late to start “rebuilding” that same family, starting with your relationship with God.  I encourage you to re-examine your current lot in life.  Is it what it could be?  Is it what it should be?  If not, I pray you will take the steps to start heading in that direction.   Even if you’re on your deathbed, it is never too late.  And the rewards are immense.

[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

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With Jacob Buried, Fear Sets In for the Brothers - Genesis 50:15-17

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph should bear a grudge against us and pay us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!”  So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father charged before he died, saying, ‘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.

I love the English used here at the beginning of this passage – “When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead. . . .”  Clearly, they had ‘seen’ he was dead prior to that for they had mourned for him for seventy days, then travelled three hundred miles with his body, then mourned again for another seven days.  Here then is an example of language usage in the Bible that is a little unlike ours today.  In this case, the verb ‘to see’ is being used in its ‘to come to understand or realize’ aspect.  When the brothers realized that their father Jacob, who may well have protected them from the possible wrath of Joseph for what they had done to him, was dead, fear set in.  Perhaps they thought Joseph was only biding his time until Jacob had died before he turned on them for their past sins against him.

There is a parallel here between the fear Jacob’s sons are exhibiting here, a fear similar to what many of us feel or may have felt towards our natural fathers, and the fear that we as Christians sometimes have with respect to our Heavenly Father.  I remember well the time or two that my father protected me from school or neighborhood bullies.  Once he stepped into the picture, they all of a sudden wanted to be my friends.  Maybe you have had similar experiences.  When one or more of our young grandchildren were having difficult times at school, sometimes even with a teacher, just knowing that their mom and/or dad, let alone their fiery grandfather, were there to take up their cause rightfully, was a big encouragement to them.

Because of the fact that at some point we lost the protection of our earthly fathers, we often have the same feeling when it comes to the relationship between God, our Heavenly Father, and ourselves.  Usually, but not always, the cause of such a feeling by us is based on the fact that we have done something, sinned in a way, that we believe places us beyond help or beyond being worthy of help and our God has abandoned us.  That is one of the biggest lies that Satan can ever lay on us.  It is not true.  Scripture, experience, and our faith tell us that it is not the case.  Our Heavenly Father’s protection is always with us.  We can’t leave home without it, even if we wanted to.

Here also we have the human “what if” scenario at play.  As humans we tend to start thinking about things that “might” be.  What if one of my family members had cancer?  What if my child didn’t pass?  What if my spouse left me?  What if I lost my job? There’s a time for all that kind of “what if” scenario planning, but when God has shown His faithfulness to us in so much over the course of our lives, that time is not now, especially if He is blessing us in so many ways right now.  In business we do that kind of planning in the process of our “risk management” exercises that we are obligated to conduct on behalf of our clients, the government, our staff, and our stakeholders.  In our lives, our “risk management” process is to practice and celebrate the fact that God is for us and with us, then obeying His instructions to us, and constantly growing in our relationship with him.  No other negative “what if’s” are required.  We need to have a second or third alternative in our minds, of course, on some of these issues.  That’s just using the mental ability and skills that God has given us to take care of our needs and those of our family.   No one is recommending we have our heart set on a single outcome and then be hit by utter destruction and not be able to survive the calamity.  But when it comes to borrowing tomorrow’s woes, the Bible instructs us not to bother.

In the case of the brothers, their fear was over justice.  They did not want to be justly treated for what they had done.  And surely to goodness, if anyone now had the power to treat them justly, it was their “nice up-to-this-point, but with no-future-guarantee” brother Joseph who was the second ruler of all Egypt.  I’d be afraid too, because true justice had never been achieved; no real consequence had ever been suffered for the wrong that had been done.

We must notice that this exchange between Joseph and his brothers was not necessarily made directly by all of them.  First we don’t know how much time had elapsed between the burial in verse 14 and this realization of the brothers in verse 15.  We do know that they had all returned to Egypt.  But Matthew Henry points out that Joseph had returned to the royal court in a major Egyptian city while the brothers returned to their land in Goshen, in the remote parts of the country.  In verse 16 we read that they “sent a message” to Joseph on this matter.  Was it via a servant or was it delivered by one or more of them?  We do not know.  At the end of verse 18, we read that Joseph wept (on which we comment below) but what is interesting is that the text says he “wept when they spoke to him.”  Again, was that a form of English that included that he wept when they “spoke to him through the messenger”?  Or, did this conversation include a stage whereby he called them to come in and see him in person in order to finish it off?  (You’ll remember Joseph was very good at arranging these ‘second meetings’ if you think back to how he treated the brothers when they first came to Egypt for grain.) Again, we do not know.  But, let us go back to the planning of the brothers for a moment.

The next thing we notice is that in all likelihood, fear begets lying.  There is no record in Scripture that Jacob charged his sons any such thing as what they related to Joseph.  I would be the first to say, “Yes, it is possible he did”.  But once again, we have to look at the whole evidence to land on a particular position.  Does what we do know of Jacob suggest that he might have done so?  I don’t think so.   But does the timing of this idea from the brothers, with respect to the onset of their fear and so long after their father’s death, suggest that it may have been a made-up charge?  I think so.   I’m prepared to go with that, always remaining open to the possibility that I, and anyone joining me, could be wrong.  These guys had lied to Jacob about Joseph.  It was not a big hurdle for them to lie to Joseph about Jacob, especially now that he was gone.  Nevertheless, when our fear starts requiring us to tell lies, it is time to come clean, with God, and others.

Isn’t it interesting that our messages often conceived primarily as a lie, often carry with them one or more elements of truth.  In this case, they put some of these words in the mouth of their deceased father, Jacob, namely admitting through him that they basically had a fear and implying that they were wrong.

But then you will notice in the text that the part attributed to Jacob ends – the quotation is closed and the brothers now make their own direct plea, when they say “And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.”  The end result is a personal admission to being wrong, seeking forgiveness, and explaining that they have found their way back to God and are now serving Him.  I believe there was sincerity there.

As I comment on this portion today, I am reminded of the National Hockey League general manager yesterday, who echoed management apologies to fans for a lousy season when he said, “I want to say on behalf of management, the coaching staff and players, I want to echo Mr. (chairman of the franchise owners)’s apology for our failure to deliver this year. We didn’t deliver at the end.”  He was asked at various points in the news conference if he was personally apologizing and his response was “I said what I said,” and walked out.  Well, that just won’t cut it with some fans and they’re seeking his firing.  Humans are like that – some fail to take any personal responsibility for what went wrong and some want them shot for not doing so.  In the case of Joseph’s brothers, I believe they were truly sorry for what they had done and sincerely sought his forgiveness.

But somehow the person of God reacts differently as Joseph shows us in his response to the brothers sharing with him the ‘supposed’ charge of his recently deceased father, Jacob.  Joseph wept.  We could well ask why?  Was it because he was reminded again of his beloved father, or because he now had to deal with another wish or request of his father’s?  Was it because he was reminded of what the brothers had indeed done to him?  Was it because it disappointed them greatly that they thought so little of him and his love for them when he felt he had shown it so lavishly as they settled in Egypt?  Or was it because he felt so sorry for his brothers that carried this great fear of him with them all this time?  We don’t know, but we do know he wept and was sensitive to the need for full reconciliation.

[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

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Two Promises Kept - Genesis 50:12-14

And thus his sons did for him as he had charged them; 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.  And 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.

To those that have studied the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, these verses mark the end of a great era that made up the lives and trials of the famous “fathers’” trio of Israel.  It is fitting that a grandson gets buried in the cave of the field that his grandfather had bought.  This was the same cave where Abraham’s son Isaac buried him.  The same cave where Isaac’s son Jacob buried him.  And now the same cave Jacob’s son Joseph was burying him.  But things were going to be somewhat different now.  The tribes were growing.  The grandmothers were also all gone.  The sons of Jacob were living in Egypt.  Keeping all the Israelites focused on living with and for their God was not going to be an easy task.  What happens from here on in to the people of God left behind by Jacob is something that many of us who are alive now can well identify with.  While some of the members of the generations that came after us are as true to the Word of God as we may be, and perhaps more so in some cases, the majority just pay lip service.  They take what they want and do what they have to, either because that is what they have always done, or because they want to be sure they qualify for the “free gift of eternal life”.  There is often no real repentance of their past sinful ways, nor is daily life a conscious attempt to live for and to serve their Savior.  As one moves on to study Exodus and the rest of the Old Testament one observes a loving God who will not let go of His people.  Today, we too, can be thankful of God’s desire to keep on calling us to a closer relationship with Him.

This short passage is also an account of two promises kept.  First, Jacob’s sons led by Joseph, kept their promise to Jacob to bury him in the land of Canaan and in the place he made them promise to do so as he was dying.  A father’s wish was fulfilled.  Second, Joseph’s promise to Pharaoh that all of the family would return to Egypt after they buried their father, was also kept.

We thus begin “life after Jacob” with men of integrity.  What could possibly go wrong?  Lots, as we’ll find out in the rest of the Pentateuch and beyond.

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Traveling to Canaan to Bury Jacob - Genesis 50:7-11

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, 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.  There also went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very great company.  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.  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.

Can you imagine the burial procession going up from Egypt towards Canaan? Scripture tells us the entire households of all of Jacob’s sons went along with the household of Jacob himself, plus it says ‘all’ the servants of Pharaoh.  It goes on to say that the elders of ‘his’ household, most likely with reference again to Pharaoh’s household, also went along with ‘all’ the other elders of the land of Egypt.

Here too is another place we can make a point about truth and Scripture and whether the Bible means exactly what it says.  Did every single servant of Pharaoh go on this trip leaving Pharaoh to fend for himself?  Did every single elder in the land of Egypt go up to Canaan to bury Jacob?  I would suggest that was not the case.  But if I make that assertion, you could well argue that I am questioning the infallibility of Scripture.  Or am I?  First, let me assure you that I believe in the infallibility of Scripture – there are no errors therein.  Second, let me suggest that it is totally possible (that is from a physical perspective) that ‘all’ the servants of Pharaoh and ‘all’ the elders of Egypt did go on this journey.  But, it is highly unlikely.  So, what then are we left with?

It is possible that the word ‘all’ is used to refer to ‘a great number’ along the lines of us saying today, “You should have seen ‘all’ the people at the football game”.  Clearly, “all” the people that exist were not at the game, but there surely were a good number of people there.  It is also possible that the author was writing this from the perspective of what was being conveyed to him over the generations with respect to what those that were there actually saw.  That is, referring to “all the servants” and “all the elders” that they saw, and there were many of them.  Again the point is being made that we have to allow a text claiming to be ‘truth’ to be examined by other probable explanations as to how it is still ‘truth’ and not be quick to judge its validity.  We will find that this test of “other probable explanations” is a good one and will always find Scripture to be true.

The text also tells us that ‘they’ most likely in reference to Jacob’s sons, left their little ones and their flocks back in Egypt.  In order to do so, there must have been either some mothers left behind with children that were being nursed, or some servants to take care of the children.  More evidence that the ‘all’ referred to the vast numbers involved rather than the totality of what was being described.  This is yet another example of how “biblical text answers biblical text” when combined with common sense and a sincere desire to show that our belief of its infallibility is correct.  But what is more significant in this statement about little ones and flocks being left behind is that it is further evidence of the fact they did indeed intend to return to Egypt, as Joseph had promised Pharaoh.  When we make a promise, we need to act accordingly.

The next thing we notice here is that somehow, someone, likely with Pharaoh’s permission, a host of chariots and horsemen accompanied the burial procession to Canaan.  One could argue that this was to make sure the Israelites would return to Egypt.  Perhaps.  But if that were the case, then there was no need for so many of the servants and the elders of Egypt to go with them.  My guess is that this was to protect the Israelites on their journey.  The entire trip from Egypt to Canaan where Jacob was to be buried was approximately three hundred miles.  There is no doubt that this entire entourage would attract attention, some of it not so welcomed.

Our passage indicates that they “came to the threshing-floor of Atad”.  Some believe this proper name as used here may indeed have referred to a common noun that translates to “the plain of the thorn bushes”.  Scholars place it on the border between Egypt and Canaan.  Robert Jamieson in his commentary suggests that this was the last spot where both the family and the Egyptians present could indulge in grieving together and thus called for a prolonged halt.  After this, Jacob’s family likely moved ahead on their own to the actual place of burial.  So, this was to be the place of the last and most demonstrative mourning with respect to wailing and crying and for these reasons, Joseph ensured that the burial company remained here for seven days.

Some may wonder why Scripture only refers to Joseph as observing seven days of mourning here for his father.  Again, we need to look at various possibilities.  It is very unlikely that the other brothers no longer mourned.  Instead, what we have here is the probability that only Joseph is mentioned because he was indeed in charge of the group at the time.  He was the organizer of both the trip and the burial given his position in Egypt.  When we remain true to the idea that Scripture is infallible, we are open to possible explanations that support our premise.

Finally, we note that the local inhabitants in the land of Canaan noticed the serious mourning of the Egyptians.  For whatever reason, they missed the fact that these Egyptians were actually mourning on behalf of their new Israelite friends that had earned a respected place among them since Jacob and his family had come to Egypt and who really were among the mourners as well.  It appeared to the Canaanites that the company before their eyes was indeed homogenous.  What a testimony that is.  What an example we have here of how we should act and live when we go to another culture, another place, especially for the purpose of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We must work hard to earn the respect of those whose land we are guests in.  That is not to imply, however, that we must give up our principles and our beliefs for remember, the Egypt were agreeing to join the Israelites in Joseph’s desire to bury his father in Canaan.  The Israelites did not give in to burying him in Egypt.  There are things on which we are to hold our ground and things that we must not force our hosts to change.  I pray God gives us the wisdom to know which are which.

So well had the Israelites done this that the Canaanites mistook everyone as being Egyptians.  And thus the Canaanites gave another name to that location, that of “Abel-mizraim” which is interpreted to mean “the mourning of the Egyptians” and only used this one time in Scripture.

As we leave this passage, we are reminded of several things.  First, the extent to which Jacob’s family went to mourn his loss and to bury him as per his request.  Second, the respect that Joseph, Jacob, and the Israelites in general had gained in Egypt.  And third, that as “children of God” live according to His will and plan for their lives when it comes to how we deal with others, the world will notice us as the Canaanites noticed the unity of the mourners.   I pray it will be so with us.

[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

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Joseph Seeks Permission To Leave Egypt To Bury Jacob - Genesis 50:4-6

And when the days of mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak to Pharaoh, saying, ‘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.’” And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”

There are several interesting thoughts that arise from this section of Scripture.  The first that comes to mind is that Joseph and his brothers had to sit through seventy days of mourning before they actually knew for sure that they could carry out the wishes of their deceased father Jacob, to be buried in Canaan.  I would find it hard living without knowing whether I could carry out my deceased parent’s wishes.  But Joseph and his brothers bided their time and just trusted God for the outcome.

When the seventy days of morning had past, Joseph spoke not to Pharaoh himself, as he had done when his family first came to Egypt and he wanted to settle them in a particular location, but to the “household of Pharaoh”, concerning this matter.  He relied on the fact that he had treated them all well as servants and family of Pharaoh while he himself was second in the land.  Sometimes God puts us in various places of influence and then depending on how well we do there, he allows us to be blessed by the very relationships we develop.  So he implored them to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf and ask him for permission for him to be allowed to go and bury his father in the land of Canaan.

Joseph also told them to tell Pharaoh that he promised to return.  There are times when we ask for a favor that we need to consider the needs of those we ask the favor from with respect to our role or contribution to their lives.  What inconvenience will our request cause them?  I am reminded of those who I supervised over the years.  With respect to asking for favors, all my employees could be divided into two main types.  First, there are those that ask “to leave work early tonight” and then there are those that ask “to leave work early tonight and promise to work the extra time off by shortening my lunch hours” and then do so.   Now, which type of employee would you be more likely to happily grant the time off to?  Clearly, the second type is not trying to take advantage of you but rather is earnestly seeking a favor and is willing to be responsible for minimizing the inconvenience granting such a favor may cause you.  So, it was with Joseph when he asked to bury his father in Canaan – he promised to return to the service of Pharaoh.

The text does not record the conversation between Pharaoh and his household on this matter.  Instead, we simply have Pharaoh’s response to Joseph, “Go and bury your father as he made you promise.”  Joseph waited for seventy days, then he made the appropriate request to his authority, and God granted the desired response.  We do not know what Joseph would have done had Pharaoh said ‘no’.  But we do know that Joseph trusted God with his need and God met it at the right time.

All the parties involved realized the value and significance of an oath made in good faith.  Much of Pharaoh’s response was dependent on that.  Joseph was allowed to go and bury Jacob primarily because he had made that promise to him and Pharaoh knew it.

Every day we get opportunities to make promises.  Sometimes to those we are supposed to love (you know, “until death do us part”), sometimes to our children (“yes, we can go out for a bike ride today”) and sometimes to our boss, our peers, or our subordinates.  But do we keep them all?  We need to think of whether or not we have an almost 100% capability if at all possible of fulfilling any promise, before we make it, and then do so.  This world lacks integrity and promise keeping is one way to regain at least our own integrity.  I have five grandchildren ranging from age six to ten right now.  I make them promises, but sometimes they get a little over-anxious about when they’ll be fulfilled and try to speed the process up.  At that point I ask them, “Excuse me, but ever since you can remember, does pappou (Greek for grandfather) keep his promises?”  The answer is always a “Yes”, albeit reluctantly as they realize they have to be patient a while longer. 

While I am on this topic, let me get something off my chest.  And here I write to those of my brothers and sisters that are in the ministry.  Why is it that many people identify a pastor’s “promise to get back to them” as a common practical weakness among clergy?  Why is it that pastors and ministers cannot live their lives keeping the promises they make?  Surely it is not because they don’t care about people.  Surely it is not because they do not use electronic gadgets and other means to remind them of what is important to them, for many do.  I once had to wait several years for a loaned book to be returned to me from a pastor friend who kept promising to do so every time he phoned me for human resources advice I could provide.  On another occasion, I am still waiting for a pastor friend to take me to a ball game that was promised years ago.  Another pastoral friend called me and asked me if I would do something for him and if so, he would discuss it with his board that night and let me know the next day.  That was months ago.  I finally ran into him at another event and when I challenged him on that, he replied he had thought he would only be doing so if the board agreed to go ahead with what he was proposing.  And more recently, a pastor friend who had put it in his electronic calendar mind you to call and see how the widow of a man who had served as his church’s Chairman of the Board for many years was doing, has still not done so at this point of writing, several months later.  Pastors, none of us are perfect, but let me honestly tell you how your attitude to keeping even small promises to others on simple matters, actually has a deep impact on people, your ministry, your integrity, and the name of Jesus Christ.

It is my prayer we all not make promises we cannot keep and keep the promises we make.

[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

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Mourning for Jacob - Genesis 50:1-3

Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him and kissed him.  And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father.  So the physicians embalmed Israel.  Now forty days were required for it, for such is the period required for embalming.  And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.

We come now to the last chapter of the first book of the Bible.  In it, we read of Jacob’s burial and also the death of his favorite son, Joseph.   For now, let us focus on the former.   The relationship between the two is evident in verse one.  When Jacob died, the Bible actually records only Joseph falling on his dead father’s face and weeping and kissing him, although it is likely the others did likewise.  This was indeed a great loss for them.  Joseph in particular had recently got his family back after all those years of living without them in Egypt and now he loses the man who was his strength and godly example.

Matthew Henry writes that just as “it is an honor to die lamented, so it is the duty of survivors to lament the death of those who have been useful in their day, though for some time they may have survived their usefulness. The departed soul is out of the reach of our tears and kisses, but with them it is proper to show our respect to the poor body, of which we look for a glorious and joyful resurrection. Thus Joseph showed his faith in God, and love to his father, by kissing his pale and cold lips, and so giving an affectionate farewell.”  Can you imagine dying as an older person and not being lamented?  Yet it happens every day in this cruel world of sin.  Relationships between spouses, between parents and children, have often broken off long before death and then death is simply something one reads about in the obituaries of the local paper.  No lament; no mourning; no missing of a loved one.  That is not how God intended it.

And though he was mourning, Joseph also realized he had responsibilities.  Taking charge of the situation on behalf of the clan, he commanded the ‘physicians’ or so-called ‘healers’ among his servants to embalm his father.  The embalming process in Egyptian took forty days and the mourning period for great men in Egypt was seventy days.  Joseph did abide by the Egyptian practices and traditions with respect to his father’s burial.  He may have also done so because he knew that the body had to be transported to Canaan a lengthy trip that needed considerable time to be planned and undertaken.  The man was dead and his son did the best he knew for him.  Once a person dies is no time to stand on ceremony as to which burial rites are appropriate and which are not.  It is interesting to note the thinking of commentator Chuck Smith who suggests that if one were to find the cave in the field of Machpelah were Jacob was buried, you would not find the bodies of Abraham, Sarah, Issac, Rebekah, and Leah as they would have long ago decomposed.   But you may well find the mummified body of Jacob who because of his being embalmed, may have been preserved like the Egyptian Pharaohs.  Some of us have seen the mummified body of King Tut in recent exhibits.

Not only did his sons and their families mourn Jacob for the seventy days, but Scripture records that Egyptians did so as well.  Perhaps these were servants of Joseph and others he had come to know.  Perhaps even Pharaoh visited and mourned with them for a while.  I attended a rather large funeral lately.  Most were there because they esteemed the deceased.  Others were there who never knew him, but wanted to pay their respects to his family.  The honor went to the person who was being buried either directly or indirectly through the wonderful family he had raised and left behind.

As we reflect on the loss of Joseph and his brothers, let us also reflect on the losses we have experienced and reconsider whether or not we lamented for those that went before us.  If not, let us do so now.  Perhaps more importantly let us reflect on whether or not we ourselves are living the kind of lives that would be worthy of lament by our children when we die.  If so, let us continue.  If not, let us change.  There is still time.

[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

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It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.