Genesis 50:15-26 - Demonstrating Grace in Adversity

Genesis 50:15-26

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” 16 So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, 17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.“‘ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

18 Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Death of Joseph (Hebrews 11:22)

22 So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father’s household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. 23 Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph’s knees.

24 And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Joseph demonstrated grace to his siblings in the adversity of their evil intent which God allowed in His providence for the good of them all as a family and a nation according to His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who was Israel.  After their father died to be gathered to his people, after he was buried in the plot of the promised land own by the future nation of his on that land, then the brothers feared Joseph’s retribution for what they had done to him, not fully believing (Genesis 45:4-5) his view of God’s grace in arranging his circumstances at their hands to deliver them all from the destruction of the overwhelming famine.  Joseph again reassured them that he would not repay their evil actions in like kind, but wept when they came in repentance to him and pleaded for for forgiveness and mercy.  They even offered themselves as his slaves in their heartfelt contrition and fear.  Joseph answered in grace by saying that he was not in God’s place to judge them and though they meant evil against him in their blind jealousy, God intended it for good to “save many people alive” that day.  He looked past his own suffering to the mighty hand of God in His providence and planning for all these events to come together and deliver the nation from death and destruction into a growing and fruitful people of (Genesis 1:28, 9:1, 12:2, 7, 28:3-4, 48:4) promise.  God’s predestined purpose for His children allowed for Joseph’s suffering as well as his rise to power and ability to be in the right place at the precise moment to save all Israel!  He does continue to work in the lives of all His children to work His plans through us (Ephesians 2:10) as we endure afflictions (1 Timothy 4:10, 2 Timothy 3:12, 1 Peter 4:19) for the kingdom and its people we are joined to in Christ by His grace through suffering (1 Peter 4:12-13) for us upon that tree of our sin’s curse to deliver us from eternal destruction. This shows us that Demonstrating Grace in Adversity is necessary for the kingdom of God and deliverance of His people. May we likewise exhibit grace in adversity and not seek vengeance on our persecutors (Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19) as we look to the prize of the upward call of God in Christ (Philippians 3:10-11, 14) Jesus! 

Genesis 50:1-14 - Mourning and Remembrance in Hope

Genesis 50:1-14

1 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him, and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 Forty days were required for him, for such are the days required for those who are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

4 Now when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying, 5 My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying; 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, and I will come back.’”

6 And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”

7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.

10 Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father. 11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

12 So his sons did for him just as he had commanded 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 bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. 14 And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.

The passing of Israel once called Jacob was a sad day of mourning for his family and all of Egypt’s people who were saved from starvation by his son Joseph that was revered next to Pharaoh.  Joseph had his father embalmed as the Egyptian rulers had done for centuries as we see in the mummified tombs of them in the pyramids and other nearby royal gravesites today, and which process is crudely imitated in our own western methods of embalming our dead.  They did this to keep the body from being completely decomposed with natural decay as if to stay off the effects of death.  Of course, we know this is a futile effort as all bodies decay at some rate and death has taken the body but left the eternal soul unaffected by such erasure.  When we obtain resurrected incorruptible bodies, this will no longer be needed to try to keep the two together in a sense, for there will be no more separation of body and soul caused by the sin of disbelief and disobedience to God’s word that began this all in Eden’s Garden.  God made our body from the elements of the earth he created and breathed His breath of our souls into them.  He meant the body and soul to remain together forever but sin brought death to the body and corrupted the rest of the earth (Genesis 6:11-12, Romans 8:21) in the process until all is made new.  The whole nation of Egypt mourned the death of Joseph’s father without the hope we have in Christ, a period of just over a month.  Then Joseph asked permission to bury Jacob in the land promised to Israel through Abraham and Isaac in Canaan where the first part of that possession lay.  This is a reminder that our grave plots are but a foretaste of the heavenly promised land we have to look forward to after death when our souls are reunited with incorruptible bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42, 52-53) in the kingdom of God come (Matthew 6:10, Revelation 11:15, 12:10) to earth at last!  When Jacob was buried in the promised land not yet appropriated for the people of God yet, the inhabitants of the land wondered at the sight and named the place “Abel Mizraim,” meaning ‘Mourning of Egypt’ because they assumed Joseph who appeared as an Egyptian was leading a party of his countrymen from there and not knowing the true possessors (Genesis 12:7, 23:20, Exodus 12:25) of the promised land there.  Jacob’s sons were faithful to bury their father in the land to come with the hope it would be theirs one day as a picture of the eternal land of God’s kingdom granted through promise by the same faith of Abraham to undo the disbelief and disobedience of the first Adam by the work of obedience of God’s Son as the second Adam for our inheritance as promised in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We bury our dead now in the Lord with this certain hope that does not and cannot (Romans 5:5) ever disappoint.  We mourn our dead now in the Lord as we remember them, but have real and lasting joy in the morning (Lamentations 3:22-24) when we recall the promised land of the kingdom to come when we will all be reunited in the presence of our Lord.  This is the certain hope of the gospel.

Genesis 49:29-33 - The Hope-filled Death and Burial of Israel

Genesis 49:29-33

Jacob’s Death and Burial

29 Then he charged them and said to them: “I am 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 with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. 

31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.” 

33 And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

The death and burial of Israel once called Jacob came at last.  Before he died, however, Jacob had pronounced God’s plans for each of his sons and their descendants (Hebrews 11:21-22) who were the twelve tribes of that nation chosen by God to make His name great and greatly known throughout the earth.  They were to be the channel of His salvation to the nations promised to Abram and Isaac and Jacob, with the immediate formation of the nation in the promised land and the long term view of the heavenly kingdom to come by that same promise of faith (Romans 4:13, 16-17) to all (Acts 2:38-39, Ephesians 2:12-13) His children whom God would call.  Jacob pronounced the prophetic acts and ends of each tribe according to their natures and sins as well as successes and victories.  This would be played out in history as it is written in the scriptures and we see there the scarlet thread of redemption in the line of the Messiah who would one day conquer death and give hope to reunite the souls of men and women with new incorruptible bodies (1 Corinthians 15:52-53, 54, 57) apart from sin (Hebrews 9:28) where death reigns no more!  As for Jacob who anticipated that day (Hebrews 11:13, 15-16), he lay down in peace to face death until that Day with anticipation and hope in the work of God through his children of both flesh and faith.  He asked to be buried next to Sarah and Abraham with Isaac and Rebekah, in a piece of the promised land here on earth bought by grace and secured by faith.  Then Jacob-Israel died and went to be with his LORD and Maker along with his people as he breathed his final breath in his sin-corrupted body as he awaited the incorruptible body to come just as Job also wrote about (Job 19:25-27), another faithful man of God who lived in the time of these patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph) of the faith.  We have this certain hope as proven by Christ in word and deed, culminating in His own resurrection from a corrupt body to the incorruptible as evidence of faith seen (Hebrews 11:1) for us to hold fast to until that day through our own deaths and new lives of reunification of our cleaned souls in His lifeblood with new sinless vessels to worship in truth and spirit as we were created in the beginning to do.  We therefore anticipate death with peace as we comprehend the end in sight by the faith of Abraham in Christ our Lord and Messiah of all His called and chosen people (Revelation 5:9, 14:6-7) before His (Revelation 21:3, 22:3-5) throne!  The death and burial of Jacob and all who since have died in this faith in which we stand gives us joy in the journey until that day and not dread of what we will face on the Day of Judgment.  This then is an account of the Death and Burial of Israel that offers hope in the scriptures of an eternal nature while we anticipate the resurrection to life after death in the hope of the heavenly kingdom to come as promised from the beginning to all those of the fullness of Israel (Romans 9:6-7, 8, Galatians 3:8-9 ) out of all nations as promised by faith to Abraham in which we stand.

Genesis 49:1-27 - Prophetic Words to Israel’s Sons

Genesis 49:1-27

1 And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:

2 “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,
And listen to Israel your father.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
My might and the beginning of my strength,
The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel,
Because you went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it—
He went up to my couch.

5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.
6 Let not my soul enter their council;
Let not my honor be united to their assembly;
For in their anger they slew a man,
And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob
And scatter them in Israel.

8 “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s children shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

11 Binding his donkey to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
He washed his garments in wine,
And his clothes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.

13 “Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea;
He shall become a haven for ships,
And his border shall adjoin Sidon.

14 “Issachar is a strong donkey,
Lying down between two burdens;
15 He saw that rest was good,
And that the land was pleasant;
He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden,
And became a band of slaves.

16 “Dan shall judge his people
As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way,
A viper by the path,
That bites the horse’s heels
So that its rider shall fall backward.

18 I have waited for your salvation, O LORD!

19 “Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him,
But he shall triumph at last.

20 “Bread from Asher shall be rich,
And he shall yield royal dainties.

21 “Naphtali is a deer let loose;
He uses beautiful words.

22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.
23 The archers have bitterly grieved him,
Shot at him and hated him.
24 But his bow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong
By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

25 By the God of your father who will help you,
And by the Almighty who will bless 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 excelled the blessings of my ancestors,
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
In the morning he shall devour the prey,
And at night he shall divide the spoil.”

As Israel lay on his deathbed, he prophesied the fate of each son representing each of the twelve tribes of the nation to be named after him as its progenitor by the LORD.  These are true and somewhat harsh in their assessment as Jacob went through them one by one and turned their attention to listen and take heed to what he was about to say to them.  Reuben the eldest was powerful but unstable and answering to his sexual (Genesis 35:22, Deuteronomy 27:20) sins and the (1 Chronicles 5:1-2) birthright was passed to Joseph’s sons.  The rule actually passed to Judah instead of the sons of Joseph, however, whose lineage brought the Messiah Jesus into flesh as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5) according to God’s plan.  Next up were Simeon and Levi, cruel and angry young men without honor (Genesis 34:26-29) and destined to be separated from Judah and scattered throughout Israel.  Then came Judah as a powerful lion to rule and earn praise from them all, through whom the Messiah would come out of Shiloh of whom it belongs and brings tranquility (peace with God, Romans 5:1) to take the scepter and rule (Matthew 2:6) as Lord of all.  Judah would rule until He came.  Then Zebulun is briefly mentioned as being a great seafaring port before moving on to Issachar (reward) as a strong beast of burden carrying quite a burden and according to some meaning the reaping the benefits in some ways a picture of the Law preparing God’s people for the work of the Messiah and resting in His work for us.  Dan would be a ruling tribe as well, judging his people and striking to bring down his enemies.  In verse 18 the phrase, “I have waited for your salvation, O LORD!” stands out as a reminder to wait for God’s gospel to work out through these sons of Israel as a channel of God’s salvation to the nations as promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Jacob in this seemingly out of place verse admitted the vulnerability of his descendants by spontaneously appealing to the Lord as his true and trusted source of salvation in the midst of prophetic revelations of their struggles and failures.  He then moved on to the next tribe from his loins, Gad, who would triumph in the end.  Then Asher followed with their bountiful and savory food, followed by elegant and free running Naphtali using beautiful words.  Then we see Joseph brought to light, indicating his fruitfulness in the midst of opposition and finding strength in ‘the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob.’  However, it would be Judah, not Joseph, who would bring forth the Shepherd of God’s people as a Stone to build on, alluding to Christ as our cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16, Acts 4:11-12, Ephesians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:6-7, 9-10) to align God’s building of His Kingdom upon and the Shepherd (1 Peter 2:25) of our souls.  Therefore, the ending of verse 24 points us to this fact while extolling Joseph for being used to deliver his people when separated from his brothers by his bondage in Egypt that led to God’s working for good (Genesis 45:5-7, Romans 8:28) and blessing through the famine.  Finally the youngest, Benjamin, is revealed to be a ravenous wolf (Judges 20:21, 25) in warfare.  These all were shown in weakness and strength as descendants chosen and choosing different paths as God’s people and the whole of Israel in all their lives as individuals and tribes.  We see our own faults and victories in light of God’s grace and choosing as we choose to learn from the good and bad examples of each of these.  We are reminded that God gives us these Prophetic Words to Israel’s Sons as examples for us all who are God’s people in Christ that we might live as we are called and strive to walk in light, love, and wisdom (Ephesians chapter 5) to do the works prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10). 

Genesis 48:1-22 - An Everlasting Possession

Genesis 48:1-22

Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons (Hebrews 11:21)

1 Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. 6 Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”
9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.”

And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.” 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”

12 So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said:

“God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
16 The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
Let my name be named upon them,
And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

17 Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

20 So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

As Jacob was dying, he found his son Joseph and his sons Manasseh and Ephraim had come near.  Then Israel recalled how God Almighty appeared to him at Luz in Canaan to blessed him and told Jacob, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’  Then he blessed Joseph’s sons and rejoiced that he was able not only to see him who he thought was dead, but also his two grandsons in the land given under Joseph to rescue them all alive by God’s grace according to His promises in Joseph’s dreams back in Canaan!  He blessed the younger son of Joseph instead of the older and would not be corrected because that was the will of the LORD.  He recounted how the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac led and fed them faithfully all the days of their lives and redeemed him from all evil by the hand of His Angel (Genesis 28:13-14, 15, 48:3) who was God Himself.  Israel then put his name on them (Acts 15:17-18) as further descendants of the promise to be fruitful and multiply, giving God’s blessing on them as had been put on him and on Joseph.  He prophesied that Ephraim (Deuteronomy 33:17) the younger son was to be the greater of the two and become a multitude of nations, though the Messiah would be of the lineage of Judah and not through Joseph.  Joseph, however, would be the path of deliverance from famine in Egypt and the source of the multitude of Israel born there in eventual bondage for four hundred years until another deliverer would lead them out into freedom and the promised land in Canaan at last.  Israel therefore blessed his son Joseph as the immediate deliverer and gave him more riches than the others.  He told him plainly that God would bring him back to the land of his fathers just as Joseph had also promised to bury Jacob (Genesis 49:29, 50:12-14) there.  The promised land awaited all God’s people then on this earth but  this was a shadow of the true promise of faith to Abraham and us of the heavenly kingdom to come, a once veiled hope of an everlasting possession revealed in Christ! 

Genesis 47:13-31 - Sojourner to Citizen of God’s Kingdom

Genesis 47:13-31

Joseph Deals with the Famine

13 Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14 And Joseph gathered up 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.

15 So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.”

16 Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.

18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.”

20 Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.

23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”

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 servants.” 26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.

Joseph’s Vow to Jacob

27 So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years. 29 When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”

And he said, “I will do as you have said.”

31 Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.

Faith led to following God into His promise of deliverance from famine and the development into a multitude of His people In a foreign country while waiting to enter the promised land.  We as Christians who are called out of the world instead of Ur or Egypt have been similarly called by faith like Abram who trusted God’s word and left the world to journey towards that heavenly kingdom (Hebrews  11:16, 12:22) to come.  We were starving for God’s word and good will towards us as sinners in rebellious defiance as we opposed Him and His righteousness until He sent His Son as our deliverer and brought our souls into His kingdom of plenty which increases as we bear witness of this good news to others whom Jesus is calling out to join us with Him.  In the famine of food at the time of this historical account in Egypt and Canaan we see how God gave grace and wisdom to Joseph to start a central bank to provide food for the nation, and then assimilated the animals and land of the citizens for food to survive the seven year famine.  The land became property of the Pharaoh and the people were moved to urban centers to gain access to the stored food bought with all they owned.  Yet they survived.  They were then given seed to replant afterwards with the promise for all the people except the priests to give one-fifth of their harvest to Pharaoh in return.  A system was setup to rebuild the crops and economy by this wisdom given by God to Joseph as His servant and instrument of grace to the nation.  How would it be today if leaders would first follow God and then provide for others instead of themselves!  These actions are partly the basis for our laws to not tax churches and to pay taxes on our land and food to distribute some of what we have been given to help one another.  Joseph then vowed to his father that he would bury him in the promised land and not the land of their fruitful sojourning.  We also have the promise of the Lord as sojourners (Hebrews 11:13, 1 Peter 2:11) in this world to be buried in the land God gives us with the future hope of a resurrection into the true promised land of the heavenly kingdom to come.  For this we work and live by His promises and grace, no longer merely sojourners (Ephesians 2:19) of this world, but are citizens of heaven and of the household of God. 

Genesis 47:1-12 - God’s Sovereign Provision of Daily Bread

Genesis 47:1-12

1 Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.” 2 And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?”

And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” 4 And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”

5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”

7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”

9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” 10 So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

11 And Joseph situated 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 commanded. 12 Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread, according to the number in their families.

Joseph was a good provider for his family, leveraging the place God had put him over Egypt and its food stores to feed and house his own there in Goshen.  After advice from Joseph to his father Israel to tell the Pharaoh he was a shepherd, an occupation below the Egyptians, he took five of his brothers to the king to have them repeat the same declaration after settling them in the lush grazing fields of Goshen given by Pharaoh to them.  The king was so impressed with Joseph interpreting his dreams and saving his country from the famine that he was more than happy to give them that land and bless them there.  He even went further to ask them to care for his own flocks as he entrusted them with even that as he realized that the God of Joseph was powerful and made them prosperous.  When Joseph introduced his father, he was asked his age and found that Israel was one hundred and thirty.  Not only that, but he heard that Israel’s ancestors lived even longer on their pilgrimage!  They were given the best of the land in Goshen of Rameses as commanded by Pharaoh at Joseph’s hand and Joseph provided them with food as he had served bread to his brothers (Genesis 43:31) when they first sat down with him in Egypt and bowed to his authority over them as God had shown him in his dreams (Genesis 37:7-8, 9-10) before being sold into slavery and blessed to reign over the land under the Pharaoh.  God had shown them such grace in His sovereign plan and leading through the suffering and tribulation of the circumstances!  He does the same with us who are His people in Christ as well, allowing sometimes overwhelming circumstances to serve His purpose (Romans 8:28) for His glory and our good at the same time.  Praise Him, our blessed Redeemer for His sovereign provision of our daily bread!  We should likewise trust Him in trying times when we are hard pressed on every side (2 Corinthians 4:8-10), knowing He is leading us for His glory and our good.

Genesis 46:1-34 - Israel’s Journey Begins

Genesis 46:1-34

Jacob’s Journey to Egypt (Exodus 6:14–25)

1 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

3 So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.”

5 Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. 7 His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

8 Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn. 9 The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron. 14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daughters, were thirty-three.

16 The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 17 The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. 18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.

19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. 20 And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 21 The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22 These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all.

23 The son of Dan was Hushim. 24 The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all.

26 All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all. 27 And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.

Jacob Settles in Goshen

28 Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. 29 So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.

30 And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.”

31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’ 33 So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 that you shall say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

After Pharaoh gave his consent and command to send Joseph and his recently reacquainted brothers to journey to Canaan, the journey for Israel down to Egypt began.  Israel stopped along the way at Beersheba to give offerings of thanksgiving to the LORD and there had dreamed a vision of God calling out to him by his original name, Jacob.  He reassured Jacob that as the God of his fathers, He would lead and keep him there, making Israel a great nation there (Genesis 15:13) and then returning him (Exodus 12:40-41) to the promised land just as He had promised to Abram before renaming him.  There is a transformative work in God’s promises taken to heart by faith that changes a man to align with God’s plan.  He does that with all His children to a point, promising deliverance from the bondage of sin and an eventual new name (Isaiah 62:2, Revelation 2:17, 3:12) in Heaven because we are His in Christ.  He also promised Israel to have Joseph there at his death as desired and so he journeyed to Egypt in light of the promised provision and suffering to glory that would follow to his descendants who would multiply and the stars and sand grains (Genesis 22:17, 26:4-5, Exodus 32:13) according to His promise taken at His word by faith.  All seventy of Israel’s people journeyed there to see the mighty hand of God work in them!  Jacob rode to meet and help settle them in the fertile land of Goshen in Egypt.  There Israel was glad at seeing his son given up as lost to the wild beasts (Genesis 37:33, 35) but now consoled and at peace for their safety there from famine and having hope for the future.  A strange but understandable preparation was told Israel by Joseph for his meeting with Pharaoh; he was to tell his occupation as dealing in livestock, since the Egyptians looked down on shepherds and would supposedly leave them alone there in Goshen.  That would last only as long as that ruler lived, unfortunately.  Time would reveal the rest of the journey of the people of Israel who descended from Jacob there according to God’s sovereign plan for them as a channel of salvation to the world.  Israel’s Journey Begins in Egypt through peace as well as suffering.

Genesis 45:1-28 - God Sends into Suffering to Save

Genesis 45:1-28

Joseph Revealed to His Brothers

1 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it.

3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. 4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

9 “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry. 10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.“‘

12 “And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13 So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down here.”

14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.

16 Now the report of it was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” So it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan. 18 Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land. 19 Now you are commanded—do this: Take carts out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives; bring your father and come. 20 Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

21 Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them carts, according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. 22 He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments. 23 And he sent to his father these things: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey. 24 So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said to them, “See that you do not become troubled along the way.”

25 Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. 26 And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. 28 Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

The LORD God sent Joseph into slavery in Egypt by the hands of his jealous and vengeful brothers for a purpose.  It was to save them from starvation and destruction as a people chosen by Him for His glory.  When Joseph had all his siblings before him at last and heard how losing Benjamin would be the death of their father, he chose that moment as the big reveal of his identity and God’s plan through all these events.  He cleared the room of all servants first so what he said would be first heard as a family moment.  He blurted out that he was their lost brother Joseph and in the same breath asked how his father was doing, if he still lived.  They were speechless with nervous and anxious fear because they knew what they did to almost murder their brother and then sell his off as a slave, never to be seen again.  They did not imagine that he was still living, just as Joseph wondered about his father.  He told them not to be hard on themselves because God had orchestrated it all!  He had brought Joseph to Egypt and risen him to power as his dream had forewarned to send him there before them to preserve their lives (Genesis 50:19-20).  He conveyed the circumstances of the famine crisis and the way through it as a deliverance to save their lives for a posterity of their people under God.  This is also spiritually true for his completed people in Christ (Philippians 1:6, 2 Timothy 4:18, 2 Peter 2:9) who are kept by the power of God (1 Peter 1:4-5) until Jesus returns to judge the world (Acts 17:31) in righteousness and lead His chosen children into the eternal deliverance from His wrath on our sin just as Jesus has already delivered us from our bondage to it.  He told them to go back home and tell of the glory of God’s plan to raise his son to power in Egypt and to bring everything back to Egypt to be delivered from the death of starvation just as God had arranged and told them through his dreams before his being sold into slavery.  They rejoiced together and Pharaoh heard the great news and told him to send his brothers to bring back their father and they would be given the best of the land as an inheritance.  Joseph sent them on their mission with plenty of supplies and the good news of their deliverance!  This is as a picture of our deliverance received by the gospel as God’s plan for His chosen people appointed before time began (2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 1:2-3)!  Joseph at first did not believe the good news, but when he saw the evidence he trusted and began the journey to the place of their deliverance, just as we see the evidence of changed lives and follow into the promised land of the kingdom to come (Hebrews 11:16, 12:22, 28, 2 Timothy 4:18) with the evidence of faith (Hebrews 11:1) set before us.  No matter the tribulation we endure in this life, we have the certainty of the promises and assurance of faith in the substance of God’s word of faithfulness.  We therefore endure all things for the sake of the elect (2 Timothy 2:10, 4:5) and their deliverance.  God Sends Suffering to Save us, delivering us from the consequences and eternal suffering of sin.