I.
Mourning for Jacob (Genesis 50:1-14)
a.
Genesis
50:1 – And Joseph fell upon
his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
§
The story focuses
on Joseph’s mourning and actions after his father’s death; Joseph being the
central figure now.
o
Joseph 56 years
old at Jacob’s death
o
Isaac had been
dead for 27 years
o
Abraham dead for
132 years
o
Bullinger places
Jacob’s death at 1689 B.C. and the flood at 2348 B.C.
o
Klassen places
Jacob’s death at 1660 B.C. and the flood at 2319 B.C.
·
Therefore the
flood occurred 659 years after the flood with both estimates
§
No doubt Jacob’s
other sons were present, Joseph is particularly mentioned because he was closer
to his father therefore his pain likely exceeded theirs.
§
Joseph is also
the focus not because he inherited the birthright, his sons retained the name
of Israel
§
Finally, it’s the
fulfillment of God’s promise to Jacob
o
Genesis
46:4 - I will go down with
thee into Egypt
b.
Genesis
50:2 – And Joseph commanded
his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel
§
More of an
indication of Joseph’s wealth and prominence that he had physicians attending
to and monitoring his health routinely
c.
Genesis
50:3 – And forty days were
fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed:
and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.
§
40 days for
embalming
§
Egyptians mourned
70 total days, 10 weeks
§
The Egyptians
showed great honor to Jacob, their initial detest had subsided during his stay
in their land
§
We should show a
level of respect for the dead body though it is an empty shell, as a memorial
to those who have gone on before us.
o
Matthew
5:4 - Blessed [are] they that
mourn: for they shall be comforted.
d.
Genesis
50:4 – And when the days of
his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now
I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh,
saying,
§
Joseph made his
request through the administrative ‘house’ of Pharaoh
§
Joseph made his
request after his days of weeping as to not offend Pharaoh with his unshaven or
unkept appearance.
o
Joseph, even in
his mourning, is so modest as to request leave to bury his father, never
assuming he was entitled to do so.
o
Interesting that
Christ would not grant this…
·
Matthew 8:21 -22 - And
another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my
father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow
me; and let the dead bury their dead.
·
Does this mean
that Pharaoh was more compassionate than Christ? No it merely shows the urgency to which we
must work for Christ, it is far more important than that of a governor
e.
Genesis
50:5 – My father made me
swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan
§
Joseph appeals to
Pharaoh on the grounds that he must fulfill the oath that he made to his father
§
Joseph must seek
permission from Pharaoh in order to leave
§
Joseph makes the
statement “I will come again” to put Pharaoh’s mind at ease, he gives his word
teat he will return
§
Pharaoh and all
of Egypt
f.
Genesis 50:6
– And Pharaoh said, Go up,
and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
§
Not because he
wanted to give Joseph leave, but because he wanted Joseph to honor his word
g.
Genesis
50:7 – And 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
§
Born as Jacob the
supplanter, dies as Israel
§
His life produces
many hardships and trials, but Jacob overcame all of them to die a
distinguished and honored patriarch of the Israelites.
h.
Genesis
50:8 – And all the house of
Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and
their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen
§
A long journey, about
two hundred miles by caravan at ~5 mph traveling 8 hours per day would have
taken 10 days round trip
i.
Genesis
50:9 – And there went up with
him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
§
The Cadillac
limousine of antiquity
j.
Genesis
50:10 – And they came to the
threshingfloor of Atad, which [is] beyond Jordan
§
Threshingfloor –
an open place before the gates of cities used to trodden out corn
§
Threshingfloor of
Atad - the threshing Atad, meaning thorn, also called Abelmizraim and
afterwards called Bethhogla was located on the west of Jordan Jordan Jericho
§
Another 7 days of
mourning
§
It’s likely that
the entire trip and extra days morning took an entire month
k.
Genesis
50:11 – And when the
inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad,
they said, This [is] a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name
of it was called Abelmizraim, which [is] beyond Jordan
§
Abelmizraim - "mourning
of Egypt Egypt
l.
Genesis
50:12 – And his sons did unto
him according as he commanded them:
§
Jacob’s sons
completed the task assigned to them by their dying father
m.
Genesis
50:13 – For his sons carried
him into the land of Canaan
§
The most
noteworthy and honorable funeral recorded in Scripture
§
Acts 7:16 - And
were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought
for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor [the father] of Sychem.
o
Genesis 23:20 - And
the field, and the cave that [is] therein (field
of Ephron in Machpelah), were made sure unto Abraham for a possession
of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.
o
Genesis 33:19
- And he (Jacob) bought a parcel of a
field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor,
Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.
o
2 different
burial grounds, one purchased by Abraham and the other by Jacob, but Acts
appears to confuse which one was purchased by Abraham.
o
Possible simple
explanation – Abraham could have purchased a parcel in Shechem in addition to
the one in Machpelah, 85 years passed between the time of Abraham’s purchase
and Jacob’s, the title may have lapsed and Joseph paid a “re-activation” fee
which may explain why the sum is significantly less than what Abraham (400
shekels of silver) paid t hot Hittites.
n.
Genesis
50:14 – And Joseph returned
into Egypt
§
Joseph and his
brothers went up to Canaan to bury their father, and they all returned to Egypt
II.
Joseph and His Brethren (Genesis 50:15-26)
a.
Genesis
50:15 – And when Joseph's
brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure
hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
§
Feelings of guilt
lead to feelings of suspicion, walking in forgiveness where we forgive others
for wrongs helps us to accept forgiveness and eliminates guilt.
b.
Genesis
50:16 – And they sent a
messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
c.
Genesis
50:17 – So shall ye say unto
Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin;
for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the
servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
§
Joseph wept tears
of sadness that his brothers remained suspicious of him after so long
§
Appealed to
Joseph’s duty to forgive because their dad said so and because they were
“servants of the God of thy father”
§
His brothers were
so afraid of Joseph that they sent a messenger, they couldn’t even initially come
to him personally
d.
Genesis
50:18 – And his brethren also
went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we [be] thy
servants.
§
Guilt causes us
to do strange things, but here they fall before Joseph just as was initially
foretold in his dream
e.
Genesis
50:19 – And Joseph said unto
them, Fear not: for [am] I in the place of God?
§
Romans 12:19 - Dearly
beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is
written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
§
Joseph never took
advantage of their guilt though he could have quite easily done so held them in
bondage to it, he shows the character of God in his forgiveness of his brothers
§
We should never
use someone seeking forgiveness as an occasion to exact some form of penitence,
we are to forgive because Christ has forgiven us for so much more!
o
Luke 6:37 - Judge
not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:
forgive, and ye shall be forgiven
o
Matthew 6:14 -15 -
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you: But if ye forgive not men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
f.
Genesis
50:20 – But as for you, ye
thought evil against me; [but] God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as [it
is] this day, to save much people alive.
§
God often brings
good from evil and brings about His design through sinful men.
§
He understands
the end from the beginning and demonstrates His superior wisdom by directing
men, even in their sin, to accomplish His will
o
Isaiah
46:10 - Declaring the end
from the beginning, and from ancient times [the things] that are not [yet]
done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure
g.
Genesis
50:21 – Now therefore fear ye
not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake
kindly unto them.
§
Unconditional
favor toward them
§
Joseph shows
great patience, speaking kin words to his brothers who obviously still hold
onto the guilt for what they did to Joseph even though it was clearly all by
the design of God.
III.
Final Days of Joseph (Genesis 50:22-26)
a.
Genesis
50:22 – And Joseph dwelt in Egypt
§
713 years after
the flood
§
Between 1635 and
1606 B.C. according to Bullinger and Klassen
b.
Genesis
50:23 – And Joseph saw
Ephraim's children of the third [generation]: the children also of Machir the
son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
§
Proverbs 13:22 - A
good [man] leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of
the sinner [is] laid up for the just.
§
Psalm 128:6
- Yea, thou shalt see thy
children's children, [and] peace upon Israel
c.
Genesis
50:24 – And Joseph said unto
his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this
land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
§
Exodus
2:24-25 - And God heard their
groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with
Jacob. And God looked upon the children
of Israel
§
Romans 10:17 - So
then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
§
Joseph heard the
word of God and demonstrated it through his faith, he comforted others with the
promises of God that had served to comfort him over the years
d.
Genesis
50:25 – And Joseph took an
oath of the children of Israel
§
Hebrews 11:22 - By
faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel
§
Exodus 13:19 - And
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children
of Israel
§
Joshua 24:32
- And the bones of Joseph,
which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem,
in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of
Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the
children of Joseph.
e.
Genesis
50:26 – So Joseph died,
[being] an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in
a coffin in Egypt
§
Genesis begins
with God creating the heavens and the earth…life
§
Genesis ends with
a man in a coffin…death
After nearly 3 years we are excited to have completed the book of Genesis! We will begin a new series called "What Shall be the Sign of Thy Coming" beginning April 7th.
