Genesis 50

          God’s prophecy to Jacob in Genesis 46:4 comes true in this scene as Joseph mourns his father immediately following Israel’s death. (v.1) Joseph then commands his personal physicians to embalm his father. (v.2) (2 Chronicles 16:14, Matthew 26:12, Mark 16:1, Luke 24:1, John 19:39-40) According to the note in my study Bible, medicine and the practice of embalming were two separate, distinct professions in ancient Egypt. It’s very likely that Joseph had the physicians take on the responsibility of embalming Israel so as to avoid the pagan rituals of black magic and mysticism practiced by the embalmers and priests. Verse 3 states that the Egyptians mourned Israel for seventy days which was the traditional period in that time for mummification and grieving. Additional note in my study Bible on the process of mummification: “The various internal viscera were removed and placed in canopic jars of natron (a mixture of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate), causing rapid dehydration and preventing decomposition of the body.”
 
       Verses 4-14: Joseph asks permission of Pharaoh to return to Canaan to bury his father, to which Pharaoh immediately gives consent. (v.4-6) He even sends with Joseph all the servants and elders of his house as well as all the elders of the land of Egypt. That’s how much favor and respect the Pharaoh had for Joseph. Only the wives and children of Joseph and his brethren, along with their livestock, remain behind in Egypt while Joseph and his brothers and all of Israel’s household make the trek back to Atad. Once there, Joseph and his brothers make “…a great and very sore lamentation…” for seven days. (v.10) (Genesis 37:34, Numbers 20:29, Deuteronomy 34:8, 1 Samuel 31:13, Job 2:13) After this, they bury Jacob in the cave at the field of Machpelah alongside Leah, his parents and grandparents. (v.13)
 
        Verses 15-21: After returning to Egypt, Joseph’s brothers are afraid that Joseph will exact his revenge on them for selling him into slavery now that their father is dead. This is an indication of the level of power and respect that a patriarch had over his house in that time and culture. The brothers reveal to Joseph that Israel had commanded them to seek Joseph’s forgiveness and favor after Israel’s death. (v.17) They even cast themselves before him once again, just as when they had first come to Egypt, saying, “…Behold, we be thy servants.” (v.18) (Genesis 37:7)
         Joseph’s response “…is one of the clearest declarations of divine providence found anywhere in the Bible, reminding us that God’s purpose prevails over the evil of men.” (Commentary note in my study Bible.) Out of the abundance of love for his brothers, as well as his faith and trust in God, Joseph weeps. He then tells his brothers to not be afraid, adding, “…for am I in the place of God?” (Romans 12:19, Deuteronomy 32:35, Psalm 94:1, 1 Thessalonians 4:6, Hebrews 10:30) He recognized God’s hand and providence in all that had transpired since the day that he had first arrived in Potiphar’s house as a slave. God had ordained Joseph to be the governor of all of Egypt, second only in power and name to the Pharaoh, in order “…to save much people alive.” (v.20) What his brothers had meant for evil against Joseph God used for the good of His divine will. Joseph goes on to assure his brothers that he will take care of them and their children. He comforts his brothers, speaking “…kindly unto them.” (v.21) (Matthew 5:44)
 
        Verses 22-26: Joseph lives to be a hundred and ten years old, seeing not only his grandchildren but also his great-grandchildren. (v.23) In the tradition of the family patriarch, Joseph blesses his brothers and his children on his deathbed, promising them that “…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.” (v.24) He also makes his brothers, the children of Israel, swear an oath that they will carry his bones from Egypt when they return to the promised land, which their descendants did. (Exodus 13:19, Joshua 24:32) After his death, Joseph is embalmed and buried in Egypt. (v.26) Incidentally, that verse in Joshua reveals that Joseph’s final resting place in Canaan was the same site as the incident with Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, and the wrath and vengeance of Simeon and Levi (Genesis 49:5-7) upon Hamor, his son Shechem, and all the other men of that city. (Genesis 34) That land would become the inheritance of Ephraim and Manasseh and all their descendants.
 
      The book of Genesis is aptly named. It’s the beginning of everything: the creation of the universe, the earth, mankind, and then, finally, God’s choosing and calling of a Syrian named Abram (Genesis 12:1-3, 24:4, 25:20, Deuteronomy 26:5) which led to the birth of a nation of God’s chosen people, the children of Israel. Every single event in this book, from Genesis 1:1 to 50:26, is literally true. It really, actually happened! This book is not merely allegory or myth, as, sadly, many Christians believe today. The earth and the heavens were created in six literal, 24-hour days! There was no evolutionary process in any way, shape, or form whatsoever in that initial seven day week! Everything was formed from the word of God as mature and complete, including the adult man and woman in the garden of Eden. The age of this planet on which we dwell today is less than 10,000 years old. That is a scientific, verifiable fact! How do we know? Because God laid it out in perfectly clear words, first in Hebrew, now in English, carefully and divinely preserved throughout human history, for us to read today. God said it, so it is so. Period. Anyone who studies the natural world for any length of time will find evidence of a divine creator. From the basic molecules that make up all physical matter to the invisible functions and processes of time and seasons to our own DNA and genetic code – all of it points to intelligent design that was created and is still held together by divine will and providence.
        All the other events following the creation of Adam and Eve – the fall of Lucifer, the fall of mankind, the global flood, the supernatural visions and dreams by which God communicated to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph – are actual, true events that occurred just as described here in this book. Everything else in the Bible – the people, places, events, prophecies, God’s divine direction and providence – ties both directly and indirectly back to the people, places, events, prophecies and divine providence written here in Genesis, the book of beginnings. To fully understand the rest of the Bible, as well as God’s relationship to sinful, fallen, broken mankind, we must start in Genesis.
        God fulfilled His promise to Abraham. The children of Israel were fruitful and multiplied in the fertile valley of Goshen, and God blessed them. But Egypt was not the promised land, and it would soon be time for God to bring His chosen people out of there. All that God had accomplished in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph was just the beginning. God had a plan for His chosen people, and the best was yet to come.