Genesis 49:29 - 50:26

Genesis 49:29 - 50:26

²⁹ Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. ³¹ There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. ³² The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”

³³ When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. ² Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, ³ taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

Jacob, as Joseph’s father, was also held in high esteem by the Egyptians whom he lived among for seventeen years. This is particularly seen in their prolonged mourning for him. It lasted 70 days. No other burial recorded in Scripture is given such honor or described with such wealth of detail. Whatever his failings were in his earlier days, in later years and particularly in old age, he attains a spiritual maturity and moral dignity which give him a unique place in Bible history.

Note where it says that Jacob breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
He was gathered to Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac and all the others already living in the presence of God. This is clear recognition of the aliveness of those who died in faith.

Jesus said in Matthew 22:31-32 - ³¹ But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

And John 11:26 – Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me shall never die.” The believer never consciously experiences death, because when he closes his eyes on earth, they open in heaven.

That Jacob was embalmed was kind of interesting. Scripture only mentions two Israelites who were embalmed: Jacob and later Joseph.

Genesis 50: 4-6 ⁴ When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, ⁵ ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”

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

⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt— ⁸ besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. ⁹ Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.
¹⁰ When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. ¹¹ When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.

¹² So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: ¹³ They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.

All of Pharoah’s officials went! This was quite a procession. And you know the Egyptians didn’t like the people of Canaan. Remember they wouldn’t eat at the same table as Joseph’s brothers. They did all this out of respect for Joseph and Jacob, but it’s probably the first time Egyptians went to Canaan for a funeral!

Genesis 50:14-21 ¹⁴ After burying Jacob, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to his father’s burial. ¹⁵ But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers became fearful. “Now Joseph will show his anger and pay us back for all the wrong we did to him,” they said.

¹⁶ So they sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he instructed us ¹⁷ to say to you: ‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you—for their sin in treating you so cruelly.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.” When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept. ¹⁸ Then his brothers came and threw themselves down before Joseph. “Look, we are your slaves!” they said.

¹⁹ But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. ²¹ No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.

They doubted his forgiveness. But Joseph said “Am I in place of God?” He was saying judgment for sin belonged to God, not to him. And “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” This is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible. Because God can use anything for good. Someone recently told me that a lot of Muslims are converting to Christianity because of Isis. That seeing how they act wasn’t their idea of what the Muslim religion was about, so they were leaving it.

A commentator wrote that evil is never allowed near God’s own child without His permission first. If it IS allowed, as in Joseph’s slavery and imprisonment, David’s exile by Saul and particularly Jesus’ death on the cross, it’s because God plans to use it for the good of His child and for the fulfillment of His purpose.
Joseph kept his eyes on God. If God allowed this, He would work it out for good.

What a lesson!

If we can continue to trust God through a suffering, when it’s over we emerge with an experience that proves God is sufficient in every need and with power to help those who need help.

Genesis 50:22 – 26 ²² So Joseph and his brothers and their families continued to live in Egypt. Joseph lived to the age of 110. ²³ He lived to see three generations of descendants of his son Ephraim, and he lived to see the birth of the children of Manasseh’s son Makir, whom he claimed as his own.

²⁴ “Soon I will die,” Joseph told his brothers, “but God will surely come to help you and lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land he solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

²⁵ Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he said, “When God comes to help you and lead you back, you must take my bones with you.” ²⁶ So Joseph died at the age of 110. The Egyptians embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Even after living all this time in Egypt, Joseph knew he belonged in Canaan because of God’s promise. His faith is shown here. He said, “WHEN God comes to lead you back.”

And one day, four hundred years later, over a million slaves marched out of Egypt, led by God who used a pillar of cloud in the daytime and a fiery pillar at night to direct them. And in their midst was Joseph’s coffin.

Jacob Blesses His Sons

Genesis 49:1-2

Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.

² “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.

A commentator pointed out that “days to come” wasn’t just in their life time, but actually everything that had to happen to the nation of Israel up until end times when God’s plan would all come together.

Reuben - Genesis 49:3-4 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. ⁴ Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.

Reuben forfeited his birthright because of sin that he committed and didn’t repent from. (Reuben slept with his father’s concubine.) Jacob describes Reuben’s character as being like water, “unstable” or “turbulent” Reuben had one eye on God and one eye on pleasing himself at all costs.  And from Reuben’s tribe comes no king, no judge and no prophet. His tribe and Gad’s settled on the wilderness of the Jordan.

Simeon and Levi - Genesis 49:5-7 “Simeon and Levi are brothers—their swords are weapons of violence.
⁶ Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they please ⁷ Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.

These two are linked together because they were the leaders in organizing the massacre of the Shechemites back in Genesis 34. Jacob here places on record his own absolute separation from such a crime. And the result of their being together, united to commit such a crime, was that they would be “divided” and “scattered” in the nation of Israel. Therefore they couldn’t be ringleaders in causing others to sin again.

Simeon seems to have shown little change in disposition. It’s possible he was the one who led in the conspiracy to get rid of Joseph since he was the one Joseph threw in prison when the brothers came to Egypt looking for food. He did not receive a special territory in Canaan but instead inherited his portion within the allotment of Judah. Thus, the Simeonites were “scattered” among the cities of Judah.

Levi’s curse was later changed to become for him a means of blessing. But not til Deuteronomy. At a crisis in Israel’s later history Moses called, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” and all the sons of Levi gathered with him to put down the rebellion against God which endangered the whole nation. For this reason and also more loyalty to God displayed in the book of Numbers God gave Levi the privilege of leading the people to God through the Levitical priesthood. The original prophecy remained unchanged – they were still scattered in Israel, God can turn our punishments or consequences from sin to blessings if we turn to Him.

Judah - Genesis 49:8-12 “Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you ⁹ You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?  The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. ¹¹ He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. ¹² His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.

There are four parts to this most important prophecy concerning Judah: praise, power, prince and prosperity.

Praise – this is a play on Judah’s name which means “praise”. Judah too sinned. In Genesis 38 – he slept with his daughter-in-law thinking she was a temple prostitute. But he repented and turned from his sin. He also tried to save Joseph’s life from the other brothers. And he brings up the fact that what the brothers did to Joseph was a sin later on. AND he offered his own life in order that Benjamin might go free and his father Jacob be spared more sorrow.

But the reason he will be praised is because Christ will come from his line.

Power – To Judah was given power over his enemies. And he had power over his brothers in leadership as he ruled through the kingly line from David to David’s greater Son. The “lion” figuratively represents the development of power and kingship in Judah’s tribe. In Revelation Christ is called “The Lion of the tribe of Judah.”

Prince – The scepter represents rulership. Judah would have rule of Israel until Christ returns. And at the end of time every knee will bow to Judah’s descendant, Jesus Christ.

Prosperity – “He will tether his donkey to the vine.” Judah’s portion of the Promised Land was the vine-growing district of the south. But God continually speaks of the whole nation of Israel as the vine which He planted. So it would seem that Judah and the nation of Israel were to be inseparably connected. Christ is referred to as a vine too. Today we call the Israelites Jews – taken from Judahites.

Zebulon – Genesis 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

His land lay near the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee. It was a place to which caravans brought the riches of trade. His territory embraced the land where Christ performed so many of His miracles: Galilee.

Issachar – Genesis 49:14-15⁴ Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: ¹⁵ And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

His name means “hired workman” or “he will bring reward”. His territory was small, but it embraced some of the most fruitful land. This made his life very easy and he got lazy later on becoming a “servant under tribute” to many invaders who were attracted to his land.

Dan – Genesis 49:16-18  ¹⁶ Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁷ Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. ¹⁸ I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.

Dan was the first of the sons of the two servant maids. Rachel named him Dan which means “be judged” because she felt God had judged her cause. Later Samson, who judged Israel for twenty years was from the tribe of Dan. He was unstable and violent though which might explain the part of the prophecy - an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

Later there is a strange total omission of Dan’s tribe in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles and Dan is the only tribe not mentioned in Revelation 7.

Gad – Genesis 49:19 “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.

Gad chose to live where he did, on the east side of Jordan.  Together with Reuben he asked for the fertile territory outside the main portion of the Promised Land.  Because of how great the land was his tribe continually suffered from hostile people. In later years this land became the main theater of war in the long struggle between Israel and the Syrians.  Jacob talks about the warfare, but also the final victory in this prophecy

Asher – Genesis 49:20 “Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.

Asher’s name means “happy”. Fatness in Scripture is often used to denote happiness or well-being. Like we say “fat and happy”.

God blessed Asher with prosperity. His fertile territory was the red land which sloped to the Phoenician seaboard in the north. Apparently though he never drove the Phoenicians out. Instead he became partner to their rich enterprises and shared the gains of the commerce. He never fought for Israel like some of the tribes did. However later when Solomon was building the temple he sent some of his material blessings – or “delicacies fit for a king.” Later Moses prophesized that Asher would “bathe his feet in oil” – and today the most important pipeline of oil emerges in Asher’s territory.

Naphtali – Genesis 49:21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

Naphtali means “my struggle”. Jesus spent the greater part of His life teaching within the borders of Naphtali, the land of Gennesaret, Bethsaida, Capernaum and Chorazin. Moses in Deuteronomy calls Naphtali “abounding with the favor of the Lord and full of His blessing.”

Joseph – Genesis 49:22 – 26 “Joseph is a fruitful vine,
    a fruitful vine near a spring,
    whose branches climb over a wall.
²³ With bitterness archers attacked him;
    they shot at him with hostility.
²⁴ But his bow remained steady,
    his strong arms stayed limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
    because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
²⁵ because of your father’s God, who helps you,
    because of the Almighty, who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
    blessings of the deep springs below,
    blessings of the breast and womb.
²⁶ Your father’s blessings are greater
    than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
    than the bounty of the age-old hills.
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
    on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

Jacob’s prophecy regarding Joseph is divided into two parts. The first is retrospective about Joseph’s fruitfulness. He means that Joseph had a fulfilled life both in regard to personality and accomplishment. His fruitfulness through God’s blessing went “over the wall” in blessings to his own family and other nations.
The archers mentioned were his brothers who threw him in a well and then sold him to slave traders and also Potiphor who threw him in jail. But Jacob describes his victory over suffering in that he was not bitter, discouraged or indulging in self-pity. And he says the secret to that is “God made him strong.” (Only he used other titles for God – Mighty one of Jacob, Shepherd, the Rock of Israel)

Verse 25 is the temporal blessing; rain, springs of water, marriage and children. And verse 26 eternal blessings. “Greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills.” A commentator wrote that Joseph’s life foreshadowed Jesus.

Benjamin – Genesis 49:27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

This seems strange for such a favorite son. Saul and Jonathan were Benjaminites and so was Paul – who actually was like a wolf when he was killing Christians! But who totally turned around. This could be an example like the Levites who started out with a bad prophecy that they turned around.

Genesis 49:28 ²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.

All of these sons made up the nation of Israel. With all their faults and failures God used them to be a blessing to the world. The church is made up of individuals too – with all of our faults and failures.

Genesis 47:27 – 48:22

Genesis 47:27-48:22
²⁷ Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.
²⁸ Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. ²⁹ When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”

“I will do as you say,” he said.

³¹ “Swear to me,” he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

48 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. ² When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

³ Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me ⁴ and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’

⁵ “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. ⁶ Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. ⁷ As I was returning from Padda, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

⁸ When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”
⁹ “They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father.
Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.”

¹⁰ Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.
¹¹ Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”

¹² Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. ¹³ And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. ¹⁴ But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.

¹⁵ Then he blessed Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my fathers
    Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,
the God who has been my shepherd
    all my life to this day,
¹⁶ the Angel who has delivered me from all harm
    —may he bless these boys.
May they be called by my name
    and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,
and may they increase greatly
    on the earth.”

¹⁷ When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to him, “No, my father, 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 too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.” ²⁰ He blessed them that day and said,

“In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing:
    ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. ²² And to you I give one more ridge of land than to your brothers, the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

Jacob had absolute confidence not only that God would one day take back his descendants to Canaan but also give to them the land for an everlasting inheritance.  His instructions concerning his burial indicate his absolute confidence in God’s promise concerning Canaan. To the Eastern people, the place of one’s burial is all-important. Always, and at any cost, he must be buried in the midst of his own family at their permanent dwelling place. Therefore when Jacob exacted the promise from Joseph that he would bury him, not in Egypt where his descendants were to live for four hundred years more, but in Canaan, this was one of the most practical proofs which Jacob could have given of his faith that God would give them that land. He was to be buried in the very grave Abraham had bought in faith where already Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob’s wife Leah were buried.

When Jacob blessed his favorite son, Joseph, you might have expected that he would follow his personal inclination and impart to Joseph the full, threefold right of the firstborn, which in that day involved the priesthood, the kingship in regard to the family and the double inheritance.

The fact that Jacob did not do so reflects Jacob’s self-renunciation of his own wisdom and his reception of spiritual illumination concerning God’s purpose and place for each member of the family. In Genesis 49 we’ll see that the headship, the kingship, was given to Judah (Leah’s fourth son) from whom Jesus came. And the priesthood was given to Levi.

However Jacob loved Joseph’s mother Rachel and he did in a way give Joseph a double inheritance usually reserved for the first-born. Instead of Joseph’s line being continued through one son, Jacob adopts both Manasseh and Ephraim as his own sons on an equal status with Reuben and Simeon. So instead of Ephraim and Manasseh being just two branches of one tribe, they become two fully recognized tribes in Israel, and Joseph’s own name was dropped. Thus, Rachel, became the mother of three tribes: Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin.

When Jacob gave precedence to Ephraim, it was in tune with one of the most striking features of the book of Genesis. The passing over the firstborn and giving place to the sovereign choice of God. Remember it was thru Seth not Cain that God’s seed is chosen. Isaac, not Ishmael. Jacob not Esau,

A commentator wrote, “Thus did God display His sovereignty and prevent anyone imagining that His blessings necessarily follow the line of natural privilege. God has again and again chosen the weak things of the earth, and even those that are despised, to set at naught those that are mighty. Grace is sovereign, and by no means follows, but sometimes opposes the course of nature.”

The tiny nation of Israel among the great nations of the world illustrates this principle of God’s sovereign choice, which is often the opposite to man’s wisdom and selection.

Jacob had come a long way. Remember he stole Esau’s birth rite? He was cunning, a schemer. But from the time God met him at Bethel, Jacob never wavered in his open profession of faith nor in his loyalty to the God he served. Angels conversed with him. He wrestled with God face to face until God broke something in Jacob and transformed those basic traits of caution and fear into the confident trust and patience developed during the further suffering of Jacob-Israel. Gradually he grew to recognize the protecting care of a loving Father over himself and his family. Even though he couldn’t escape the mortal consequences of his early sins, which saddened him, and even though he suffered during domestic upheavals, family treachery and filial disobedience in his middle years, he patiently endured these trials. He kept alive the basic tenets of faith in God and certain standards of righteousness within his family during a turbulent age when divine revelations were few and far between. God graciously enlightened Jacob’s old age.

This shows us that God takes us just as we are and loves us while we are yet sinners. Then He molds us according to His design. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus’. (Philippians 1:6)

In chapter 49 Jacob blesses all of his sons. And you can really trace this back to Genesis 3:15 which says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

This is where God describes the course of two lines of humanity – two seeds within the world at enmity. One line was the seed of the woman ultimately producing Christ Himself. And this line unfolds in fuller and fuller detail in the Old Testament. Noah’s story, Abraham’s story, Isaac’s and Jacob’s. Jacob ended the patriarchal line. The purposes, promises and prophecy of God will now be continued through the combined twelve sons of Jacob who form the twelve tribes or nation of Israel.

When Jacob blesses his sons in this chapter he also sketches the outlines of their future history. Each prophecy is based on Jacob’s clear perception of the present character and individual traits of his sons. Joseph’s faithfulness. Reuben’s instability for example. Jacob was given this insight from the Holy Spirit and because of this we can see that the future of the twelve tribes was shaped from human character and choice as well as diving predestination.

AND – the pivotal center of the predictions is Christ! If the Holy Spirit hadn’t been involved Jacob would have probably made his blessing centered on his favorite son Joseph. But it’s on Judah. He sees the seed coming from Judah that will bless the nations.

Each prophecy is written in the form of highly symbolic poetry. A great deal of prophecy in the Bible is. Think of Revelation.

Genesis 47:11-26

Genesis 47:11-26
¹¹ So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. ¹² Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.

¹³ There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. ¹⁴ Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. ¹⁵ When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone.”

¹⁶ “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.” ¹⁷ So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

¹⁸ When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹ Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”
²⁰ So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, ²¹ and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. ²² However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

²³ Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. ²⁴ But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”

²⁵ “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”

²⁶ So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.

Things were getting desperate. First the people bought the grain with their money. When that was gone they exchanged their livestock for grain and finally their land and service. The result of this policy and government purchase of land introduced a feudal system of land tenure. In the future, Pharaoh possessed all the land of Egypt, and seed was given to the Egyptians with the understanding that 1/5^th of all their produce would revert to Pharaoh.

We might criticize him today for taking advantage of adverse conditions to build up the power of Pharaoh’s throne. But remember – the Bible tells things the way they happened. When it relates history it isn’t necessarily saying if what happened was right or wrong, good or bad.

This did make for a strong central government which was needed at this time of severe famine. And a 1/5^th tax was actually not that excessive according to the standards of that day.

Genesis 46 - 47:10

Genesis 46:1-7 So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba,he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

2 And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”
“Here I am,” he replied.

3 “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 4 I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”

5 Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. 6 So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt, taking with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan. 7 Jacob brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.

Before Jacob went to Egypt he offered sacrifices to God. Back in Genesis 26:21 it was at Beersheba that God had forbidden Jacob’s father Isaac to go to Egypt. Jacob wanted to be sure he was in God’s will. And God answered Jacob in a vision. And His promise to Jacob was fourfold:

1. Israel’s family would become a great nation in Egypt.
2. God Himself would go with Jacob to Egypt.
3. God would bring Jacob-Israel back again to Canaan – this happened for Jacob after he died, they carried his bones back to Canaan and buried them. And for Israel the nation which was led out of Egypt 430 years later.
4. Joseph would close Jacob’s eye in death. And that came true too.

We need to take a minute here and review why it was important for Israel to go Egypt. Besides the famine. Israel needed the education, culture and civilization found within Egypt’s borders in order to take her place with the nations of the world and in order that they first five books of the Bible might be fittingly recorded in writing during the early days of Israel’s history. Like Joseph himself, the Israelites also learned to know God and to trust Him by the very things which they, too, suffered in Egypt.

There are 2 applications to take from this story.
1. We need to pray for guidance before making our decisions. Proverbs 3: 5-6 reminds us not to trust in our own understanding, but in all our ways to acknowledge God, asking Him for directions and seeking His principles in the Bible. When we do this He in turn promises to direct our ways.

2. God’s word is always fulfilled. Back in Genesis 15:13-14 God told Abraham that his descendants would reside in Egypt for 430 years. The words in the Old Testament are always fulfilled. Christ, Himself confirmed this in Matthew 5:15 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

And in Luke 16:17  It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. And Luke 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. And Luke 24:44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you:Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

There are also prophecies concerning our own future, which will be fulfilled: John 5:24  “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life."

And John 14:2-3 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. And 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are leftwill be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Genesis 46:8 – 25 is a list of all Jacob’s sons and grandchildren who went to Egypt. Then it picks up Genesis 46:26 – 47:10 All those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons. 27 With the two son  who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all.

28 Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen, 29 Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time.

30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.”
31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you should answer, ‘Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”
47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.”2 He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”
“Your servants are shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.”4 They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”

5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability ,put them in charge of my own livestock.”

7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, 8 Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.

The size of Jacob’s family after they had settled in Egypt is given here because of the divine promise to multiply them into a great nation.

There’s a certain design in this list. In view of the future of Israel the nation, it was important to trace the roots of all tribes and families which in later history comprised the people of God. These records were always very carefully kept, for the special inheritance of the different tribes in the land of Canaan (Palestine) depended upon this legal registry. God commanded that each man’s inheritance of land should always return to him in the year of Jubilee whatever misfortune had caused him to lose it in the interim. When, after a long exile of seventy years (during Israel’s later history), they again returned to Palestine in the time of Ezra, we find a careful record and registration of every name among those who returned, as well as the tribe which they belonged.

Finally, when Jesus was born, His own genealogy was traced through these most ancient records preserved in the temple and given in Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-28. All such records after Christ have now been lost since the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. They are no longer necessary.

God chose Goshen for the family. This area was probably at the eastern part of the Nile delta. It provided excellent pasture for grazing. But it was also an area of segregation. Shepherds were detestable to the Egyptians. Israel was transplanted from Canaan to escape being ruined spiritually by mingling with the peoples of the land or physically by primitive wars when they were too few in number to overcome their enemies.

They were also separated from the Egyptian heathenism by a double barrier – their foreign race and their reputation as a lower caste in Egyptian eyes. This area gave them lots of room for the amazing explosion of population that comes. Their proximity developed their mental powers (think Moses).

God separated them, hid them, and grew them.

Jacob is 130 years old when he meets Pharoah. And Pharoah greets him with the respect his age should receive.

Genesis 45

Genesis 45:1-15 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.
3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. 9 Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will provide for you there ,because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’

12 “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”

14 Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.

God’s time had come. The brothers had truly repented.

Genesis 45:16-28 When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan ,18 and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.’

19 “You are also directed to tell them, ‘Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. 20 Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.’”

21 So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he also gave them provisions for their journey. 22 To each of them he gave new clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekel of silver and five sets of clothes. 23 And this is what he sent to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way!”

25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.” Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “I’m convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

The Pharoah seemed delighted to do something for Joseph’s family.

This story is familiar. Christ was sold for 30 pieces of silver. He suffered. People meant His crucifixion for evil, but God meant it for good – to save others - and God exalted Him. And He forgives.

There are seven things to notice about Joseph’s exaltation:

1. It was unexpected. God’s deliverance came when Joseph least expected it. This is so true to life’s experience. The Bible says we should not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
2. There was no self-glory. It has been said that “there is no limit to what God will do with a man, provided he does not touch the glory.”
3. God is seen in Joseph. Pharoah saw this. And when we have God in us people should see Him too.
4. Joseph’s joy. His joy far outweighed his former sorrow.
5. His previous experience was useful. Everything that happened to him trained him for his calling.
6. Blessing to Israel. Israel was blessed through Joseph.
7. Joseph’s forgiveness. His forgiveness depended on their repentance.

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Genesis 44

Genesis 44:1-13 Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. 2 Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said.

3 As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.4 They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? 5 Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’”

6 When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. 7 But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! 8 We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 9 If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”

10 “Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.”

11 Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 12 Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.

This seems to be another test from Joseph. Did the brothers really love Benjamin? The brothers had left in great spirits. It had all worked out and they had been treated royally. God had indeed answered Jacob’s prayer. Their sacks were brimful with food, Simeon was released, Joseph had been gracious and interested in them and Benjamin was safe!

Then this calamity.

Genesis 44:14-34 Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?”

16 “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.”

17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.”

18 Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. 19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’

21 “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’ 22 And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’ 23 But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’24 When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.

25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’ 26 But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’

27 “Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since. 29 If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’
30 “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, 31 sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. 32 Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’

33 “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. 34 How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.”

Judah, the fourth son, takes responsibility. He recognizes that God allowed this to happen and relates it as their punishment for what they did to Joseph. But he simply refuses to leave Benjamin. If Benjamin stayed they must all stay. Never had this family been so united.

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