Genesis (2011) 50. We reach the end of the book of Genesis. And not a moment too soon. It s my favorite book of scripture

Transcription

1 Genesis (2011) 50 After 2 years, 5 mnths, and 30 days lessns... And ver 71 hurs f teaching... We reach the end f the bk f Genesis And nt a mment t sn This is the furth time I ve taught thrugh the entire bk f Genesis It s my favrite bk f scripture It s the bk that was being taught when the Lrd called me t faith in the Gspel It s the first bk f the Bible I ever studied as a student It s the first bk f the Bible I ever attempted t teach And this may well be the last time I have pprtunity t teach it S tday I m experiencing decidedly mixed emtins While I always lk frward t the end f a study and the sense f accmplishment it prvides I am als melanchly at the thught that I may be cncluding a study f Genesis fr the final time Many untaught bks f scripture await And Jesus return wn t S I apprached this study with the expectatin that I wanted t give yu my best understanding f this special bk I prayed my furth time teaching thrugh the bk wuld d justice t the depth and significance f what Gd has revealed in it I suspect that s a desire ever Bible teacher has but nne can realize Still, I ve dne my best, and nw we are at the end 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Genesis 50 2 f 13 Israel is securely planted in Egypt, Jseph is recnciled with his family, and Jacb has died All that remains in the stry is t put Jacb s bdy t rest And with his passing, t set the scene fr what happens next fr his family In particular, we see the brthers face life withut their father And finally, we see Jseph s life cme t an end, immediately befre the stry f Exdus begins But the chapter begins where chapter 49 ended, with Jacb s death Gen. 50:1 Then Jseph fell n his father s face, and wept ver him and kissed him. Gen. 50:2 Jseph cmmanded his servants the physicians t embalm his father. S the physicians embalmed Israel. Gen. 50:3 Nw frty days were required fr it, fr such is the perid required fr embalming. And the Egyptians wept fr him seventy days. Jseph murns his fathers passing, with bvius sadness and lss We can knw frm Jseph s actins and wrds that his grieving was nt the same murning as thse wh have n hpe, as Paul says 1Th. 4:13 But we d nt want yu t be uninfrmed, brethren, abut thse wh are asleep, s that yu will nt grieve as d the rest wh have n hpe. 1Th. 4:14 Fr if we believe that Jesus died and rse again, even s Gd will bring with Him thse wh have fallen asleep in Jesus. Paul taught the church is was natural t grieve fr the lss f a lved ne But ur grieving is entirely different than the grieving f thse wh have n hpe We grieve the separatin that death creates We may even grieve the ugly prcess f death Our grieving is tempered by ur hpe in the prmises f Gd We knw the Lrd has prmised the believer paradise upn death 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Genesis 50 3 f 13 I think f the stry f Lazarus cming back t life in Jhn s Gspel The stry never shares Lazarus reactin t being raised, but I wnder if he was a little annyed at being brught back Because I can assure yu that thse wh die in Christ aren t missing us nearly as much as we are missing them The Lrd s prmise is that ne day we will all enjy a new life in a resurrected bdy, and we will enjy the cmpany f all thse wh shared ur faith S truly death fr the believer is a temprary separatin But death fr the unbeliever is a death withut such hpe It is truly a frever separatin And fr thse wh are left behind, the absence f any assurance abut what fllws leaves nly hpelessness and unrecncilable grief Our faith rescues us frm this hpelessness Jseph s actins reveal his hpe in the Lrd s prmises f resurrectin First, we ntice he cmmands his servants t embalm his father While embalming bdies was a cmmn practice in Egypt, this is nt and has never been a practice f Israel S why des Jseph want t embalm Jacb? He had lived fr seventeen years in Egypt with nly his father, s naturally Jseph wanted his mummy The real answer is faith Jseph shares his father s faith in the Lrd s prmise f resurrectin And having prmised Jacb that he wuld bury Jacb in Canaan, Jseph needed t be sure the bdy culd be preserved fr the time required t reach Canaan 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Genesis 50 4 f 13 S in faithful agreement with Jacb s request, Jseph embalms Jacb s bdy In an unusual step, Jseph cmmands physicians t cnduct the embalming Nrmally, Egyptians used prfessinal embalmers t mummify bdies But these embalmers were usually priests r ther agents f the Egyptian gds Their embalming methds included pagan religius rituals, in keeping with the pagan practices f Egypt Jseph wanted nne f this fr his father Instead, Egyptian physicians were used These are men wh knew hw t embalm a bdy but wh didn t necessarily practice any religius rituals in the prcess We can safely assume that Jseph rdered the men t steer clear f such ritual While the embalming takes place, bth Egypt and Israel murn fr Jacb The standard perid fr murning in Israel is 40-days But in Egypt, the perid f murning fr a belved leader, like a Pharah was seventy-tw days Jseph smartly institutes nly 70 days fr Jacb s murning Because it wuld leave ne additinal day f murning fr himself And then ne mre day fr Pharah s death This ensured that Jacb s murning perid wasn t seen as a challenge t the prminence f himself r Pharah It s als interesting that Israel s histry is filled with 40s and 70s (nt 72s) 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Genesis 50 5 f 13 S then after 70 days, Jseph is ready t fulfill his prmise t his father Gen. 50:4 When the days f murning fr him were past, Jseph spke t the husehld f Pharah, saying, If nw I have fund favr in yur sight, please speak t Pharah, saying, Gen. 50:5 My father made me swear, saying, Behld, I am abut t die; in my grave which I dug fr myself in the land f Canaan, there yu shall bury me. Nw therefre, please let me g up and bury my father; then I will return. Gen. 50:6 Pharah said, G up and bury yur father, as he made yu swear. Gen. 50:7 S Jseph went up t bury his father, and with him went up all the servants f Pharah, the elders f his husehld and all the elders f the land f Egypt, Gen. 50:8 and all the husehld f Jseph and his brthers and his father s husehld; they left nly their little nes and their flcks and their herds in the land f Gshen. Gen. 50:9 There als went up with him bth charits and hrsemen; and it was a very great cmpany. Gen. 50:10 When they came t the threshing flr f Atad, which is beynd the Jrdan, they lamented there with a very great and srrwful lamentatin; and he bserved seven days murning fr his father. Gen. 50:11 Nw when the inhabitants f the land, the Canaanites, saw the murning at the threshing flr f Atad, they said, This is a grievus murning fr the Egyptians. Therefre it was named Abel-mizraim, which is beynd the Jrdan. Gen. 50:12 Thus his sns did fr him as he had charged them; Gen. 50:13 fr his sns carried him t the land f Canaan and buried him in the cave f the field f Machpelah befre Mamre, which Abraham had bught alng with the field fr a burial site frm Ephrn the Hittite. Gen. 50:14 After he had buried his father, Jseph returned t Egypt, he and his brthers, and all wh had gne up with him t bury his father. Jseph asks permissin t take Jacb s bdy back t Canaan Why des Jseph ask permissin? Remember Pharah permitted Israel t live in Egypt and gave them the best land He did this because he wanted Semites t settle in the land and he wanted t retain Jseph s lyalty But nw Jseph and virtually all f Israel wants t return t Canaan t bury Jacb Pharah culd easily assume Israel is returning fr gd 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Genesis 50 6 f 13 The famine has been ver fr a lng time Ntice Jseph desn t even ask Pharah persnally, but speaks thrugh thers t shw Pharah respect Jseph assures Pharah he is fulfilling a prmise t Jacb And then in v.5 Jseph prmises he will return t Egypt Why desn t Jseph mve his family back t Canaan at this pint? It seems the perfect pprtunity Jseph s prmise t return is anther demnstratin f faith in Gd s wrd Jseph knew that Israel was in Egypt accrding t Gd s plan And when the Lrd gave the plan t Abraham, He als gave a timeline Fur generatins must live in Egypt And nly ne generatin has experienced Egypt at this pint Jseph s generatin S in faith t Gd s prmises, Jseph prmises t return with his family Pharah agrees, but t be sure Jseph return, Pharah send alng many f his servants and the elders f f the land f Egypt alng with a guard f hrsemen The elders served as the Pharah s representatives at the funeral and the servants were f assistance t Jseph, certainly But these peple were als Pharah s prperty S shuld Jseph have a sudden change f heart, he wuld be risking stealing frm Pharah This wuld give Pharah legitimate cause t pursue Jseph, much in the same way Jseph was able t pursue his brthers fr taking his silver cup In v.9, we re tld that all the family and wagns and charits and servants and the hrsemen amunted t a great prcessin 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Genesis 50 7 f 13 This is easily the greatest funeral prcessin recrded in scripture In fact, the effect f such a great cmpany engaged in such great murning caught the attentin f the lcal inhabitants The cmpany stps at a place n the west bank f the Jrdan They are in the land f Canaan, but n the very eastern edge Here fr seven days the peple murn Jacb, especially Jseph The murning is s prnunced that the lcals are fascinated with it Egypt has cnquered Canaan by this time, s the mere presence f Egyptians in the land was n surprise But the willingness t bury smene f such imprtance in Canaan instead f Egypt surprised them They names the valley the a name that means the murning r the meadw f the Egyptians The next time the inhabitants f Canaan see the family f Israel n the western bank f the Jrdan, it will be frty years fter the Exdus In that time, the natin will cme t invade and lay claim t the land the Lrd has given them Jseph will accmpany the peple in that day as well Like his father befre him, he will be carried int the land in a cffin Ready t be buried with his fathers But fr nw, it s Jacb s burial, and Jseph cmpletes the missin his father gave him He places Jacb s bdy in the cave, seals it and returns with his family t Egypt Jseph returns knwing he his leading his family int a future f slavery and ppressin But he als knws Gd s prmise t deliver the natin in a future day, under a future leader 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Genesis 50 8 f 13 Jacb s death prduced mre than just murning in the family f Israel It als prduced wrry amng Jseph s brthers Gen. 50:15 When Jseph s brthers saw that their father was dead, they said, What if Jseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full fr all the wrng which we did t him! Gen. 50:16 S they sent a message t Jseph, saying, Yur father charged befre he died, saying, Gen. 50:17 Thus yu shall say t Jseph, Please frgive, I beg yu, the transgressin f yur brthers and their sin, fr they did yu wrng. And nw, please frgive the transgressin f the servants f the Gd f yur father. And Jseph wept when they spke t him. Gen. 50:18 Then his brthers als came and fell dwn befre him and said, Behld, we are yur servants. Gen. 50:19 But Jseph said t them, D nt be afraid, fr am I in Gd s place? Gen. 50:20 As fr yu, yu meant evil against me, but Gd meant it fr gd in rder t bring abut this present result, t preserve many peple alive. Gen. 50:21 S therefre, d nt be afraid; I will prvide fr yu and yur little nes. S he cmfrted them and spke kindly t them. It s been seventeen years since the family learned that Jseph was alive and was recnciled with him At that time, Jseph welcmed his brthers and embraced them, frgiving them f their transgressins against him And fr the past 17 years the family has lived in Gshen with Jseph in Memphis During that time, Jacb was still the patriarch ver the family And the brthers prbably assumed that Jseph s respect and lve fr his father served t prtect them frm Jseph s wrath and vengeance S nw that Jacb has died, the brthers thughts immediately turn t wndering if Jseph will take the pprtunity t bring vengeance against them This was the natural way f kings and pwerful men When presented with an pprtunity t remve ppsitin r vanquish enemies, pwerful men always take that pprtunity 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Genesis 50 9 f 13 And s the brthers assumed Jseph wuld take actin against them nw that the last bstacle was remved S the brthers send wrd t Jseph cncerning Jacb s dying wrds Suppsedly, Jacb asked Jseph t frgive them fr their sins Obviusly, Jacb let n such message The brthers invented the stry t invke Jseph s lve and respect fr his father The irny is that had Jseph been the type f persn t take revenge n his brthers, Jacb s dying wish - even if it were true - wuldn t have stpped Jseph frm acting Jseph weeps at hearing the brther s wrds, which were t spken t Jseph by a messenger Later in v.18 we re tld the brthers appeared befre Jseph t make a persnal appeal They cme and bw dwn befre Jseph, ne mre fulfillment f Jseph s dreams They call themselves his servants They d nt cnsider themselves his brthers They lwer themselves t the statin f slaves And in this mment, the bk f Genesis cncludes with the mst pwer, mst meaningful picture f Christ fund in the stry f Jseph Jseph s brthers, the sns f Israel, appear befre their kinsman and lrd, declaring themselves t be his servants r slaves They fear his respnse will be anger fr the way they treated him They n he has abslute pwer t d with them whatever he wishes They are at his mercy, and s the nly questin is what is in Jseph s heart Jseph s respnse is t raise their thughts t the purpses f Gd in Heaven He asks rhetrically, am I in Gd s place? 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Genesis f 13 In ther wrds, des Jseph wn this plan r this utcme? The purpse in the questin is t suggest the bvius answer: n Jseph didn t design the plan And he desn t wn the utcme Gd in Heaven has rchestrated these events frm the beginning Jseph had a rle, the brthers had a rle, and the utcme was as Gd intended Jseph says t his brthers yu harbred evil in yur hearts tward me His brthers wanted t hurt r even kill their brther His brthers were jealus f him, and allwed that jealus and hate t drive them int rising up against Jseph Fr his part, Jseph was inncent He suffered under his brthers sin He endured the shame and reprach f slavery Yet he knew it was the Lrd Wh desired fr these things t happen t him Nw Jseph tells his brthers that the Lrd was always at wrk using their sin t accmplish a greater gd He intended t bring abut the present result, that many peple wuld be alive The wrd fr alive in Hebrew is an interesting chice, chayah It literally means t cme t life r t be healed r t be raised t life Jseph says this elabrate plan was Gd s design t result in bringing many peple t life Jesus was the inncent brther f the sns f Israel He was brn and lived amng His brthers fr a time, 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Genesis f 13 Until they became jealus f Him They harbred jealusy and hatred against Him and refused t be ruled by Him S they rse up against Him, rejecting His authrity and sending Him t the crss Jesus endured their mistreatment, knwing the Father in Heaven had appinted Him t this utcme fr a greater gd, bth fr Israel and fr the wrld Then in a day t cme, Israel will behld their Messiah, triumphant and reigning, returning t them accrding t the prmises f Gd And when the sns f Israel set eyes upn the Lrd, many will wnder what the Messiah will d with a peple wh betrayed Him When He cmes with all pwer and authrity, when nthing stands in His way, when He will be free t take vengeance, will He vanquish His kinsmen? What appeal can they make? What excuse culd they ffer? When that day cmes, scripture tells us the Lrd will cme as Israel s deliverer He will lk upn Gd s peple with mercy, extend them grace, and welcme them int His kingdm And in that day, the peple f Israel will understand that their rejectin f the Messiah was the plan Gd the Father appinted He used their sinful hearts t accmplish a great gd, t send His sn t death in payment fr the sins f the wrld And thereby make recnciliatin pssible What Israel intended fr evil, the Father in Heaven intended fr gd And as a result the Lrd will prvide fr all Gd s children The bk f Genesis is a bk f beginnings But it is als a stry f endings, endings cnceived by the Lrd Himself, and written befre the fundatin f the Earth 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Genesis f 13 And if we are t understand this bk prperly, we have t acknwledge, understand and appreciate Gd s limitless svereignty Gd bring all things t gd fr His children, but if this is t be true, then all things must be under Gd s cntrl And Gd is way ahead f us in everything Lng befre Jseph and his brthers were even brn, Gd tld Abraham hw it wuld be And then He made it happen, just like He said When yu can learn t live with eyes that see the Lrd at wrk in every circumstances, knwing His prmises and living with eager expectatin f their fulfillment... Then yu have learned the lessn f Genesis Yu have learned the beginning, s yu can lk frward t the end...which is just a new beginning Speaking f the end, it s time we ended ur study Gen. 50:22 Nw Jseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father s husehld, and Jseph lived ne hundred and ten years. Gen. 50:23 Jseph saw the third generatin f Ephraim s sns; als the sns f Machir, the sn f Manasseh, were brn n Jseph s knees. Gen. 50:24 Jseph said t his brthers, I am abut t die, but Gd will surely take care f yu and bring yu up frm this land t the land which He prmised n ath t Abraham, t Isaac and t Jacb. Gen. 50:25 Then Jseph made the sns f Israel swear, saying, Gd will surely take care f yu, and yu shall carry my bnes up frm here. Gen. 50:26 S Jseph died at the age f ne hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a cffin in Egypt. Jseph lives anther 54 years after the death f his father, Jacb Jseph lived lng enugh t see his great grandchildren brn Manasseh gives birth t Machir And Machir gives birth t Gilead It will be Gilead s sns wh are f the generatin t leave Egypt and return t Canaan 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Genesis f 13 Jseph age at death is 110 years ld, which is itself anther demnstratin f Gd s svereignty In Egyptian culture, the ideal length f life was cnsidered t be 110 years ld In fact, in ancient Egyptian texts discvered in tmbs and libraries reveal n less than 27 references t the age f 110 as prf f the favr f the gds S the Lrd brings Jacb s life t an end at 110 t hnr Jseph ne last time in the eyes f the Egyptians Finally, makes the same request f his family that his father made f him His bdy was nt t be enshrined in a pyramid r sme ther tmb in Egypt Instead, he was t be preserved and left in a cffin, t be returned t Canaan in the day the Lrd fulfills His prmises t Abraham Fr the next fur generatins, the natin f Israel will have pprtunity t lk upn Jseph s cffin, and bring t mind Gd s prmise t return Israel t Canaan ne day Will that be ur legacy as a man r wman f Gd? When peple reflect back n ur life and even upn ur death, what will they bring t mind? Will ur life be a testimny t faith in Gd s prmises? Will ur legacy be f ne wh lead thers t trust and rely in Gd s wrd? Let s aspire t be like Jseph, as he reflected Christ Let it be said we lived with eyes fr eternity, lking frward t a cuntry in Heaven and fr a reward that cannt be fund n earth 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.