Genesis Bible Study: July 2006

HOW GOD TURNS EVIL INTO GOOD

⁽¹⁾Joseph* threw himself on his father and wept** over him and kissed him.

*Joseph: Joseph here is 56 years old and continued to live for another 54 years after that, finally dying at the age of 110.

**wept: Death is the great enemy and one day will be purged completely. - Revelation 21:4: He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever." 1 Thessalonians 4:13: And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope.

Even so, on earth today, I can tell you from personal experience, that there's nothing more difficult and painful than the death of a loved one - in my case, my young daughter, DJ. Honestly, when I first went to the funeral home with my son-in-law, Gary, and DJ's boyfriend, Mark, I felt very woozy and fought hard against passing out. I did the same on the day of the funeral. While I know she's with the Lord, I can't help mourning her absence.

Genesis 46:4: I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring your descendants back again. But you will die in Egypt with Joseph at your side.

⁽²⁾Then Joseph told his morticians to embalm the body.

⁽³⁾The embalming process took forty days, and there was a period of national mourning for seventy days.

*embalming: The process of embalming* among the ancient Egyptians is described by Herodotus: “The body was given to the embalmers, who first took out the brains and entrails and washed them in palm wine impregnated with strong astringent drugs; after which they began to anoint the body with the oil of cedar, myrrh, cinnamon, and cassia; and this lasted thirty days. They next put it into a solution of saltpeter (sodium or potassium nitrate) for forty days longer, so that they allowed seventy days to complete the embalming; after which they bound it up in swathes of linen besmeared with gum. Being then able to resist putrefaction, it was delivered to the relatives, enclosed in a wooden or paper case somewhat resembling a coffin, and laid in the catacomb or grave belonging to the family, where it was placed in an upright posture against the wall.” - http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=128.

Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night, also came, bringing about seventy-five pounds of embalming ointment made from myrrh and aloes.3 - John 19:39.

⁽⁴⁾When the period of mourning was over, Joseph approached Pharaoh's advisers and asked them to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf.

If there was a death in the family, it was not permissible to come into Pharaoh’s presence, however high your position, until the dead had been buried. Thus Joseph has to make his approach through court officials. His approach follows court etiquette.

⁽⁵⁾He told them, "Tell Pharaoh that my father made me swear an oath. He said to me, 'I am about to die; take my body back to the land of Canaan, and bury me in our family's burial cave.' Now I need to go and bury my father. After his burial is complete, I will return* without delay."

*I will return: Pharaoh depended on Joseph for running the economy and would naturally be concerned that Joseph might decide to stay in Canaan.

⁽⁶⁾Pharaoh agreed to Joseph's request. "Go and bury your father, as you promised," he said.

⁽⁷⁾So Joseph went, with a great number of Pharaoh's counselors and advisers--all the senior officers of Egypt.

So, Jacob's funeral became a state funeral for Egypt!

⁽⁸⁾Joseph also took his brothers and the entire household of Jacob. But they left their little children and flocks and herds in the land of Goshen.

⁽⁹⁾So a great number of chariots, cavalry, and people accompanied Joseph.

⁽¹⁰⁾When they arrived at the threshing floor of Atad*, near the Jordan River, they held a very great and solemn funeral, with a seven-day period of mourning for Joseph's father.

*threshing floor of Atad: The location of the threshing floor of Atad is not certain. The expression "the other side of the Jordan" is commonly used in the Old Testament for Transjordan. This would suggest that the entourage came up the Jordan Valley and crossed into the land at Jericho, just as the Israelites would in the time of Joshua.

⁽¹¹⁾The local residents, the Canaanites, renamed the place Abel-mizraim*, for they said, "This is a place of very deep mourning for these Egyptians."

*Abel-mizraim means "mourning of the Egyptians."

⁽¹²⁾So Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them.

⁽¹³⁾They carried his body to the land of Canaan and buried it there in the cave of Machpelah. This is the cave* that Abraham had bought for a permanent burial place in the field of Ephron the Hittite, near Mamre.

*the cave: The cave Abraham had purchased for the burial of his wife, Sarah - Genesis 23:1-9.

⁽¹⁴⁾Then Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to his father's funeral.

⁽¹⁵⁾But now that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers became afraid. "Now Joseph will pay us back for all the evil we did to him," they said.

Their sense of guilt was still so strong that they could no really believe he had forgiven them. They thought that the only restraint Joseph felt toward getting revenge with his brothers was his love for his father; with Jacob dead, they now expected retaliation, because that's how they would have acted. As with many Christians today, the brothers found true grace and forgiveness impossible to accept or believe. They knew they deserved punishment. As far as we can tell, they've never said they were sorry for what the did, nor had ever before asked Jacob or Joseph for forgiveness. But, Joseph was following the principle stated in Romans 12:19 - Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, "I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord. This verse refers back to Deuteronomy 32:35 - I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them.'

⁽¹⁶⁾So they sent this message* to Joseph: "Before your father died, he instructed us

*message: Probably sent to Joseph through Benjamin, Joseph's full brother who had nothing to do with sending Joseph into Egypt.

⁽¹⁷⁾to say to you: 'Forgive your brothers for the great evil they did to you.' So we, the servants of the God of your* father, beg you to forgive us." When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept.

*your father: Why YOUR and not OUR? Why did Joseph weep?

There's no indication that Jacob ever made such a statement!

⁽¹⁸⁾Then his brothers came and bowed low before him. "We are your slaves," they said.

⁽¹⁹⁾But Joseph told them, "Don't be afraid of me. Am I God*, to judge and punish you?

*Am I God: While Joseph says he cannot judge them, God can!

⁽²⁰⁾As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people.

Joseph is asserting that God had directly interceded and had full control over Joseph's situation. This should be an example to us and should remind us that when we're going through hard times, even unjust undeserved, difficulties that God is in control of our lives - Romans 8:28: And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Only by coming to Egypt could they be preserved and grow into a distinct nation.

Excerpted from Enduring Word: "if Joseph’s brothers never sell him to the Midianites, then Joseph never goes to Egypt. If Joseph never goes to Egypt, he never is sold to Potiphar. If he is never sold to Potiphar, Potiphar’s wife never falsely accuses him of rape. If Potiphar’s wife never falsely accuses him of rape, then he is never put in prison. If he is never put in prison, he never meets the baker and butler of Pharaoh. If he never meets the baker and butler of Pharaoh, he never interprets their dreams. If he never interprets their dreams, he never gets to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. If he never gets to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, he never is made prime minister. If he is never made prime minister, he never wisely administrates for the severe famine coming upon the region. If he never wisely administrates for the severe famine coming upon the region, then his family back in Canaan perishes from the famine. If his family back in Canaan perishes from the famine, then the Messiah can’t come forth from a dead family. If the Messiah can’t come forth, then Jesus never came. If Jesus never came, then you are dead in your sins and without hope in this world. - http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/0150.htm

⁽²¹⁾No, don't be afraid. Indeed, I myself will take care of you and your families." And he spoke very kindly to them, reassuring them.

⁽²²⁾So Joseph and his brothers and their families continued to live in Egypt. Joseph was 110 years old when he died.

⁽²³⁾He lived to see three generations of descendants of his son Ephraim and the children of Manasseh's son Makir, who were treated as if they were his own*.

*were his own: Literally, ‘Born on Joseph’s knees.’ That is were placed on his knees at birth as the proud grandfather. This expression implies their adoption by Joseph, which meant that they received an inheritance from him.

⁽²⁴⁾"Soon I will die," Joseph told his brothers, "but God will surely come for you, to lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land he vowed to give to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

⁽²⁵⁾Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath*, and he said, "When God comes to lead us back to Canaan, you must take my body back with you."

Hebrews 11:22: And it was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, confidently spoke of God's bringing the people of Israel out of Egypt. He was so sure of it that he commanded them to carry his bones with them when they left!

*oath: The people of Israel fulfilled this oath when they took Joseph's mummy to Canaan when they left Egypt:

Exodus 13:19: Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear that they would take his bones with them when God led them out of Egypt--as he was sure God would.

Joshua 24:32: The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought along with them when they left Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the parcel of ground Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor for one hundred pieces of silver. This land was located in the territory allotted to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph.

What would you want recorded as your last words and request?

⁽²⁶⁾So Joseph died at the age of 110. They embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin* in Egypt.

While the burial of Jacob and Joseph are quite different, they both reflect the same faith and hope. Both believed that Israel’s blessings in the future would be realized in the land of promise. Both were embalmed - Jacob so that his body could be carried on the long journey to Canaan by his sons, Joseph so that his body could wait for the exodus at which time his bones would be returned to Canaan, borne by the Israelites.

*coffin: And so, Genesis, which opens with man in paradise, closes with a coffin. According to this passage and Hebrews 11:22, Joseph was never buried. His coffin laid aboveground for the 400 or so years until it was taken back to Canaan. It was a silent witness for all those years that Israel was going back to the Promised Land, just as God said .All during that time, when a child of Israel saw Joseph’s coffin and asked what it was there for and why it was not buried, they could be answered, “Because the great man Joseph did not want to be buried in Egypt, but in the Promised Land God will one day lead us to.”

W.H. Griffith Thomas summarizes Genesis: "The value of this book is evident. It is in some respects the foundation of the Biblical revelation of God. It is the germ and explanation of everything that follows in the history of Divine redemption through the seed of the woman. It may almost be said that there is no truth in the Bible that is not found here in germ. Thus the seven great doctrines which form the warp and woof of the Bible are all in this book. (1) The Doctrine of God as Creator, Preserver, Law-Giver, Judge, Redeemer. (2) The Doctrine of Creation as the act and process of the Divine will, wisdom, and power. (3) The Doctrine of Man in his contact both with earth and heaven, a union of flesh and spirit in a twofold nature. (4) The Doctrine of the World as the sphere of the human race in its unity, variety, and divisions. (5) The Doctrine of Human Life, first as individual, then as social and in the family, then as tribal, and at length gradually developing into national life. (6) The Doctrine of Sin as the assertion of man's independence of God, his unwillingness to remain loyal to the Divine will, with the results of evil both negative and positive in the loss of holiness and fellowship with God, and the impossibility of rendering to God the obedience and glory due to His Name. (7) The Doctrine of Redemption, with the universe as its sphere, man as its subject, Divine grace as its source, the Covenant as its method, and the people of Israel as its repository and instrument. Redemption is found in promise and in symbol, and is prepared for by the onward march of Divine providence. When Genesis is carefully studied along these lines we readily see that it contains the promise and potency of that varied, prolonged, and complete development which we find elsewhere in the Bible." - http://www.scripturestudies.com/Vol6/F4/f4_ot.html

Joseph as a Type of Christ: