Gospel Light Christian Church Thru-The-Bible Series (24.5)

The Book of Genesis

Genesis Chapter 50 - Read this Bible passage once through before referring to the notes below.

The Living Hope when Death is the Ending in this World

v.1-6 Joseph’s tender affection for his father is expressed in the words, “Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him and kissed him” (v.1).  He commanded his servants to secure “physicians to embalm his father” (v.2) and the process was completed after “forty days” (v.3).  The fact that even “the Egyptians mourned for him” revealed that Israel was probably not only respected as the father of Joseph but his life had been a real blessing to the people of Egypt during his 17 years sojourn there as well.  After the days of mourning were over, Joseph went up to Pharaoh (v.4) and asked him for permission to go up to Canaan and bury his father (v.5), and Pharaoh graciously granted his permission (v.6).

v.7-13 Three different groups participated in Jacob’s funeral procession – (1) the high-ranking officials of Pharaoh’s court (v.7); (2) all the members of Israel’s house, except “their little ones” (v.8); and (3) a military escort (v.9).  When they arrived at “the threshing floor of Atad” (v.10) in Canaan, the procession halted and mourned for 7 days, which was the normal period for mourning (cf. 1 Sam. 3:13; 1 chr. 10:12; Job 2:13).  Even the Canaanites recognised this as “a grievous (i.e. a very large, heavy) mourning” (v.11).  There seems to be a special effort to in the last chapter of Genesis to emphasise in detail the magnitude of the ceremony of mourning (see chapter 23 for a similarly detailed account of the burial of Sarah).  The sons of Israel faithfully carried out the burial of their father “as he commanded them” (v.12) in “land of Canaan” (v.13).  The entire procession returned into Egypt after Joseph “had buried his father” (v.14).

The question naturally arises why such detail over the burial of Jacob is given when in the death of the other patriarchs we are simply given the bare facts that they died and were buried.  One theme that immediately comes to mind is that at a number of points throughout the narrative the Genesis record focuses on God's faithfulness to his promise of the land and the hope of God's people in the eventual return to the land.  In the later prophetic literature, a recurring image of the fulfillment of the promise to return to the land pictures Israel returning to the land accompanied by many from among the nations (cf. Is. 2:2-3; Zech. 8:23).  There appears to be a foreshadowing, in this picture of the funeral procession of Israel in his final return to the Land of Promise, of the time when God will “bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel” (Ezek. 39:25).

v.15-18 With Jacob, their father dead, Joseph’s brothers feared that Joseph’s attitude toward them might change – “Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him” (v.15).  Therefore, they send “a messenger unto Joseph” (v.16) to plead with him to “forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father” (v.17).  The impact of this request reduced Joseph to tears.  The brothers, who “went and fell down before his face” (v.18), had underestimated the genuineness of Joseph’s affections in their fears.

v.19 Joseph reply to his brothers’ request went straight to the heart of the matter – “Fear not” (v.19).  Joseph did not say, “I forgive you” because he has already forgiven them.  Neither does he upbraid them for asking for reconciliation. 

Joseph’s response to his brothers’ fears likewise went straight to the heart of the situation – “for am I in the place of God?”  Once again, we see a man of humility who walks with God; a man who understands that “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom. 12:19).  At the close of the book of Genesis, we observe a considerable contrast between Adam and Eve and Joseph.  Genesis begins with the account of the primeval couple who tried to become like God (cf. 3:5) and ends with the account of a man who denies that he was in the place of God.  Adam and Eve attempted to wipe out the dividing line between humanity and Deity but Joseph refuses to cross that line.  Joseph, the Spirit-controlled man (cf. 41:38), knew that he will only be God’s instrument, never His substitute, as the prophet Isaiah cried out in awe and worship to God, “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth” (Is. 37:16, cf. Is. 42:8; Ps.86:10).

v.20-21 Joseph’s statement, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good” (v.20), is one of the classic theological statements on Divine providence.  The sovereign plan of God, designed to “save much people alive”, in some way incorporated the evil of the brothers and used it as the means of bringing about good. Behind all the events and human plans recounted in the story of Joseph lies the unchanging plan of God.  It is the same plan introduced from the very beginning of the book where God looks out at what He has just created for man and sees that “it was good”. Through His dealings with the patriarchs and Joseph, God had continued to bring about His good plan. He had remained faithful to His purposes.  The important reminder in Genesis to believers today is that while the evil of men may appear to be to the disadvantage of the saints, the purposes and plans of God will ultimately prevail.  Therefore, God’s people can continue to trust Him and to believe that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

On the basis of his confidence in the ways of the LORD, Joseph was able to comfort his brothers and relieve their fears by speaking “kindly unto them” (v.21).  Relationships among God’s people may sometimes be tense, especially when leadership changes hands but Spirit-filled leaders can take this opportunity to demonstrate God’s sovereign design of blessing “unto good,” even towards those who had wronged or failed them.  They may do so through forgiveness and kindness.

v.22-26 Joseph lived in Egypt to the age of 110 (v.22) and saw the birth of his grandchildren (v.12).  Like his father before him, Joseph took firm hold of the promises of God to “visit [children of Israel], and bring [them] out of [Egypt] unto the land [of Promise]” (v.24) and requested that his bones be taken out of the land of Egypt at the time of the great deliverance (v.25).  The book of Hebrews seizes this as the crowning act of faith in the life of Joseph – “ By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones” (Heb. 11:22).  “So Joseph died…and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt” (v.26), and so ends the magnificent book of Genesis. 

The book of Genesis began with the brightness and glory of God’s original creation.  All that He did was pronounced good, and the earliest earth was a Divine masterpiece.  However, sin entered the picture, and the book ends not with man in a beautiful garden but with the bones of Joseph in a coffin.  His coffin is a grim reminder of the effects of sin and depravity.  But just as Joseph was hopeful and optimistic when he dies, so we rejoice in the redemption which God has provided, which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).  While our bones may rest in the wilderness of a cursed earth like Joseph, they will one day be resurrected (cf. 1 Co. 15:20-22), and there will be a new heaven and a new earth (cf. Rev. 21:1-2) for all who have trusted Christ as their Saviour (cf. Jn. 6:40).