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Genesis 50
1 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
Here we see the first occurrence where a Hebrew was embalmed after dying, as this was an Egyptian custom.
3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days (= 70 days).
Why? Because they knew how much Israel (Jacob) meant to Joseph, and the whole story of how he was separated from him, for so many years.
4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
5 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.
The reason Joseph did not appear in person before the Pharaoh, is because when a person in Egypt was in the state of mourning, they didn't shave and therefore were not presentable to stand before the Pharaoh. For this reason, he has sent a messenger.
6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
And so it was, the Pharaoh had much trust in Joseph.
7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
They had much respect for Joseph and his earthly father.
8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
Why did they leave the little ones? Because it was a very long distance.
9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad (= thorn-tree), which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim (= meadow of Egypt), which is beyond Jordan.
12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:
13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
14 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure (= perhaps) hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
Joseph had already forgiven his brothers and even told them not to be angry with themselves (Genesis 45:5), and yet now they think for some reason that Joseph is going to repay evil to them. You can only imagine the hurt this would bring on Joseph, to know they don't really trust him, after all the good things he has done for them.
18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
And so it is, GOD can take the worst situations in our lives and turn them into very good things. Joseph understood this because he walked close with GOD, as we should all be doing today. Never underestimate what GOD can do in your life.
21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
This is what you call a very wise, mature, and strong person to be so humble after everything that had happened to him. How could he be so content? Because again, Joseph walked closely with GOD and he understood how GOD turned his bad situation into a good thing. How strong, humble, wise, and mature are you today? Remember, as it's written in Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places". As CHRISTians, we are to be wiser than the serpent (satan). Now that doesn't mean we aren't to take up for ourselves in troubled situations because we should always do that, but rather don't repay evil with more evil. Be the difference maker. Don't get on the same level as your enemies. Learn to forgive those who have wronged you and sometimes that may include yourself. Let others see CHRIST in you. Never forget, satan loves to take what's beautiful and ruin it, whereas GOD loves to take what's ruined and make it beautiful. Don't allow satan to control you, for if you give him an inch, he'll turn into your ruler. See also: Mark 11:26.
22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten (110) years.
23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir (= salesman) the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
In other words, Joseph lived to see his great-grandchildren.
24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten (110) years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Note that a hundred in Biblical numerics symbolizes the children of promise (GOD's election), and the number ten symbolizes testimony, law, and responsibility (government). With the way Joseph ran things in Egypt, following GOD's instructions, and taking care of everyone in the land, nobody could possibly ask for a better setup. So we can see significance, concerning the number of years in which he lived.
2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
Here we see the first occurrence where a Hebrew was embalmed after dying, as this was an Egyptian custom.
3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days (= 70 days).
Why? Because they knew how much Israel (Jacob) meant to Joseph, and the whole story of how he was separated from him, for so many years.
4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
5 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.
The reason Joseph did not appear in person before the Pharaoh, is because when a person in Egypt was in the state of mourning, they didn't shave and therefore were not presentable to stand before the Pharaoh. For this reason, he has sent a messenger.
6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
And so it was, the Pharaoh had much trust in Joseph.
7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
They had much respect for Joseph and his earthly father.
8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
Why did they leave the little ones? Because it was a very long distance.
9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad (= thorn-tree), which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim (= meadow of Egypt), which is beyond Jordan.
12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:
13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
14 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure (= perhaps) hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
Joseph had already forgiven his brothers and even told them not to be angry with themselves (Genesis 45:5), and yet now they think for some reason that Joseph is going to repay evil to them. You can only imagine the hurt this would bring on Joseph, to know they don't really trust him, after all the good things he has done for them.
18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
And so it is, GOD can take the worst situations in our lives and turn them into very good things. Joseph understood this because he walked close with GOD, as we should all be doing today. Never underestimate what GOD can do in your life.
21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
This is what you call a very wise, mature, and strong person to be so humble after everything that had happened to him. How could he be so content? Because again, Joseph walked closely with GOD and he understood how GOD turned his bad situation into a good thing. How strong, humble, wise, and mature are you today? Remember, as it's written in Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places". As CHRISTians, we are to be wiser than the serpent (satan). Now that doesn't mean we aren't to take up for ourselves in troubled situations because we should always do that, but rather don't repay evil with more evil. Be the difference maker. Don't get on the same level as your enemies. Learn to forgive those who have wronged you and sometimes that may include yourself. Let others see CHRIST in you. Never forget, satan loves to take what's beautiful and ruin it, whereas GOD loves to take what's ruined and make it beautiful. Don't allow satan to control you, for if you give him an inch, he'll turn into your ruler. See also: Mark 11:26.
22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten (110) years.
23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir (= salesman) the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
In other words, Joseph lived to see his great-grandchildren.
24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten (110) years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Note that a hundred in Biblical numerics symbolizes the children of promise (GOD's election), and the number ten symbolizes testimony, law, and responsibility (government). With the way Joseph ran things in Egypt, following GOD's instructions, and taking care of everyone in the land, nobody could possibly ask for a better setup. So we can see significance, concerning the number of years in which he lived.