Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Funerals are significant events, aren’t they? We’ve all attended several, I’m sure. Oh, they are called by many different names: memorial services; celebration of life; honoring services etc… but they are all for the same purpose: considering the life and legacy of the person who is deceased. When attending these gatherings, while most of the spoken words are aimed at remembering the deceased, what’s going on deeper inside every person are questions like these:
What will people say about me when I’ve died? What type of service will my friends and family arrange for remembering my life? Who will bother attending and why? When my entire life is summarized in a relatively short service, what will the summary of my life be? What has my life been all about?
For several days we’ve been following the life journey of Jacob because his life is so significant in the history of the nation of Israel and in answering this important question in our day: who has the right to call the region of Israel their God given “homeland”? That question is a major contributor to the fighting happening in Israel today, isn’t it?
Genesis 50 is the story of Jacob’s funeral. As we saw yesterday, immediately following his death Jacob’s body was taken for embalming by Egyptian physicians, at the direction of Joseph, who is both one of the sons of Jacob and a very high ranking official in Pharaoh’s administrative leadership team. This royal process required 40 days of work by a team of physicians and was accompanied by 70 days of official mourning in Egypt. (Gen. 50:2,3) Finally the time came for a funeral procession, perhaps unlike any described in the Bible, even beyond that of the Kings of Israel.
The record describes it this way: “So Joseph went up to bury his father, Jacob. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him – the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt – besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household… Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.” (Gen. 50:7-9) In addition, in vs. 10,11 there is the description of a place where this huge funeral procession stopped for an additional seven days of rest and mourning.
We have no description of the burial process itself, but we know Jacob’s embalmed body was buried in his family ancestral burial cave where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah and Leah were already buried. (Gen. 49:29-31) Then we have this simple yet profound statement: “After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.” (Gen. 50:14) We understand for we’ve all been to funerals. When the last words have been spoken, and the body is buried, everyone returns back to their normal lives.
That’s what Jacob’s family did, and that’s the problem as I see it.
We can assume this procession required several days, maybe weeks to walk from Egypt to this cave in what is today Israel. They had plenty of time to think, time to reflect on who Jacob was, what the Covenant of Land and People was which Jacob had inherited from his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham. And as they stood at the cave where their ancestors were buried, we can assume it was the first time many of them had seen this family treasure, even though I’m sure they’d heard Jacob describe its significance many times.
We don’t know what was said as Jacob’s body was placed inside this burial cave, but it’s safe to assume each son was thinking: I am a direct descendant of these three generations of God fearing, God following men and their wives who are buried here. God’s Covenant of Land and People has been passed from God to them and now to me. What shall I do with it? Where shall I live and raise my family, Egypt or here? What shall I teach my family about the God of our ancestors? While living in Egypt we have been surrounded by idol worship of golden calves and the sun and the moon. When the day comes, what instructions shall I give my children about where to bury me and why?
We have no record of their conversations, only that when their burial obligation was complete, they turned and headed home…to Egypt, where they’d lived for the past 17 years. Rather than thinking about the Covenant God had made with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, these sons were evidently more concerned about how Joseph might treat them now that Jacob was dead. Could it be the retaliation they deserved for having sold Joseph as a slave, would now come upon them?
The record says: “His brothers then came and threw themselves down on the ground before Joseph. ‘We are your slaves’ they said. But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children. And Joseph reassured them…” (Gen. 50:18-21)
As the parade of people who had attended Jacob’s funeral continued their long journey back to Egypt, I’m sure these words of Joseph were very reassuring to his brothers and they planned to reassure their families that Egypt was their home and as long as Joseph was alive, they had no concerns, for Joseph would be sure they were cared for. I wonder if as they walked along, some of Joseph’s brothers were even making business expansion plans or plans for building new homes back in Egypt. There is no evidence any of them had any thought of packing up their families and returning here to Canaan, the Covenant Land God had given their ancestral family. Do you see the problem that is developing here and how that problem directly relates to the violence and anger in the Middle East and Israel today, my friends?
The very next statement in Genesis 50 removes any doubt: “Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. Joseph lived 110 years and saw the third generation of his sons. Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land HE promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, ‘God will surely come to your aid and then you must carry my bones up from this place.’ So, Joseph died at the age of 110. And after they embalmed his body, it was placed in a coffin in Egypt.” (Gen. 50:22-26)
Perhaps Joseph felt an obligation to serve the Pharaoh as long as he lived. Perhaps the Pharaoh had offered Joseph a lifelong position of royal authority in Egypt’s palace. Perhaps, and far more likely, it was simply the enjoyment of the good life in Egypt which caused Joseph and all his extended family to put down very deep roots in Egypt, evidently giving no thought to any return to the Covenant Land God had given their ancestral family, at least no return in their lifetimes. But I see Joseph still had a sense of obligation to at least REMIND the by then HUGE family of Jacob, perhaps well over 500 people, that Egypt was NOT the land of God’s Covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants, the Israelites.
Now, let’s pause right here and reflect deeply. How does your family compare to the story of Jacob’s family? Are you the Patriarch or Matriarch of your family? What are you doing to draw your family to Jesus and be alert to all the things which are pulling on their hearts to draw them away from God? What has been your spiritual influence on your family heritage and legacy?
Are there some important things God wants you to say or do to help your family before they drift so far away from God and root their lives so deeply in the attractive things which will insulate them away from God? I think it’s time you and I spend some time talking with God about these questions, asking Him what He thinks, and let’s meet right back here tomorrow, my friends.
Today’s Scripture is Genesis 50.
Choose below to read or listen.
 |  |
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
Archived back issues of “Walking with Jesus” and other resources are available by clicking here to open our ‘home page’ (or go to HOME at upper right of this page).
Share with friends. Subscribe below for daily “Walking with Jesus”.