Joseph Dies As a Mummy In Egypt

Genesis 50:22-26

22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years.23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph's own. 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

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Those are the last sentences of Genesis. Like all great stories, Genesis ends with a note of sadness and with a few loose ends. Joseph dies, but unlike Jacob his father, he is not buried back in the Promised Land. Before his death, he tells his descendants that they will need the help of God to get out of Egypt and return to the Promised Land, and he makes them promise that when that day finally comes they will carry his bones with them back to the land of his fathers. And then he dies, and is embalmed after the custom of the Egyptians.

And so Genesis ends and the last sentence will take your breath away: The book closes with Joseph as a mummy in Egypt.

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Genesis concludes with Abraham’s family—the children of Israel— living in Egypt, outside of the Promised Land.

Exodus is the story of their rescue, and we begin reading it on Monday!

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P.S. The children of Israel never forgot their promise to Joseph. And generation unto generation, they were reminded that the day would come when God would bring them out of slavery, and that when that day came, they were to carry the bones of their brilliant ancestor Joseph with them. And so, this is what happens when the long- awaited Exodus finally occurs, so many centuries later:

19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place” [Exodus 13:19].

I said before that Genesis ends without all the loose ends tied up. That may be true, but you know what?

In God’s time, all loose ends are eventually tied up. There are no details that the author of Creation forgets.

How Joseph's Slavery Was Israel's Salvation

Genesis 41:39-49

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. 43 And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, 48 and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it. 49 And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.

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Through a series of miraculous coincidences, Joseph, who has been sold into slavery in Egypt, rises to become viceroy over the entire kingdom, and his shrewd leadership and management make sure there is food available when famine comes to the region. The famine causes his family—the children of Israel— to come to Egypt in search of succor, and it ends up being Joseph—the brother they sold into slavery—who is their rescuer.

As Joseph says later, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” [Genesis 50:20].

That’s a verse to meditate on as this new year begins. See, no matter what happens this year, God will turn it to good.

Be hopeful!

How Abraham's Great-Grandson Ended Up In Egypt

Genesis 37:1-36

37 Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 Then they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

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God’s promises are trustworthy, and just as God said, so it happens: Abraham has a son with his wife Sarah. His name is Isaac. And Isaac has twin boys with his wife Rebekah. Their names are Esau and Jacob. (Jacob is also called “Israel.”) And Jacob has twelve (!) sons with four different women; the eleventh son is his favorite, a brilliant, immature boy named Joseph.

We shall see that when Exodus begins—we’ll begin reading Exodus on Monday—that the children of Israel find themselves enslaved in Egypt. How do they end up there? Our text today provides the answer, and the whole saga begins when Joseph is kidnapped and sold into slavery by his brothers; then through a series of strange coincidences, the entire family ends up in Egypt.

Note the cause of the event that ends up with Abraham’s family in Egypt: the violent kidnapping of one young man by his brothers. Sin has consequences, and in this case the consequences of the brothers’ sin leads to the enslavement of their descendants.

And yet, God is able turn those events into good.

The End

Genesis 50:15-26

15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph's own. 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

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Today we’ve come to the end of a great work of art—a masterpiece and a wonder—and I feel a sense of loss. It’s bittersweet to have finished the Book of Genesis, because reading and working through it these last 3 months—my first 3 months at Asbury!—has been one of the most thrilling experiences I have ever had with scripture. I am in awe at the beauty and power of the first book of the Bible and am deeply moved that the Lord who can create light with one word would choose one man and one family as the means by which he would save the world. “From you,” the Lord says to Abraham, “all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis is the book of beginnings, but until the Lord returns and the New Heavens and New Earth are begun, all things in this world must come to an end. And so, here we are. And yet every ending is also a beginning, and the ending of Genesis is no different: it ends and the story of Israel begins.

The final chapter of Genesis also contains one of the greatest descriptions of the grace of God in all of the Old Testament, and even, perhaps, outside of it.

Jacob has died, and the brothers immediately fear that Joseph will now seek vengeance on them for the evil they did to him so many years before. Joseph, as I have been saying, is a complicated moral figure, but here—perhaps in spite of himself—he so perfectly captures what the grace of God is like that I’m not sure anyone apart from Jesus himself has ever said it better:

45 “What you intended for evil, God intended for good.” [Genesis 50:20]

Is there a better verse for Good Friday?

What we intended for evil—the Crucifixion of the Son of God—God intended for the ultimate Good.

Cross before Crown, yes, but don’t ever forget that Crown follows Cross.

The rest of the entire Bible—which is really one unified story that leads to Jesus—will be about God using human evil to bring about the Good News of the Gospel.

Amen.

P.S. Like all great stories, Genesis ends with a note of sadness and with a few loose ends. Joseph dies, but unlike Jacob, he is not buried back in the Promised Land. Before his death, I think he sees clearly the mistakes he has made in Egypt by turning his back on his heritage; he tells his descendants that they will need the help of God to get out of Egypt and return to the Promised Land, and he makes them promise that when that day finally comes they will carry his bones with them back to the land of his fathers.

And then he dies, and is embalmed after the custom of the Egyptians.

And so Genesis ends and the last sentence will take your breath away:

The book closes with Joseph as a mummy in Egypt.

P.P.S. But the Children of Israel never forgot their promise to Joseph. And generation unto generation, they were reminded that the day would come when God would bring them out of slavery, and that when that day came, they were to carry the bones of their brilliant ancestor Joseph with them. And so, this is what happens when the long-awaited Exodus finally occurs, so many centuries later:

19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.” [Exodus 13:19]

I said before that Genesis ends without all the loose ends tied up. That may be true, but you know what?

In God’s time, all loose ends are eventually tied up. There are no details that the author of Creation forgets.

Quick Bullets on the Joseph Story

I’m preaching at an All-City Thanksgiving Service being held at First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa TONIGHT (11/21) at 7 PM. My topic:

“How to Give Thanks While Holding Your Nose and Humming”

Come on out!

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Note: Our Genesis readings are drawing to an end, and though I’m sad—I love Genesis so much!—I’m also looking forward to Advent, which begins on 11/27. Our Advent reading plan begins next Monday, 11/28. The Advent reading guides are beautiful; if you live in Tulsa, pick one up at Asbury Church this weekend. If you live in Dallas, email Sandie and she’ll tell you how to pick one up. If you live out of town and NOT in Dallas, email Sandie and she’ll mail you one this week.

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Genesis 49:1-27

Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together,that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come. “Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.

4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!

5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.

6 Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen.

7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you.

9Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

13 “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon.

14 “Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds.

15 He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labor.

16 “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward.

18 I wait for your salvation, O Lord.

19 “Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels.

20 “Asher's food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal delicacies.

21 “Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns.

22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall.

23 The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely,

24 yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

25 by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26 The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil.”

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QUICK BULLETS ON THE JOSEPH STORY

• I think the Bible wants us to have an ambivalent opinion on Joseph: on the one hand, he is obviously a genius, but on the other hand he becomes totally Egyptianized, which is not good because it means he’s forgotten that he is a child of Israel.

• The Bible makes it clear that the Lord was with Joseph when he was enslaved and imprisoned, but we aren’t told that the Lord is with Joseph when he is raised to power in Egypt. Why? I think it’s because it seems that Joseph forgets the Lord when he is delivered from prison and raised to power. As I mentioned above, he becomes so totally acculturated in Egypt that he doesn’t even live with his family when they settle in Goshen!

• Hundreds and hundreds of years later, Daniel is an Israelite who finds himself serving a foreign king—in this case, the Babylonian Emperor Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel, however, never gives up on his Israelite identity, and God still uses him and he still retains his high position.

• I wonder if Joseph’s problem was thinking that there is no way he could have kept his high position apart from turning his back on his heritage. Of course, if the Lord wanted Joseph to be Pharoah’s right hand, then it would have happened. It is almost as if Joseph stops trusting in the Lord at the very moment when things begin to turn around for him.

• All throughout the story of Joseph the central question has been, Who will lead the family after Jacob is gone? Jacob’s final blessings of his sons tell us the answer (though we’ve already figured it out): Judah, the fourth son, will be the leader! Read the blessings carefully and see how Jacob hasn’t missed anything. He remembers, e.g., how Reuben slept with his wife/concubine so many years before, and how Simeon and Levi led the brutal slaughter at Shechem. By the way, Judah is the tribe from which David comes, and later Jesus. Do you know that praise song “Lion and the Lamb”? This is why the songwriter in that song describes the Lord as “the Lion of Judah”.

No Quarreling

Genesis 45:16-28

16 When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, “Joseph's brothers have come,” it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ 19 And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20 Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

21 The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. 23 To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.”

25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

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One little detail that I love about today’s reading: the simple instruction Joseph gives his brothers:

“Do not quarrel on the way.”

Ha.

Eden Can Be Anywhere

Genesis 45:1-15

Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. 10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ 12 And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you.

13 You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.

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This is one of the great scenes of the Bible: the reunification of the Sons of Jacob.

And one of its lessons is this: Eden can be anywhere.

Since Genesis 3, God’s people have been exiled from Eden, but God has constantly been blessing them anyway. And here, in Egypt—of all places(!)—the family of Abraham finds blessing and abundance. That is, they find Eden.

All it took was for one man to sacrifice himself for the many….

(Let the reader understand.)

Judah the Statesman Makes His Great Speech

Genesis 44:14-34

14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. 15 Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?” 16 And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord's servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.” 17 But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

18 Then Judah went up to him and said, “Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. 19 My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?’ 20 And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him.’ 21 Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’ 22 We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ 23 Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’

24 “When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25 And when our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food,’ 26 we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ 27 Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One left me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have never seen him since. 29 If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.’

30 “Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy's life, 31 as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. 32 For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’ 33 Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. 34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.”

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This is the longest speech in Genesis, and one of the longest in the entire Bible. It’s a beautiful, statesmanlike speech, moving in its raw, honest emotion.

It’s the action that finally breaks the heart of Joseph and pierces through his fierce exterior.

And guess what it’s about: a man (Judah) who is willing to give his life for his brother (Benjamin). Joseph has brought the family to the point where the one who before sold his brother into slavery (remember it was Judah who suggested way back in Genesis 37 that the brothers sell Joseph off) is now humbled and so full of love that he will lay down his life to preserve the life of another young brother.

Which brother will be the one to lead the family into the next generation?

We are getting closer to an answer.

Joseph Preys on their Jealousy

Genesis 43:15-34

15 So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.” 17 The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph's house. 18 And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house, and they said, “It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys.” 19 So they went up to the steward of Joseph's house and spoke with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food. 21 And when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man's money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us, 22 and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 He replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. 24 And when the man had brought the men into Joseph's house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder, 25 they prepared the present for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.

26 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed down to him to the ground. 27 And he inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. 29 And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!” 30 Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.” 32 They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement. 34 Portions were taken to them from Joseph's table, but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him.

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I think the ending of today’s passage is deeply moving. Go back and read it again and try to see and feel it—imagine the intensity of the scene.

Again, Joseph’s ploy is to recreate the situation that led to his sojourn in Egypt. When he was a young boy, his father singled him out and gave him a gift that his brothers did not receive—the many-colored coat. Here, Joseph singles out Benjamin at the expense of his brothers: he activates their jealously by giving Benjamin five times more than the rest of them.

When Joseph was younger, jealously led to a great evil.

What will happen now?

Judah Persuades Jacob

Genesis 43:1-14

Now the famine was severe in the land. 2 And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” 3 But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’” 6 Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?” 7 They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8 And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9 I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10 If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”

11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. 14 May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

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Remember, this is the central question of Genesis 37-50:

Which brother will lead the family after Jacob is gone?

REUBEN, SIMEON, LEVI, OR JUDAH?

Reuben, as we saw Friday, is not a leader. (Plus, he slept with his father’s wife/concubine, i.e., the mother of 2 of his half-brothers! [See Genesis 35:21-22].)

The 2nd and 3rd brothers are Simeon and Levi. They seem to be hot-headed and bloodthirsty, as they are the ones who led the massacre of the city of Shechem, after Shechem raped their sister Dinah. (See the sad story told in Genesis 34.)

(By the way, I have no proof of this, but I wonder if Simeon is one of the instigators of the plan to murder Joseph and cover it up with animal’s blood [See Genesis 37.] This would explain why Joseph chooses Simeon as the one to stay behind in Egypt: “And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.” [Genesis 42:24].)

So, that leaves Judah. Could he be the one to lead the family after Jacob?

The last we heard much about Judah was in Genesis 38, when he is morally humbled after he (unknowingly) impregnates his daughter-in-law. (I KNOW!)

But here, he makes a beautiful speech to their father Jacob and offers to take full responsibility for Benjamin’s safety so they can return to Egypt and get food so that the family can survive.

His speech works, and Jacob gives his leave for Benjamin to go with the brothers on their return journey to Egypt.

Could Judah be the one?

P.S. Note that, unlike the last time the brothers returned without their missing brother—the time when they sold Joseph into slavery—this time they tell the whole truth to their father….

P.P.S. Jacob is here having his own Mount Moriah moment. You’ll remember that back in Genesis 21 we read about the culminating event of Abraham’s life: his giving up of the beloved son of his old age, Isaac. Here Jacob does the same thing by agreeing to send Benjamin.

This Is A Test

Genesis 42:1-28

When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2 And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” 3 So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. 5 Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

6 Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. 7 Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” 8 And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 9 And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” 10 They said to him, “No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies.”

12 He said to them, “No, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see.” 13 And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.” 14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. 15 By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” 17 And he put them all together in custody for three days.

18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, 20 and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. 21 Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” 22 And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” 23 They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. 24 Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man's money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them.

26 Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed. 27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack.

28 He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!” At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”

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Joseph is re-creating his own story as a test for his brothers:

• They accused him of being a spy; now he accuses them of being spies;

• Joseph was imprisoned in Egypt; now, he has Simeon imprisoned in Egypt;

• Joseph was double-crossed by his brothers; now he double-crosses them;

• Joseph was sold into slavery, and his brothers received money and went home to their father without their missing brother; Joseph now gives them money as they return without their brother Simeon.

And the test is beginning to work. Look at their response: they begin to tremble. Over the long years, their consciences have been suppressed, but their hard hearts are beginning to soften.

Don't Forget Where You Came From

Genesis 41:41-57

41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. 43 And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, 48 and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it. 49 And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.

50 Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house.” 52 The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

53 The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.”

56 So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.

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Quick thought on Joseph in Egypt. I think we are meant to see Joseph as a morally ambiguous character. He is brilliant, yes, and we are explicitly told that the Lord was with Joseph when he was enslaved and in prison, but after that, when he rises to his position of power we are never told that again.

I think the reason for that omission is that Joseph forgets where he came from. He marries an Egyptian woman and speaks and dresses like an Egyptian.

He does save his people, yes, but perhaps that still could have happened if he didn’t fully acculturate to Egypt.

Centuries and centuries later, Daniel rises to a position of power in a foreign land, but Daniel never forgets his identity.

How do you need to reclaim your identity as part of the people of God today?

Pharaoh's Dreams

Genesis 41:1-40

After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, 2 and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. 3 And behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. 4 And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And Pharaoh awoke. 5 And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. 6 And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind. 7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 8 So in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my offenses today. 10 When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard,

11 we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation. 12 A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. 13 And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.”

14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh.

15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” 17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile. 18 Seven cows, plump and attractive, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. 19 Seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt. 20 And the thin, ugly cows ate up the first seven plump cows, 21 but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. 22 I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk, full and good. 23 Seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them, 24 and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. And I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. 28 It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, 30 but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land,

31 and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. 32 And the doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. 33 Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. 35 And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36 That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”

37 This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.”

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As the story of Joseph unfolds, we see him becoming more and more Egyptian even as he pulls farther and farther away from his family. It’s significant that before he can come into Pharoah’s presence, Joseph has to shave and change his clothes: he’s discarding his old identity as a son of Jacob and beginning to take on his new identity as an Egyptian.

Not only does Joseph understand Pharoah’s dreams, he understands how to use the dreams to his advantage:

“And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt.” [Genesis 41:33]

Joseph knows exactly how to pitch his idea to Pharaoh so that the result will be that Joseph will be the man Pharaoh chooses. He’s brilliant.

But does it matter that he’s becoming Egyptian?

Who will lead the family after Jacob is gone?

Falsely Accused

Somehow I omitted today’s reading and commentary from the printed Daily Scripture Guide that we made. (The readings in the guide go from Thursday to Monday and skip over Friday.) So, consider the post below to be bonus content for my loyal online subscribers! —AF

Genesis 39:6–23

Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” 10 And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.

11 But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, 12 she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. 13 And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” 16 Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18 But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”

19 As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love band gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.

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If you’ve ever been falsely accused or called names for doing what was right, then you’ll know that there are few things more painful.

Potiphar’s wife makes a false accusation against Joseph, and he finds himself thrown into a filthy Egyptian prison.

Remember that Jesus himself was falsely accused and was persecuted by the very people he came to save.

The next time you are falsely accused, acknowledge that you are getting a small taste of what it must have been like for Christ, and consider it a privilege to have your character conformed to his in that way.

Circumstances

Genesis 39:1-6

Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.

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NEVER is a strong word and maybe overstates the case, but RARELY gets it just right.

The narrator in Genesis very very rarely comments on a character’s situation; the narrator shows and rarely tells.

When Joseph is sold into Egyptian slavery, however, the narrator makes a point of telling us that the Lord is with him—5 times in 6 verses!

I think the narrator wants it to be as clear as possible that though Joseph’s circumstances are difficult, that does NOT mean that the Lord is not with him in those circumstances.

What if the narrator of your life said the same thing about your circumstances? What if the Lord is DEFINITELY AND COMPLETELY WITH YOU TODAY?

Keep going.

Betrayed By His Brothers

I’m going to be teaching my FINAL Bible study on Genesis TOMORROW ( Wednesday), 10/26, 6:30-8:00 PM. I’m telling you right now, DO NOT MISS THIS STUDY. We’ll cover the Joseph story in its entirety, and I am really looking forward to showing folks the amazing intricacy and power of the narrative. I’m not overhyping this study—it’s going to be GOOD. The Asbury Student Ministry is cancelling normal programming for middle and high school students and bringing them to Bible study instead. So, come one, come all—everyone is going to be there. (I know that we had some livestreaming issues at our last Bible study, but I can confirm that the study will be livestreamed at www.asburytulsa.org for those of you who don’t live in Tulsa.)

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Genesis 37:12-36

12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem.

13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 Then they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

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It’s worth slowing down and really trying to see the story as it unfolds.

Imagine the terror Joseph feels when his brothers strip him of his prized robe and violently throw him into the pit.

Imagine what it is like to be kept there under the merciless sun while your brothers decide how to dispose of you.

Imagine the screaming helplessness he feels as the Midianite slavers take him captive.

Imagine the brothers slaughtering a goat and rinsing Joseph’s prized robe in animal blood.

And imagine Jacob receiving the news and seeing the brown spots on the torn robe.

P.S. Pay attention to who does or says what in the story, particularly to Reuben and Judah. These details will matter a great deal later in the story. Remember, the question is: Which brother will lead the family after their father Jacob’s death?

P.P.S. “Sheol” [v. 35] is the Hebrew term for the place of the dead; a good approximation of the term would be “underworld.”

Part 3 Begins: "The Dreamer"

Today we begin working through what I am calling Genesis Part 3. These final chapters—37-50—give us what I believe is not just one of the greatest stories in the Bible, but one of the greatest stories in all of human history, the story of Jacob’s brilliant 11th son, Joseph. As we shall see, Genesis Part 3 is an absolute masterpiece of theological story-telling, and its final sentence will take your breath away.

The question that Genesis Part 3 is concerned with is this one:

Which son will lead the family after Jacob is gone?

The answer will surprise you.

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I’m going to be teaching my FINAL Bible study on Genesis this coming Wednesday, 10/26, 6:30-8:00 PM. I’m telling you right now, DO NOT MISS THIS STUDY. We’ll cover the Joseph story in its entirety, and I am really looking forward to showing folks the amazing intricacy and power of the narrative. I’m not overhyping this study—it’s going to be GOOD. The Asbury Student Ministry is cancelling normal programming for middle and high school students and bringing them to Bible study instead. So, come one, come all—everyone is going to be there. (I know that we had some livestreaming issues at our last Bible study, but I can confirm that the study will be livestreamed at www.asburytulsa.org for those of you who don’t live in Tulsa.)

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Genesis 37:1-11

Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.

2 These are the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

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Jacob has 12 sons; which son will be the next leader of the family? Which son will take his father’s place?

Genesis 12-36 is about the formation of a family that will pass on God’s new way from generation to generation. God chooses Abraham, and then Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are taught what it will take to be the founders of this new way.

We now come to the third and final part of Genesis—chapters 37-50—which will be about the problem of passing on God’s new way when there are 12(!) sons that make up the next generation.

Right off, we assume it will be Joseph, the 11th son, who will lead the family when Jacob dies. Joseph is more gifted than his brothers, and Jacob has set him apart to be the future leader of his brothers. The coat Jacob gives Joseph (an obscure Hebrew term—”coat with long sleeves” or “coat of many colors”) is meant to mark him as Jacob’s heir.

As his dreams prove, Joseph is a boy of remarkable insight. But is he the right one to lead the family into the future?

Which son will lead the family when Jacob is gone?

We’ll have to read on to find out.

The Good Friday Gospel According to Joseph

Today we’ve come to the end of a great work of art—a masterpiece and a wonder—and I feel a sense of loss. It’s bittersweet to have finished the Book of Genesis, because reading and working through it these last 3 months has one of the most thrilling experiences I have ever had with scripture. I am in awe at the beauty and power of the first book of the Bible and am deeply moved that the Lord who can create light with one word would choose one man and one family as the means by which he would save the world. “From you,” the Lord says to Abraham, “all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis is the book of beginnings, but until the Lord returns and the New Heavens and New Earth are begun, all things in this world must come to an end. And so, here we are.

And yet every ending is also a beginning, and the ending of Genesis is no different: it ends and the story of Israel begins.

The final chapter of Genesis also contains one of the greatest descriptions of the grace of God in all of the Old Testament, and even, perhaps, outside of it.

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Jacob has died, and the brothers immediately fear that Joseph will now seek vengeance on them for the evil they did to him so many years before. Joseph, as I have been saying, is a complicated moral figure, but here—perhaps in spite of himself—he so perfectly captures what the grace of God is like that I’m not sure anyone apart from Jesus himself has ever said it better:

“What you intended for evil, God intended for good.” [Genesis 50:20]

Is there a better verse for Good Friday?

What we intended for evil—the Crucifixion of the Son of God—God intended for the ultimate Good.

Cross before Crown, yes, but don’t ever forget that Crown follows Cross.

The rest of the entire Bible—which is really one unified story that leads to Jesus—will be about God using human evil to bring about the Good News of the Gospel.

Amen.

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P.S.

Like all great stories, Genesis ends with a note of sadness and with a few loose ends. Joseph dies, but unlike Jacob, he is not buried back in the Promised Land. Before his death, I think he sees clearly the mistakes he has made in Egypt by turning his back on his heritage; he tells his descendants that they will need the help of God to get out of Egypt and return to the Promised Land, and he makes them promise that when that day finally comes they will carry his bones with them back to the land of his fathers.

And then he dies, and is embalmed after the custom of the Egyptians.

And so Genesis ends with Joseph as a mummy in Egypt.

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P.P.S.

But the Children of Israel never forgot their promise to Joseph. And generation unto generation, they were reminded that the day would come when God would bring them out of slavery, and that when that day came, they were to carry the bones of their brilliant ancestor Joseph with them. And so, this is what happens when the long-awaited Exodus finally occurs, so many centuries later:

19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.” [Exodus 13:19]

I said before that Genesis ends without all the loose ends tied up. That may be true, but you know what?

In God’s time, all loose ends are eventually tied up. There are no details that the author of Creation forgets.

Today’s Scripture (Our Final Reading from Genesis)

Genesis 50:15-26

To My Genesis Readers! (Some Penultimate Thoughts)

I’m sorry I’ve been so bad at posting my weekday Genesis commentaries since all this virus craziness began. Please forgive me! It’s been nice hearing from you folks that you actually read them. Who knew?

It’s been hard for me to get into a new writing routine that works with the rhythms of life in quarantine. But, we start Psalms next week, and I’ll do better—scout’s honor!

Below I’ve included some bullet points about Genesis from the last few weeks of readings.

Tomorrow at 4:00 AM I’ll email out my final post on Genesis, to go with our last day’s reading.

This is a long post, so if you are having trouble sleeping at night these days, this is just what the doctor ordered.

(However, if you skip the ending of this post, you’ll miss reading what is one of the greatest and most moving images in the entire Bible….)

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The Plan for Psalms

Speaking of Psalms, we start our Psalms schedule this coming Monday, April 13; we’ll read 1 psalm a day until September. I’ll write a daily commentary, and if you’re receiving this email, you’ll keep getting the Psalms emails.

More info here.

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My Video on Genesis

I know I’ve missed lots of days of commentary. Remember, though, that I did a whole hour talk on the Joseph story on March 4. Seems like forever ago!

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Quick Bullets on the Joseph Story

• I think the Bible wants us to have an ambivalent opinion on Joseph: on the one hand, he is obviously a genius, but on the other hand he becomes totally Egyptianized, which is not good because it means he’s forgotten that he is a child of Israel.

• The Bible makes it clear that the Lord was with Joseph when he was enslaved and imprisoned, but we aren’t told that the Lord is with Joseph when he is raised to power in Egypt. Why? I think it’s because it seems that Joseph forgets the Lord when he is delivered from prison and raised to power. As I mentioned above, he becomes so totally acculturated in Egypt that he doesn’t even live with his family when they settle in Goshen!

• I think Jacob’s blessing of Joseph’s two sons is fascinating. Jacob is blind, but he can still “see” and he deliberately blesses the younger—Ephraim—over the elder—Manasseh. He even crosses his hands to do so. An amazing scene.

• Hundreds and hundreds of years later, Daniel is an Israelite who finds himself serving a foreign king—in this case, the Babylonian Emperor Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel, however, never gives up on his Israelite identity, and God still uses him and he still retains his high position.

• I wonder if Joseph’s problem was thinking that there is no way he could have kept his high position apart from turning his back on his heritage. Of course, if the Lord wanted Joseph to be Pharoah’s right hand, then it would have happened. It is almost as if Joseph stops trusting in the Lord at the very moment when things begin to turn around for him.

• I think Joseph’s economic measures are morally questionable. He saves Egypt and the Middle East from starvation through his prudent planning, but he also enriches Pharaoh and strengthens Pharoah’s grip over all of Egypt, thereby turning the people into little more than indentured servants to Pharaoh. Could not he have saved the people another way?

• All throughout the story of Joseph the central question has been, Who will lead the family after Jacob is gone? Jacob’s final blessings of his sons tell us the answer (though we’ve already figured it out): Judah, the fourth son, will be the leader! Read the blessings carefully and see how Jacob hasn’t missed anything. He remembers, e.g., how Reuben slept with his wife/concubine so many years before, and how Simeon and Levi led the brutal slaughter at Shechem. By the way, Judah is the tribe from which David comes, and later Jesus. Do you know that praise song “Lion and the Lamb”? This is why the songwriter describes the Lord as “the lion of Judah”.

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Thoughts on the Death of Jacob, our Penultimate Reading

I have a bit more to say tomorrow about our final day’s reading, but I want to leave you with what is one of the most powerful images in all of the Bible: the burial of Jacob.

Remember, Joseph has forgiven his brothers, but they are not really reconciled with each other. Joseph, the right hand of Pharaoh himself— is living like an Egyptian, whereas Israel and his sons are living as shepherds in Goshen, sojourning in a foreign land. Joseph has settled the family there, but for all intents and purposes he is not one of them any more.

Jacob’s death, however, unites the brothers for one last time.

Jacob makes his 12 sons swear a deathbed oath (the same oath, by the way, that Joseph will subsequently make his descendants swear to him):

29 Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”

33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people. [Genesis 49-29-33]

Jacob, whose life’s journey has been long and winding, knows that his place is in the Promised Land, and so he will be buried with his fathers.

Joseph gets the necessary permission from Pharaoh and then joins the whole company as they make the long sad trek back to the land that the Lord promised Abraham.

And then we get what is one of the most moving images in the entire Bible:

12 So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. [Genesis 50:12-13]

Jacob’s 12 sons, erstwhile enemies in life, united in the death of their father:

The twelve sons of Jacob carry their father on their shoulders as they lay him to rest with his fathers in the land of Promise.

Wow.

Today’s Scripture

Genesis 49:29-50:14

P.S.

Today is Winston Churchill day, and in remembrance of Mr. Churchill, I’ve included below an image from his funeral procession. May we take on some of his stubborn courage today.

TONIGHT: Live Online Bible Study About Joseph

My Dear Genesis Readers!

I know I’ve been missing a bunch of days recently—I haven’t found a good quarantine rhythm yet. Don’t give up on me!

I’ll be teaching an online Bible study tonight, immediately following 7 PM evening prayer.

I’m going to be looking at the final chapters of Genesis—it will go right along with our reading.

7:00 PM - prayer begins

7:15 PM - Bible study begins.

As always, you can watch at www.facebook.com/mungerplace or at www.mungerplace.org/watch. (Study will be archived for later viewing, too.)

Hope to see you tonight!

—Andrew