May 20, 2025 • 24 mins
Joseph's grieving process for his father Jacob demonstrates that sorrow is a normal, healthy response to loss, even for those with strong faith in God's promises.
• Joseph requests his own physicians embalm Jacob rather than Egyptian embalmers who practiced magic arts
• The Egyptians mourn Jacob for 70 days, just 2 days short of the mourning period for a Pharaoh
• Jacob's funeral procession includes Egyptian officials, elders, and a military escort - one of the greatest funeral displays recorded in Scripture
• When Jacob's brothers fear Joseph will finally take revenge, they fabricate a message claiming their father commanded forgiveness
• Joseph reassures his brothers with the profound statement: "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good"
• Before dying at 110, Joseph makes his family swear to carry his bones back to Canaan when God fulfills His promise
• Genesis covers the first 2,369 years of history - more than one-third of Earth's timeline
Remember that to reject Genesis as historical is to undermine the very foundation of our faith and the reason Christ came to earth.
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our
Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
Today we are in our lastchapter of Genesis, genesis
chapter 50, beginning at verse 1.
Then Joseph fell on hisfather's face and wept over him
and kissed him.
(00:20):
And Joseph commanded hisservants, the physicians, to
embalm his father.
So the physicians embalmedIsrael.
Forty days were required for itfor that is how many are
required for embalming and theEgyptians wept for him seventy
days.
In these first three verses ofchapter 50, joseph being the
(00:47):
very closest son of his father,israel shows us that it is both
normal and it is healthy togrieve when those closest to you
pass.
Just as in the Gospel of John,chapter 11, verse 35, jesus wept
.
Then Joseph summoned thephysicians to embalm Israel.
(01:10):
This statement that Joseph wassummoning his own physicians to
embalm him is a tellingstatement.
Here In Egypt, the profession ofphysicians and embalmers were
actually two separateprofessions, because embalmers
were religious.
In their practice, they usedmagic arts and mystic practices.
(01:35):
What this is telling us is thatJoseph intentionally asked his
own physicians to do thismummification process for Israel
, so that no magic arts wereinvolved.
And we also learned this is a40-day process.
Additionally, we learned thatthe Egyptians wept for Israel
(01:57):
for 70 days.
Weeping for the dead wassomething formally done in Egypt
, especially for those who had aposition of honor, and Joseph's
father, israel, was shown thisgreat honor because of the
respect that Joseph had asgovernor.
The formal time for mourningfor a pharaoh was 72 days, and
(02:22):
here Israel was mourned for 70days, just two days short of
what a Pharaoh would be mournedfor.
Picking up in verse 4, and whenthe days of weeping for him were
passed, joseph spoke to thehousehold of Pharaoh, saying If
now I have found favor in youreyes, please speak in the ears
(02:44):
of Pharaoh.
Saying my father made me swear,saying I am about to die In my
tomb, that I have hewn out formyself in the land of Canaan.
There you shall bury me Now.
Therefore, let me please go upand bury my father, then I will
return.
(03:05):
And Pharaoh answered Go up andbury your father, as he made you
swear.
In verses 4 through 6, we seethat the days of weeping had
passed and after this solemntime for the entire nation of
Egypt, where all of the normalgovernment functions would have
(03:37):
been shut down, after this timeof formal weeping, joseph goes
into the household of Pharaohand he's now free to conduct
business with the Pharaoh.
And Joseph tells Pharaoh thathe swore to his father to bring
him back to that cave in thefield of Ephron in the land of
(03:58):
Canaan.
After hearing that Joseph hadsworn to do this for his father,
the Pharaoh told Joseph to goand bury his father, just as he
had promised Verse 7 so Josephwent up to bury his father.
With him went all of theservants of the Pharaoh, the
(04:20):
elders of his household and theelders of the land of Egypt, the
elders of his household and theelders of the land of Egypt, as
well as all of the household ofJoseph, his brothers and his
father's household.
Only their children, theirflocks and their herds were left
in the land of Goshen and therewent up with him both chariots
(04:40):
and horsemen.
It was a very great company.
As we see here in verses 7through 9,.
Israel's funeral procession wasperhaps one of the greatest ever
seen in the land of Canaan.
It certainly is one of thegreatest ever recorded in
scripture.
It was a funeral procession fitfor a king.
(05:03):
It included Joseph, all theservants of the Pharaoh, all the
elders of his household, allthe elders in all of the land of
Egypt, all the household ofJoseph, all the household of
Joseph's eleven brothers, allthe household of Israel,
(05:25):
chariots and horsemen.
This, my friends, indeed was agreat company, verse 10.
When they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond
the Jordan, they lamented therewith very great and grievous
(05:50):
lamentation and he made amourning for his father for
seven days.
When the inhabitants of theland, the Canaanites, saw the
mourning on the threshing floorof Atad, they said this is a
grievous mourning by theEgyptians.
Therefore, the place was namedAbel Mizraim.
It is beyond the Jordan.
(06:10):
In verses 10 through 11, we seethat this great company stopped
at the threshing floor of Atad.
Now, the precise location ofthis threshing floor is unknown.
However, it is significant thatthis threshing floor is spoken
(06:30):
of being beyond the Jordan andit's referenced as beyond the
Jordan twice, in verses 10 and11.
Considering that a direct routefrom Egypt to the cave of
Mekpila would not have gonethrough or even journeyed next
to the Jordan River, this isdescribing how the funeral
(06:51):
procession took a detour.
One very likely possibility isthat there was political unrest
or a war and the procession hadto go around the Dead Sea and
then would approach Hebron fromthe northeast rather than the
southwest, and here at thethreshing floor of Atad, joseph
(07:15):
set aside seven days to grievehis father one last time.
Seven days was a common amountof time set aside by Hebrews to
grieve their loved ones.
Some examples can be found in 1Samuel 31.13, 1 Chronicles
10.12, job 2.13, and Ezekiel3.15.
(07:38):
However, this wasn't the commonquiet Hebrew grieving and
lamenting.
This lamentation of thiscompany was great, and it
included the lamentation of theEgyptians, creating a great
outward display.
We might compare it tosomething similar to the paid
(07:59):
whalers when Jairus' daughterdied during the days of Jesus in
Mark 5, 38-40.
Indeed, this entire event was agreat display of grief, with an
entire showcase of theEgyptians' power inside the land
of Canaan.
And when the Canaanites sawthis great display of mourning
(08:22):
in their land by the Egyptiansat this threshing floor, they
renamed the place the Tears ofEgypt Verse 12.
From Ephron the Hittite topossess as a burying place.
After he buried his father,joseph returned to Egypt with
(09:00):
his brothers and all who hadgone up with him to bury his
father.
Verses 12-14 finish documentinghow the sons of Israel did just
as their father had commandedthem that he was buried with the
other patriarchs and theirwives in the land of Canaan, in
the cave at the field ofMachpelah, which is near Hebron.
(09:24):
The death, the funeralprocession and the burial of
Israel are all very welldocumented here in Genesis.
And after the formal burial ofhis father, joseph returns to
Egypt along with his family andall of the Egyptian royalty that
had come along Verse 15.
(09:48):
When Joseph's brothers saw thattheir father was dead, they said
it may be that Joseph will hateus and pay us back for the evil
that we did to him.
So they sent a message toJoseph saying your father gave
this command before he died.
Say to Joseph Please forgivethe transgression of your
(10:11):
brothers and their sin, becausethey did evil to him.
His brothers also came and felldown before him and said Behold
, we are your servants.
In verses 15 through 18, we seethat the brothers of Joseph
(10:36):
still feel lost under thecondemnation of their own sin.
Now, after the death of theirfather, they think Joseph is
going to take vengeance on them.
This kind of thinking amongstthe brothers should actually be
expected, considering how Simonand Levi had such a disposition
(10:58):
of vengeance.
They had slaughtered an entirevillage because of their
sister's defilement.
The brothers do not and perhapscannot believe that Joseph
could truly have forgiven themfor selling him as a slave.
They believe Joseph is justwaiting for the right
(11:18):
opportunity to take vengeance.
So they send Joseph a message.
As was typical for these tenbrothers who did this to Joseph,
they make something up, theytry to tingle the ears of the
hearer, if you will, and dowhatever they can to get
themselves out of trouble.
(11:39):
They send Joseph a message thatbegins your father gave us this
command.
Well, you can only imagine howJoseph must have received such a
foolish message.
The fact that his brothersbegan the message calling Israel
his father rather than ourfather, and then proceeded to
(11:59):
tell Joseph that Israel toldthem to command him to forgive
them, rather than just talkingto Joseph himself, surely sounds
like some of the same foolishmanipulation that has always
come out of their mouths.
Eventually, the brothers justcame and fell down before Joseph
(12:19):
, saying we are your servants.
The fact that his brothers didthis and came and fell down
before him would seem to implythat Joseph never even responded
to that foolish message hisbrothers sent.
When they came and bowed downbefore him and said Behold, we
are your servants.
It shows that they were in fearfor their life.
(12:42):
And this is their new strategyto have Joseph show mercy upon
them like he had before inGenesis 43.26 and Genesis 44.14.
But Joseph said to them Do notfear, for am I in the place of
God and for you?
You meant evil against me, butGod meant it for good, to bring
(13:07):
it about that many people shouldbe kept alive as they are today
.
So do not fear, I will providefor you and your little ones.
Thus he comforted them andspoke kindly to them.
Verses 19-21 are some of themost quoted verses in all of
Genesis.
When Joseph says Do not fear,for am I in the place of God,
(13:32):
he's letting his brothers knowthat he fears God and he's not
going to use his authority as aweapon to take vengeance upon
the sins of his brothers.
Know that he fears God and he'snot going to use his authority
as a weapon to take vengeanceupon the sins of his brothers,
because Joseph believes thatvengeance belongs to God.
Deuteronomy 32.35 saysVengeance is mine and recompense
(13:55):
for the time when their footshall slip, for the day of
calamity is at hand and theirdoom comes swiftly.
Romans 12, 19 reads Beloved,never avenge yourselves, but
leave it for the wrath of God,for it is written Vengeance is
(14:15):
mine, I will repay.
In Hebrews 10.30 reads Josephcontinues saying people.
(14:36):
Joseph continues saying as foryou, you meant evil against me,
but God meant it for good.
I believe this phrase is oftenmisused.
Contrary to some mixed-upthinking and off-base
theologians, joseph is in no waycalling evil good.
Here Joseph is very clear thathis brothers were sinning
(15:00):
against him and they weresinning against God.
He says that they meant evilagainst him.
The Hebrew word for meant herealso means to plan, to plot, to
devise or have intent.
The brothers of Joseph wereintentional to sin against
(15:21):
Joseph and therefore sin againstGod.
They willingly planned to sinagainst Joseph and God.
It is a very dangerous thing tocall evil good and that is not
what Joseph is doing.
Isaiah 5.20 reads as Joseph saysthis to his brothers, he is
(15:54):
pointing to the sovereignty ofGod and how God's plans for his
people cannot be thwarted.
Isaiah 54, 17 reads no weaponthat is fashioned against you
shall succeed and you shallrefute every tongue that rises
against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of theservants of the Lord and their
(16:18):
vindication is from me, declaresthe Lord.
Joseph is not making light ofwhat his brothers did, but
rather he is pointing them tothe foreknowledge, the
faithfulness, the power and theforgiveness that is in the God
of Abraham, isaac and Jacob.
Joseph, out of love for hisbrothers, is telling them how
(16:44):
they too should trust God.
They should walk in faithrather than in fear, because God
has good plans for everyone whodoes.
Romans 8.28 reads, and we knowthat for those who love God, all
things work together for good,for those who are called
(17:07):
according to his purpose.
When we walk in faith,surrendering ourselves to the
headship of God Almighty, theLord will use us for his glory
and for his kingdom.
Joseph is telling his brothersthat God's purpose in this is so
that the children of Israel andtheir children will be provided
(17:31):
for and survive.
Joseph then casually speakswith his brothers, kindly
letting them know that he willnot take vengeance, but rather
that he wants what's.
Joseph then casually speakswith his brothers, kindly
letting them know that he willnot take vengeance, but rather
that he wants what's best forthem and what's best for their
families Verse 22.
So Joseph remained in Egypt, heand his father's house.
(17:52):
Joseph lived 110 years andJoseph saw Ephraim's children of
the third generation, thechildren also of Machir, the son
of Manasseh, who were countedas Joseph's own.
In verses 22 and 23, we seethat Joseph continued to remain
(18:14):
in Egypt the rest of his lifeand he saw Ephraim's children to
the third generation.
The phrase third generationhere is disputed by some, as
some believe it includes thegeneration of Ephraim.
However, it is possible thatJoseph was able to see his
great-great grandchildrenthrough Ephraim, since Joseph
(18:36):
did live 80 years after becominggovernor, which started when he
was 30 years old.
If Joseph had Ephraim shortlyafter becoming governor, perhaps
around being 32 years old, wecan divide those four
generations by the remaining 78years.
By the remaining 78 years, andwe find that there are 19.5
(18:59):
years that would separate eachgeneration.
Assuming that thegreat-great-grandchild from
Ephraim was born that year thatJoseph died, and if that's the
case, it tells us it wasn'tunusual to be married and having
children prior to 20 years oldin the ancient Near East.
(19:20):
We also read that the childrenof Mechir, the son of Manasseh,
were counted as Joseph's own.
That phrase Joseph's own hereit literally means to be born on
Joseph's knees.
It's speaking of how Josephcontinued to oversee his family.
He continued to care for them,he continued to train all of the
(19:42):
young children and he was seenas the patriarch and head of the
entire family for as long as helived.
And Joseph said to his brothersI'm about to die, but God will
visit you and bring you up outof this land, to the land that
he swore to Abraham, to Isaacand to Jacob.
(20:03):
Then Joseph made the sons ofIsrael swear, saying God will
surely visit you and you shallcarry up my bones from here.
In verses 24 and 25, we see howJoseph trusted in the Abrahamic
covenant that God had given toAbraham, isaac and Jacob.
(20:26):
Joseph believed that the sonsof Israel would once again
return to the land of Canaan,the land of Canaan.
Joseph may also have beenfamiliar with what God told
Abram in Genesis 15, verses 13and 14, which read Know for
certain that your offspring willbe sojourners in a land that is
(20:48):
not theirs and will be servantsthere, and they will be
afflicted for four hundred years.
But I will bring judgment onthe nation that they serve, and
afterward they shall come outwith great possessions.
Therefore Joseph, trusting inGod's promises through Abraham,
(21:09):
isaac and Jacob, has hisbrothers, along with Ephraim and
Manasseh, swear, saying Godwill surely visit you and you
shall carry up my bones fromhere.
Joseph wants his family to knowand be grounded in the promises
of God.
Our final verse in GenesisGenesis chapter 50, verse 26.
(21:34):
So Joseph died, being 110 yearsold.
They embalmed him and he wasput in a coffin in Egypt.
The end of the book of Genesisconcludes much like it began,
detailing a very specific day.
This day is the day when Josephdied, giving us the age of his
(21:58):
death.
The book of Genesis ismeticulous at including the
genealogies and ages of the maleoffspring all the way back from
Adam, while it's not limited to, but it is focused around, the
line of the Messiah.
Every male son that was born inthe lineage of the Messiah was
(22:22):
recorded, with their lifespanand the age at which they gave
birth to the next of kin in theline of the Messiah.
We can conclude, based on thesegenealogies recorded in Genesis
, that Genesis includes thefirst 2,369 years of Earth's
(22:45):
history.
As I speak this today, in 2025AD, I recognize that the book of
Genesis has the recordedhistory of well over one-third
of all of Earth's history.
To ignore this history that'sfound in Genesis or to somehow
(23:05):
pass it off as a legend or amyth For a Christian it's like
rejecting addition andsubtraction, being in an
advanced math class.
To reject the first one-thirdof God's interaction with
mankind and his people is toreject the foundation for the
New Testament doctrines andindeed, the reason that Christ
(23:29):
came here at the time ofJoseph's death.
It has now been 286 years sinceAbram was first given the
Abrahamic covenant and hehimself had gone to Egypt during
a famine in Genesis 12.10.
Had gone to Egypt during afamine in Genesis 12.10.
(23:49):
And after this specific day ofJoseph's death, there will be
144 more years of Israelremaining in Egypt, most of it
as slaves, before the greatexodus in 1491 BC.
Thank you so much for joiningme through this journey of
(24:12):
Genesis.
God bless you this week.
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our
Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
Today we are in our lastchapter of Genesis, genesis
chapter 50, beginning at verse 1.
Then Joseph fell on hisfather's face and wept over him
and kissed him.
(00:20):
And Joseph commanded hisservants, the physicians, to
embalm his father.
So the physicians embalmedIsrael.
Forty days were required for itfor that is how many are
required for embalming and theEgyptians wept for him seventy
days.
In these first three verses ofchapter 50, joseph being the
(00:47):
very closest son of his father,israel shows us that it is both
normal and it is healthy togrieve when those closest to you
pass.
Just as in the Gospel of John,chapter 11, verse 35, jesus wept
.
Then Joseph summoned thephysicians to embalm Israel.
(01:10):
This statement that Joseph wassummoning his own physicians to
embalm him is a tellingstatement.
Here In Egypt, the profession ofphysicians and embalmers were
actually two separateprofessions, because embalmers
were religious.
In their practice, they usedmagic arts and mystic practices.
(01:35):
What this is telling us is thatJoseph intentionally asked his
own physicians to do thismummification process for Israel
, so that no magic arts wereinvolved.
And we also learned this is a40-day process.
Additionally, we learned thatthe Egyptians wept for Israel
(01:57):
for 70 days.
Weeping for the dead wassomething formally done in Egypt
, especially for those who had aposition of honor, and Joseph's
father, israel, was shown thisgreat honor because of the
respect that Joseph had asgovernor.
The formal time for mourningfor a pharaoh was 72 days, and
(02:22):
here Israel was mourned for 70days, just two days short of
what a Pharaoh would be mournedfor.
Picking up in verse 4, and whenthe days of weeping for him were
passed, joseph spoke to thehousehold of Pharaoh, saying If
now I have found favor in youreyes, please speak in the ears
(02:44):
of Pharaoh.
Saying my father made me swear,saying I am about to die In my
tomb, that I have hewn out formyself in the land of Canaan.
There you shall bury me Now.
Therefore, let me please go upand bury my father, then I will
return.
(03:05):
And Pharaoh answered Go up andbury your father, as he made you
swear.
In verses 4 through 6, we seethat the days of weeping had
passed and after this solemntime for the entire nation of
Egypt, where all of the normalgovernment functions would have
(03:37):
been shut down, after this timeof formal weeping, joseph goes
into the household of Pharaohand he's now free to conduct
business with the Pharaoh.
And Joseph tells Pharaoh thathe swore to his father to bring
him back to that cave in thefield of Ephron in the land of
(03:58):
Canaan.
After hearing that Joseph hadsworn to do this for his father,
the Pharaoh told Joseph to goand bury his father, just as he
had promised Verse 7 so Josephwent up to bury his father.
With him went all of theservants of the Pharaoh, the
(04:20):
elders of his household and theelders of the land of Egypt, the
elders of his household and theelders of the land of Egypt, as
well as all of the household ofJoseph, his brothers and his
father's household.
Only their children, theirflocks and their herds were left
in the land of Goshen and therewent up with him both chariots
(04:40):
and horsemen.
It was a very great company.
As we see here in verses 7through 9,.
Israel's funeral procession wasperhaps one of the greatest ever
seen in the land of Canaan.
It certainly is one of thegreatest ever recorded in
scripture.
It was a funeral procession fitfor a king.
(05:03):
It included Joseph, all theservants of the Pharaoh, all the
elders of his household, allthe elders in all of the land of
Egypt, all the household ofJoseph, all the household of
Joseph's eleven brothers, allthe household of Israel,
(05:25):
chariots and horsemen.
This, my friends, indeed was agreat company, verse 10.
When they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond
the Jordan, they lamented therewith very great and grievous
(05:50):
lamentation and he made amourning for his father for
seven days.
When the inhabitants of theland, the Canaanites, saw the
mourning on the threshing floorof Atad, they said this is a
grievous mourning by theEgyptians.
Therefore, the place was namedAbel Mizraim.
It is beyond the Jordan.
(06:10):
In verses 10 through 11, we seethat this great company stopped
at the threshing floor of Atad.
Now, the precise location ofthis threshing floor is unknown.
However, it is significant thatthis threshing floor is spoken
(06:30):
of being beyond the Jordan andit's referenced as beyond the
Jordan twice, in verses 10 and11.
Considering that a direct routefrom Egypt to the cave of
Mekpila would not have gonethrough or even journeyed next
to the Jordan River, this isdescribing how the funeral
(06:51):
procession took a detour.
One very likely possibility isthat there was political unrest
or a war and the procession hadto go around the Dead Sea and
then would approach Hebron fromthe northeast rather than the
southwest, and here at thethreshing floor of Atad, joseph
(07:15):
set aside seven days to grievehis father one last time.
Seven days was a common amountof time set aside by Hebrews to
grieve their loved ones.
Some examples can be found in 1Samuel 31.13, 1 Chronicles
10.12, job 2.13, and Ezekiel3.15.
(07:38):
However, this wasn't the commonquiet Hebrew grieving and
lamenting.
This lamentation of thiscompany was great, and it
included the lamentation of theEgyptians, creating a great
outward display.
We might compare it tosomething similar to the paid
(07:59):
whalers when Jairus' daughterdied during the days of Jesus in
Mark 5, 38-40.
Indeed, this entire event was agreat display of grief, with an
entire showcase of theEgyptians' power inside the land
of Canaan.
And when the Canaanites sawthis great display of mourning
(08:22):
in their land by the Egyptiansat this threshing floor, they
renamed the place the Tears ofEgypt Verse 12.
From Ephron the Hittite topossess as a burying place.
After he buried his father,joseph returned to Egypt with
(09:00):
his brothers and all who hadgone up with him to bury his
father.
Verses 12-14 finish documentinghow the sons of Israel did just
as their father had commandedthem that he was buried with the
other patriarchs and theirwives in the land of Canaan, in
the cave at the field ofMachpelah, which is near Hebron.
(09:24):
The death, the funeralprocession and the burial of
Israel are all very welldocumented here in Genesis.
And after the formal burial ofhis father, joseph returns to
Egypt along with his family andall of the Egyptian royalty that
had come along Verse 15.
(09:48):
When Joseph's brothers saw thattheir father was dead, they said
it may be that Joseph will hateus and pay us back for the evil
that we did to him.
So they sent a message toJoseph saying your father gave
this command before he died.
Say to Joseph Please forgivethe transgression of your
(10:11):
brothers and their sin, becausethey did evil to him.
His brothers also came and felldown before him and said Behold
, we are your servants.
In verses 15 through 18, we seethat the brothers of Joseph
(10:36):
still feel lost under thecondemnation of their own sin.
Now, after the death of theirfather, they think Joseph is
going to take vengeance on them.
This kind of thinking amongstthe brothers should actually be
expected, considering how Simonand Levi had such a disposition
(10:58):
of vengeance.
They had slaughtered an entirevillage because of their
sister's defilement.
The brothers do not and perhapscannot believe that Joseph
could truly have forgiven themfor selling him as a slave.
They believe Joseph is justwaiting for the right
(11:18):
opportunity to take vengeance.
So they send Joseph a message.
As was typical for these tenbrothers who did this to Joseph,
they make something up, theytry to tingle the ears of the
hearer, if you will, and dowhatever they can to get
themselves out of trouble.
(11:39):
They send Joseph a message thatbegins your father gave us this
command.
Well, you can only imagine howJoseph must have received such a
foolish message.
The fact that his brothersbegan the message calling Israel
his father rather than ourfather, and then proceeded to
(11:59):
tell Joseph that Israel toldthem to command him to forgive
them, rather than just talkingto Joseph himself, surely sounds
like some of the same foolishmanipulation that has always
come out of their mouths.
Eventually, the brothers justcame and fell down before Joseph
(12:19):
, saying we are your servants.
The fact that his brothers didthis and came and fell down
before him would seem to implythat Joseph never even responded
to that foolish message hisbrothers sent.
When they came and bowed downbefore him and said Behold, we
are your servants.
It shows that they were in fearfor their life.
(12:42):
And this is their new strategyto have Joseph show mercy upon
them like he had before inGenesis 43.26 and Genesis 44.14.
But Joseph said to them Do notfear, for am I in the place of
God and for you?
You meant evil against me, butGod meant it for good, to bring
(13:07):
it about that many people shouldbe kept alive as they are today
.
So do not fear, I will providefor you and your little ones.
Thus he comforted them andspoke kindly to them.
Verses 19-21 are some of themost quoted verses in all of
Genesis.
When Joseph says Do not fear,for am I in the place of God,
(13:32):
he's letting his brothers knowthat he fears God and he's not
going to use his authority as aweapon to take vengeance upon
the sins of his brothers.
Know that he fears God and he'snot going to use his authority
as a weapon to take vengeanceupon the sins of his brothers,
because Joseph believes thatvengeance belongs to God.
Deuteronomy 32.35 saysVengeance is mine and recompense
(13:55):
for the time when their footshall slip, for the day of
calamity is at hand and theirdoom comes swiftly.
Romans 12, 19 reads Beloved,never avenge yourselves, but
leave it for the wrath of God,for it is written Vengeance is
(14:15):
mine, I will repay.
In Hebrews 10.30 reads Josephcontinues saying people.
(14:36):
Joseph continues saying as foryou, you meant evil against me,
but God meant it for good.
I believe this phrase is oftenmisused.
Contrary to some mixed-upthinking and off-base
theologians, joseph is in no waycalling evil good.
Here Joseph is very clear thathis brothers were sinning
(15:00):
against him and they weresinning against God.
He says that they meant evilagainst him.
The Hebrew word for meant herealso means to plan, to plot, to
devise or have intent.
The brothers of Joseph wereintentional to sin against
(15:21):
Joseph and therefore sin againstGod.
They willingly planned to sinagainst Joseph and God.
It is a very dangerous thing tocall evil good and that is not
what Joseph is doing.
Isaiah 5.20 reads as Joseph saysthis to his brothers, he is
(15:54):
pointing to the sovereignty ofGod and how God's plans for his
people cannot be thwarted.
Isaiah 54, 17 reads no weaponthat is fashioned against you
shall succeed and you shallrefute every tongue that rises
against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of theservants of the Lord and their
(16:18):
vindication is from me, declaresthe Lord.
Joseph is not making light ofwhat his brothers did, but
rather he is pointing them tothe foreknowledge, the
faithfulness, the power and theforgiveness that is in the God
of Abraham, isaac and Jacob.
Joseph, out of love for hisbrothers, is telling them how
(16:44):
they too should trust God.
They should walk in faithrather than in fear, because God
has good plans for everyone whodoes.
Romans 8.28 reads, and we knowthat for those who love God, all
things work together for good,for those who are called
(17:07):
according to his purpose.
When we walk in faith,surrendering ourselves to the
headship of God Almighty, theLord will use us for his glory
and for his kingdom.
Joseph is telling his brothersthat God's purpose in this is so
that the children of Israel andtheir children will be provided
(17:31):
for and survive.
Joseph then casually speakswith his brothers, kindly
letting them know that he willnot take vengeance, but rather
that he wants what's.
Joseph then casually speakswith his brothers, kindly
letting them know that he willnot take vengeance, but rather
that he wants what's best forthem and what's best for their
families Verse 22.
So Joseph remained in Egypt, heand his father's house.
(17:52):
Joseph lived 110 years andJoseph saw Ephraim's children of
the third generation, thechildren also of Machir, the son
of Manasseh, who were countedas Joseph's own.
In verses 22 and 23, we seethat Joseph continued to remain
(18:14):
in Egypt the rest of his lifeand he saw Ephraim's children to
the third generation.
The phrase third generationhere is disputed by some, as
some believe it includes thegeneration of Ephraim.
However, it is possible thatJoseph was able to see his
great-great grandchildrenthrough Ephraim, since Joseph
(18:36):
did live 80 years after becominggovernor, which started when he
was 30 years old.
If Joseph had Ephraim shortlyafter becoming governor, perhaps
around being 32 years old, wecan divide those four
generations by the remaining 78years.
By the remaining 78 years, andwe find that there are 19.5
(18:59):
years that would separate eachgeneration.
Assuming that thegreat-great-grandchild from
Ephraim was born that year thatJoseph died, and if that's the
case, it tells us it wasn'tunusual to be married and having
children prior to 20 years oldin the ancient Near East.
(19:20):
We also read that the childrenof Mechir, the son of Manasseh,
were counted as Joseph's own.
That phrase Joseph's own hereit literally means to be born on
Joseph's knees.
It's speaking of how Josephcontinued to oversee his family.
He continued to care for them,he continued to train all of the
(19:42):
young children and he was seenas the patriarch and head of the
entire family for as long as helived.
And Joseph said to his brothersI'm about to die, but God will
visit you and bring you up outof this land, to the land that
he swore to Abraham, to Isaacand to Jacob.
(20:03):
Then Joseph made the sons ofIsrael swear, saying God will
surely visit you and you shallcarry up my bones from here.
In verses 24 and 25, we see howJoseph trusted in the Abrahamic
covenant that God had given toAbraham, isaac and Jacob.
(20:26):
Joseph believed that the sonsof Israel would once again
return to the land of Canaan,the land of Canaan.
Joseph may also have beenfamiliar with what God told
Abram in Genesis 15, verses 13and 14, which read Know for
certain that your offspring willbe sojourners in a land that is
(20:48):
not theirs and will be servantsthere, and they will be
afflicted for four hundred years.
But I will bring judgment onthe nation that they serve, and
afterward they shall come outwith great possessions.
Therefore Joseph, trusting inGod's promises through Abraham,
(21:09):
isaac and Jacob, has hisbrothers, along with Ephraim and
Manasseh, swear, saying Godwill surely visit you and you
shall carry up my bones fromhere.
Joseph wants his family to knowand be grounded in the promises
of God.
Our final verse in GenesisGenesis chapter 50, verse 26.
(21:34):
So Joseph died, being 110 yearsold.
They embalmed him and he wasput in a coffin in Egypt.
The end of the book of Genesisconcludes much like it began,
detailing a very specific day.
This day is the day when Josephdied, giving us the age of his
(21:58):
death.
The book of Genesis ismeticulous at including the
genealogies and ages of the maleoffspring all the way back from
Adam, while it's not limited to, but it is focused around, the
line of the Messiah.
Every male son that was born inthe lineage of the Messiah was
(22:22):
recorded, with their lifespanand the age at which they gave
birth to the next of kin in theline of the Messiah.
We can conclude, based on thesegenealogies recorded in Genesis
, that Genesis includes thefirst 2,369 years of Earth's
(22:45):
history.
As I speak this today, in 2025AD, I recognize that the book of
Genesis has the recordedhistory of well over one-third
of all of Earth's history.
To ignore this history that'sfound in Genesis or to somehow
(23:05):
pass it off as a legend or amyth For a Christian it's like
rejecting addition andsubtraction, being in an
advanced math class.
To reject the first one-thirdof God's interaction with
mankind and his people is toreject the foundation for the
New Testament doctrines andindeed, the reason that Christ
(23:29):
came here at the time ofJoseph's death.
It has now been 286 years sinceAbram was first given the
Abrahamic covenant and hehimself had gone to Egypt during
a famine in Genesis 12.10.
Had gone to Egypt during afamine in Genesis 12.10.
(23:49):
And after this specific day ofJoseph's death, there will be
144 more years of Israelremaining in Egypt, most of it
as slaves, before the greatexodus in 1491 BC.
Thank you so much for joiningme through this journey of
(24:12):
Genesis.
God bless you this week.
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