Joseph- The Final Chapter

Joseph - The Final Chapter

Question of the day: How important is music for you in your walk with Christ?  Is there a song that stands out as pivotal in your walk with God? 

This morning we are going to start with a song.   It is a song that I get stuck in my head all the time and has been instrumental in my walk with God.  

This morning we are going to be studying the last chapter of Genesis.  We will read it and then discuss it.  

READ Genesis 50

50 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. 2 Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, 3 taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

4 When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, 5 ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”

6 Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt— 8 besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. 9 Chariots and horsemen[a] also went up with him. It was a very large company.

10 When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. 11 When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.[b]

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 fieldas a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

The Death of Joseph

22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years 23 and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.[c]

24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

This chapter starts with Joseph's reaction to his fathers death and the burial of Jacob.  It ends with Josephs death.  

Anything interesting about the first section (Jacobs burial) and the last section (Josephs death and burial)?

What a burial Jacob received!  Who was present?  

This was a royal burial.  This was a huge event.  

What were Josephs last words to his family? 

Joseph takes Jacob after he has been embalmed and buries him where he had asked to be buried, but Joseph just tells his family what?

Why?

Ellen White talks about this...

"And through the centuries of toil which followed, the coffin, a reminder of the dying words of Joseph, testified to Israel that they were only sojourners in Egypt, and bade them keep their hopes fixed upon the Land of Promise, for the time of deliverance would surely come."

Even in death he would still be a symbol of hope.

Let's now talk about the center section. 

So Jacob dies and his brothers become afraid S
What makes them so afraid?

I am sure the huge spectacle of the funeral just highlighted for them the power of Joseph. 

How fearful were they?  They were so afraid that they didn't even go see him to talk, they just sent a text. LOL!

Do you ever send an email or a text instead of facing someone that you are afraid of, or afraid of their reaction?  Well that is exactly what they did.

Why did their message make Joseph cry?

What does he say to them?

This passage is so important!

What is so amazing to me about this story and about the story of redemption is that God is so remarkable he doesn't just restore - he makes it even better.  He didn't return Joseph to his father all those years ago, he made him ruler of the kingdom and gave him the wisdom to save many lives. 

This is a passage we need to get stuck in our heads. 

 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

We need to know it by heart.  Do you believe that God will take what the enemy means for evil and turn it for your good?  Do you really Really REALLY believe that?

If we really believe this, how does it change how we live?

How does it change how we navigate the really terrifying things in our lives?

How do we live if we KNOW that He will turn what the enemy means for evil into something really good?

What have you learned while studying the story of Joseph that has given you something to think about in your life?

I was struck here by something tiny and yet so important.  In this passage it says that, "And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them." I was reminded how important it is to speak kindly to those who have hurt me...

What have you learned from the story of Joseph?

To close today's class let's listen to this song again.

Happy Sabbath! 

KNOW LOVE.

LIVE LOVE.

SHARE LOVE.