V1-9
Joseph loved his father and He weeps and organizes a mourning period which lasts seventy days. To preserve the body of Jacob, the Egyptians embalm it.
Joseph weeps the death of his father because He loved Him. I think that when we love someone deeply, their passing away from the earth will always be a point to weigh us down and cause us to be sorrowful.
The story of the death of Jesus shows this. Before the death of Jesus, in Matthew 26, Peter clings to Jesus, even saying that He will not and cannot deny Him. (Of course, Jesus tells him that He will deny Him and He goes on to deny Jesus three times) But the point is that Peter’s intention not to deny Jesus was good. He wanted to be by the side of Jesus. Then later on, as Jesus heads to the cross, in Luke 23, there are women who were mourning and weeping for Him. Even later, in John 20, we see Mary Magdalene weeping at the tomb after She finds Jesus’s body missing from the tomb.
The common thing between Joseph, Peter, the weeping women and even Mary Magdalene, is that they all loved these loved ones and were mourning about their deaths. For Joseph, it was his father Jacob and for these others, the Lord Jesus. These people in the New Testament wished that their Lord would be with them longer and that He would not have to die.
There may be several lessons that we can get from here, but I think I see two (for now). First, I learn that everyone mourns for their loved ones at the face of death simply because death is painful. Death hurts all of us because it takes away the people we love. And this takes me to the second lesson, why does death even exist?
Sin… sin is the cause. This happens after Adam and Eve are lied to by the devil and they accept the lie and go on to sin against God by eating from the tree they were told not to eat from. When God speaks to them, He proceeds to say to Adam:
Genesis 3:19 NIV – By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
At its core, Death is basically SEPARATION.
When our loved ones die, we are SEPARATED from them. Anyone who dies is essentially separated from their body and from life on earth. And the ones who are left behind are pained by the death.
Until Jesus comes, everyone is destined to die the physical death. So, what happens after this death?
After death, comes judgement,
Hebrews 9:27 NIV: Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment… (continued below)
But then, we learn that there is not only one death, there are two types of death. The second death is the lake of fire where everyone whose name will not be in the book of life will be sent. It is eternal SEPARATION from God. And being separated from God is definitely not a good thing –>> it is pure pain and suffering.
Revelation 21:8 NIV: But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
This second death is not for everyone. There are those who will be saved from the second death. The question is: Who are these??
And here comes the joyous news of the gospel — Jesus. The women were mourning and weeping and even Mary Magdalene wept when She found the tomb empty. But they had not yet full realized that this was actually the Plan: GOD’S PLAN FOR HUMANKIND.
(Continuation from above) Hebrews 9:28 NIV – so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
John 11:25 NIV – Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;
John 3:16 NIV– For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus died on the cross so that each of us can have eternal life. This is so that we can enjoy eternity with Him, not separated from Him. You and I do not have to experience the second death. For those who believe in Jesus and abide in Him, a time will come when they will say (Oh death, where is your sting?):
1 Corinthians 15:55-58 New Living Translation (NLT) – O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
And so, what should be our appropriate response to this?? —-> Brokenness, humility and the believing and acceptance of what Jesus has done on the cross.
And after that, what should we do?
We should live for Him. We must give our lives Wholeheartedly, we must and need to obey his word, we should hate sin and we must abide in Him.
John 15:4-11 NIV: Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[a] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
After we believe and trust in Jesus, we do not mourn about death in the same way as those who do not believe. We mourn with an understanding that those who believe and trust in Jesus will not suffer from the second death. And so, even the other verses of Genesis 50 can be seen from this understanding.
V10-11
The mourning of Joseph and all who accompanied Him was so great such that even the outsiders, the Canaanites, saw it and recognized that their mourning was great.
There is something very profound about this.
When I look at this verse from the new perspective and understanding we have learnt above, the question that comes up within me is this: How remorseful am I about my sin?
Other questions also come up:
- How serious am I talking my walk with the Lord?
- Do I hate sin and the things of the World?
- Can people witness that I walk with the Lord?
- Is my life impacting people and leading them to Jesus?
As I reflect, Please also reflect on these questions.
Jesus died, He died for our sin. He did not have to. He had no sin in himself. He died purely because of his love for us and so that we do not have to be eternally separated from God forever.
V12-13
Jacob’s body is buried with his father’s, Isaac and grandfather’s Abraham. Abraham had bought a burial site for him and descendants and these descendants were careful to be buried there.
V14 – 21
Joseph’s brothers come up with a lie so that Joseph does not punish them for what they did to Him. The guys are still fearful and guilty. And really, this is the problem with guilt. Guilt always comes up with many ideas of horrible and terrifying things that are going to happen.
But Joseph is a man of Faith. He is a man of forgiveness and a person who understands God’s sovereignty. He understands that this was actually God’s plan for Him so that He can save his family and many other people from death by hunger.
The brothers don’t seem to have understood this yet. They are still looking at it carnally. They really don’t seem to have seen that this was God’s plan. Although they were forgiven, they were still doubting.
Dear friends, after we accept Jesus, we don’t have to doubt what He did for us on the cross. You only should fear if you are not living for Him. But Jesus secured our salvation through his precious blood on the cross, through his death. He is now resurrected and is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us.
He has also given us his Holy Spirit, who is our helper so that we may live lives that are worthy of this high calling of salvation and a life dedicated to the Lord.
V22-26
Joseph, like his father Jacob, had faith and He knew God’s word about Israel would be fulfilled. And so, He asks his brothers to ensure they have carried his bones when God will be taking Israel out of Egypt. The writer of the Book of Hebrews also sees this great faith in Joseph:
Hebrews 11:22 NLT – It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.
This is the lesson: God’s Word can be trusted. God is faithful and He can be trusted to do what He says He will do. He will indeed save all whose eyes are fixed on Him. He will save those who are careful to walk with the Lord. Don’t lose heart.
Hebrews 12: 1-3 NLT: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.