CLOTHED AND IN MY RIGHT MIND

PART 6 – KEEPING IT TOGETHER

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Chapter 30 - GENERATIONS PASS ...

BUT THE STORY LIVES ON  (Joseph episode 11)

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We are now past the climax/resolution of the Joseph story. Joseph and his brothers are reconciled, and Jacob now knows that his long-lost son is not only alive and well, but is the Chief Minister of the land of Egypt.

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We might expect the rest of the story to fairly quickly wrap up the loose ends, and draw to a conclusion, but the Joseph narrative is somewhat unusual. From the account of the growing jealousy between Joseph and his brothers to the climactic reconciliation scene takes nine chapters, but in fact we are only two thirds of the way through, as there are still five more chapters before the end of Genesis and the death of Joseph.

Have we mistaken where the climax of the story actually happens? I don’t believe so. So why does it take another five whole chapters to wrap up the loose ends?!

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As we shall see, there are two main purposes to these final chapters. There are a number of loose ends that need to be resolved (fulfilling current obligations and responsibilities), but there is also a considerable amount of material that looks forward to the future historical progress of the nation of Israel and as far as the coming of the promised Messiah (foretelling God’s purposes for the future).

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I will not go into any details concerning the tying up of loose ends, except to give a summary of the topics covered, since I am more concerned here to look at how the threads in the story of Joseph weave into the future destiny of God’s people. However in summary, there are two major narrative strands to bring to a satisfactory conclusion:

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1. Joseph continues to fulfil his responsibilities as Chief Minister of Egypt

A detailed account of Joseph’s strategy for selling grain to the Egyptian people, which made everyone liable in future to contribute one fifth of their crops to Pharaoh (Genesis 47:13-26)

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2. Joseph’s family settle in the land of Goshen

Jacob’s journey to Egypt and reunion with Joseph (Genesis 46:1-7)

A complete list of all the members of Jacob’s family who travel to Egypt (Genesis 46:8-27)

Jacob’s family arrive in Egypt… Joseph introduces them to Pharaoh and settles them in the land of Goshen (Genesis 46:28 – 47:12)

Joseph reassures his brothers of his forgiveness and ongoing provision (Genesis 50:15-21)

 

But there is also a wealth of material that connects with previous history – reminding us of God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to make their descendants into a great nation – and looks prophetically forward to the fulfilment of God’s promises. We can break these prophecies down into three main topics:

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1. Anticipation of a future return from Egypt to the land of Canaan

2. Predictions concerning relationships and relative importance of different tribes of Israel after their possession of the Promised Land

3. Promise of the coming Messiah

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I will examine each of these areas in turn.

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1. Anticipation of a future return from Egypt to the land of Canaan

 

Scene 1 --- Jacob makes Joseph swear to take his body back to Canaan (Genesis 47:27-31)

 

As the time of Jacob’s death grew near, Jacob called for his son Joseph and told him,

“Please swear to me that you will honour this, my last request. When I die, do not bury me here in Egypt, but take my body back to Canaan and bury me with my ancestors.”

So Joseph promised him,

“Yes, I will do as you ask.”

But Jacob insisted,

“Swear on oath that you will do this.”

So Joseph gave his solemn oath, and Jacob bowed his head in acceptance of Joseph’s promise.

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Scene 2 --- Jacob’s death… mourning and burial (Genesis 49:29 – 50:14)

 

After Jacob had blessed all his sons with many blessings, he instructed them,

“I am going to die and join my ancestors. I want you to take my body back to Canaan and bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite – the cave that Abraham bought as a permanent burial site.

That’s where Abraham and Sarah are buried. So are Isaac and Rebekah.

And I buried Leah there as well. It’s my wish to be buried beside them”.

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After he had finished his words, he lay back in his bed and died.

Joseph threw himself on his father and wept and kissed him. Then he gave instructions to his servants to embalm the body. This process took forty days, and after this there was a period of mourning for another seventy days.

When the period of mourning was over, Joseph talked to Pharaoh's advisers and asked them to say to Pharaoh:

“My father made me swear before he died that I would take his body back to the land of Canaan, and bury him in the family tomb. Because of this, I need to go and bury my father. And afterwards I will return.”

Pharaoh agreed that Joseph should keep his promise to his father. So Joseph and all his family, apart from the children, took Jacob’s body back to the land of Canaan. A large number of Pharaoh's advisers also went with them. And they buried Jacob in the family tomb in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, as Jacob himself had requested.

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Scene 3 --- Joseph’s death (Genesis 50:22-26)

 

After Jacob died, Joseph and his brothers and their families continued to live in Egypt. Joseph lived to a grand old age, and saw the birth of his great grandchildren. He died at peace with his brothers at the age of 110. They embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

 

But before he died, Joseph told his brothers:

“I will die and be buried here in Egypt. But in due time God will come to lead the children of Israel out of this land. He will bring you back to the land of Canaan which he promised to give to Abraham and to his descendants.”

Then Joseph made all his family, who had now become the tribe of the sons of Israel, swear an oath, saying:

“When God comes to lead us back to Canaan, you must take my bones back with you.”

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As these scenes illustrate very clearly, both Jacob and Joseph sense a strong connection and continuity with their predecessors, a faith in God’s promises, and a certainty that God’s purposes will be fulfilled.

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As for Jacob, his insistence on being buried in the land of his fathers emphasises his sense of solidarity and continuity with his family, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and his wife Leah (Rachel was died and was buried on their Journey from Laban’s home in Haran, near to Bethlehem).

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But implicitly, it also reveals his confidence that God will bring his descendants back to the land of promise. Even though, at this point in time, Jacob and his fathers have owned not one parcel of land in Canaan, except for the cave of Machpelah, he believes God’s promise that one day they will possess the entire land.

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The writer of the letter to the Hebrews says of the Old Testament heroes of faith,

“All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not, in their lifetime, see the fulfilment of the things that were promised, but they looked forward to a distant future and welcomed them. They acknowledged that they were foreigners and temporary residents here on earth.” (Hebrews 11:13)

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Jacob is such a wonderful example of this truth. He knew that God’s promises would not be fulfilled until after he was long gone. But nevertheless he believed those promises implicitly, and his desire to be buried back in the land of Canaan is testimony to the fact that he saw God’s future promise as a present reality.

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In a prophetic sense Jacob’s return to Canaan (remember that God has given him the name “Israel”) symbolizes the return of the nation of Israel 430 years later. It’s interesting to compare and contrast the return of Israel the ancestor and Israel the nation, as type and fulfilment…

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• The ancestor’s desire to return was based on God’s promise to Abraham to give the land as an inheritance --- the nation’s return was in fulfilment of that promise.

• The ancestor’s return was accompanied by the entire family (apart from the children) --- the nation’s return included the entire family (now grown to 600,000!)

• Joseph went to Pharaoh to request that his family leave Egypt to bury their father --- Moses went to Pharaoh to request that his people leave Egypt to worship God.

• Pharaoh gave his consent and approval to Joseph --- a later Pharaoh reluctantly gave his consent (after the final plague, the death of the firstborn) though he subsequently changed his mind and pursued them to bring them back.

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This comparison is fascinating since it demonstrates that prophecies and fulfilments are never entirely predictable. Although the prophecy (or type) may contain many elements that foreshadow the fulfillment, God’s way of bringing the prophecy to its consummation is always surprising, unexpected, above and beyond what human minds are able to imagine.

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As for Joseph, although he is content to be buried in Egypt, he also is concerned that Egypt should not be his final resting place. There is a specific reason for being buried in a coffin – to enable the coffin, with his bones inside, to be carried back “When God comes to lead us back to Canaan”.

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Note that Joseph says, “When God comes…” not “If God comes…” The literal translation of this verse is, “God will surely/certainly come…” Joseph is 100% convinced that God will fulfil his promise and bring them back to the land which he has allotted to them as their inheritance.

 

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2. Predictions concerning relationships between and relative importance of the different tribes of Israel

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Scene 1: Jacob blesses Ephraim and Manasseh (from Genesis 48:1-22)

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After Jacob arrived in Egypt he lived for another seventeen years, reaching the age of one hundred and forty-seven. The day came when Joseph received news that his father was failing and close to death. So he went to visit his father, and took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

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Jacob said to Joseph,

“God Almighty appeared to me in the land of Canaan and blessed me. He said to me, 'I will make you fruitful, and I will make your descendants into a great nation. I will give them this land of Canaan as an everlasting possession.

So now I am claiming these two boys of yours, Ephraim and Manasseh, as my own sons, so that they will receive an equal portion of my inheritance in the land of Canaan, just like Reuben, Simeon and my other sons.

Bring them closer to me, so that I can bless them."

Jacob was half blind because of his age and could hardly see. So Joseph brought the boys close to him, and Jacob hugged them and kissed them. Joseph placed the boys in front of Jacob, with Ephraim at Jacob's left hand, and Manasseh at Jacob's right hand. But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys' heads. He put his right hand on Ephraim’s head and his left hand on Manasseh’s. This was the wrong way round, of course, because Manasseh was the firstborn.

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Joseph was upset when he saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim's head. So he lifted it to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.

“Here, Father. This is Ephraim, my firstborn. Put your right hand on his head."

But Jacob refused.

"I know, my son; I know what I’m doing. Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother Ephraim will become even greater. His descendants will become a multitude of nations."

So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing:

"The people of Israel will use your names when they bless one another. They will say, 'May God make you as prosperous as Ephraim and Manasseh.' "

Bu using these words, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

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Then Jacob said to Joseph,

"Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to Canaan, the land of your ancestors. By claiming Ephraim and Manasseh as my own sons, I am effectively giving you an extra portion of the land when you take it as your possession."

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Note firstly that Jacob bases his future prophetic declarations on God’s past covenant promises.

"God Almighty appeared to me in the land of Canaan and blessed me. He said to me, 'I will make you fruitful, and I will make your descendants into a great nation. I will give them this land of Canaan as an everlasting possession.'

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Everything about Jacob’s predictions of future history stems from his absolute certainty of God’s plan and purpose for his people. That the nation of Israel will take possession of the Promised Land is a given. No question whatsoever! It’s already an accomplished fact. Jacob’s concern is not about whether the Land will be possessed, but how it will be divvied up between the twelve tribes. Who will get the best of the land?... the greater portion?... Who will have the higher honour and authority among their brethren?

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With this in mind, Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh consists of two significant elements.

1. He effectively adopts Ephraim and Manasseh as his own sons, raising their status to the same level as Reuben, Simeon, Levi and the others. This ensures that they will each inherit an equal portion along with all the other sons of Jacob.

2. He places his right hand on Ephraim’s head (the younger son), and raises Ephraim’s status above that of Manasseh (the elder).

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Both these elements of Jacob’s blessing are fulfilled when Israel conquers the land of Canaan and allocates portions to each of the tribes. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh are each allocated equal portions alongside the other tribes of Israel.

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But in addition to this, the tribe of Ephraim does gain higher influence and status than the tribe of Manasseh. When the nation splits into two after the death of Solomon, the northern kingdom is dominated by the tribe of Ephraim (rather than Manasseh), and the southern kingdom by the tribe of Judah. Especially in Hosea’s prophesies against the northern kingdom, the names Ephraim and Israel are used virtually as synonyms. Ephraim is representative of the northern kingdom as a whole (though unfortunately here because of their practice of sin and idolatry).

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These facts raise some interesting questions, which are not easy to answer… Does Jacob’s action of blessing Ephraim and Manasseh in this way and promoting Ephraim above Manasseh actually change the future course of history? Or is Jacob merely acting as God’s mouthpiece to foretell what God has already purposed?

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Jacob’s action does have very direct consequences, since in due course the children of Israel divide up the land of Canaan between the tribes according to what Jacob has decreed. Jacob’s adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh as his own sons in fact required that they each be given an equal share of the inheritance, and that obligation arose specifically from Jacob’s blessing.

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On the other hand, Jacob told Joseph that,

"God Almighty appeared to me in the land of Canaan and blessed me. He said to me, 'I will make you fruitful, and I will make your descendants into a great nation. I will give them this land of Canaan as an everlasting possession.'

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I think we can be fairly sure that this is just a brief summary of the conversation between God and Jacob. God most probably told Jacob a lot more details of his plans which influenced not only Jacob’s blessing on Ephraim and Manasseh, but also on his twelve sons, which we come to in scene 7.

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When Abraham goes out to guide his strange guests on their way to Sodom and Gomorrah, we read that God asks himself,

"Should I hide my purpose from Abraham? After all, I have chosen him to be part of my plan, to make his descendants into a great and mighty nation. I have promised that all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.” (Genesis 18:17-18)

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Jacob is also a vital link in that ongoing plan and purpose, and it’s quite reasonable to suggest that God would share with Jacob in some detail what is going to happen to them in the future, and what part they will play in God’s special purposes for his chosen people.

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So we could say that God (a) revealed to Jacob what his purposes were for his descendants, and (b) gave him some specific responsibilities in ensuring these purposes were fulfilled.

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• How does God reveal his plans and purposes to us today?

• What are some of the specific plans that he has for us, as individuals, and as a kingdom community?

• How can we compare our partnership with God in the work of the kingdom, with Jacob’s partnership with God in fulfilling his purposes for his chosen people in the Old Testament?

 

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Scene 2 --- Jacob’s blessings (from Genesis 49:3-10, 22-26)

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Jacob’s blessings on his 12 sons do more than any other episode to connect the Joseph story to the future history of the children of Israel. I am not going through all 12 blessings, but concentrate on the most important ones – the blessings on Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah and Joseph. There is more than enough here to see how Jacob’s blessing intimately foreshadow the reality of Israel’s story as a nation.

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After Jacob arrived in Egypt he lived for another seventeen years, reaching the age of one hundred and forty-seven. When he realized he was approaching the end of his life, he called his sons together and said:

“Come, and I will tell you what is going to happen to you and to your descendants in the future. Come my sons and listen to your father.

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Reuben, you are my oldest son, and you should be first in honour and rank.

But you proved to be wild and unreliable, as unruly as the waves of the sea.

You even abused your own step-mother.

           Because of these things you will lose your place of honour as the firstborn son.

 

Simeon and Levi, you are two of a kind, men of violence.

Your temper is fierce and cruel.

           Therefore your descendants will be scattered throughout the nation.

 

           Judah, your brothers will praise you.

You will defeat your enemies.

All your relatives will honour you.

You are like a young lion crouching over its prey -- who will dare to stand against you?

           The right to rule over the tribes of Israel will remain with the descendants of Judah,

           until the one comes to whom that authority belongs.

           And all the nations will obey him.

 

Joseph, you are like a fruitful tree planted beside a spring of water.

The Mighty God of Jacob has made you strong

He is the Shepherd, the Rock of His people.

          You will have many descendants who will spread out far and wide.

He will bless you and your descendants with rain from above

and fertile soil beneath your feet,

You will receive these wonderful blessings, Joseph,

because you are a prince among your brothers.”

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As we already noted with regard to Jacob’s blessings on Ephraim and Manasseh, his blessings show a remarkable prophetic insight into the future history of Israel. But in this passage, we see the prophetic content reaching even as far as the coming of a promised King who will not only rule on the throne of Israel, but will take up authority over the nations of the world.

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But we will look first at the development of the tribes of Israel as revealed in Jacob’s poetic pronouncements.

 

Joseph’s descendants, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, receive the best of the land

Joseph, you are like a fruitful tree beside a spring of water. Your branches will spread out far and wide.

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Although it’s not mentioned here that Joseph will receive a double portion of the land, Jacob’s blessing follows the formula which assigns the firstborn son the first and best choice of fields for their crops and pasture for their livestock. Compare Isaac’s blessing on Jacob (believing, of course, that Jacob was actually Esau!):

"You, my beloved son, smell of the earth and the fields.

God will bless you with the dew of heaven and the richness of the soil.

He will always give you abundant harvests of grain and plentiful new wine.”

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By the time that the children of Israel entered the Promised Land, and divided up the land between the different tribes, Joseph’s descendants had already become two tribes. So the descendants of Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh each received a full portion, meaning that Joseph’s offspring received double the inheritance of the other 11 tribes.

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And this land was good, productive land. Manasseh’s portion included the land of Gilead, which is famed for its fertile pastures, and medicinal herbs and spices. The merchants who bought Joseph from his brothers and took him to Egypt came from Gilead with their camels loaded with “spices, balm (medicinal herbs) and myrrh”.

 

… but Judah’s descendants will inherit the highest position of authority.

“Future rulers of Israel will come from your descendants to govern my people…”

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Normally the blessing of land and possessions, and the blessing of highest authority, go together as the right of the firstborn son, but in this case (which is unique in the history of the Old Testament) the two are split. The genealogical record of the twelve tribes of Israel in the book of Chronicles tells us specifically that

… although Judah was the strongest of his brothers and rulers of Israel came from his descendants, the rights of the firstborn belonged to Joseph. (1Chronicles 5:2)

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After the children of Israel came into the Promised Land, Judah was always the strongest tribe. Not all the kings came from Judah. Saul, the first king of Israel, came from the tribe of Benjamin, but David and Solomon were from the tribe of Judah, and after the Kingdom was divided, after Solomon’s reign, David’s descendants continued to rule the southern kingdom of Judah until they were taken into exile in Babylon.

After this, the succession of kings from the line of Judah seems to dry up. But the prophecy hasn’t yet run its full course, as we will see below.

 

The tribes of Simeon and Levi will be scattered among the other tribes

 Simeon and Levi, you are two of a kind, men of violence. Your temper is fierce and cruel. Therefore your descendants will be scattered throughout the nation.

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This prophecy was also fulfilled when the tribes were allotted their territory in the Promised Land, but in different ways.

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The tribe of Simeon was given a number of towns and villages located within the territory of Judah, because Judah’s portion was more than they needed. By the time the kingdom was divided, after the reign of Solomon, only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin play any significant part in the story. When Ezra and Nehemiah return from exile in Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem, Ezra 1:5 tells us:

Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites--everyone whose heart God had moved--prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.

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But Simeon is not mentioned at all. This would suggest that the descendants of the tribe of Simeon had been absorbed into the tribe of Judah, and Simeon no longer existed as a separate tribe.

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As for the tribe of Levi, they were not given any allocation of land. The descendants of Aaron (who was from the tribe of Levi) served as priests, and the rest of the Levites as religious officials in the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple in Jerusalem. They had no property or land of their own, but lived from the tithes that were given from the other 11 tribes.

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So the blessings of Jacob turn out to have all kinds of prophetic implications for the future history of the tribes of Israel – but there is even more remarkable prophecy contained within Jacob’s blessings on Judah.

 

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3. Promise of the coming Messiah (Genesis 49:10)

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Jacob's blessing on Judah contains the quite remarkable prediction:

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“The right to rule over the tribes of Israel will remain with the descendants of Judah, until the one comes to whom that authority belongs. And all the nations will obey him.”

 

The exact meaning of the Hebrew here is difficult to determine. The Hebrew text says: "… until Shiloh comes, and to him will be the obedience of the nations." Most modern versions translate Shiloh with something like “the one to whom it belongs”, but the questions remains, who is this person, and what is it that belongs to him?

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The meaning of the prophecy taken as whole seems to be this: God is giving to Judah the rights and privileges of the firstborn son, so that Judah’s descendants will have the highest authority to rule over the nation of Israel. But that gift is for a specific time period, and will finish when a certain person comes who will claim that right for himself.

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The implication has to be that the person who will fulfil this prophecy is the one who has the ultimate right to rule over the nation of Israel, and not just over Israel, but over all the nations of the world. The only person who will be able to claim that right is the coming Messiah, God’s chosen King.

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So Judah is given the greatest honour among his brothers, as the one from whom Jesus the Messiah will be born. But why Judah? What is it about Judah’s story that makes him deserve such an honour?

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In the previous study we looked at Judah’s mediation for Benjamin, which led to the reconciliation between Joseph and his brother. Judah said to Joseph:

"…  please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. How can I return to my father if the boy isn’t with me? I couldn't bear to see the misery this would cause him!"

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Judah’s mediation is a wonderful example of Jesus’ work of salvation. Consider the facts that,

• Judah is prepared to take personal responsibility for stealing Joseph’s silver cup, even though he is innocent (of course he doesn’t know that this was set up by Joseph as a test).

• He is offering to put himself in Benjamin’s place – to take his punishment so that Benjamin can go free.

• The purpose of Judah’s personal sacrifice is that Joseph can be reunited with his father, and prevent his father suffering the loss and grief which he would suffer if Benjamin did not return.

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So it seems most probable that it was Judah’s willingness to offer himself as a sacrifice that made him the one to be chosen as the ancestor of Jesus Christ, who gave himself as the final sacrifice for the sins of the world.

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As with the various other aspects of these final chapters of Genesis, Jacob’s blessing of Judah connects with the story of Judah’s past life – his repentance and redemption as a result of being forced by Tamar to confront his sinful behaviour, his subsequent concern and empathy for his father, and his preparedness to offer himself as a vicarious sacrifice in place of Benjamin – and his future destiny as the ancestor and precursor of the promised Messiah, the “Lion of Judah”.

 

 

One “Grand Narrative”

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With so many different examples of the way the unravelling of the Joseph story paves the way for an understanding of the future narrative, it must be obvious that the Biblical account, even though written by many different writers over some 2,000 years, constitutes one large connected narrative, and needs to be read not as a series of isolated events, but as a single story that leads to a very dramatic climax in the coming of Christ.

 

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Questions for discussion

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• How did Jacob and Joseph’s experience of God in their past lives affect their trust in God and faith in his promises?

• What aspects of their past experience created their certain hope that God would bring them back to the land God had promised to them?

• What events in Jacob’s past contributed to his predictions/prophecies of what would happen to his son’s descendants in the future?

• What do Jacob’s blessings tell us about the ultimate purpose of God’s plans for his Chosen People?

• How does past experience of God’s work in our lives affect our faith and our vision for the future?

• After God delivers the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, Moses tells the people: “In the future, when your children ask you, 'What does all this mean?' Then you must tell them, “The LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the oppression of slavery, by the power of his mighty hand.” (Exodus 13:14)

Why is it important to be reminded of what God has done in the past? What happens if we forget?

 

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