Genesis 50 Joseph’s Death

Joseph’s death is the last we will hear from the family of Israel for some time. Joseph’s death will be observed by ALL of Egypt.

Joseph has returned to Egypt after burying his Abba in Canaan. He had sworn to do this before his Abba died. Joseph will live another 54 years after the death of Jacob. And Joseph will insist that he eventually be brought back into the land of Canaan to rest for eternity. Let’s join the family as they settle back down in Egypt.

♥ ♦ ♥

It has been two weeks since Joseph and the whole group returned from Canaan after placing Jacob in the cave with his Abbas. The mourning time has passed but Asenath sees that Joseph is still wrestling with his father’s death. She is glad that he has sought solace in her arms many times. But he has closed off since returning from the land of Canaan. Asenath would do anything for this man, whom she has grown to love more than life itself. “It is time to push for answers” Asenath tells herself.

Joseph is in his reading room when Asenath approaches him. She quietly walks to where he sits, engrossed in another scroll. She puts her hand out and strokes his hair. Joseph looks up and gives her a watery smile. Asenath’s heart aches for Joseph, now more than ever.

She moves to be in front of Joseph and gets down onto her knees. She rests her hands on his knees for a moment before speaking to him. He strokes her hair absentmindedly.

“What is troubling you my husband” asks Asenath.

Joseph shakes his head, but says nothing.

“I can tell that something is bothering you, my love. Please share with me. Maybe I can help” pleads Asenath.

Joseph’s smile is a little brighter at her concern. He doesn’t know if she will understand his heart though. “Will she think I’m selfish? Will she doubt my love for her and my commitment to Egypt” thinks Joseph.

Asenath will wait as long as it takes for Joseph to pour out his heart to her. The unyielding floor and her tired knees will just have to get used to one another. Her heart will keep her here. Asenath rests her head on Joseph’s knees. Joseph strokes her hair again. His resolve crumbles and he is ready to share his concerns.

“I have been thinking about my Abba, and how he wanted buried in Canaan.” Joseph looks out a window that is nearby. This is a beautiful land, but it is not my home either. God promised my Abba that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan. That is where I need to be too; someday.”

Asenath smiles and rubs Joseph’s knee. “Do you realize that this is the first time that you have referred to Jacob as your ‘Abba’ instead of ‘father’?”

“Did I” asks Joseph.

“Yes, you did. And it speaks of something special.” Asenath raises her head from Joseph’s knee so she can look him directly in the eye. “In calling him Abba, you are reworking the bond between you. Your family has always been important and special to you, but your service to Egypt came first. Your God has ALWAYS been FIRST, but your loyalties to your family and Egypt have struggled against one another. That struggle has taken a turn, now that you have been back to the country of your birth; and your descendants’ future.”

“I suppose you are right. Now that the famine has passed, the needs of Egypt are not as pressing as they once were. But I don’t see how I could leave, even if I wanted to. Pharaoh depends on me. I cannot abandon him. So, how would I ever return to my homeland?”

“Just as your ‘Abba’ did. You can be buried in the land of Canaan.”

“I could. But my family is here now. They wouldn’t have the power to take me from Pharaoh’s house, back to the land of Canaan.” Joseph thinks for a few minutes. He is going over God’s promises and prophecies his Abba shared with him when he was younger. “My family will be here for some time. The Lord has decreed this. But when they leave, they can take my remains with them.”

“And you can join your ancestors in the land of Canaan at that time.”

“Thank you, my beautiful wife for listening to my troubles and helping me work through them” says Joseph. Then he leaned down and kissed Asenath’s forehead.

“I am always happy to serve, my lord” Asenath replied.

Joseph rose early the next morning. He needed to go to the land of Goshen and speak with his brothers. He needed a solemn promise from them to bring him out of Egypt when they finally left.

Reuben is the first to see Joseph upon his arrival. “Hello brother. It is a surprise to see you. Is there something wrong?”

“No. Not really. I want to talk to you and to our other brothers.”

Reuben doesn’t know what to think about Joseph’s arrival and words. Surely, he wasn’t going back on his word to protect and provide for them; the one he made during the time of mourning for their Abba. “Can you tell me what it is about?”

“I would rather wait until I can share it with all of you. How long do you think it would take for them all to come from their tasks?”

“I don’t know. Benjamin is in the north pastures with his sons. They are about to begin sheering the sheep. Can it wait until sheering is done, or do you need to see us all right away?”

“I suppose it can wait a few days. It is not urgent. It is just something that has been weighing heavily on my heart.”

“If it can wait until the first day of the week, I will make certain all our brothers are here to meet you” Reuben suggests.

That was five days away, as this week had barely started. “That will be fine. Thank you Reuben. I truly appreciate this.”

Reuben is still concerned about what it is that Joseph wants to discuss. “Can I tell them what this is about?”

Even in his troubled state, Joseph hears the fear in Reuben’s voice. “Forgive me for being so vague. I did not mean to trouble you. It is a personal request I want to ask of you. It is actually the same request our Abba made of us before he died.”

Reuben’s eyes widen; “You’re not dying are you brother?”

“No. Just looking to the future.”

“Good! You had me worried.”

“No need to worry” Joseph says with a smile as he places a hand on Reuben’s shoulder. “I will see you on the first day of the week.”

“Would you like to stay for first meal with us?”

“I would, but I can’t. I have to get back to attend to the needs of Egypt. She is a ‘demanding master’” Joseph says with a wink.

Reuben watches Joseph leave. “We have SO much to make up for” he thinks.

Word is passed through the camp and to all the fields of Joseph’s visit and his intention to return again on the first day of the week. All the brothers prepare for his visit by washing their clothes and taking a bath the day before. They will honor Joseph when he arrives; as he deserves for all that he has done for them.

Joseph is back early on the first day of the week, just as he had arranged. He smiles as he sees his brothers. They are all in their best robes, their hair is neatly trimmed, and their hands fidget at their sides. “Is this all for me” Joseph asks with a grin.

“What” asks Benjamin.

“This finery and the smell of the fields washed away?”

“It is, my lord” replies Naphtali.

Joseph laughs a hearty laugh. “I miss the smell of the fields! I was hoping to enjoy some of its company during our visit.”

Reuben’s cheeks color, as it was his idea to have everyone greet Jacob in their best.

Joseph sees Reuben’s uncomfortableness. “Don’t be discouraged my brother. I am honored by your gesture.”

Reuben smiles at Joseph’s praise. “Would you like some wine? Or perhaps something to eat?”

“Wine would be nice. Then let’s sit together under that tree” Joseph says, while pointing at a shady oak tree.

Gad gets the wineskin and glasses while the others are moving with Joseph to the tree. Once everyone is settled, Gad pours each a drink, then sits down to join them.

Joseph starts their ‘meeting’. “I know I was cryptic when I spoke with Reuben last week. I did not mean to be. It is just that going into detail once is taxing enough for me. It is not a light request that I am making.”

The brothers are all silent as they wait for Joseph to explain his needs.

“Abba spoke to us about God’s promises for our descendants. How God had told him that our descendants would inherit the land of Canaan. Also about how it would take some time for that to happen. God’s promises are why Abba wanted to be buried in Canaan. He KNEW that we would be back there some day. Not us personally, but our children’s, children’s, children will one day. Much time will pass between now and then.” Joseph paused to ensure that all his brothers were following along. All eyes were on him.

“What I’m asking of you is something that you will pass on to your children, their children, and who knows how many generations. But it MUST start with you and a solemn promise.” Joseph watches as their faces shift while thinking about being in Egypt for several generations.

“I want to be buried in the land of our Abba’s. The land that God swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob to give them. When our descendants leave Egypt, I want them to carry my bones with them from this place.”

The brothers look at one another, thinking over Joseph’s request. Reuben speaks for the group. “We will do this, my lord.”

Joseph nods. “My death is a long time off. When it comes near, I will again ask you for this promise.”

Nods abound all around. The brothers will pass this request on to all their children.

“Let’s eat! Our wives have made a special meal for your visit. I think we have been somber enough for one day”, said Benjamin with an impish grin.

“I agree” replies Joseph.

The family joins together in celebration as they enjoy one another’s company. This will be only one of MANY times together in joyous celebration before Joseph reminds them of their conversation. By that day, Reuben, Gad, and Naphtali are no longer among the living. Manasseh and Ephraim have moved their families to Goshen and have been received as ‘family’ in the camp of Israel. Joseph has buried Asenath may years earlier. Joseph has also buried and mourned with Egypt over the passing of two Pharaohs.

The day arrives. Joseph has been in Egypt for 93 years, but it is still not his home. He longs for the land of God’s promise. His determination to be buried there has not wavered since the day he discussed it with Asenath and his brothers.

Joseph sends for a messenger. As soon as he arrives, Joseph gives him instructions.

“You are to go to the land of Goshen. There you will find the camp of Israel. You are to summon my brothers to come to me. You are to take four of the most comfortable carts to bring them here. I am too weak to travel myself and they are even older than I am. See to their comfort during the journey. Anything they need, must be available.”

The messenger bows low to the ground. “It will be done exactly as you have commanded, my lord.”

As soon as the message reaches the camp of Israel, word spreads. The brothers begin to gather. As they are all elderly themselves, they are near camp. Benjamin is the only one who still goes into the fields with his sons. Yet, even he is in camp this day. They are all thankful for the carts to ride in to see Joseph. “He seems to think of everything” comments Dan.

The messenger and the drivers help the brothers into their seats and provide whatever they might need. Judah asks for a blanket to keep his feet warm. Zebulun receives a pillow to cushion his aging back. Others welcome the wine that is offered. Once they are all settled, the drivers remount their places and the journey to Joseph begins. It takes longer now that the brothers are older. Their bones don’t take to the jarring holes in the road like they used to. Much care is taken to avoiding them on the trip.

Finally, the processing reaches the home of Joseph. The brothers are helped down from their seats and up the stairs of Joseph’s home. All assemble in Joseph’s room. He is propped up with pillows. His color is sallow but his spirit is high. He smiles at each of his brothers in turn.

“Come closer. Sit. We need to talk.”

The brothers move deeper into the room where chairs have been set up for them. They each settle into a chair and wait for Joseph to speak.

“Do you remember our conversation so many years ago about being buried in the land of Canaan?”

A most heads nod, but not all of them. It had been MANY years since they sat under the tree that day.

“I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that He sword to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (Genesis 50:24).

The brothers all remember the conversation now. Joseph continues. “I want you to SWEAR to me that, when God brings you out of Egypt, you will bring my bones with you.”

One at a time the brothers answered Joseph. “I so swear. And I swear to pass this promise on to all of my children, their children, and their children. It will be as you have commanded.”

Joseph sealed their covenant by repeating the promises God had made and the one his brothers had now committed their descendants to carry out. “God WILL surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here” (Genesis 50:25b).

After a subdued visit, the brothers are taken back to their homes in the land of Goshen.

Three days later, Joseph died. Pharaoh spares no expense in embalming Joseph’s body or on the coffin his body is placed in. All of Egypt wept and mourned for Joseph. There had never been another as wise as him in all of Egypt. He had saved them from destruction and death.

Joseph’s brothers wept and mourned Joseph as well. They would pass their promise down to ALL their descendants. None would ever forget Joseph and all that he had done for their family. Nor how the hand of God rested on him.

(to be continued)

It has been a long journey through the book of Genesis. We have encountered many lives and many stories. Joseph’s is one of my favorites. King David is another favorite for me. He is a LONG way away right now. I hope you have enjoyed the journey with me.

Father God, thank You for sharing Your stories with me! Thank You for the little glimpses into the lives and motivations of Your people along the way. I pray that I have honored You in the stories. Thank You for the moments of humor along the way. The places where Your Spirit bubbled up something unexpected, that couldn’t be left out.

I wonder what my own story will look like when I leave this earth. Will I have touched lives for You? Will the stories that You authored through me bring others a better understanding of the lives You shared with us from Your word? That is my fondest desire. To honor You and bring others closer to You through our time together. Help me as I assemble the stories You have provided so others can enjoy them too. Also help me as we continue looking at the lives You included in Your word. Help me tell their stories too.-p