Genesis 50 Weep for Jacob

Jacob has said the last words he will ever say to his sons. Joseph is the first to weep for Jacob. But all Egypt joins him and his family in mourning Jacob’s passing.

Jacob has just finished giving a prophecy/blessing to each of his sons. He also gave them instructions for his burial. While they stand there thinking over Jacob’s words, Jacob pulls up his feet and lets go of life. Let’s join the family as they deal with Jacob’s death.

♥ ♦ ♥

Jacob’s sons are stunned by their Abba’s deep desire to be buried in Canaan. The brothers exchange looks around the room. This is a great distance to carry a body! They couldn’t even get Rachel to this plot when she died. Her body had to be laid to rest along the journey. How were they going to bring Jacob’s body all that way?

Joseph wasn’t worried about the journey. He had already looked into what had to be done to honor his Abba’s request. He was surprised that he made the request again after swearing Joseph to its completion. Then again, his Abba needed to let his brothers in on the plan. If not there might be strife arise between them for Joseph’s handling of the body. This actually smoothed the way for Joseph.

Making this request took every last ounce of Jacob’s strength. He falls back over onto his bed and draws his feet back under the covers. He lies there trying to catch his breath for a moment. Then a peaceful look transforms his face and his breathing halts. The brothers watch with anticipation, waiting for his next breath. Finally one last breath leaves Jacob’s lungs and he lies still. His eyes are open but unfocused.

The brothers all realize what has just happened. A torrential wail rips from Joseph’s throat as he falls onto his Abba’s inert body. He knew this was coming but he wanted just a little more time with his Abba. He had missed so many years. After a few moments Joseph regains control of himself. He kisses his Abba’s face, closes his eyes and rises from the bed.

The brothers huddle together to comfort one another with Joseph drawn into their center. The cries from within the tent garnered the attention of those waiting outside. A few heads peek through the door to gage the situation but quickly retreat to allow the brothers privacy.

Some time passes before the brothers begin to separate and then make their way out of the tent. All are spent from their own turmoil, compounded by wrestling with the ‘blessings’ their Abba pronounced over each of them. As each emerge from the tent, they are greeted by family members who offer comfort during their grief. When Joseph exits, he makes a list in his mind of all that has to be done to carry out his Abba’s dying request. He will require the assistance of the physicians of Egypt to make it possible.

Joseph goes to Reuben to let him know what will happen next.

“Reuben, I need to speak with you.”

The two brothers step away from the family gathered outside of Jacob’s tent. Reuben turns to Joseph and waits.

“Abba’s final request is a difficult one, but one that can be done. It will take the help of Egypt’s physicians. I must go and set things in motion right away, before decay can take hold of his body. Would you stand guard over Abba’s body while I am away?”

“It would be my honor. When do you expect to return” asks Reuben.

“Someone will be here before the day is done. If I am detained and unable to personally come, I will send one of my sons with those who will gather Abba’s body.”

Reuben nods his acceptance of the timeline and plans.

“One more thing. If any of the family want to sit with Abba or view his body while I am gone, allow it, but ask that they not touch him or take locks of his hair. I don’t know how this will affect the embalming process, but I have heard stories of disastrous results because the body was disturbed after death and before embalming.”

“It will be done exactly as you say my lord.”

Joseph gathers Ephraim and Manasseh and gets them into their chariot. “We have to hurry boys. There is much to do for my father.”

Joseph’s first stop is at the home of Egypt’s greatest embalmer.

“My father, Jacob, has just died. He is in his tent in the land of Goshen. You are to take my father’s body and prepare it for burial through the Egyptian embalming process” Joseph instructs him. “He is not to be buried, only prepared for burial. He body is not to endure the rituals of the priests, only the preservation process. This is necessary for transport to the place of his burial, in the land of Canaan.”

“It will be done exactly as you have said, my lord.”

“Either myself or my eldest son, Manasseh will go with you to show you the way.”

The head embalmer hurried off to get things in order for the trip. He will ready his cart while Joseph attends to his other errands.

Joseph’s next stop is at his home. He rushes in to tell Asenath what his happened and to leave Ephraim with her.

“I don’t know how long I will be, but I must attend to my father’s body this day. Manasseh may have to bring the embalmer back to Goshen if I am detained.”

Asenath goes to wrap Joseph in an embrace but he stops her by taking her hands in his. “I would love to seek comfort in your arms, but I cannot spare the time right now. When I am finished, I will welcome your embrace. My heart is breaking, but I cannot give it vent yet.”

Asenath nods her head in understanding and softly touches his cheek. “I am here when you need me my husband.”

The next stop on Joseph’s agenda is the palace. He must check in with Pharaoh and see if there is any urgent business that he must deal with.

Joseph waits to be announced at the door. Pharaoh has told him that this is not necessary because of his rank, but Joseph has never pushed his position with Pharaoh. He ensures that  he pays him all the respect he is due.

“Zaphnath-Paaneah my son! Come. Sit with me.”

Joseph enters the throne room and sits beside Pharaoh.

“I have a request of my lord.”

“What is it my son? You know I will deny you nothing.”

“My father has just died in the land of Goshen. I need to attend to his body for the embalming process. But if there is urgent business Pharaoh needs attended to, I will send my son in my place.”

“I am grieved at your loss, my son. Please, take care of your father. There is nothing in Egypt that won’t wait.”

Joseph bows low before Pharaoh. “Thank you, my lord. I will return in the morning.”

While Joseph is attending to the physical needs of his Abba, the rest of the family was allowed a final visit by Jacob’s bedside. Reuben has stood guard from the moment Joseph made his request, and he has kept Jacob’s body undisturbed.

Joseph hurries back to his chariot where Manasseh is waiting. “I will be making the trip myself. If you would like, I can take you home before I leave for Goshen” Joseph offers.

“If it is permissible father, I would like to go with you. I may yet be of help.”

“You may at that, my son. Thank you.”

Joseph’s next stop is back at the embalmers. He will guide them to his Abba’s home.

The embalmer is ready and waiting when Joseph and Manasseh arrive. “Are you ready” asks Joseph as soon as he steps down from his chariot.

“I am, my lord. Will you be leading me, or the lad?”

“We will both lead you. Let’s be off.”

Joseph and Manasseh lead the embalmer to Joseph’s tent. With the help of his brothers, the embalmer has Jacob’s body lightly wrapped and transferred to his cart. His body would begin the embalming process that same day.

Joseph embraces his brothers one more time before following the embalmer’s cart back into the city. The brothers all watch as their Abba makes this journey without them. There is an important question circling in their minds, but now is not the time to ask it.

Embalming is a very lengthy process. It will take more than a month to complete. Joseph is highly revered in Egypt and the whole land joins in to mourn with him. Pharaoh himself has commanded this. All of Egypt will mourn for seventy days Joseph’s honored father. The embalming process will be completed before the time of mourning ends.

After a week has passed since their Abba died, the brothers can wait no longer. They have a burning question that must be answered. “Will Joseph seek revenge for how we treated him, now that our Abba is dead?” The answer to this question may be the difference between life and death for Joseph’s brothers and their families. “If Joseph ejects us from Egypt, where will we go? If he enslaves us what, will our families do? Will they be safe here in Egypt”

Reuben and Judah prepare a letter to be delivered to Joseph. The brothers all agonize over what to put in it.

“We have to make it appear as though this was Abba’s directive, not ours. He has always honored Abba” suggests Levi.

“But what if he sees through it? He was here when Abba died.”

“We all will have to agree to stand behind this letter. But to make certain that he knows that WE are asking his forgiveness, we will remind him that we too are servants of the God of our Abba” Simeon instructs.

“And if that doesn’t work, we will present ourselves to be his servants” instructs Gad.

All the brothers agree to this plan. Even Benjamin consents to become Joseph’s servant, even though he had nothing to do with the evil that was done to him. Benjamin didn’t even learn what his brothers had done to Joseph until the morning after their Abba died. It took two full days before Benjamin would even speak to any of his brothers after they revealed their story. He knew something had happened in the past because of the conversation Joseph had with them on their second trip to Egypt for grain. But he never pushed when his brothers would brush off his inquiry.

The brother’s letter was delivered to Joseph on the first day of the second week of mourning. The letter came by the hand of a paid messenger. The brothers would come later in the day after the message was received. They wanted to give Joseph time to digest the content of the message first.

Joseph receives the scroll from the messenger and begins reading it. “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father” Genesis 50:16b-17).

Joseph saw through their ruse immediately. He saw the fear that brought them to pen their request in this way. And it broke his heart. “How can they still not know how much I love them?!”

Three hours later, all of Joseph’s brothers stand gathered on his portico. “This brings back memories” thought Dan. They wait silently while a servant announces them to Joseph.

Joseph quickly makes his way out to greet them. As soon as they see him approaching, they all bow down with their faces to the granite. Joseph rushes to them with tears streaming down his face. Before he can say a word, Reuben speaks for the group.

“Behold, we are your servants” (Genesis 50:18b).

Joseph bends down and lays his hand on his brothers’ heads. He passes among them, touching each of them as he shares his heart. “Do not fear, for am in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones” (Genesis 50:19-21a).

Joseph raised his brothers up from where they had bowed and embraced each. They could see in his eyes the truth of his words. There was no malice in him. He had truly forgiven them; even if they hadn’t forgiven themselves.

The brothers returned to Goshen, free men. Free of fear of retribution. Free of guilt. And free in heart. They truly accepted the forgiveness Joseph had held out to them the day he revealed himself to them. Seventeen years of fear was finally drained away.

When the seventy days of mourning were finally completed, Joseph went to Pharaoh. He hadn’t approached him with this request previously but it had to be done before Pharaoh settled on a burial place for Jacob.

“My lord, I have a request to make of you” Joseph after Pharaoh had called him to sit beside him.

“What is it my son? You know you can ask anything of me.”

“This is the request and words of my father, which he made me swear to pass on to you upon his death.” Joseph begins. “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return’” (Genesis 50:4b-5).

“Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear” (Genesis 50:6). Before Joseph rises from his seat, Pharaoh comforts him and reminds him that Egypt still needs him.

“Take all the time you need to honor your father, then hurry back to me. Egypt still needs you. You shall not go alone. Egypt wishes to honor you by honoring your father’s request. I am sending with you all my servants, the elders of my household and all the elders of the land of Egypt.”

“Thank you my lord. This is more than I could have hoped for and surely more than I deserve. My household, my brothers and my father’s household shall accompany me also. We will all return once this oath is concluded.”

Joseph left Pharaoh’s court and completed the tasks required for readying such a large contingent for travel. Food was prepared and stored, sufficient for the full journey. Jacob’s body was loaded into a specially prepared hearse that his sons would carry the final leg of their journey. And all those accompanying him were assembled for the journey. They left two days after Pharaoh had agreed to Joseph’s request.

This was a somber procession that stretched for miles. Horsemen and chariots were part of the processional and attended to the traveler’s needs and safety along the route. When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, which was near Jacob’s final resting spot, his family began their traditional mourning ritual. Egypt had mourned for Jacob in their fashion, now it was the family’s turn to follow their traditions.

For seven days wails went up from all those present at the threshing floor. The Egyptians followed the lead of Joseph and his family. The wailing could be heard for miles around. People form the surrounding cities came out to see this spectacle.

On the seventh day Jacob’s hearse was lifted onto the shoulders of his sons. From here they proceeded on foot to the cave where he was to be laid to rest. Weeping and mourning continued to pour forth from the family members that accompanied the hearse. This was their final moments with their Abba. The Egyptians who accompanied them kept watch from a distance to provide the family some semblance of privacy.

Reuben and Joseph opened the tomb. Simeon, Gad, Asher and Benjamin carried their Abba’s body inside the tomb and placed it on a ledge. Reuben and Joseph resealed the tomb once everyone had exited. Joseph’s oath and his Abba’s last request were complete.

The family rejoined the Egyptian contingent and began the slow journey back to Egypt. On the way stories were shared of Jacob and his exploits. After their lengthy mourning, it was time to celebrate the life that was Jacob. The heaviness of death lifted from their hearts to be expelled by the joy that was Jacob and the hope that lay in their future.

Jacob’s family’s future would not be forever linked with Egypt’s, but that would not happen in the brother’s lifetime. For now, the people of Israel were secure in the care of Joseph; their brother who was second only to Pharaoh in all of Egypt.

(to be continued)

Jacob was loved by many and mourned by even more. His life touched people beyond his physical sphere. It is still touching lives today. He was NOT a perfect man. He cheated his brother. He tricked his Abba. He manipulated his work world. BUT he LOVED his God. He trusted His promises and followed where He led. He wanted to be in God’s favor so badly that he refused to let go of an angel of God until he received a blessing from him. That’s the kind of faith I want! One that holds on TIGHT even in the midst of the battles.

Father God, thank You for sharing Jacob’s life with me. There were many lessons to learn from him. I’m sure I haven’t even scratched the surface of what You have hidden there. For what I have received, help me put it into practice EVERY DAY in my life. Help me hold on TIGHT to Your promises. Remind me to STAY in You will. Bring me back EVERY TIME I start to wander.

Father God, I also want to thank You for Your forgiveness. Help me learn to TRULY forgive as Joseph did. He didn’t just see the sin but what You did with it. You didn’t bless the act but You redeemed them through the path started by it. YOU provided the pit instead of the club. YOU sent the Ishmaelite traders. YOU brought Potiphar to the slave auction. YOU allowed the prison sentence. YOU brought Pharaoh’s servants in contact with Joseph. YOU provided the dreams and provided interpretations through Joseph. YOU brought Joseph to mind of the cupbearer at just the right time. YOU provided Joseph with Your wisdom, which brought favor from Pharaoh. YOU were in control the whole time! He saw it clearly. I want to be able to see that clearly! I have a funny feeling he didn’t see the connection until his brothers showed up. But he forgave anyway. Did he forgive in that instant or did it come earlier?

Something else You let me learn from Joseph was that he didn’t pretend what his brothers did was anything but evil. He acknowledged it and forgave anyway! If he would have tried to play it off as a joke or a childish prank, his brothers wouldn’t have received true forgiveness. He saw it for what it was and made a choice to let it go.

I have that same opportunity for sins against me. I can see its wrongful intent but still offer forgiveness. I can also forgive before forgiveness is requested. Joseph didn’t wait for his brothers to say they were sorry before he forgave them. He let go without any promise of an apology.

THANK YOU for this advanced lesson in forgiveness. I know it should be Forgiveness 101 but I feel You have taken me even farther today; Forgiveness 201. I’m sure there are more lessons to come and You know just when to enroll me in those “courses.”