The Final Chapter Genesis 50

To see Genesis 50 without my comments click HERE.

When Jacob-Israel died Joseph wept for his father, and commanded for his father to be embalmed. Joseph being there when his father died is fulfillment of Bible prophecy that Joseph would be with his father when he died (Genesis 46:4).  The Bible also tells us that the Egyptians “mourned” for Jacob-Israel for 70 days v.3. These 70 days of mourning is significant because the Egyptian Pharaohs were mourned for for 72 days, just two more than they did for Israel. This indicates that Jacob-Israel had a royal Egyptian funeral. The embalming of his father was essential because of the long trip it would take to bring Israels body to the Cave of Machpelah.

Jacob asked the Pharaoh if he could return to Canaan land temporarily to bury his father and of course the answer was "Yes" to Joseph, simply because all loved Joseph and knew that they were literally alive only because of his dream interpretation from Father Yahweh. The Pharaoh gave Jacob-Israel a funeral procession that was unmatched by any non-Egyptian before with all the servants and elders from the land of Egypt v.7.

Verse 11

“and when the inhabitants of the land, the canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond Jordan.”

They arrived to the threshing floor of Atad (Atad means thorn), with the body of Israel. This land of Atad is described as being beyond the river Jordan, which we know is located on the West side of the Jordan River . The final resting place for Israel was in the Cave of Machpelah. This verse is significant because it gives internal proof that Moses wrote the book of Genesis while traveling to Canaan land 430 years after this event in Genesis. Genesis Chapter 50 was obviously written by a person that was on the East side of the Jordan River at the time of authorship, probably in the land of Moab. This is along the same route Moses took into Canaan land.

When Joseph returned to Egypt, his half brothers became worried that Joseph was only being good to them because their father was alive. Now because their father had died, they were fearful that Joseph would turn on them, hate them, and return the evil they did to Joseph when they sold him into slavery years before. Joseph wept hearing that his half brothers were unsure of his motives and expected him to do harm to them.

Joseph reaffirmed his original position, he told his half brothers that he forgave them because going to Egypt as a slave was the will of Father Yahweh. When his half brothers doubted the forgiveness of Joseph, this was just like when so many Christians doubt Father Yahweh has actually forgiven their sins of falling short of his laws and commandments. Sin leaves open wounds that need to heal and these wounds had not healed unto his brothers. All should know at this point that sin is the transgression of the Fathers laws (1 John3:4), and all should also know the Messiah bore our transgressions on the cross.

In hindsight the entire time that Joseph was in Egypt, and the time he spent in prison was for the greater good, in that the Father was preparing Joseph to be ruler of Egypt by making him become a servant of Potiphar, and with the one connection Joseph made while he was in prison. People remaining faithful during persecution spreads the word of the Father and promotes the Kingdom of God. This is true in this case and it's also true in the early Christian church when the followers of Christianity remained faithful even unto death. The history of the true Church of Christ has never grown during times of non-persecution.

So often as Christians, we are commanded to do things that we may not understand or know why the Father wants us to do such things, such as authoring a blog that has only two active subscribers, but these things are for a greater good for his kingdom. This Chapter closes with Joseph living to be 110 years. Joseph was embalmed by the Egyptians because he wanted to be buried with his fathers in Canaan land and we know this burial happened over 400 years later, so embalming was essential. Joseph's legacy in Egypt was well known for many years afterward. I have stated before that it is my belief that Joseph and Imhotep are the same person Is Joseph Imhotep? Part 1 and in Is Joseph Imhotep Part 2. Chapter 50 is the only place in the Bible where anyone is embalmed or preserved after death.

When the Messiah was here on earth he taught us to pray for the Kingdom Of God to come to earth through the Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4). Often times we do not even know what we are praying for when we pray for his will to be done (Romans 8:26-28). This may be vague for most of us because we want to be able to see immediate results and know that our efforts are bringing forth results. God's Holy Kingdom is larger in scope then any of us, and all of us. I pray that all of Israel will say "yes" to their calling and work for the coming Kingdom of God on earth.

For those who may not know...
There are 4 things that the Bible commands Israelites to do in order to be in God's grace: 

1. Humble yourself. 2. Pray to the Father (only when you talk to him is when you can expect him to talk to you). 3. Seek the face of God and his will for your life. 4. Turn from your wicked ways by repenting. Repenting means to change the way you think. Then when you do these 4 things can you expect to be in God's grace and to bring his kingdom here to earth (2 Chronicles 7:14). Praise the Lord!