You can turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 50 as we conclude the book of Genesis tonight. God willing, we'll start the book of Exodus next Wednesday night. But Genesis chapter 50, we have the death of Jacob and then the death of Joseph. So I'll begin reading in verse 1 of chapter 50.
Then Joseph fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Forty days were required for him.
For such are the days required for those who are embalmed. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days. Now when the days of his mourning were passed, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying, My father made me swear, saying, Behold, I am dying. In my grave, which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.
Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back. And Pharaoh said, Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear. So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers and his father's house, only their little ones, their flocks and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.
Then they came to the threshing floor of Etad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Etad, they said, this is a deep mourning of the Egyptians. Therefore, its name was called Abel Mitzrayim, which is beyond the Jordan.
For his sons did for him just as he had commanded them. For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who went up with him to bury his fathers. When Joseph's brothers saw, I'm sorry, bury his father.
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, perhaps Joseph will hate us and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him. So they sent messengers to Joseph saying, before your father died, he commanded saying, thus you shall say to Joseph, I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers in their sin for they did evil to you. Now, please forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father. And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face. And they said, Behold, we are your servants. Joseph said to them, do not be afraid for am I in the place of God. But as for you, you meant evil against me.
But God meant it for good in order to bring it about as it is this day to save many people alive. Now, therefore, do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones. And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's household. And Joseph lived 110 years. Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation. The children of Machair, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph's knees.
And Joseph said to his brethren, I am dying, but God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land to the land of which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here. So Joseph died, being 110 years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. Amen.
Introduction: End of Genesis
As I said, we've come to the end of the book of Genesis. Obviously, it's the book that records the creation of the world, tells us about the fall into sin. There's a lot of things that go on in the first 11 chapters. We get to chapter 12, and with the call of Abram, God's attention now focuses upon one single family.
And to that particular family he gives a promise concerning land, which is the land of Canaan that they would inherit. He gives the promise concerning the seed. The seed ultimately is the Messiah prophesied in Genesis chapter 3 at verse 15, the seed of the woman that would crush the head of the serpent. So the rest of Genesis basically amplifies and demonstrates and shows how it's from the family of Abraham, which becomes the nation of Israel that Messiah will ultimately come.
And it's very crucial for this book to end where it does, with the children of Israel in the land of Egypt. That sets the stage for the book of Exodus and that great redemptive event of God in terms of bringing his people out of the land of Egypt and back into the land of Canaan. Well,
Overview of Genesis 50
chapter 50 is pretty straightforward. It's pretty cut and dry. We essentially have first the death of Jacob in verses 1 to 14. Secondly, we have the reassurance given to Joseph's brothers in verses 15 to 21.
And then finally, the chapter ends with the death of Joseph in verses 22 to 26. But with reference to Jacob's death,
Death and Burial of Jacob
we see that at the end of chapter 49. Remember last week, we saw where he is those blessings to his 12 sons. specifically more of a prophecy concerning those sons and the various things that will befall them when they end up as tribal entities living in the land of Canaan. And so we read at the end of chapter 49, verse 33, And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people. When we get to verses 1 and 2 in verse 1 there in chapter 50, we see that it was in fact a peaceful death.
I mean, that language is most excellent. At the end of chapter 49, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people. So it was a relatively peaceful death for this patriarch as he passes from this world into the world to come. But it's also a prophetic death, and we see that in verse 1 in chapter 50.
It says, then Joseph fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. This was already prophesied concerning Joseph in Genesis 46, 4. God says to Jacob, I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again, and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes. The margin reads, will close your eyes when you die." So we see not only a peaceful death, but a prophetic death in the end of Jacob.
And then we see this burial of Jacob in verses 2 to 14. And essentially, Jacob had requested this, no, demanded it, essentially, from Joseph in particular. If you go back for just a moment to chapter 47, in verse 27, we read that Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen, and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, so the length of Jacob's life was one hundred and forty-seven years.
When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers. You shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place. And he said, I will do as you have said.
Then he said, swear to me. And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bad. He was a lover of the land that God had promised.
We see that promise of God is what united the patriarchs. They love God, they love the promise, and the very book itself ends on that high note. Joseph ends his life by speaking concerning the faithfulness of God and pointing his brothers and his family to the promises of God with reference to land, with reference to blessing. And then notice he's embalmed according to verses 2 and 3.
It's only him and Joseph that I know of in the Old Testament that went through this. It was obviously a custom that was practiced in Egypt. The Jews didn't do this regularly, but in this instance it proved to be a good thing because they need to take Jacob's body all the way back to Canaan, and it was certainly a long distance, so it was very helpful for them to have him embalmed. And then we notice that they request permission from Pharaoh in order to go back to the land of Canaan so that they may in fact bury Jacob.
Now, the fact that Joseph uses an intermediary,
Joseph's Request to Pharaoh
he doesn't go directly to Pharaoh, causes some people a bit of concern in the sense that he's the second in command. He's been given great trust. He's been given great prestige by Pharaoh. He doesn't have the wherewithal and the ability to wander in and just speak to Pharaoh.
Well, there are perhaps reasons why he does not. There's a comparison in the book of Esther, in Esther chapter 4, where we see that when persons are mourning, they do not come into contact with a monarch. That same sort of thing may have obtained here in Egypt, and we don't know for sure, but nevertheless, he sends an intermediary, according to verse 4, it says, if now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying, My father made me swear, saying, Behold, I am dying. In my grave, which I dug for myself, in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.
Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back." Now this is very good the way that he said it. He doesn't say, Pharaoh, my dad didn't want to be buried in this heathen land. My dad didn't want to be buried in this polluted pagan place. No, he says, my father basically had me make an oath to him that he would be buried in the land of promise, buried where his own family is buried, buried where his own wife, Leah, is buried.
And Pharaoh says, according to verse 6, go up and bury your father as he made you swear. So it's that that appealed to the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh is obviously benevolent. The Pharaoh is obviously generous.
We've already seen that in Joseph's dealings with him up to this point. But the Pharaoh is not naive. He doesn't want everybody to go. and therefore the children and part of the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's house, go, according to verse 8. And then it says, only their little ones, their flocks and their herds, they left in the land of Goshe.
Pharaoh doesn't want Joseph to go to Canaan and then stay there. So Pharaoh sends a dispatch of his own people, his own troops, certainly that would provide security and safety for the travelers along the way. And that was an act of graciousness and kindness and generosity on his part. But he certainly wants the return of Joseph, and he has a vested interest in that.
And that's why I would imagine that the children were left behind. They didn't want to take them on the one hand, but also they were going to come back. And then according to verse 9, they went up with him, both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering. And it was such a great gathering that within the land of Canaan itself, the Canaanites saw the morning at the threshing floor of Atad, according to verse 11, and they said, this is a deep morning of the Egyptians, therefore its name was called Abel Mitzrayim, which is beyond the Jordan. author uses beyond the Jordan.
We're not quite sure if they're on the east side or the trans-Jordan or on sort of the west side. It's not able at this point to be able to pinpoint specifically, commentators kind of debate, which side they may have been on at this particular time. And then in verses 12 and following, it says, his sons did for him just as he had commanded that. Now, this particular burial plot was most important.
When Abraham went to bury Sarah, he insisted on paying for it. Even though it was offered to him as a gift, Abraham insisted that he purchase it because he wanted to own dirt. in the promised land, the land that God would eventually give to the children of Israel. And so this was something they possessed. This was something they owned.
And for Jacob, this was as well very important that he be laid to rest in that place. So verse 13 says
Burial at Machpelah
his sons carried him. to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron, the Hittite, as property for a burial place. And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who went up with him to bury his father." So Jacob is gone. The story of Jacob begins in chapter 37. It ends sort of technically at this vantage point.
Reassurance to Joseph's Brothers
That brings us, secondly, to the reassurance given to Joseph's brothers. Now that Jacob is gone, the brothers understand that Jacob, or rather Joseph, may turn against them. That obviously isn't an expression of great trust in Joseph. I mean, I think he's already evidenced or manifested or demonstrated that he is gracious, that he is benevolent, and he is kind.
But nevertheless, with reference to these men, They know the misdeeds they had done to Him. In fact, they had experienced conviction before. If you go back to chapter 42, Chapter 42, they indicate their guilt over this particular way that they treated Joseph. In Genesis 42, verse 21, it says, then they said to one another, we are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us and we would not hear.
Therefore, this distress has come upon us. Now just to refresh your memory, go back to chapter 37. In chapter 37, at verse 21, it says, Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands and said, let us not kill him. And Reuben said to them, shed no blood, but cast him into this pit, which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him, that he might deliver him out of their hands and bring him back to his father.
So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit, and the pit was empty, there was no water in it, and they sat down to eat a meal. So these men were so calloused and so cavalier and so wicked, with reference to Joseph, that they throw him into this pit, and then they sit down for a sandwich. It's probably in that context when they hear him crying out from the pit.
That's probably the conviction they are setting forth in chapter 42 when they said, we are truly guilty concerning our brother. So going back to chapter 50, now that Jacob is dead, they're concerned that Joseph is going to exact revenge upon them. The concern was present because they had, in fact, done terrible things to him. It wasn't just a particular thought that maybe they knew what they had done.
In fact, when Joseph makes that grand declaration of verse 20, he says, you meant evil against me. That was undeniable. These brothers were wretched to Joseph, and they had treated him very poorly. And at this particular juncture, they thought that now that Jacob is gone, he's going to let us have it.
I would suggest as well the concern was present because they never asked for forgiveness and therefore that guilt was still present upon them. There is something very necessary about confessing sin and asking for forgiveness. I think at times we fall prey to this, well I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. In one sense that's probably better than not saying anything at all.
But the biblical language is a whole lot better. In fact, when you're rearing children, this might be something that you think through when you're teaching that. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Sometimes it's, I'm sorry that you were offended by that.
We all see how disingenuous that is. I'm sorry that you got upset by the things that I did here. That's not legit or genuine. When we say, I have sinned against you, please forgive me of my sin, there is an actual transaction that occurs that is necessary for the alleviation and the expiation of guilt.
If we don't confess our sin, we're still going to have it as a burden in our hearts. Proverbs 28 tells us that whoever covers his transgression will not prosper, but the one who confesses and forsakes it will find mercy. Now, no doubt these brothers were probably sorry, and no doubt these brothers, once they were reunited with Joseph, were happy that they were received into his favor, but they had never dealt with their sin in the manner that God has ordained. Please forgive me.
I have sinned against you, and then the onus is on the person to actually exercise forgiveness. That is crucial on their part as well. In Scripture, in the New Covenant setting, we're told to forgive one another even as God in Christ forgave us. So it's not only that we should be willing to repent and ask for forgiveness, but we as those who have been sinned against, need to be willing and happy to forgive the sins of others, even as God in Christ forgave us.
I think at times we don't do what Scripture says, and as a result, our relationships are fractured, they are tattered, and they are oftentimes ruined because we don't deal with each other as adults and as Bible-believing Christians. We're all going to sin against each other. That is an inevitability. It's what do we do when that happens?
Do we try to cover it or do we say, please forgive me, I have sinned? And when somebody comes and says, please forgive me, I have sinned, are you going to say, well, I'm not ready or I'm not gonna? Praise God, God doesn't deal with us in that manner. John said, my little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. It will never be the case that you and I go to the throne of grace and the Lord Jesus say, well, I'm not ready to forgive, or I'm not gonna forgive, or I'm gonna make you stew in it for a while, and then I might exercise forgiveness and kindness and love. If we engage in that type of conduct, then we're not forgiving as God in Christ has forgiven us. So
Unconfessed Sin and Guilt
perhaps one of the reasons why they had this suspicion relative to Joseph is because they had not effectively or biblically dealt with their sin. This is crucial that we learn to deal with our sin toward God and toward one another. Husbands and wives, confess your sins one to another. Children to parents, parents to children.
It's simply not the case that we will never sin against each other. I always thought it was good for our children to learn not only that we do sin, but that we confess sin and ask for forgiveness against those we sin against. Because that's what the Bible says we're supposed to do. And so these brothers didn't do that.
And now notice their suspicion or their fear in verse 15. When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, perhaps Joseph will hate us and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him, which they had. They inflicted a great deal of evil upon him. So they sent messengers to Joseph saying, before your father died, he commanded saying.
Now most of the commentators, at least the older ones, say that they believe this is a lie. that Jacob did not know. And I think there's some merit to that because Jacob points out the sin of Reuben when he comes to bless in Genesis 49. He points out the sin of Simeon and Levi when he comes to bless in Genesis 49. If he was under the awareness of what these brothers had done with reference to Joseph, it's likely that he would have brought that up in Genesis chapter 49.
Now whether they lied or not, it certainly seems like they may have, but we see what they want in terms of their approach to Joseph. So they sent messengers to Joseph saying, before your father died, he commanded saying, thus you shall say to Joseph, I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you. Now, please forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.' And Joseph wept when they spoke to him." Now, it's a beautiful thing that they do. They are legit in this expression and they don't try to hide it.
They don't say, well, you know, I could see how you possibly interpreted what we did as being evil or They don't do that. Four times they speak about their sin, about their evil, about their trespass. That's a good sign. They come to deal faithfully and honestly in that regard.
Just like David. When David is found out by the prophet Nathan, he says, I have sinned against the Lord. He doesn't need to elaborate. He doesn't need to go into detail.
He doesn't try to explain it away. He doesn't say, well, Lord, I can't believe you put that woman and she was bathing in my eyesight or in my path. And so therefore, I know he sinned against God. There has to come a point in time where we all face that reality. and own it before the holy God of heaven and earth.
And finally, these young men, well not young men, they're all old men by now, but these men finally do this. I beg you please, forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you. And then they say, now please forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father. In other words, conduct yourself, Joseph, toward us the way that the God of your father conducts himself toward his people.
And we know that he is a God of grace, a God of mercy, a God of goodness, and a God of benevolence. In fact, remember Jacob's statement when he comes to bless the sons of Joseph in Genesis 48. In Genesis 48, 15, and 16, he blessed Joseph and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, So certainly Jacob knew this reality, and no doubt he catechized his sons in that reality, that with God there is redemption from all evil, from the effects of sin, the ravages of sin. The God of Israel is a God who is full of goodness, mercy, and grace, who does forgive sinners.
He does it based ultimately on the gospel of his beloved son, that gospel promise having been given in Genesis chapter 3 at verse 15. Men walked by faith in the Messiah as he had been promised back in the garden to Adam and Eve. And then it says that Joseph wept when they spoke to him. This is not unique.
Joseph wept when he saw Benjamin according to chapter 43 at verse 30. He wept in chapter 45 at verse 2 when he was going to reveal himself to his brothers. And then he wept again in Genesis 46 at verse 29 when he met Jacob. So Joseph was not a machine.
Joseph was obviously affected with the various trials and afflictions in life. And Joseph was affected here that his brothers now had come and asked specifically for forgiveness. He probably wept for a variety of reasons. He could have wept. out of concern that they had the view of him that he had been faking it all along.
He could have wept out of concern for them and happy and joyful that they're dealing with their sin once and for all in a way that will indeed bring atonement from God and as well with Joseph. So there's probably a myriad of emotions overflowing his heart and so he weeps. In verse 18, his brothers also went and fell down before his face and they said, behold, we are your servants. So the promise of God that was revealed to Joseph via the two dreams in Genesis chapter 37 comes to pass.
In fact, we can turn back there to refresh our memories concerning the preeminence of Joseph. We saw it last week in chapter 49 and prior in chapter 48. Remember when you look at the map and you see the tribal allotments in Israel, you do not see one named Joseph. No, rather you see two.
One is named Ephraim and the other is Manasseh, which represents the double portion that had been given to Joseph as a result of Reuben, who was the firstborn, who had committed incest by affinity had been cast out of that position, and it was Joseph who took over that privilege as the firstborn. That was an entitlement to a double portion of blessing. And when he comes in chapter 37, it tells us in verse 5, Joseph had a dream and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more. So he said to them, please hear this dream which I have dreamed.
There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright, and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf. And his brothers said to him, shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?
So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers and said, look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time the sun, the moon, and the 11 stars bowed down to me. So he told it to his father and his brothers, and his father rebuked him and said to him, what is this dream that you have dreamed?
Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you? And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind. So we see that comes to pass. What God promises, even through prophetic dream, comes to pass.
So one of the sort of overarching themes throughout the book of Genesis is, in fact, the faithfulness of God. Promises made, promises kept, and that sets the stage for the rest of the Bible. Remember, this is the first book of the Bible. And so all that it tells us concerning God should stick in the mind of the reader when they move from Exodus all the way to the book of Revelation.
That statement in chapter 50 at verse 20 isn't just a unifying theme with reference to the Joseph narratives from Genesis 37 to 50. It supplies essential information for the rest of Scripture that the Lord God Most High is sovereign, that in His providence there are bad things that occur. It's not the case that his sovereignty means a life of, you know, bluebirds and roses as we live in this world. That's not the case.
The fact that God is sovereign does not ensure an absolutely carefree life. There will be heartache, there will be hardship, and reader, witness the life of Joseph that you've just read, but never forget this absolutely crucial point of information. that God in the midst of providence overrules wickedness to bring about things for His glory and the good of His people. So it's not just Genesis that is well served by the concept of God's faithfulness, by the supremacy and sovereignty of God, or by His providence as it's worked out for the good of His people, but it also should supply information to the reader as he moves his way through the rest of Holy Scripture.
Joseph's Sovereign Perspective
Verse 19. We see that Joseph now reassures them. Joseph said to them, do not be afraid for am I in the place of God. I think the meaning here is he is not the one who judges, he is not the sovereign, he is not the ruler over these particular men.
And then he gives this assurance that God works for good to those that love him. This is Romans 8, 28, the Old Testament. But as for you, you meant evil against me. And that is true.
Joseph knew that all too well. Now, when you look at the life of Joseph, he lived 110 years, as we learn in this passage, There were 13 miserable years. Remember, they threw him into the pit and sold him into slavery when he was 17. And then he stood before Pharaoh when he was 30.
So if we sort of look at the math there, he had a 13-year window where things obviously did not go his way. But even in that 13-year window, the Lord was with him every step of the way. And so the lesson is that if it's good times, the not 13 years, or it's bad times, the 13 years, God is still with his people. And that has been manifested in the life of Joseph all the way from the beginning to the end.
So he recognizes that they intended to do evil against him. But then he highlights or recognizes that God is sovereign and that in God's providence he overrules the wickedness of man in order to bring about good ends.
God's Omnipotence and Goodness
I was trying to think of the philosopher. I can't remember. If Isaac was here, he'd probably pipe up and tell me. But there was a philosopher who essentially denied God's goodness or God's omnipotence.
It basically goes like this. If God is good, he must not be omnipotent. Because if he was good, or if he's good in his omnipotence, he'd stop the evil that exists in the world. And then he said, on the other hand, if God is omnipotent, then he's obviously not good.
If he has all power, and all of this evil continues to go undealt with, then that's an evidence that God isn't good. So you've got this dilemma, you've got this disjunctive syllogism, you have an either-or. Well, Greg Bonson, I think, helpfully supplied, not Greg Bonson alone, I think the Christian tradition, he just sort of articulated it in a very sort of helpful way, that there is a third way, and that is to realize that the Bible provides further data. And the Bible tells us that God has morally sufficient reason for the evil that does exist.
In other words, God is good, God is omnipotent, and the evil that does happen in this world serves God's purposes. A, for His glory and honor and praise, and B, for the good of those who love Him and those who are called according to His purpose. I think 5020, at the very beginning of the Bible, supplies that premise that persons need to be able to navigate through all of the hardships and woes that is going to befall Israel subsequent to this, the various persons in Israel that have difficulties, all the way into the New Testament. God does have omnipotent power.
God is absolutely good, and God does have morally sufficient reasons for the evil that exists in the world. Joseph is an example of that. The Lord Jesus Christ is an example of that. The worst deed that has ever been committed in the history of man is the murder of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He was the only one ever that was wholly harmless and blameless. There was no sin, there was no bad, there was no blemish, there was no crime whatsoever. So the murder of Christ was horrible. It was the worst thing ever.
But we learn from Scripture that God ordained it. It occurred according to the predetermined plan of God, according to Acts 2.23. What's the morally sufficient reason for that evil that exists? The glory of God in the salvation of sinners.
So brethren, when persons make that argument, either God's omnipotent or God's good, He can't be both. He absolutely positively is both, and the evil that exists exists under Him for His own glory and for the good of His people.
Calvin on Providence and Sin
Calvin, I think, has a very helpful explanation here with reference to the connection between man's sin and God's sovereignty. For help on this as well, I would point you to the Bible. because that really helps, but as well, our confession, chapter three of the decree of God, and chapter five that deals with divine providence. There's some very helpful stuff in those sections dealing with the place of sin under the sovereignty of God Almighty. But Calvin says, this truly must be generally agreed, that nothing is done without His will. because he both governs the councils of men and sways their wills and turns their efforts at his pleasure and regulates all events.
That's what we would all confess. That's what we would all affirm. Trusting, of course, that we are actually adherents of the reformed faith or what men have commonly called Calvinism. The reality is that God governs all his creatures and all their actions.
The Bible tells us that absolutely, positively, clearly, without equivocation. Now he goes on to tease this out with reference to sin in the hearts of men. He says, but if men undertake anything right and just, he so actuates and moves them inwardly by his spirit that whatever is good in them may justly be said to be received from him. But if Satan and ungodly men rage, he acts by their hands in such an inexpressible manner that the wickedness of the deed belongs to them and the blame of it is imputed to them.
For they are not induced to sin, as the faithful are to act aright by the impulse of the Spirit, but they are the authors of their own evil and follow Satan as their leader. Thus we see that the justice of God shines brightly in the midst of the darkness of our iniquity. That's gold, and I realize that you may not have got every jot and tittle of that. Email me, I will send you that quote, because I think it's a very wonderful and helpful explanation, and it also underscores an important point.
If you are doing Bible study and you like to read Bible commentaries, do not neglect the old boys. This is a theologian who's doing Bible commentary. Bible commentators today that are highly skilled in one particular arena typically aren't this kind of a theologian. This is theological gold in a biblical commentary that helps us to get at what's happening in chapter 50 at verse 20.
He is essentially affirming what the Confession affirms alongside of the Bible. God is not the author of sin. God uses the sinful acts of man to achieve his ends, again, his glory and the good of his people, but God is not the author of sin. And then after saying what he says in verse 20, I wonder, you know, you wonder, the brothers all thought, wow, that's glorious.
We should just bow and worship that God right here. I mean, think about it. God meant it for good in order to bring it about as it is this day to save many people alive. Not just the nation of Israel, not just the one who was specifically the target of God's redemptive love, but the Egyptians benefited from the brilliance of Joseph.
Remember when Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dreams properly, Pharaoh was bright enough to see that Joseph was the man to run the show with reference to the dispersal of corn and grain in these years of famine. So Joseph was utilized by God in a wonderful way to keep a whole lot of people alive, and this through the wicked act of these brothers. Had the brothers not thrown Joseph into the pit, had Reuben not intervened, had Judah not said, let's sell him into slavery, had all those things not happened, Joseph would never have been second in charge in Egypt and able to do what he did in terms of the people, not only in Israel, but in Egypt as well. And then verse 25, he provides reassurance to them.
Now, therefore, do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones. And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them." I have to say, Joseph was an extremely gracious and extremely forgiving and an extremely good man in terms of his approach to the brothers who treated him so poorly. I think that when we are Christians, we ought to have a generosity of spirit when it comes to forgiving others.
This idea of holding on to grudges, this idea of, I'm going to punish them, or I'm not going to forgive them, or I'm going to treat them poorly, that is not what we're told in the book of Ephesians and Colossians. That is not forgiving the way we have been forgiven. And so Joseph is a great example with reference to forgiveness to the sins of others. And whatever persons have done in your life, it's probably not as bad as what Joseph's brothers did to him in his life.
So we ought to learn from him.
Death of Joseph
And then finally, the death of Joseph in verses 22 to 26, he obviously returns to Egypt, and then he spends, or verse 22 tells us, Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's household, and Joseph lived 110 years. Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation, the children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph's knees. So Joseph got to reap the benefit and joy of being a man blessed richly by God. The 110 years was apparently the time in Egypt that was regarded as a good, healthy, long, and prosperous life.
So Joseph fulfills that with reference to the Egyptians.
Joseph's Dying Charge and Exodus Hope
Now notice what he says in verse 24. And this is the natural lead-in to the next book. Because we have Israel in Egypt. The king is going to die and there's going to be a new pharaoh that doesn't care one bit about Israel.
And he's going to viciously assault them. He's going to mistreat them. He is going to be just vile. And so that sets the stage for the exodus.
So verse 24 foreshadows that or promises that. And Joseph said to his brethren, I am dying, but God will surely visit you. and bring you out of this land to the land of which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." So the life of Joseph ends with an expression of his confidence in the promises of God. Brethren, I dare say that's probably the best way you and I could end. If we were attended by our family, by our loved ones, by our children, by our grandchildren.
And the last thing they hear us testify concerning is the faithfulness and the promises of God. I think that's a great and a rich heritage that we can pass on to those who know us and those who love us. Paul says in Hebrews 11, 22, By faith, Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel and gave instructions concerning his bones. And that is precisely what he goes on to say in verse 25.
Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel saying, God will surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones from here. So, not only is the promise given concerning the exodus, but the promises as well maintain that they are going to receive the land of Canaan, such that Joseph says, you're going to carry my bones back to that particular land. Now, he's not going to be an affront to Pharaoh and demand immediately that they transport him the way they did with Jacob. Joseph's not going to do that.
Joseph recognizes that once the children of Israel are vindicated, once they are released, they will indeed transport his bones back to the promised land. We see that in Exodus 13, 19. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you. So, what may appear to be sort of a lackluster end to a pretty much exciting book through and through, it is really most glorious in that it attaches itself to the book of Exodus and sets the stage for what is to follow.
As well, in Joshua 24, verse 32, the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem. in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph." Everything Joseph says here is true. There is an exodus. The children of Israel do transport his bones back to the land of Canaan. And so he is speaking here, not just blessing, but he is speaking prophetically.
God's men, in the book of Genesis, when they speak concerning the future, They are speaking as the very prophet of God and the things that they are prophesying do in fact come to pass. And then verse 26 tells us Joseph died being 110 years old and they embalmed him and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Application: Faithfulness and Providence
Well, that's the end of the book of Genesis, and I just want to draw out a few thoughts and then we'll close. First, the faithfulness of Joseph. I think we can learn from him, not only in terms of forgiving those who have sinned against us, but the faithfulness of the man when he was in the midst of great suffering. He never stopped looking unto the God of Israel.
He was faithful in terms of his attachment to God, And God, in turn, was faithful to him in always providing and always being there for Joseph. We see the sovereignty of God, the place of 50-20 in the Joseph narratives. We have tracked God's providence as we move through the book of Genesis, and it's truly amazing. And we can testify and we can certainly confirm that what Joseph says in 50-20 is absolutely positively true. took what those men did, that evil act, and he overruled it for his glory and for their well-being." What a wonderful assurance for those reading Genesis 50-20 and the rest of the Bible that the God of Genesis 1-1, remember in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, I mean, in Genesis 1.1, we're told about this glorious God who made this world and all things in it.
We end with Genesis 50.20, not only with reference to that God who created, but the God who sustains, the God who is sovereign in providence, and the God who overrules for His glory and for His honor and for the people's good. So the wonderful assurance for those reading that the God of 1-1 is the God of absolute sovereignty, divine providence, and loving kindness toward His people. In light of 50-20, we sing what we sang tonight. Though troubles assail us and dangers affright, though friends should all fail us and foes all unite, yet one thing secures us.
Whatever be tied, the promise assures us the Lord will provide. Joseph learned that, Joseph has taught us that, and therefore we ought to walk by faith in this same God, realizing that even the afflictions and the trials and the problems that we face in this life, God has a remedial end for them. He doesn't do these things willy-nilly. Jesus Christ learned obedience through suffering.
Most likely, we are going to have to take some suffering, some affliction, some trial, or some hardship so that we may grow in our obedience to the Lord Most High. God knows what He's doing with us, and even the afflictions are used by God for His glory and for our well-being. With reference to the Exodus, it is foreshadowed all the way back in Genesis 15, verses 13 and 14. Remember that covenant ceremony with Abraham, when Abraham says basically, God give me a sign that these promises are going to come to fruition. and God orders the slaying of the animals and putting them on either side, the parties to the covenant walk through the animals, and the significance is that if one of the parties breaks covenant, then whatever happens to those animals may happen to that one who broke the covenant.
Well, in Genesis 15, it's God alone who walks between the animals. It's a glorious and a wonderful picture of the faithfulness of God and the unilateralness of His covenant imposed upon Abraham. But then there is that foreshadowing that the children of Israel will go into a strange land, they will suffer for a time, but then they will be brought out. So that's already been there.
Now we see it in vivid detail with reference to the children of Israel living prosperously in Egypt. But as I said at the passing of Joseph and at the introduction of the book of Exodus, everything changes. The regime change in Egypt most severely affected the children of Israel. So the Lord God Most High has made that promise.
One man makes an observation concerning the length of the Joseph narratives. I mean, from 37 to 50, Joseph is the main character. He says, his overarching purpose This is Moses, seems to be to demonstrate how all Israel ended up in the land of Egypt. This then lays the groundwork for God's greatest redemptive act of the Old Testament, the Lord's deliverance of Israel out of the land of darkness and is bringing the people to the land of promise.
So it's most crucial that we move from this book into Exodus. That's why we're going to the Lord willing on Wednesday night. We can't leave the people of Israel in slavery in Egypt. We got to see them brought out and then we'll be done.
No, I'm just kidding. I did mention that we'll probably do overview when we get to the building of the tabernacle. Because I doubt any of you would keep coming after we're in chapters in about curtains and different details that made up the tabernacle. But the book as a whole, just to conclude, we see the creation of the world, chapters 1 and 2.
We see the fall into sin, chapter 3. The effects of the fall, chapters 4 to 11. And then the patriarchs, chapters 12 to 50. So the bulk of the book is taken up with the one family of Abraham to show us the forming of the nation of Israel, the people from which the Messiah will ultimately come to save his people from their sin.
Well, let's close in a word of prayer.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank You for Your Word, we thank You for this book of Genesis and the great things that it teaches us concerning You. We know that You are the Creator, we know that You are sovereign in providence, and we know You are the Redeemer. You promised the sending of Your Son, in Genesis 3.15, that seed of the woman that would crush the serpent. God, we thank you for that foundational promise that the rest of Scripture amplifies and expands upon, and we see realized in the coming of the Lord Jesus in the New Covenant.
How we give thanks and praise to you for your faithfulness, how we give thanks and praise to you for your sovereignty and your providence. And God, though we may not have the lives that Joseph had, we certainly have Afflictions, we certainly have trials. We have certainly learned in our own experience that even in the midst of hardship, you work out good for us and glory for you. God, I pray that we would never forget these things, that we would walk by faith in a gracious and in a merciful Father.
And we pray these things through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.