But God... Series

No Ordinary Joe: But God

Genesis 50

Pastor Jefferson M. Williams

Chenoa Baptist Church

02-13-2022

At the End

Back in September, we started this study of the life of Joseph and I couldn’t have imagined the events that would transpire in my life during this series.

God knew that I would need to be focused on the big picture of his purposes to the endure the deaths of my father and stepmother and the loss of a very valued relationship.

I’m actually a little sad that we are ending our study this morning. I’ve read the book of Genesis thirty plus times but the life of Joseph came more alive to me this time than ever before.

Genesis tells us of four great events: Creation, Fall, Flood, and Results of Sin.

Genesis focuses on four important people: Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and Joseph.

Two chapters of Genesis are devoted to the creation account. But 28 chapters are dedicated to two different people - Abraham and Joseph. There are more of Joseph’s words recorded in Genesis than any other patriarch. 25% of Genesis about Joseph’s life so it must be important for us to know.

The fourteen chapters detailing Joseph’s story are what theologians called the “locus classicus” (the ultimate example) of the doctrine of providence.

Each week, we have seen how Joseph is a type, a foreshadowing, of Jesus.

Joseph is from an incredibly dysfunctional family [They Don’t Talk about Bruno] and, yet, he has shown us that there is hope for those of us who have a few nuts on the family tree.

The story has been full of deceit, favoritism, jealousy, hatred, mass murder, incest, rape, human trafficking, polygamy, and somehow Joseph keeps his eyes on God the whole story.

Review

Last week, we learned that Jacob was close to death and has some very important things to say to Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

Jacob formally adopted these two boys for his own and blessed them but did it in a way that totally confused and angered Joseph.

When he blessed the two boys, he crossed his arms, putting his right hand on the younger and the left hand on the older.

He blessed them that day and said,

“In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing:?    ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. (Gen 48:20).

This is a pattern that we see in the Bible, the second born elevated above the first born.

Abel over Cain.

Isaac over Ishmael

Jacob over Esau

And now Ephraim over Manasseh.

In fact, in some Jewish homes, on the eve of the Sabbath, the father will pronounce as blessing on his children quoting this verse, “May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh”.

I’d like to remind you that if you missed the sermon you can always watch it on demand on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or our website.

Turn with me to the last chapter of Genesis and we will finish the story of Joseph together.

Prayer.

Jacob Dies

Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

The last seventeen years of Jacob’s life had be relatively peaceful and he enjoyed having his family around him.

God kept His promise to Jacob and Joseph was there when he died at 147 year old to closed his eyes.

When he died, Joseph, threw himself on his father, wept over him, and kissed him. All three actions show the deep love and respect that Joseph had for his dad.

Joseph had the physicians embalm Jacob. That’s strange because that wasn’t their job. They dealt with the living not the dead.

The people that embalmed used magical pagan rites and Joseph wanted to avoid that.

It usually took seventy days to embalm a body but Jacob was embalmed in a mere forty days.

Egyptians were extraordinarily good at embalming. In fact, if you go to the British Museum and look at the Egyptian mummies there many of them still have teeth and hair.

The whole land of Egypt mourned for this dirty, detestable shepherd because he was the father of Joseph. In fact, when Pharaohs died, they would mourn for seventy-two day. So Jacob, is mourned only two less days than a Pharaoh!

When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”