We conclude the book of Genesis today with the death of Joseph. It makes me sad to say goodbye to him because he's a genuinely nice guy. We know he didn't live a perfect life because no one ever has except Jesus Christ, but the Bible doesn't give us any examples of mistakes Joseph made during his life. The Bible does provide us with many examples of Joseph displaying a positive, godly attitude no matter what came his way. Because he's such a likable character, I find it difficult to say goodbye to him in our passage today, but maybe it will help if we think of it not as a goodbye but as a "so long for now". I like to think that someday, during our wonderful eternity with Christ Jesus our Lord, we can meet Joseph face to face and hear him tell us about his life in his own words.
"Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father's family." (Genesis 50:22a) Was Joseph free to leave if he wanted to leave? I think so, but Joseph is a man who takes his responsibilities seriously. He's the governor of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself, and he is not the type of man to desert his post. His wise counsel is needed at the king's palace. His godly influence is a blessing to the idolatrous land of Egypt. Who knows how many people converted to the one true God because Joseph spent the remainder of his life in Egypt, setting a godly example for his servants and co-workers to follow, giving his testimony about the Lord when interacting with officials and commoners alike? I believe Joseph stayed in Egypt because the Lord wanted him in Egypt, and Joseph is a man who does what the Lord tells him.
Sometimes we find ourselves in work environments or educational environments where the people we must associate with are unbelievers. Maybe they use a lot of curse words or mock the existence of the Lord or make fun of people who are Christians. Our first instinct is to try to find some other place to work or go to school, but we need to consider that the Lord may have purposely placed us there to be a godly influence on those around us. I'm not saying we should take a job or remain in a job where we'd have to do dishonest things or sexually immoral things; I'm just talking about ordinary workplaces where our co-workers don't share our religious beliefs. What influence might we have on those people if we just live out our faith, day after day, in their sight? We don't even have to proselytize in the workplace or give a verbal testimony about our salvation; just living a godly life in the sight of our co-workers may gradually cause them to warm up to the idea of living the Christian life. Someday one of them might come to us privately and ask us about our faith. Or they might want to know what church we attend because they are interested in visiting it one Sunday morning. Joseph was needed in Egypt because his life was like a light in the deep darkness that is false religion. I honestly have no doubts that at least one soul was saved---and perhaps many more---because he remained where the Lord wanted him. We can follow his example by blooming where we're planted, even when it seems like we're planted in the midst of people who have no respect for the Lord.
"He lived a hundred and ten years and saw the third generation of Ephraim's children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth upon Joseph's knees." (Genesis 50:22b-23) What a long and fruitful life! He's lived ninety-three years in the land of Egypt and most of those years have been good years. He's blessed to have witnessed so many generations of his family. The oldest-living person I've ever known was one of my great aunts, who I believe passed on at the age of 106. I had the opportunity to go out of state to visit her a year or two before she died, and she saw several generations of her family's descendants, and she certainly felt she'd lived a long and fruitful life. Her physical health was failing but mentally she was still very sharp. Joseph's physical health is failing but we can tell in our passage today that's he's still mentally very sharp as he says his last words to his family and gives them instructions regarding the disposition of his earthly remains.
"Then Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, 'God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.'" (Genesis 50:24-25) Are his brothers and their families not free to leave Egypt? At this time I think they are, if they wanted to. They aren't slaves under the administration for which Joseph worked. The famine is long past. Crops are growing again in their homeland of Canaan. The promised land, which the Lord said He would give them, is probably well on its way to flowing with milk and honey. We don't know exactly why the children of Israel remained in Egypt so long. Did they become comfortable and complacent in the rich land of Goshen? Did they stay simply because Joseph remained faithful to his post and they didn't want to ever again be separated from their brother? Did Joseph instruct them, by inspiration of the Lord, to remain there because he knows Egypt is the land the Lord told Abraham his descendants would dwell in for over four centuries? The Lord never named the land that would come to oppress the people of Israel, but Joseph knows by now that it's Egypt. Joseph knows it's the Lord's will for the people of Israel to spend four centuries in Egypt before it will be the right time for them to drive the pagan tribes from Canaan and take over the land. While the Lord is doing things in the hearts and lives of Israel in Egypt, He's making every effort to do things in the hearts and lives of the people of Canaan. He's giving the pagan people of Canaan four centuries to repent and turn to Him. They won't, but in His righteousness He can't deprive them of the opportunity. It will never be said of the Lord that He didn't give the idolaters of Canaan plenty of time to see the error of their ways. The Lord knows they won't listen to Him but He's too holy not to try anyway. In the final judgment none of them will be able to accuse Him of never giving them a chance to repent before uprooting them from the land and planting Israel in their place.
Meanwhile, God is keeping His people Israel separate from the idolatry of Canaan. He's keeping His people Israel segregated from the idolatry of Egypt, for although Egypt was once one of the most idolatrous nations on the face of the earth, they would not intermarry with or socially interact with Hebrews. This allowed the Hebrews to maintain their own religion and their own customs in a bubble, so to speak, right in the middle of a land that had almost more false gods than a man could count. Even their oppression during later kings was a part of God's will, for when are we most likely to call out to and rely on God? Is it during prosperous times or during difficult times? It's during difficult times, isn't it? During the centuries of their oppression they had no one to call out to for help but God. Though their captivity must have seemed long, not a single cry went unheard by God. Not a single unkind act toward them went unnoticed by God. At the right time and in the right way He brought them out in a stunning display of His awesome saving power. We will be moving on into the book of Exodus tomorrow and will study His miraculous acts on behalf of His people Israel.
"So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt." (Genesis 50:26) Joseph would have merited all the royal treatment Egypt had to offer. His body did undergo the finest embalming available in his time. No doubt everyone in Egypt observed a mourning period for him, and it may even have been the seventy-two day mourning period observed for kings and for native-born Egyptian high officials. His body was probably placed in a coffin so fine that it rivaled the coffin of a king. But he was not buried in a tomb. No pyramid or ornate underground chamber ever held his remains. His body, in its coffin, was almost certainly kept in an easily accessible location in Goshen, for when the children of Israel emerge from Egypt in the exodus, they will take Joseph's body in its coffin with them.
I hold Joseph in such high esteem that I almost feel like observing a moment of silence for him here. But I don't think Joseph felt a bit sorrowful about his impending death. I think he was ready to go on and meet the Lord he so faithfully served. If anything weighs heavy on him at his death it's the knowledge that his people will be oppressed and enslaved for several centuries, and that Satan (through a wicked, racist king) will attempt to kill off the family line of the coming Savior by issuing an order for all the baby boys of the Israelites to be killed at birth. But Joseph also knows that the Lord will redeem the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and that the Lord will redeem mankind from their sins through the Promised One. Joseph's life ends peacefully, on a note of hope, with light at the end of the tunnel. He dies in faith, believing God fulfills every promise He ever makes.
Rest well, Joseph. So long....for now.
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