Jan. 22, 2012

Background Scripture: Genesis 50:1-26

Devotional Reading: Deuteronomy 7:76-11

Genesis 50 is a chapter of endings: the end of the Book of Genesis, the end of Part One of the Hebrew-Israel story, the end of the life of Jacob and, finally, of Joseph himself.

It is also a chapter of contrasts; for one, the contrast between mighty Egypt and the lowly seeds of what would eventually become Israel. There was also the contrast between the status of Jacob and his clan before Joseph assumed his high office in Egypt and the honored status afterward. From slave to second-in-command of the mightiest empire on Earth at the time – it challenges the imagination.

I find another contrast in the fact that after his brothers sold him into slavery, with the exception of his journey to take his father’s body back to Canaan, his life was lived entirely in the very different society and circumstances of Egypt. One of Israel’s greatest patriarchs, Joseph, lived only his earliest life in what would someday become the Israel that would venerate him.

His brothers probably remained in Egypt as well. Then, there is also the contrast between the forgiving kindness of Joseph and the gnawing fear of his brothers. (More on that later.)

Contrasted also are the two different ways of handling death: in Egypt a precise preservation of the body through the art of embalming (sound familiar?), and in Canaan, after a mourning period of seven days, simple entombment in a remote cave. Seven was considered the complete number and it was also the number of days it took the embalmers to prepare the body.

It is interesting to note the Canaanites, traditional enemies of the Hebrews, were truly impressed by the “grievous mourning” of the mighty Egyptians for this Hebrew patriarch (50:11).

Déjà vu?

Joseph married Asenath, the daughter of an Egyptian priest, and they had two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim. So, of course, she worshipped other gods.

Customarily, as the firstborn, Manasseh should have been Joseph’s heir. But, in a repeat of the drama of Joseph’s father, Jacob, and his uncle, Esau, the first son, Masnasseh, lost out to his younger brother, Ephraim. This time, however, the two had the same mother, Asenath.

The writer tells us that the children of Machir “were born upon Joseph’s knees” (50:23). It appears this enigmatic verse is telling us Joseph lived long enough to see and hold his great-grandsons on his knees. These descendents of Machir became a warlike sub-tribe of Manasseh.

For me, the heart of Genesis 50 is contained in the verses 15-21. Here there arises an issue that we would have thought was resolved in 45:4-16, when Joseph assures his brothers: “And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life … So it was not you who sent me here, but God … And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.”

But after the death of Israel and Jacob their father, they said to each other, “It may be that Joseph may hate us and pay us back for all the evil which we did to him” (v. 16). So they sent Joseph a message: “Your father gave this command before he died, ‘Say to Joseph, Forgive, I pray you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin because they did evil to you” (17).

Why dig that up?

This message was unsettling to Joseph, who thought it had been settled, and it is even disturbing perhaps to the reader: Why did they bring this up again? Did they not trust Joseph? Did they think he had played along until his father died so he could at last get his revenge?

Or was it with them as it is sometimes with us: Old issues sometimes keep boiling to the surface and it is hard sometimes to believe forgiveness is possible. They knew they had committed a terrible sin against Joseph, against their father Jacob/Israel and against their God.

But that is the wonderful thing about the grace of God: He does not withhold it from us, but we may fail to accept it because we may think we have committed an evil too great to be forgiven. The grace of God may seem too good to be true – especially for us – but it is not.

So, Joseph asks a question that is not really a question: “Fear not, for am I 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 should he kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones” (50:19-21).

Ironically, both Joseph and his brothers were correct. Many leaders do act as if they had taken the place of God. It is even so today – in the world, in our government, in our cities and even in our homes. But Joseph’s understanding is the highest perception, that no moral man or woman is God and therefore, they should abstain from speaking and acting as if they are.

Question to ponder: In what situations and at what times may you have acted as if you had taken the place of God?

(NOTE: Readers may have wondered about last week’s Devotional Reading cited at the beginning of the column. The citation was in error; it should have been Deuteronomy 7:6-11, not Psalms 81:8-10.)

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.