Genesis 49:29 – 33 “Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.” When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.”
Throughout the long years of captivity, Joseph longed to see his father again, to be with his father, and to be able to close his father’s eyes once his father had died. And God promised Jacob as they were at Beersheba on the way to Egypt that Joseph would close his eyes. God fulfilled His promise to Jacob.
One of the hardest parts of serving at long distances from your family is the inability to be with parents when they are dying. To be able to tell your loved ones how much you care for them one last time is an incredible blessing, one that many people do not have. One veteran missionary of our acquaintance expressed it well when she said that as long as she was unable to attend her mother’s funeral, she never really had closure in that situation. One year after my father died while we were in Africa, we spent time in the U.S. Returning to my home area at Christmastime was wonderful, but it was bittersweet knowing that Dad was no longer there.
As a leader in Egypt, Joseph was able to give his father a royal funeral.
Genesis 50:1 – 14 “Then Joseph fell upon his father’s face, wept over him, and kissed him. And Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So they embalmed him, taking the forty days required to complete the embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days. When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please tell Pharaoh that my father made me swear an oath when he said, ‘I am about to die. You must bury me in the tomb that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Now let me go and bury my father, and then return.” Pharaoh replied, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.” Then Joseph went to bury his father, and all the servants of Pharaoh accompanied him—the elders of Pharaoh’s household and all the elders of the land of Egypt— along with all of Joseph’s household, and his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children and flocks and herds were left in Goshen.
Chariots and horsemen alike went up with him, and it was an exceedingly large procession. When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, which is across the Jordan, they lamented and wailed loudly, and Joseph mourned for his father seven days. When the Canaanites of the land saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a solemn ceremony of mourning by the Egyptians.” Thus the place across the Jordan is called Abel-mizraim. So Jacob’s sons did as he had charged them. They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. After Joseph had buried his father, he returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone with him to bury his father.” The Egyptians honored Joseph; however, they also honored Jacob as well. And God arranged everything so that Jacob would have a fitting burial and a memorial.
APPLICATION: This story is one of divine rewards for both Jacob and for Joseph. When God chooses to bless someone, He can bless beyond our wildest dreams and imaginations. But remember that none of this would have come about had Joseph remained sulking in prison and had he not forgiven his brothers and even his father.
PRAYER: Father God, help us to forgive from the heart. Thank you that when we forgive others, it frees You to bless us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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