49:1-28 Jacob called all his sons to tell them what would happen in the days to come.
--Reuben is the firstborn, the first sign of Jacob's strength, excelling in honor and power, but he would excel no more because he slept with Jacob's wife, Bilhah (35:22).
--Simeon and Levi are violent men who killed many men in their anger when their sister Dinah was defiled in Shechem (34:25). Jacob curses their anger and says they'll be scattered in Israel.
--Judah will be praised by his brothers and defeat his enemies. In class we talked about how Jesus came from the tribe of Judah and Jacob's prophecy is fulfilled in Him.
- His brothers (and sisters) will praise Him
- He will defeat His enemies
- His Father's sons (believers) will bow down to Him
- He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah
- The scepter and the ruler's staff (of a King) will not depart from Judah until "he (Christ) comes to whom it belongs."
- The obedience of the nations is His (after His second coming)
- Christ rode a colt of a donkey to Jerusalem just before His crucifixion
- He will wash his robes in the blood of grapes (His blood was shed)
--Zebulun will live by the sea and become a haven for ships. This tribe later settled by the sea in Canaan.
--Issachar is a "rawboned" or strong donkey who will submit to forced labor because he sees how good and pleasant is his land. This tribe settled in an area where they were frequently invaded and taken captive.
--Dan will provide justice for his people but he will do so in a cunning and deceptive way.
--Gad means "attack." His descendants will be attacked and will attack back.
--Asher will indulge in rich food and provide delicacies fit for a king.
--Naphtali is a doe set free. His descendants settled in the hill country and moved about freely in it.
--Joseph is a fruitful vine near a spring whose branches climb over a wall. He was bitterly attacked by his brothers but he remained steady and strong because of the Mighty One, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, the God of his fathers, the Almighty who has blessed him with many different blessings. Joseph is a prince among his brothers.
--Benjamin is a ravenous wolf who hunts and eats and then divides the plunder.
v. 29-33 Jacob told his sons to bury him with his fathers in the family burial cave in Canaan; the same cave Abraham bought when he buried his wife Sarah. Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah and Leah were all buried there. After Jacob finished speaking to his sons he died.
50:1-14 Joseph mourned deeply for his father. He had the Egyptian physicians embalm him, taking the full 40 days. The Egyptians mourned for him 70 days. After that Joseph asked Pharaoh's court to speak to Pharaoh about allowing Joseph to travel to Canaan and bury his father there. Pharaoh agreed to let him go. He traveled there with all the Egyptian officials and dignitaries as well as all his brothers and Jacob's household. The children and livestock were left in Goshen. Chariots and horsemen accompanied him. At the threshing floor of Atad near the Jordan River they observed a 7-day period of mourning. When the local Canaanites saw them there they named the place Abel Mizraim meaning "mourning of the Egyptians." Jacob's sons buried him in the cave where his ancestors were buried and then they returned to Egypt.
v. 15-21 Joseph's brothers feared that he would get even with them now that their father was dead. They sent word to Joseph that his father left instructions that he should forgive his brothers for the sins they committed against him. Of course Jacob hadn't left such instructions, they were just trying to protect themselves. When Joseph heard their message he wept. His brothers threw themselves at his feet and said they were his slaves. But Joseph spoke kindly to them and reassured them. He said they intended to do him harm but God intended it for good and many lives were being saved. Joseph said he would provide for his brothers and their children.
v. 22-26 Joseph stayed in Egypt and lived 110 years, seeing the third generation of Ephraim's children. Also, his great-grandchildren, the grandchildren of Manasseh, were "placed at birth on Joseph's knees" which means they were counted as Joseph's children. When he was near death Joseph made his brothers swear an oath that they would carry his bones out of Egypt when God would rescue their descendants and bring them to the Promised Land (this was done in Exodus 13:19). Then Joseph died and they embalmed him and placed his body in a coffin in Egypt.
We moved right into the book of Exodus, also written by Moses, and continued the story there.
Exodus 1:1-21 The 12 sons of Jacob (Israel) are named. There were 70 male descendants of Israel living in Egypt in the days of Joseph. Eventually Joseph and all his brothers died but the Israelites continued to thrive and grow in number so that the land of Egypt was filled with them. A new king (or Pharaoh) who did not know about Joseph came to power. He was afraid that the Israelite population was growing too fast and they might "join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." That would ruin Egypt, so he put slave masters over them and oppressed them. They built store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed the more they multiplied and spread. This made the Egyptians fear them even more so the slave masters made their lives miserable with hard labor. "The Egyptians used them ruthlessly."
v. 15-22 Pharaoh told the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, that they must kill all the newborn baby boys but allow the girls to live. But the midwives feared God and allowed the baby boys to live. Pharaoh summoned them and asked why they were letting the boys live. They lied and told him that Hebrew women are stronger than Egyptian women and had their babies before the midwife arrived. God was very kind to the midwives and gave them children of their own. The Israelite population continued to increase so Pharaoh gave this order, "Every boy that is born (to the Hebrews) you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."
To be continued.
--Sandy Blank
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