Written by: Ruth Gilson – Girls’ Brigade
Genesis 49 v 13-21
“Zebulun will live near the sea.
His shore will be a safe place for ships, and his land will reach as far as Sidon.
“Issachar is like a strong donkey who lies down while carrying his load.
When he sees his resting place is good and how pleasant his land is, he will
put his back to the load and become a slave.
“Dan will rule his own people like the other tribes in Israel.
Dan will be like a snake by the side of the road, a dangerous snake lying near
the path.
That snake bites a horse’s leg, and the rider is thrown off backwards.
“LORD, I wait for your salvation.
“Robbers will attack Gad, but he will defeat them and drive them away.
“Asher’s land will grow much good food; he will grow food fit for a king.
“Naphtali is like a female deer that runs free, that has beautiful fawns.”
Notes
Genesis 49 is sometimes referred to as “The Blessing of Jacob” as it records
the specific blessing he bestowed on each of his sons, and on the people
tribes descending from them. It is in fact the longest poem in Genesis!
What strikes me about the verses we read today is the joy and pain Jacob must have felt as he looked ahead at the lives his “tribal leader” sons would live. To track this through requires a bit of a hike around the Old Testament, but if you did this you would discover some facts about Jacob’s sons and their tribes:
Zebulun lived around ten miles from the Mediterranean. Dan's tribe became involved in treachery. Gad's descendants lived in a vulnerable place and were attacked by their neighbours. Asher settled in a fertile Mediterranean area. And Naphtali became an independent tribe by nature, up in the Galilean hills - amongst the deer!
Suddenly, though, in the midst of his blessing, Jacob cried out
to God: “Lord, I wait for your salvation”! What caused him to do this, I wonder?
Could it be that Jacob found his sons' future hard to bear? Maybe. After all,
what loving father would want a painful life for his son?
Chapter 9 of Isaiah (one of my favourite Old Testament books) refers to Zebulun
and Nephtali, two of Jacob’s sons mentioned today. It then talks of more blessing
to come despite all that befell them since Jacob’s prayer: Isaiah begins to
unfold the story of another son and reveals the blessing he will bring to us
today.
This son is Jesus. The father, of course, is God himself. What pain God our Father must have felt in blessing the world through the life and suffering and death of Jesus.
Prayer
Thank you, Father God, for blessing this world with Jesus. Thank you for loving
this world - me - so much that you offered me a blessing, even though your
Father's heart must have broken in anticipation of all that was ahead for
your son. Amen
Genesis 49 v 22-26
“Joseph is like a grapevine that produces much fruit, a healthy vine watered
by a spring, whose branches grow over the wall.
Archers attack him violently and shoot at him angrily, but he aims his bow
well.
His arms are made strong.
He gets his power from the Mighty God of Jacob and his strength from the Shepherd,
the Rock of Israel.
Your father’s God helps you.
God Almighty blesses you.
He blesses you with rain from above, with water from springs below, with many
babies born to your wives, and many young ones born to your animals.
The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the oldest mountains,
greater than the good things of the long-lasting hills.
May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, on the forehead of the one
who was separated from his brothers.”
Notes
“Oh, bless.” “Bless you.” “What a blessing.” No doubt you, like me, have heard
these and other similar expressions. I wonder what we mean by these words?
Sometimes a term of fondness? Sometimes a desire we have for good for someone
- but can't quite find the right words to say? Or sometimes it could be about
something that we have - or something that has happened - which is good because
it improves our life or helps us in some way.
Genesis 49 is full of blessings. In fact, it is a series of blessings that Jacob bestowed on each of his twelve sons. In these verses the recipients are Joseph and his sons. Many of us know Joseph's story - the man with the multi-coloured coat! Joseph received a blessing from his father - a prayer bestowed on him for his future that focused on God's provision. This type of blessing is not a wishy-washy, “feelgood factor”-type hope for his son - it is a prayer of hope based on the greatness and power of God himself!
Jacob referred to God as:
The Mighty God of Jacob - a powerful God personally experienced by Jacob himself.
The Shepherd - an intimate God who would care for Joseph and his people as
a shepherd cares for his sheep.
The Rock of Israel - a God who is dependable and strong; a solid base for Joseph’s
feet to stand upon.
In blessing Joseph, Jacob wanted his son and descendants to know and experience the vastness of God and his power to bless his people.
Questions for reflection:
Recall recent times when you have experienced the Might of God in your life.
Ask God to be your Shepherd.
What does it mean for God to be a Rock for you today?
Prayer
Loving Lord, I pray that you will teach me to know you as my Rock, my Shepherd
and as a Mighty God in my life. Prompt my awareness of you at work in me
and my world today. Amen
Genesis 49 v 27-33
“Benjamin is like a hungry wolf.
In the morning he eats what he has caught, and in the evening he divides what
he has taken.”
These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to
them. He gave each son the blessing that was right for him. Then Israel gave
them a command and said, “I am about to die. Bury me with my ancestors in the
cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. That cave is in the field of Machpelah,
east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought the field and cave from
Ephron the Hittite for a burying place. Abraham and Sarah his wife are buried
there. Isaac and Rebekah his wife are buried there, and I buried my wife Leah
there. The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittite people.” After
Jacob finished talking to his sons, he lay down. He put his feet back on the
bed, took his last breath and died.
Notes
Jacob had a strong lineage. He was one of God's chosen people. Indeed, Abraham
was his grandfather. What one would call a godly family!
During his life Jacob had come to know and love the ways of God in his life, and had even been symbolically renamed Israel - a great father of the Israelite people. As he approached the end of his life he spent time with his sons, offering blessings to each of them as seemed relevant to their lives and their future as the twelve tribes of Israel. Chapter 49 in Genesis records this - and here we are at the very end of what is often known as “The Blessing of Jacob”. Jacob wanted to leave a legacy. He was God's man, and he wanted to ensure that his life in God fulfilled God's desire for him and for the future people of Israel.
Do you have a desire in your life to “make your mark”, to be remembered, to have significance? Otherwise what is life about?
Jacob knew that he belonged to God. He had a strong sense of where he fitted within a family of God's people. For some of us, this sense of family belonging - in our earthly family - is not as straightforward and comforting as Jacob's was. Your family may not be the godly, loving place described by Jacob, and that can be very challenging.
Christians belong to God as part of his family. This lineage is definitely strong, and from this place God calls us, like Jacob, to be his people in our time - to have significance for now and for the future. Let's not wait until we are older or even anticipating death to live out our calling as God's children!
Prayer
Father, thank you that I am part of your family and that you have a purpose
for my life! Widen my understanding of what it means to be yours. Thank you
that you have chosen me and love me. Bless my earthly family today, Lord,
and help me to be a blessing to them in your name. Amen
Genesis 50 v 1-6
When Jacob died, Joseph hugged his father and cried over him and kissed him.
He commanded the doctors who served him to prepare his father’s body, so
the doctors prepared Jacob’s body to be buried. It took the doctors 40 days
to prepare his body (the usual time it took). And the Egyptians had a time
of sorrow for Jacob that lasted 70 days.
When this time of sorrow had ended, Joseph spoke to the king’s officers and
said, “If you think well of me, please tell this to the king: ‘When my father
was near death, I made a promise to him that I would bury him in a cave in
the land of Canaan, in a burial place that he cut out for himself. So please
let me go and bury my father, and then I will return.’”
The king answered, “Keep your promise. Go and bury your father.”
Notes
Are you grieving? Have you lost someone close to you? Are there people in your
life or church or friendships who are struggling with loss?
Joseph is a significant character in the Old Testament. If you read back in Genesis you will pick up insights into his life and his personal relationship with God. He was someone who sought to follow God. These days even Broadway and the West End sing about his story and his coat! Joseph was one of God's men. Yet here we see him broken with grief and dealing with very real and human emotions.
God's people do hurt. We do experience the reality of pain and the reality of joy. We are human!
Grief is a huge emotion. We associate it closely with death and the loss of loved ones, and this is true, of course. Recently, though, I have seen at first hand the pain felt by change. Some friends of mine are moving – one of them is a vicar, and it’s time for him to move churches. In a prayer letter I received, he asked for prayer that God would help him and his family cope with their sadness about moving on. Not all of their children are moving with them this time, and they have some close friends to leave behind. Sometimes we forget that change in friendships can cause very real pain and loss.
Joseph did not stop being a man of God because of his pain. Feeling grief and loss did not mean he was forgetting God in his life; he was being real.
Consider those around you - is there loss in their lives just now? Maybe you are you feeling a sense of loss right now.
Some words of comfort from a great psalm (use these words
to help you pray):
“If you'll hold on to me for dear life, says God, I'll get you out of any trouble.
I'll give you the best of care if you'll only get to know and trust me. Call
on me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times; I'll rescue you, then
throw a party…” Psalm 91 (from The Message version of the Bible).
Genesis 50 v 7-14
So Joseph went to bury his father. All the king’s officers, the elders and
all the leading men of Egypt went with Joseph. Everyone who lived with Joseph
and his brothers went with him, as well as everyone who lived with his father.
They left only their children, their flocks and their herds in the land of
Goshen. They went with Joseph in chariots and on horses. It was a very large
group.
When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan River, they
cried loudly and bitterly for his father. Joseph’s time of sorrow continued
for seven days. The people that lived in Canaan saw the sadness at the threshing
floor of Atad and said, “Those Egyptians are showing great sorrow!” So now
that place is named Sorrow of the Egyptians.
So Jacob’s sons did as their father commanded. They carried his body to the
land of Canaan and buried it in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre.
Abraham had bought this cave and field from Ephron the Hittite to use as a
burial place. After Joseph buried his father, he returned to Egypt, along with
his brothers and everyone who had gone with him to bury his father.
Notes
What an emotional scene. Jacob (who God renamed Israel) - a great father of
the people of God, the Israelites - was dead. He had lived a long and eventful
life. The younger son of Isaac, Jacob had been specially blessed by his father
and consequently taken a key place in the unfolding life of God's people.
He had lived through famines, been deceived by his family, and grieved for
a son he believed had been killed - only to discover that his other boys
had sold him because they were jealous of him. He enjoyed high times too.
His son “came back from the dead” and made good as a key leader chosen by
God, and his sons were chosen by God to be the twelve tribal leaders of Israel!
And now he was dead.
Hard to imagine the grief and the impact of his death on the nation … although maybe we had a glimpse of this when Diana, Princess of Wales was killed so tragically. Millions of us were impacted by her death and somehow needed to be a part of the gathering of a nation to mark her death.
There are BIG people in our world, with potential for significant impact on today and the future. In the Church of England every week prayers are offered following a specific form (liturgy) and include a call for Christians to pray for key leaders - the Queen; heads of government; heads of the church.
Our experience of worship may not be in this style - but the call for us to pray remains! Jacob followed God, and in death the people remembered their history and their God. Let’s pray for the BIG people of our day, that Jesus will be personally real to them and shaping their leadership.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we long for a nation that follows you; for genuine love to mark
our land; for justice, freedom from poverty, healing … your kingdom here
on earth. We pray for the BIG people who influence the nations. Holy Spirit,
cause them to seek after the Lord their God with all their heart, soul and
mind. Amen
Genesis 50 v 15-23
After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph is still angry with
us? We did many wrong things to him. What if he plans to pay us back?” So
they sent a message to Joseph that said, “Your father gave this command before
he died. He said to us, ‘You have done wrong and have sinned and done evil
to Joseph. Tell Joseph to forgive you, his brothers.’ So now, Joseph, we
beg you to forgive our wrong. We are the servants of the God of your father.”
When Joseph received the message, he cried.
And his brothers went to him and bowed low before him and said, “We are your
slaves.”
Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Can I do what only God can do?
You meant to hurt me, but God turned your evil into good to save the lives
of many people, which is being done. So don’t be afraid. I will take care of
you and your children.” So Joseph comforted his brothers and spoke kind words
to them.
Joseph continued to live in Egypt with all his father’s family. He died when
he was 110 years old. During Joseph’s lifetime Ephraim had children and grandchildren,
and Joseph’s son Manasseh had a son named Makir. Joseph accepted Makir’s children
as his own.
Notes
Joseph was treated badly by his brothers. They were jealous of him and his
relationship with their father Jacob. They secretly sold him as a slave and
let their father believe he had been killed! Amazingly, this action did not
prevent Joseph from being useable by God. In fact, his situation gave rise
to new opportunities for God's people to know God in their lives.
Joseph had EVERY reason to hate his brothers for their treatment of him, yet he followed God's lead and loved them! This had all happened whilst their dad was alive, and now after Jacob's death, the brothers were insecure about how Joseph would be with them. Would he change? Joseph's reaction? - he cried. Was it that old hurts were coming back, or anger with them all over again ... or sadness that they doubted his forgiveness?
Forgiveness is a difficult issue for many of us. It is often easier to hold on to a grievance, than it is to live as people who forgive. If I forgive you when you wrong me I must leave behind all the indignant feelings I have too - and sometimes I like to call attention to how I have been wronged!
God can and does breathe new life into seemingly bad places, and Joseph reminded his brothers of this. He pointed to how God had acted in and through him even though his situation had been borne in a “wrong” way. I do not believe that this gives us licence to sin, excusing it on the basis that God will use the situation for good, but I have seen just how often God's Spirit has touched my dodgy situations and somehow, through a journey of forgiveness, transformed dodgy into powerful for the sake of others and his kingdom.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you that you make all things new! Teach me not to hold back
in forgiving others who hurt me. Help me to walk away from “dodgy” areas
of my life, and to let you look at these things so that your forgiveness
can stretch into them, cleansing me and making my life useable by you. Amen
Genesis 50 v 24-26
Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will take care of
you. He will lead you out of this land to the land he promised to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob.” Then Joseph had the sons of Israel make a promise. He said,
“Promise me that you will carry my bones with you out of Egypt.”
Joseph died when he was 110 years old. Doctors prepared his body for burial,
and then they put him in a coffin in Egypt.
Notes
God had promised that through the descendants of Abraham the nations would
be blessed, and certainly Joseph’s life had brought very real blessing to
many people. His life had been turbulent: sold in slavery, put in prison,
falsely accused, spotted as a hope for the future and given leadership authority
to a nation. It was a colourful life (and not just his coat!).
At his death, Joseph was still pointing the people to their hopeful
future as promised by God to their great forefathers. God “will lead you out
of this land to the land he promised…”.
I wonder how the people were feeling. The strong leaders - their key men -
were dying off. Perhaps the future looked hopeless. Maybe they were scared,
tempted to give up on this life of faith. Maybe the place they were in seemed
attractive enough for them to stay there!
There are times when it is hard to stay focused on our calling as Christians. Our years are not just about life here - our lives are about God's kingdom - but things like loss, grief, worry, and even the comfort of sin, can tempt us to give up on following Jesus. Joseph focused the people on their continuing journey with God - to the place he had promised. Joseph even asked them to carry his body with them to this promised land!
This seems symbolic to me - of Jesus. Before he died, Jesus called his followers to a final supper with him. He asked them to keep meeting together like this after his death - to eat, drink and remember his death until they met him again. We call it “communion”.. Communion focuses on Jesus and the promise he has brought us about eternal life with God - our promised land.
Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for allowing your body to be broken for us. Thank you for
knowing us so well that you gave us a model of remembrance to help us to
refocus on your death and resurrection in order to stay close to you in
our journey of faith. Amen
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes