God of Covenant: Genesis 12-50 Session 10

 

Welcome to session 10 of Jen Wilkin's God of Covenant Genesis 12-50 study.  These are my notes from that session which concentrated on Genesis 48-50.

Genesis 48

Verses 1-2. The names Jacob and Israel are still going back and forth.  Jacob at this point is very weak nearing death.

Verses 3-7.  He is still expressing the loss of Rachel.  He is now also doing something very interesting.  He's saying he wants Joseph's sons born in Egypt to be his adopted sons.  If you're familiar with the story, we know that Ephraim and Manasseh become two of the 12 tribes.  But how does that work if there are already 12 sons that Jacob has from his marriages?  We will see from the prophecies that were spoken over them there are two tribes that will sort of vanish into the rest of the tribes, Jen says.  Also, when you remove the name of Joseph, you end up with a total of 12.  Basically, you have a number of 12 sons and a number of landed tribes within the nation of Israel - tribes who have an alotted land portion.  The list of names in that are not identical, she says.  This will be talked about later.

Verses 8-10. Why does it play out this way in these verses?  What does Israel/Jacob know?  Jen says this: "he can't rely on his physical senses to be certain of who it is he is about to bless so he says "who is here?" Bring them close also.  He needs to kiss them and embrace them so he can verify their identity.  He does not want to fall in the situation he was placed in when Laban married him to Leah and when he deceived his father Isaac.  Joseph is about 56 years old at this time, so his sons are probably in their early 20s.

Verses 11-12. These sons of Joseph sat on Jacob's knees.  There's something going on in the Hebrew language here, Jen says, that we can pay attention and learn from.  Remember the baby wars story?  Look at Genesis 30 where it says about Rachel - "on my behalf". In Hebrew, this would be "on my knees."  We understand at the time this was legal to say the child will be adopted as my own but it was after the case the adoptive parent was there at the birth to catch the child on her knees when the child was born.  What we are seeing here is most likely a reference to that same idea - that they have been brought to the knees in a symbolic way to note that they are now going to be his adopted sons.

Interesting to note that one son is of an Israelite woman and the other an Egyptian pagan woman.  In the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh we see a "firstfruits" fulfillment of the grafting of the Gentiles into the family of God, per Jen. 

Verse 13. Joseph is steering them forward in their birth order so the oldest will receive his blessing and the younger as you would expect.

Verse 14. Now here what is Jacob/Israel doing?  He is intentionally crossing his hands before he gives the blessing that the younger receive the blessing of the firstborn. 

Verses 15-16. He is (Jacob) reiterating the key ideas of the original covenant that was given to Abraham.  Notice that three times he mentions God.  Why is he repeating the name of the God of Israel with such consistency?  One probable reason is because of where Ephraim and Manasseh grew up - Egypt.  He wants them to understand this blessing comes from YHWH.  Interestingly, "the God who has been my shepherd" - we note that Jacob was a shepherd and so he understands this, but this is the first place in all of scripture where God is referred to in the terms of a shepherd.

Verses 17-20. Jacob here finally comes to understand.  He's not acting here out of his own will.  These are meant to be prophecies from the Lord.  Jacob finally understands to submit his will to a God who makes the last first and the first last.

Verse 21. Notice the significance of this statement in verse 21. Back in Genesis 28:15, God said to Jacob "I am with you." Again in chapter 31:3 God said "I will be with you." In chapter 31:5 and 35:3 Jacob acknowledges "God has been with me." Now he assures his offspring "God will be with you."

Genesis 49

Verses 1-4. Reuben here is not to be forgiven. You will see this if you follow Reuben's tribe throughout the OT. They have very few descendants and none who are of note in the rest of the Biblical record.

Verses 5-7. What do we see in these verses?  He's referencing that terrible day in Shechem due to, in many ways, his inaction.  Because of this incident, they also are removed from his favor in his final words.  Judah is now left in the place of honor.  Simeon's tribe does actually get dispersed to other tribes in the OT.  Their borders get undefined.  What about the tribe of Levi - the priesthood? They were not given a land allotment.  So these prophecies come true later on in Israel's history.

Verses 8-11. The longest prophecy is to Judah who is in the line of Christ and to Joseph who is a type of Christ.  We can see Christ in these passages.  Look at verse 10 - we see this reference to royalty.  This is the line through which David will come - Judah. We know that Christ has been prophesied as the King who will sit on the throne of David.  The phrase "until tribute comes to him" - "until it comes to whom it belongs" is another interpretation.  Read it again with this translation: the septer shall not depart from Judah, nor the rulers staff from between his feet, until it comes to whom it belongs.

Remember when Jesus enters into Jerusalem He intentionally rides in on the foal of a donkey.  Also, in Revelation we see Christ pictured wearing a robe dipped in blood.  There are many ties between Revelation and Genesis.

Verse 13-21. Prophecies about the other sons.

Verse 22. Joseph's prophecy gives five different names for God.  All of these blessings we can hear spoken over the person of Christ. "Almighty" the word for El-Shaddai, many commentaries trace back to the Hebrew word "Shad" which actually means "breast."  God as nourisher.

The 12 tribes excludes Joseph and Levi, but includes Ephraim and Manasseh.  The number 12 means completeness.

Verses 28-31. Notice "my wife" here.  Leah at last dignified in death.  Israel will be buried by the wife he married first.

Verses 32-33. Israel dies.

Genesis 50

Verses 1-3. Even the Egyptians are called to mourn for the father of Joseph.  Think about the sovereign God in this.  You know what the Hebrew practice was for burying their dead? Many Jews practice this still.  When someone dies, they are buried within 24 hours.  But when Jacob dies and requests that he would be buried in the land of Canaan, and dies in Egypt, he dies in an ancient land that has made an art form out of death.  So Jacob passes away in the place that was most capable of preserving his remains so they can be carried back to Canaan as a down payment that that land will be theirs!

Verses 4-6. Pharaoh shows a sign of great respect and trust.  You can contrast this with Exodus 1.  The first statement after the geneology is "now there arose a king in Egypt who did not know Joseph." But now, here, he does.

Verses 15-17. A lot of statements here.  Another deception in these verses by the brothers.  Notice how Joseph responds "Joseph wept when they spoke to him." Why? Because he wanted the years of deception to be passed, most likely.

Verse 18. Another acknowledgment of what Joseph had said years before "fell down before him."

Verse 19-20. This is not personal.  Good has come from this is what Joseph is saying.

Verse 21. He said he will provide for them so don't fear.  Joseph was kind and comforting.  

We need to ask ourselves, as in verse 20, "am I in the place of God?"  Many live trying to be exactly that.  Let's let God be God. For us, we can have the same relationship with the God that Joseph served.

Verses 22-26. The original audience who hears this know the story of the Exodus.  They know the awaiting promise and that Joseph spoke of what is going to happen.  He died at 110 years old.  Abraham 175.  Isaac 180.  Jacob 147.  Why not let him live longer?  Look at Enoch's story: a small lifespan but the most righteous life.  Joseph had a short life lived well.  Exodus picks up the story right where this paragraph leaves off.

In Hebrews 11 the names and events correlate to Genesis.  Notice at the end it says "though commended through their faith did not receive what was promised" (verse 39).  Verse 40.  What does this verse mean?  It means they saw only part of what we look back on and see in full.  We see the story of redemption from beginning to ending.  How much more should we look back on the finished work of Christ and celebrate the riches that are ours in Him. In doing this, their stories are brought to perfection and completion.

Look at Hebrews 12:1 - what is this great cloud of witnesses witnessing? The sense of the text here is that they stand witnessing the faithfulness of God to all generations.

The God who said He will do it will surely do it.

 

Welcome to Session 9 of Jen Wilkin's Genesis study.  These are my notes for this study.

The original audience would be thinking of how did the children of Israel end up in Egypt?

Chapter 41 was where we left off the story.  There we saw Joseph in a position to give bread to the world.  We also looked at 16 parellels between Joseph and Christ (look at the blog post "Tracing the Picture of Christ in the Life of Joseph").

Joseph was a "type" pointing to the greater reality that we see in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Genesis 42

Verses 1-5. Notice here what is happening: the old favoritism line is still rearing its head.  The famine Joseph predicted begins to reach Canaan.  It's severe enough that Jacob tells his sons to go get grain.  They will die without it. Notice Jacob's tone though here: "why are you looking at one another?"  He doesn't understand why they didn't initiate this on their own.  Who does he send? The sons of Leah. He holds back Benjamin because of his old favoritism - Rachel and her offspring.  He feared harm would happen to Benjamin.  He doesn't fear harm to the others but he does to Benjamin.

Verses 7-14. Why does Joseph keep accusing them of being spies?  He's trying to set up a test so he can learn a little bit about them - their motives.  Have they changed or are they still the same? They do give Joseph some important information: their father is still alive.  He knows also that they believe he is dead.  They also say "sons of man." Why? They are appealing to the fact that being spies is an unlikely scenario.

Verses 15-17. Why does Joseph say for them to bring Benjamin there? Probably a motive would be he wants to ensure that Benjamin is protected during the time of famine.  How unexpected is all of this? Let's see what 3 days locked up does to them, maybe Joseph is thinking.  

Verses 18-21. What do we see happening among the brothers with their dialogue? They have examined their conscience and they begin to believe that their misfortune comes from the mistreatment they gave to Joseph.

Verse 22. What is happening here with Reuben's words?  Reuben is now being the guy that everybody hates - the "I told you so" guy.  What was Reuben's main concern back then regarding Joseph? An act of self-preservation.

Verse 23. Joseph was understanding all of their conversation, even though there is an interpreter between them.  Apparently, Joseph is not speaking their native language that is why they do not recognize him.  The Egyptians had a very different cultural style than the Hebrews as well.  The Hebrews would have had full beards. Joseph was probably clean shaven.

Verse 24. Joseph wept.  He heard them expressing regret of what they did to him.  Simeon is bound.

Verse 25-35. Joseph sends them away with grain and their money.  They feared.  They trembled.  They tell their father all.

Verse 36. How does Jacob respond? (Notice too that he's "Jacob" again and described as "their father"). Classic Jacob "me."  This whole thing is a problem for him. Never mind the collective harm that could come.

Verse 37. What is Reuben doing in this verse?  He's doing what Reuben does - making a play to regain his father's favor.  How does Jacob take it?  See verse 38.

Verse 38. He immediately rebuffs him.  Hurtful speech by Jacob.  Disregard for Leah's sons endures.

Genesis 43

Verses 1-5. The brothers return to Egypt.  Why? Because the famine is very severe and they have run out of grain.

Verse 6. Notice Jacob is called "Israel" again.  He does not want them to take Benjamin, even though this is the only choice they have of getting grain and Simeon is still there.  It's still about him (Jacob) being mistreated.

Verse 8. We were told to keep our eye on Judah.  Judah uses Jacob's language in the desperation of the situation.  Judah has shifted the issue of "me", "mine" of Jacob to a "we" situation.

Verses 9-10. Once again, we see Jacob as we saw him in Dinah's story: frozen, unable to act and locked up in fear.  Judah appears to be a chastened and changed man.  What does he do? He offers to stand surety for Benjamin.

Verses 11-14. How does Israel respond? We see it here in these verses.  He says to take double the money.  It's not that they can't pay.  It's just they don't have the resources where they are - they can't get grain unless they go to Egypt.  But they think it's a matter of money.

Verses 15-22. We see next Joseph planning a feast for them in his house.  The brothers think it's a trap to do with the money they found in their sacks.

Verse 23. Notice what the steward says: "peace to you....." What we are seeing here is a loving act of deception in a story that has been full of unloving deception.

Verses 29-32. He still has to see if anything has changed.  He's still not sure about them.  We find later on why the Egyptians cannot eat with the Hebrews.  They believe that the herdsmen whole trade was an abomination but this will end up being for the protection of the Hebrew people.

Verse 33. Why would they look at one another in amazement? Because somehow Joseph knows their birth order.

Verse 34. Things began to relax a little bit here.

Genesis 44

Verses 1-12. Once again, Joseph tests them.  The final test is the silver cup hidden in Benjamin's sack.  The brothers apprehended.  The cup is found in Benjamin's sack.  Benjamin must remain as his servant.  The brothers are, of course, devastated.

Verse 13. They are going back thinking they cannot take Benjamin with them.  What does Joseph say Benjamin's fate will be? A servant in Egypt.  They didn't see a problem with doing that to Joseph but now they have changed.

Verses 14-17. Look what happens with Judah.  He speaks up for them all.

Verses 30-44. Judah basically says he is pledged to protect Benjamin.  He will remain in place of Benjamin.  Judah has changed.  Judah becomes a substitute.  He wants to bear the cost.  He wants to take on the punishment himself.  We see Judah:

• become like a firstborn
• look an awful lot like the one who will come through his line: Jesus Christ Himself

Genesis 45

Verses 1-3. "They were dismayed." Of course! They thought he was dead and they were responsible for it.  Now, Joseph is powerful.

Verses 4-8. Wow! "I told you so." Joseph does what he has done throughout the story - he is a virtuous man.  Joseph understands that God is always with him.  He wants his brothers to understand that it was God in all of this.  He wants them all to dwell in Goshen.

Verses 13-15. Reunited and re-establish a relationship.

Verses 16-23. He shares his joy also with Pharaoh.  Pharaoh is pleased.  Joseph sends them back with the things they will need for their journey to and fro.

Verse 24. "Do not quarrel on the way."  Jen will come back to this.

Genesis 46

Verses 1-3. Why do we need God telling Jacob again that He will make him into a great nation?  Because "Egypt" is considered self-reliant, so the assurance is given to Jacob that going to Egypt is exactly what He wants him to do.  It's not about self-reliance now but about a famine.

Verse 4. You have this statement that He will go down with Israel to Egypt and also bring Israel up again.  You can hear that in two ways: as a promise to Jacob the man but to the original audience they would know God was talking about them.  What does "also bring you up again" mean in this case? He's going to ask that his bones be carried out of Egypt to Canaan.

Verses 5-7. All came to Egypt.

Verses 8-22. Here are groups of lists of names.  The total coming to Egypt were 70.  What we have seen are geneologies used in specific ways.  They are not primarily concerned with giving us an accurate list of descendants.  They are concerned with teaching us something that is happening about the names.  When we see here 70 names, we can see a pattern that has been common in Genesis of a multiple of 7x10.  Two numbers that signify completeness.  We can know that the number that came in was the complete number.

Verses 28-34. We see that Jacob and Joseph are reunited.  Joseph will coach them on what they need to say.  They needed to let them know they were herdsmen.  This way, they could live in Goshen outside of Egypt (where they can be fruitful and multiply).

Genesis 47

Jacob's family settles in Goshen.  Jacob also has an audience with Pharaoh.  He speaks a blessing over him. What is being indicated here is that Jacob is the greater and Pharaoh the lesser.  Moses preserves this in the text because he wants the original audience to know that there was a time when the ruler of Egypt bowed to the rules of Israel.

The plight of the Egyptians begins to deteriorate over the course of the chapter, to the point that they are selling their livestock in exchange for food.  They end up indenturing themselves.

What is happening with the people of God?  They are thriving in Goshen.

Verses 27-31. Why is Jacob so adamant to not be buried in Egypt?  Because he finally understands that his God is the God of Abraham and Isaac and is the God who has promised the land of Canaan to the Children of God. They may not dwell there now, but he wants his bones put there as a deposit that they will return one day.

Conclusion

Jen makes comparatives of Joseph with Jesus.  This story is a promise.  It's a picture of what the individual knows of salvation.  It is a picture of what the family of God knows of salvation.  It points toward a deep place of hope that though we may now feel that we live in a land of famine, she says, that we are headed to a place where hunger and thirst are completely met in the person of Jesus Christ.