Joseph threw himself on his
father and wept over him and kissed him. 2 Then Joseph directed the physicians
in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, 3
taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the
Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
So here we get a view of how this
operated in the ancient world. Joseph
after his father had breathed his last throws himself on his father and wept
and kisses him. We always have emotional
responses when someone we care and love passes unto eternity for the Christian
it is a celebration. Someone who has
served the Lord has been promoted. It is
a time of sorrow and grief. Yet it is
also a time of rejoicing, victory and freedom.
There is such a difference between a Christian homecoming and an ungodly
person. So Joseph then directed the
physicians in his service. He would have
had no less than a dozen physicians attending him and his family. There was always attending medical help in
the Egyptian nobility. In fact medical
people were held in such regard that even one name Imhotep became king. Their responsibility was to care for the
living. In fact Egypt was the first
society that actually had universal medicare.
Then when their patients died they became responsible to embalm and
prepare a body for burial. It was easier
to do in Egypt because it was hot and dry.
This is the step-by-step process of how mummification took place: Remove all internal organs. Let the internal organs dry. Place them inside canopic jars. Place the heart back inside the body. Rinse inside of body with wine and spices
Cover the corpse with (salt) for 70
days. After 40 days stuff the body with
linen or sand to give it a more human shape and after the 70 days wrap the body
from head to toe in bandages. Place in a
sarcophagus a type of box like a coffin.
The time of mourning lasted 70 days.
During this time the physicians would wear the mask of Anubus but since
Jacob was a worshipper of God this would not have been done. In
many ancient societies, remembrance of the dead ensured their continued
existence in the afterlife and a great showing of grief at a funeral was
thought to have echoes in the Hall of Truth where the soul of the departed was
heading. The grander the funeral, the
greater position in eternity. They also
believed that the material and immaterial were connected by death. You have heard it said that death is only the
beginning. The Bible puts it this way, “you
have one life to live and then judgment.”
What we do does matter especially concerning Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can secure us a place in heaven.
4 When the days of mourning
had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your
eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, 5 ‘My father made me swear an oath and
said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of
Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”6 Pharaoh
said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”
Now this is an interesting piece of
scripture. When the days of mourning had
passed Joseph had an audience with the court of Pharaoh. The king would have a group of advisers who
worked on his behalf, usually 7-12 men chosen from the noble families of
Egypt. Even though Joseph was Prime
Minister what he was requesting was beyond normal protocol. He told them his father had asked to be
buried in Canaan. So he was asking
permission of Pharaoh. The group of
leaders would be his representatives in this matter to Pharaoh. Remember Joseph had broken many sacred
traditions and he was from a non Egyptian.
Jacob’s families were non Egyptian they were in the land because of a
special a royal decree. To leave they
needed a royal approval. Joseph had
followed Egyptian customs concerning mummification but not any of the normal
burial procedures. This must have been
very concerning to the idol worshippers of the land. Joseph also had to give the king assurance he
was going to return. This was obviously
a concern to the royal advisors. Here we
get a view of how the ancient court of Egypt operated. We see that everything still ran through the
King because of Joseph’s position in the government. There were also safety issues based on
Joseph’s position. They would need an
army escort for Joseph’s protection. It
was a big deal. Joseph would also have
to give a time limit for how long he was gone.
The king gave permission to Joseph because in ancient Egypt and oath
given by a Father to a son was binding.
To not do a last request was to dishonor the person who had died.
7 So Joseph went up to bury
his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him—the dignitaries of his
court and all the dignitaries of Egypt— 8 besides all the members of Joseph’s
household and his brothers and those belonging to his household. Only their
children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. 9 Chariots and
horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.
This is incredible. Joseph goes to bury his father. All of the king’s official and dignitaries of
Egypt go with him. They held Joseph in
such high regard all the elite of Egypt went with him. You see the reason for the king’s permission. What a honor for Jacob and Joseph. The man who left Canaan with nothing when he
went to Mesopotamia to find a wife now has the royal funeral with all the top
people of Egypt there. Only God could
pull this off. They leave Amaris the
Hyskos capital then stop at Goshen to pick up the brothers and their
wives. The children and flocks and herds
were left behind. Chariots and horseman
went with them. This was their means of
travel but also they were their protection.
Remember the entire Egyptian court and leadership was with them. If they were attacked the entire
Empire could come down. Moses who wrote Genesis shows his knowledge
of Egyptian society here. He says they
were a large company. Truth be told they
would have been thousands of them, most likely tens of thousands. The people of Canaan probably thought they
were being invaded. This is also another
reason for Pharaoh’s permission. Certain
alliances needed to be observed as well.
They had to assure the residents that this was a funeral and not an
invasion.
10
When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented
loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning
for his father. 11 When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the
threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn
ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel
Mizraim.
It would have taken most likely about
three weeks to get such a large group of people there. Also they also stop at the Jordan. They were observing alliances and negotiated
trade routes. They did not want to risk
war or battles. They get to Atad near
the Jordan. This actually Hebron , Atad
would have been the Egyptian name for it.
There Joseph and the officials lamented loudly and bitterly. Remember the Egyptian custom of the bigger
the ceremony the more honor and position in eternity. Joseph did this for the Egyptians. Joseph holds a seven day period of
mourning. This would have been the
Hebrew tradition. So you see Joseph’s
diplomacy at work. On one hand he is
honoring the Egyptian traditions but also introducing them to his. The work of the godly is to help the ungodly
to understand the righteous way of life.
The best way is to live it.
Remember we are the only bible many people read. The Canaanites saw what was happening and
name the place Abel Mizraim which means the place of Egyptian mourning.
12 So Jacob’s sons did as
he had commanded them: 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him
in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought
along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After
burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and
all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.
Now Joseph and his brothers then head into Canaan and they buried him in
the place that was the family burial site.
This was their private family ceremony.
They would have done all the traditions associated with Hebrew
traditions. They also did this because
they had been former residents but had been gone for 17 years. The Egyptians stayed at Hebron or Atad to
show it was not an invasion. Joseph
would have went with a small escort but this was protection. They honored their father and what he
wished. The pilgrim, sojourner, the last
of the Patriarchs, the great man of faith was finally home. Joseph then returns to Egypt with his family
and all who travelled with him. Today we
got a glimpse from the Bible. We saw the
process of mummification and burial procedures.
We saw how Egyptian government worked.
We learned about how ancient people travelled and the importance of
being wise and observing alliances and avoiding war. We saw Joseph’s wisdom and diplomacy and his
knowledge of how to operate in a pagan society.
We then got a glimpse of how Joseph was a man of his word. So many lessons. Now what can we take away from this message.
1. God will honor us in a pagan
world if we just love, serve and honor him.
Just work on your relationship with God and leave your reputation to
Him. Jacob had the biggest burial of any
of the patriarch’s
2. Know the world in which you live.
Remember you are in this world but not of it. It is our responsibility to explain the
Christian world to a ungodly world. We
do it by explanation and living it out.
Be like the men of Isaachar. Know
the times in which you live. We are the
ambassadors of God in our world.
3. Like Joseph be aware of the traditions and beliefs of others and
know how to navigate them. Often they
are stepping stones to salvation. That
does mean you do them but understand them.
Jesus said we are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
4. Be a person of honor, integrity, truth, love mercy grace,
transparency and accountability. People
respect that. They may not understand
you but they respect you. Joseph had
this large entourage because of who he was and what he had done for them.
5. Lastly remember we are pilgrims passing through. This is not as good as it gets. Remember you are looking for better, a city
foursquare whose maker and builder is God.
Are you ready?
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