tom hogsed

Jacob’s life was about to end so he called together his sons and told them what would happen to each one of them in the future (49:1-2). The descendants of Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, would not prosper (49:3-4) because he had sinned against his father by sleeping with his concubine (Genesis 35:22). Not one of his descendants became a leader in Israelite history and there is almost no mention of his tribe. Simeon and Levi were known as men of violence (Genesis 34:25-29) and both of their tribes would be scattered (49:5-7), although Levi’s descendants would eventually become the priestly tribe. Judah would dominate his enemies and his brothers would praise him; furthermore, his descendants would rise to national leadership including David, Solomon, and the soon-coming Messiah, referred to here as Shiloh (49:8-12). This Messiah (Jesus Christ) would be called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah in Revelation 5:5. Judah’s tribe would be blessed and prosperous. Zebulun’s descendants would benefit from sea traders moving through her land (49:13). Issachar, although strong, would work for others (49:14-15). The tribe of Dan was raised up to be a judges, but they would not be faithful (49:16-18). Gad would settle in a place where they would be subject to attackers, but they would prevail (49:19). Asher would settle in a fertile area and provide rich food (49:20). Naphtali’s tribe would be known for speed and agility, but also for their beautiful words (49:21). Most of Jacob’s blessing would fall upon Joseph, and his two sons, who would experience victory (49:23-24) and prosperity (49:25-26). Benjamin, Jacob’s youngest son, would produce a violent, warlike tribe whose future descendants included Saul and eventually Paul (49:27).

Because of the severe famine throughout the land (Genesis 42), Jacob and all of his family had departed from Canaan in order to reside in Egypt (Genesis 46-47). Joseph had risen to power in Egypt (Genesis 41) and God used him to preserve the forming nation of Israel. Furthermore, Pharaoh gave Joseph’s family the land of Goshen and because Goshen was away from the mainstream it allowed them to settle in Egypt without being influenced by the culture. Jacob celebrated about being reunited with his son, Joseph, whom he believed was dead; however, the time of Jacob’s death was near so he requested that Joseph bury him back in the land of Canaan (Genesis 47:29-31). After Joseph’s promise to Jacob, his health began to fail and he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to see Jacob before his death (48:1). Frail and nearly blind, Jacob sat up in his bed and said, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine” (48:2-5). Jacob’s adoption of Joseph’s two sons was an expression of gratitude and provided them with the same inheritance as his own sons.

After Jacob discovered that his son, Joseph, was alive in the land of Egypt, God appeared to him in a dream and said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes” (46:1-4). Jacob obeyed the voice of the Lord and departed with his family from Canaan (46:5-7) around 1875 BC and they would remain there until the Exodus some 430 later (1445 BC). Genesis 46:8-27 records the names of 70 men from whom the nation of Israel would form. Jacob instructed his son Judah to go ahead of the caravan to meet Joseph so that he could direct them to Goshen, where they would settle away from the mainstream of Egyptian culture (46:28). Joseph departed to Goshen and was reunited with his father after 22 years of separation (46:29-30). Joseph’s family would soon meet Pharaoh and he instructed them to say that they raised livestock because the Egyptians despised shepherds (46:31-34). This despised occupation would allow Joseph’s family to settle in Goshen, which would be secluded and somewhat protect them from intermingling with the Egyptians. Joseph’s plan worked and Pharaoh allowed them to settle in Goshen (47:1-12), which was also called Rameses (46:11) or Zoan (Psalm 78:12, 43).

For much of his youth, Joseph’s life had been characterized by uncertainty and transition. At 17 years old (Genesis 37:2), he was sold into slavery by his brothers who had a great hatred for him (Genesis 37) because of their father’s favoritism (Genesis 37:3). After becoming a slave in Egypt, Joseph found favor in the house of Potiphar until his wife accused Joseph of rape and had him thrown into prison (Genesis 39). In prison Joseph developed a reputation for interpreting dreams (Genesis 40) which eventually landed him before Pharaoh (Genesis 41). Joseph revealed that Pharaoh’s dreams foretold of an upcoming famine, so he put Joseph in charge of sustaining Egypt during these seven years of barrenness. The severe famine caused Joseph’s brothers to make a journey to Egypt in order to buy food but unbeknownst to them, they were standing before their brother whom they sold into slavery more than fifteen years earlier (Genesis 42). Joseph accused them of being spies and demanded that they bring back their younger brother, Benjamin, to prove that they were not spies. The brothers returned to Egypt with Benjamin and through a series of tests Joseph discovered that there had been a change of heart within his brothers (Genesis 43-44).

The famine throughout all the lands had brought Jacob’s sons to Egypt to buy grain (Genesis 42); however, the man in Egypt selling the food was their brother Joseph, whom they had sold into slavery over 20 years before (Genesis 37). They did not recognize their brother, Joseph, who accused them of coming to Egypt to spy out the barrenness of the land (Genesis 42:8-14). Joseph placed Simeon into prison and demanded that the other brothers return with Benjamin, the youngest brother, in order to prove that they were not spies (Genesis 42:15-24). When the brothers returned to Canaan, Jacob refused to allow Benjamin to return to Egypt with them (Genesis 42:25-38), but the famine eventually forced him to send Benjamin back to Egypt with them to buy food (Genesis 43:1-15). The brothers became fearful when Joseph requested that they come to the palace, but he was simply testing whether there had been a change of heart in each of them (43:16-34).

The famine which had swept over Egypt and the entire region had caused Jacob to send his sons (except Benjamin) to Egypt to buy grain (Genesis 42); however, upon their arrival they faced Joseph, their brother, who had risen to a place of authority after interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams (Genesis 42). Fifteen years had passed since their hatred for Joseph had resulted in selling him into slavery (Genesis 37), so they did not recognize that the man whom they were facing that day was their brother. Joseph spoke harshly to his brothers and accused them of spying out the barrenness of Egypt during the famine (Genesis 42:6-12). His brothers denied the accusations and claimed that their father had sent all of his sons, except Benjamin, to buy food in Egypt (42:13). Joseph eventually imprisoned Simeon and told the other sons of Jacob that he would be released when they returned from Canaan with their younger brother, Benjamin (42:14-24). When Joseph’s brothers arrived home, they told Jacob what had happened but he refused to allow Benjamin to return with them to Egypt (42:25-38).

Fifteen years had passed since Joseph had been sold into slavery by his angry brothers (Genesis 37). Their actions eventually led Joseph to Egypt where he became a slave to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard (Genesis 37:36). Joseph quickly rose to a position of authority in Potiphar’s house until he was falsely accused of rape by the wife of his master (Genesis 39). He was thrown into prison where he became known as an interpreter of dreams (Genesis 40), which eventually allowed him to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Joseph revealed that Pharaoh’s dreams foretold seven years of bountiful harvest followed by seven years of famine throughout all the lands (Genesis 41). Pharaoh set Joseph over all of Egypt in order to help them survive the upcoming famine and his plan of action protected the Egyptians during this seven years of barrenness (Genesis 40:37-57).

From a very young age, Joseph had experienced many trials. His own brothers hated him (Genesis 37:1-11) and eventually sold him to slave traders (Genesis 37:12-35). Those traders sold Joseph “…in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard” (37:36). Joseph worked hard for Potiphar and rose to a position of authority (39:1-6a) before Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him of attempted rape, which landed Joseph in prison (39:6b-23). While Joseph was imprisoned, he interpreted dreams for two other men who were also in prison and his interpretations came true (40:1-23). Two years had passed since Joseph’s interpretations came to pass (41:1a). Joseph was still in prison, but the chief butler (cupbearer), whose dream Joseph interpreted in prison, had been released and restored to his duties before Pharaoh. Around this time Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had two dreams (41:1b-7) which troubled his spirit (41:8). No one in Egypt could interpret his dreams (41:8b), but the king’s cupbearer remembered that Joseph had interpreted his dream (41:9-13), so Pharaoh sent for him (41:14-15). When he appeared before Pharaoh, Joseph was careful to say that only God could bring the interpretation of his dreams (41:16). Pharaoh retold both dreams to Joseph (41:17-24) and he revealed their meaning (41:25-32). Both dreams predicted that Egypt would experience seven years of bountiful harvest (41:29) followed by seven years of very severe famine (41:30).

Joseph’s life had been filled with trials and with each hardship he had the opportunity to become angry or bitter, but he chose to stay faithful to God’s plans. He was hated by his brothers (37:4), sold as a slave by his wicked brothers (37:27-28), and ended up as a servant to Potiphar, officer of Pharaoh, in Egypt (37:36). While serving Potiphar, Joseph found favor with him and rose to a position of authority (39:1-6) until Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him of rape and had him thrown into prison (39:7-20). The Lord was with Joseph during his imprisonment (39:21) and he rose to a position of authority while he was in prison (39:22-23). During Joseph’s imprisonment, Pharaoh’s butler (cupbearer) and baker were thrown into prison and Joseph became responsible for taking care of them (40:1-4). One night the cupbearer and baker both had dreams and when they awoke from their dreams they were very sad because there was no interpretation (40:5-8a). Joseph noticed their sad countenance and discovered that their dreams were bothering them so he told them that interpretations belong to God (40:8b). They told their dreams to Joseph, who was familiar with interpreting dreams (see Genesis 37:5-11), and he listened to each of them describe their dream. The cupbearer detailed his dream (40:9-11) and Joseph revealed that in three days he would be restored to his former position before Pharaoh (40:12-13). Joseph then appealed to the cupbearer saying, “And please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place. For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in prison, but I did nothing to deserve it” (40:14-15, NLT). After interpreting the cupbearer’s dream, Joseph interpreted the dream of the baker, but the interpretation was not good news for him. Joseph revealed that in three days Pharaoh would behead him, hang him on a tree, and leave his body for the birds to eat (40:16-19). Three days later, all that Joseph had said came to pass. The cupbearer was restored to his duties before Pharaoh (40:20-21) while the baker was put to death (40:22). When the cupbearer resumed his position before Pharaoh, he forgot about Joseph and failed to ask for his release as Joseph had requested him to do (40:23; see also 40:14-15). Joseph had every right to be angry at his circumstance, but he always seems to embrace God’s plan and patiently wait for the next step in his journey. Joseph was a man who was guided by faith and not his circumstances.

Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph (37:3), had been sold into slavery by his brothers because they hated him (37:1-11). They covered up their crime by making it look like Joseph had been devoured by wild animals (37:31-33). Jacob was devastated by the loss of the son that he loved more than any of his other children (37:34-35). Although it looked as if Joseph would be gone forever, Moses carefully follows Joseph’s journey as he was sold by the Midianites, who had purchased Joseph from his brothers, to Poitphar(37:36). Potiphar was an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard in Egypt. Genesis 39 continues the story of Joseph in Egypt. Thus far, Joseph’s life seemed like one hardship after another; however, Moses (author of Genesis) reminds the reader that the “Lord was with Joseph…” (39:2a). He became a successful man in Potiphar’s house and Potiphar even noticed that the Lord’s hand was on Joseph causing everything he did to prosper (39:2-3). Rather than being angry about his circumstances, Joseph worked hard and Potiphar eventually made him overseer of his entire house (39:4). The Lord blessed Potiphar’s house for the sake of Joseph (39:5-6a).