Exodus 1

Exodus 1:17

But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.

While the new Pharaoh may not have known about Joseph, it is clear that the people still know about God, either through what Joseph did, or through the contemporary people. I wonder which it was, if not both.

Not to delve too deeply into modern politics, but there is an interesting warning here about what happens when the people remember and honor God, but the leaders do not. In an E&E class I took a couple years ago, it was said that the new Pharaoh was because Egypt had been invaded and conquered, so the line was broken. The new rulers hadn't suffered through the great famine, and certainly held no loyalty to the right-hand man of one of their vanquished leaders a few generations back. Still, there was obviously some reason still for the people to remember God, so the Hebrews of the time must have been doing something right. Given this is before the Law, we don't even know what that something might have been, besides telling the stories of their forefathers. I wish that were all it took today for people to remember and honor God.

Genesis 50

Genesis 50:17

'Thus you shall say to Joseph, "Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong." ' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

Okay, are these brothers ever going to learn? After all they've been through, now they lie to Joseph (or at least, there's nothing here to indicate that it wasn't a lie). They were separated for about thirteen years before they migrated to Egypt. It's been seventeen years since then, without one bit of apparent resentment or malice. But after all that, the brothers are worried about a thirty-year grudge.

Now, I'm not the most forgiving person. But I have trouble holding a grudge for more than a few months, at least to the point where I want payback. I may not particularly like someone after that, and I generally will try to avoid people who have wronged me, but I'm not very good at keeping out for blood. Maybe the lifespan being longer meant people remembered grudges longer, or maybe the relative sparsity of population, or maybe the culture had something to do with it. But at some point "honesty is the best policy" must become the rule of one's life, or you're going to spend the rest of it waiting and dreading the payback you think is coming.

Genesis 49

Genesis 49:10

"The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes,
And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples."

I don't remember if I ever remembered before that Judah was not the oldest son. I'm sure, as a kid, that I always thought Judah was the line of kings because Judah was the oldest. But at least upon this reading through, I realized that was not the case. So why is Judah named as the leader of the tribes? I think it's because everyone ahead of him failed the test. Reuben had an affair with his father's mistress. Simeon and Levi committed mass murder. So that leaves Judah, even though he was tricked into an affair by his daughter-in-law after failing to give her a husband.

One other issue is brought to mind: what scepter? For centuries, the nation of Israel had no king, and never should have. Their first true leader, Moses, I believe was of the line of Levi. So this prophecy was made based on something that ideally should never have happened. You have to wonder if, had Israel warned his children not to ever appoint a ruler, if the kings would not have been needed, and the world would be much better...

Genesis 48

Genesis 48:19

But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations."

Given what Jacob did to Esau, I can't say I'm surprised that he would make a switch like this at the last moment. He tricked his brother out of the firstborn's privileges, so as he is dying he gives that swap to the sons of his favorite child. Rather than have it taken, he freely bestows it, with prophecy to support his reasoning.

However, this is one point where my knowledge of Israel fails me. I don't remember anything occurring that made Ephraim more important than Manasseh. Granted, I don't remember much about either tribe, so it could be that I'm just forgetting things. However, I have to wonder why Ephraim is the greater of the two.

Genesis 47

Genesis 47:9

So Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning"

What a sad statement to make, near the end of one's life. Today, to hear of someone who lived to be 130, and was likely still able to walk on his own, is unheard of. Then think that he lived to 147, and it gets even harder to comprehend.

But to have lived such a long life, and describe your life as unpleasant, seems so terrible. Here the conniver, the deceiver, looks back upon it all and says it wasn't worth it. The man stole his older brother's blessing, his older brother's birthright, was tricked by his uncle into marrying the wrong woman and then the one he wanted (and had a couple extra concubines as well), makes peace with his brother, has over a dozen children, loses his beloved to the last son, and then loses his favorite son only to be reunited again, and he describes his life as "unpleasant." How differently might the book of Genesis read, if Jacob had followed a "better" path, and been more of the role model that we would look up to today?

Genesis 46

Genesis 46:4

I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes."

A promise from God, that Jacob was not abandoning his fathers by leaving the land. Nor was God abandoning Jacob because he was leaving the land. God tells him that this is the right course, and maybe by implication that the land is not fit for habitation right now. However, God also promises Jacob that he would return to the land God had promised his fathers, though he doesn't mention how long it would be.

Also, he tells Jacob that Joseph will see him, and presumably vice versa. The last longing of Jacob's heart, to see his long-lost son, will be fulfilled. To borrow a phrase, the last wish of a dying man will be fulfilled.

Great is God's faithfulness.

Genesis 45

Genesis 45:9

Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, "God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay.

I'm not known for being particularly good with personal matters (and that means "no good at all, and I know it"), but even to me, this seems like a pretty cold greeting. I obviously don't have any kids, but if my sister were to call me tomorrow and say that my Aunt Anna had given her the message "I'm governor of Ohio, please come see me," I'd suddenly be much more worried about the school she chose to attend and its affect on her -- as in, I'd be finding the nearest drug testing center.

In this message, there's no mention of the minor fact that Joseph is alive, or of how he got to Egypt in the first place. He doesn't mention how his dreams of youth had come true, or how he had gone from being a slave to the regent of the land. I realize that the brothers filled in some of the gaps, but eve so, this seems like a very impersonal message. Not the kind of thing you send to your father after 15 years.