Old Testament - Genesis 49 & 50 - March 18, 2022

3/18/2022 – Genesis 49 & 50

Chapter 49: Jacob calls his sons and their children together “that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days”. (v 1) He also takes time to bless each of his children. We learn in v’s 3-4 that Reuben, though he has had great possibilities before him he is “unstable as water, thou shalt not excel”.  I would hope that this patriarchal blessing would certainly get his full attention, and that he would change the ways of his thoughts and his actions. That can be one of the blessings of our patriarchal blessings—sometimes it helps us work with greater effort through our hard times, sometimes it encourages us in certain traits, but it always has the power to bring us closer to Heavenly Father. Simeon and Levi were warned of their being ”instruments of cruelty…in their habitations”  and “cursed by their anger…and their wrath, for it was cruel” (v’s 5-6)

Judah’s blessing was to contemplate “the coming of Shiloh [Christ] who would gather his people to him.” And Judah would be a law-giver until Shiloh comes. v’s 8, 10) 

And he finally comes to Joseph who “is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall…the God of thy father, who shall help thee: and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above…” (v’s 22-25). This is one interpretation of Joseph’s blessing: “The seed of Joseph came to the land of America at the time Lehi and his family departed from the Mediterranean world. The land of America is specifically designated by the Lord as the land reserved for “a remnant of the house of Joseph” (3 Nephi 15:12).

President Thomas S. Monson spoke about the uniqueness of each individual’s patriarchal blessing: “Your patriarchal blessing . . . may be brief or lengthy, simple or profound. . . . It is the Spirit that conveys the true meaning. Your blessing is not to be folded neatly and tucked away. It is not to be framed or published. Rather, it is to be read. It is to be loved. It is to be followed. Your patriarchal blessing will see you through the darkest night. It will guide you through life’s dangers” (Ensign, Nov. 1986, 66). 

As Jacob finished his final task of speaking to his children and grandchildren, he explained how and where he would be buried, and then “he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.”

Chapter 50: Joseph morns his father’s death. He commands the Egyptian physicians to embalm his father, and established 40 days of mourning for his father throughout Egypt. Joseph then goes to Pharoah, explaining that his father had asked that he be buried in Canaan where many of his family were buried. Pharaoh’s answer was “Go up, and bury thy father according as he made thee swear.” (v 6) There was true respect and friendship within that relationship between Pharoah and Joseph.

Except for the very young ones, the entire family of Jacob made the journey with him to Canaan—“and it was a very great company”. (v9)

In v 15 we learn “And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.” The brothers all went to Joseph, asking for his forgiveness. In v 17 we learn that “Joseph wept when they spake unto him.” His brothers (hoping to keep their lives) fall down before him and say “Behold, we be thy servants.” (v18)

This was Joseph’s immediate answer to his brothers: ”Fear not: for am I in the place of God?  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.”  His brothers meant to kill him, or to send him into lifetime slavery, but Joseph stayed close to the Lord, and did his best through every situation. He wasted no time or effort in self-pity; He left the judgement to the Lord. If he can let go of that serious of an offense, we should certainly be able to bring peace to ourselves and our families especially during those times when kindness is neglected. Joseph told his brothers that he would care for them, and showed his brothers only kindness.

This is what President Dieter F Uchtdorf said about forgiveness: “I have discovered one thing that most [happy families] have in common: they have a way of forgiving and forgetting the imperfections of others and of looking for the good. “Those in unhappy families, on the other hand, often find fault, hold grudges, and can’t seem to let go of past offenses. . . . “It is through our Savior’s sacrifice that we can gain exaltation and eternal life. As we accept His ways and overcome our pride by softening our hearts, we can bring reconciliation and forgiveness into our families and our personal lives. God will help us to be more forgiving, to be more willing to walk the second mile, to be first to apologize even if something wasn’t our fault, to lay aside old grudges and nurture them no more” (“One Key to a Happy Family,” Ensign or Liahona, Oct. 2012, 5–6)

Joseph lived to see his great grandchildren; he was 110 years old. As he was surrounded by his family, he “said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.   (v 24) I love reading this for I actually look forward to my death – that for me will be graduation day! It will be a particularly good day, if I continue to be close to Heavenly Father, and to reach out to help my fellow “students” here on this earth.

Just after the Bible Dictionary we have access to the Joseph Smith Translation. Genesis 50 is part of that work. His translation of that chapter starts with v 24 and continues to v 37. It is a wonderful thing to read. And when I read it and the promises that the Lord would take them out of Egypt, I clearly saw that His promise did not happen for centuries…but it happened, and that happening was a large part of, once again, the Lord reminding his children of his commandments, which are the road to a truly happy life.