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Gen. 50:1 “And
Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept
upon him, and kissed him. 2 And Joseph
commanded his servants the physicians to
embalm his father: and the physicians
embalmed Israel. 3 And forty days were
fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the
days of those which are embalmed: and the
Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten
days.”
“And
Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept
upon him, and kissed him.” Most often one
mourns for the loss of one’s father. With
Joseph this was true. Joseph was the first
born of Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel. Joseph
was Jacob’s favorite son and Jacob did much
to cause Joseph to realize this. Jacob
mourned for his son all the time that he
thought he was dead. The bond of love was
strong between Joseph and Jacob. While
death is not an end of things, it is the end
of fellowship while here on earth. The felt
loss of fellowship is strong when we lose
the companionship of those we love.
“And Joseph
commanded his servants the physicians to
embalm his father: and the physicians
embalmed Israel.” Joseph sought to preserve
the body of his father as long as Egyptian
embalming would allow him to. This action
parallels the action of Christ who has
eternally preserved the elect unto glory:
John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give
unto them eternal life; and they shall never
perish, neither shall any man pluck them out
of my hand.” By covenant arrangement we are
preserved in Christ unto eternal glory.
“And forty
days were fulfilled for him; for so are
fulfilled the days of those which are
embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him
threescore and ten days.” In the scriptures
there are associations between certain bible
numbers and associated subjects. For
instance the number two is association with
witness; the number three is associated with
the Godhead, the number five is associated
with death; etc.
The number
forty in scripture is associated with trial
and judgment. Jacob, like all of mankind
was a sinner. The judgment of sin is
death. Jacob’s body now was experiencing
the judgment of sin as the forty days
suggest.
The number
seventy is a kingdom number. The numbers
one, twelve, and seventy are closely
associated with the kingdom of Israel and
the Kingdom of God:
1. The one man,
Jacob, had twelve sons and seventy
descendants that came into Egypt. This was
the beginning of the kingdom of Israel.
2. When the
children of Israel departed Egypt and came
into the wilderness, they came unto Elim,
where there were twelve wells of water and
seventy palm trees.
3. When God
established Israel as a kingdom through
covenant with them, God was king over them
and the nation had twelve princes and
seventy elders according to God’s
arrangement.
4. When Christ came
as the King of the Kingdom of God, he
appointed twelve apostles and seventy other
elders in the beginning of His kingdom.
When the
Egyptians mourned for Jacob seventy days, it
was an indication that they were mourning
for a king. So in the estimation of the
Egyptians, Jacob held the status of a king
in their eyes.
Gen. 50:4-6 Joseph's Promise to Return
Gen.
50:4 “And when the days of his mourning were
past, Joseph spake unto the house of
Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace
in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears
of Pharaoh, saying, 5 My father made me
swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which
I have digged for me in the land of Canaan,
there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let
me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father,
and I will come again. 6 And Pharaoh said,
Go up, and bury thy father, according as he
made thee swear.”
Joseph
recognized the authority of the government
of Egypt and of Pharaoh the king of Egypt in
the above passage. It was not only by the
providence of God that Joseph came into
Egypt and came to the position he had in
Egypt, but also by the authority of Pharaoh
and his government that had been gracious
unto Joseph and to his family. Joseph
sought the approval of Pharaoh to
temporarily leave Egypt to fulfill his
covenant promise to his father Jacob
concerning Jacob’s burial request.
Moreover,
Pharaoh recognized the blessings of God that
brought Joseph into Egypt and the wisdom
that God gave Joseph in delivering Egypt in
the midst of a great famine. Pharaoh showed
his appreciation unto Joseph in his ready
willingness to let Joseph leave Egypt to
bury his father.
Joseph
promised to Pharaoh that he would return
unto Egypt after burying his father. This
is another parallel between the life and
circumstances of Joseph and the life and
circumstances of Christ. Christ also in
leaving promised to come again: John 14:3
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again, and receive you unto
myself; that where I am, there ye may be
also…28 “Ye have heard how I said unto you,
I go away, and come again unto you. If ye
loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said,
I go unto the Father: for my Father is
greater than I.” Just like Joseph left
Egypt and returned to Egypt, so Christ left
the earth and will return at the appointed
time to earth to take his children home.
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