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7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering. 10 Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father. 11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians." Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan. 12 So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them. 13 For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. 14 And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father. ~ Genesis 50:7-14
Today, we continue our study of the last chapter of the book of Genesis where Joseph was traveling with his brothers back to their homeland, Canaan, to bury their father. As we mentioned yesterday, there are three burials in this chapter: the burial of Jacob, the burial of Joseph's brothers' sin, and Joseph's burial. In today's passage, we will continue to consider the people's mourning of Jacob's death.
In v.7-9 of today's passage we read, "7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering."
Grief is the emotional suffering we feel when something or someone we love dies. This pain should prompt us to seek the Lord who is truly the only one who can provide healing for our broken hearts. In Psalm 63:1-3 we are reminded that when we find ourselves in a "dry and exhausted land where there is no water," we do well to cry out to the Lord and His comforting presence. In these moments we do well to bring all of our pain and all of our emptiness to Him, asking Him to remind us once again that His "love is better than life." He is sufficient to fill the deepest yearnings of our soul. And so, in the end, grief and lamenting is a call to worship.
Seven times the word "up" is used in this chapter, subtly reminding us from where our hope comes. Yes, I know that "up" describes the direction they travelled to get back to the promised land, however, they were returning to the land that God had promised them and they were smack dab in the center of God's will for them. Ironically, God used the death of Jacob to get them back there. Often this is the case where God uses an unwanted experience to get us to where we should be for His glory.
In his book, The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis wrote, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world." The roar of pain itself can prove deafening. Due to this, we often have trouble discerning its words. Turning down the distortion enough to hear the message requires a response of faith in the God of the Bible on our part. When we seek the Lord’s sufficiency through prayer and the reading of His word, asking Him to calm our souls, we will hear what pain screams into our souls.
Interestingly, the cabinet of Pharaoh traveled with Joseph and his family back to Canaan to mourn the passing of Jacob even though the journey was some 300 miles. The journey was so far that the children and the animals remained back in Goshen. This is the last time that Goshen is mentioned in Genesis. The only time it is mentioned beyond Genesis will be two more times in the book of Exodus. Goshen means "drawing near" and is a great reminder of our need to draw near to the Lord especially when we are in pain.
Along with the many mourners went a multitude of charioteers and horsemen to guard the procession. Because of the arrangement of those in procession, it would not be considered a military threat under normal circumstances, but because of the large number, there could have been a misunderstanding by the people in Canaan. So sending along the chariots and horsemen was a sign of military honor.
In v.10-11 of today's passage we read, "10 Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father. 11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, 'This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.' Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan."
Eventually, the procession arrived at the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan River. This is only the fourth time the Jordan has been mentioned in the Bible. Jordan means "to descend" or "death." It was there at the threshing floor that the procession stopped to collectively mourn the honored patriarch one last time. In all, another seven days of mourning were observed before Jacob's body was moved to its final resting place. The Canaanites saw the great mourning going on and they certainly heard it as well. The middle eastern funeral was and is an exceptionally loud experience. The Egyptians stayed on the other side of the Jordan River while Joseph and his brothers took the body of Jacob across to his resting place.
In v.12-14 of today's passage we read, "12 So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them. 13 For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. 14 And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father."
More detail has been given to Jacob's burial than almost every other burial in Genesis combined. Jacob is one of two embalmed in the Bible, the other was Joseph. The patriarchs came into the world with nothing and they left with nothing. They owned only two plots of land including the cave in the field of Machpelah where the patriarchs were buried. The fact that the patriarchs only owned two plots of land reveals where their true home was located. They saw themselves as mere travelers through the earth.
In Hebrews 11:13 we read, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."
Biblical faith reminds us of a greater future hope that we often see from a distance. It is this faith in the God of the Bible that reminds us that nothing in this world will satisfy us and we must be careful to avoid the lie that it will. When we begin to believe the lie that this world can satisfy us, we are positioned to have our hearts captured by the enemy of our souls. Living as foreigners and strangers in this world frees us to enjoy the father heart of God and His culture instead of being enslaved by chasing the empty promises of this world. It is quite helpful to remember that this world is under the control of Satan himself, and he is not out to lead us to wholesomeness.
