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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter L].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC01049.HTM">Previous</A>]
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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</TD></TR></TABLE>
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page266"> </A>
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G E N E S I S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. L.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. The preparation for Jacob's funeral,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>.
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II. The
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funeral itself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:7-14">ver. 7-14</A>.
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III. The settling of a good understanding
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between Joseph and his brethren after the death of
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Jacob,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:15-21">ver. 15-21</A>.
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IV. The age and death of Joseph,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:22-26">ver. 22-26</A>.
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Thus the book of Genesis, which began with the origin
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of light and life, ends with nothing but death and darkness; so
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sad a change has sin made.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge50_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Burial of Jacob.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1689.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And Joseph fell upon his father's
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face, and wept upon him, and
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kissed him.
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2 And Joseph commanded
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his servants the physicians to
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embalm his father: and the physicians
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embalmed Israel.
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3 And forty
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days were fulfilled for him; for so
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are fulfilled the days of those which
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are embalmed: and the Egyptians
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mourned for him threescore and ten
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days.
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4 And when the days of his
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mourning were past, Joseph spake
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unto the house of Pharaoh, saying,
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If now I have found grace in your eyes,
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speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh,
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saying,
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5 My father made me
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swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave
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which I have digged for me in the
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land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury
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me. Now therefore let me go up, I
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pray thee, and bury my father, and I
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will come again.
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6 And Pharaoh said,
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Go up, and bury thy father, according
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as he made thee swear.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Joseph is here paying his last respects to
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his deceased father.
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1. With tears and
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kisses, and all the tender expressions of a
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filial affection, he takes leave of the deserted
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body,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Though Jacob was old and decrepit,
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and must needs die in the course of
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nature--though he was poor comparatively,
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and a constant charge to his son Joseph,
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yet such an affection he had for a loving father,
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and so sensible was he of the loss of a prudent,
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pious, praying father, that he could not
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part with him without floods of tears. Note,
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As it is an honour to die lamented, so it is
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the duty of survivors to lament the death of
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those who have been useful in their day,
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though for some time they may have survived
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their usefulness. The departed soul is out
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of the reach of our tears and kisses, but with
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them it is proper to show our respect to the
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poor body, of which we look for a glorious
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and joyful resurrection. Thus Joseph showed
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his faith in God, and love to his father, by
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kissing his pale and cold lips, and so giving
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an affectionate farewell. Probably the rest
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of Jacob's sons did the same, much moved,
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no doubt, with his dying words.
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2. He
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ordered the body to be embalmed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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not only because he died in Egypt, and that was
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the manner of the Egyptians, but because he
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was to be carried to Canaan, which would be
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a work of time, and therefore it was necessary
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the body should be preserved as well as
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it might be from putrefaction. See how vile
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our bodies are, when the soul has forsaken
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them; without a great deal of art, and pains,
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and care, they will, in a very little time, become
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noisome. If the body have been dead
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four days, by that time it is offensive.
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3. He
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observed the ceremony of solemn mourning
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for him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Forty days were taken up in
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embalming the body, which the Egyptians
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(they say) had an art of doing so curiously
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as to preserve the very features of the face
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unchanged; all this time, and thirty days
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more, seventy in all, they either confined
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themselves and sat solitary, or, when they
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went out, appeared in the habit of close
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mourners, according to the decent custom
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of the country. Even the Egyptians, many of
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them, out of the great respect they had for
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Joseph (whose good offices done for the king
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and country were now fresh in remembrance),
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put themselves into mourning for his father:
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as with us, when the court goes into mourning,
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those of the best quality do so too.
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About ten weeks was the court of Egypt in
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mourning for Jacob. Note, What they did
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in state, we should do in sincerity, <I>weep with
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those that weep,</I> and mourn with those that
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mourn, as being ourselves also in the body.
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4. He asked and obtained leave of Pharaoh
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to go to Canaan, thither to attend the funeral
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of his father,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:4-6"><I>v.</I> 4-6</A>.
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(1.) It was a piece of
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necessary respect to Pharaoh that he would not
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go without leave; for we may suppose
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that, though his charge about the corn was
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long since over, yet he continued a prime-minister
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of state, and therefore would not be
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so long absent from his business without licence.
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(2.) He observed a decorum, in employing
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some of the royal family, or some of
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the officers of the household, to intercede for
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this licence, either because it was not proper
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for him in the days of his mourning to come
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into the presence-chamber, or because he
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would not presume too much upon his own
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interest. Note, Modesty is a great ornament
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to dignity.
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(3.) He pleaded the obligation
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his father had laid upon him, by an oath, to
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bury him in Canaan,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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It was not from
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pride or humour, but from his regard to an
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indispensable duty, that he desired it. All
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nations reckon that oaths must be performed,
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and the will of the dead must be observed.
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(4.) He promised to return: <I>I will come
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again.</I> When we return to our own houses
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from burying the bodies of our relations, we
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say, "We have left them behind;" but, if
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their souls have gone to our heavenly Father's
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house, we may say with more reason, "They
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have left us behind."
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(5.) He obtained leave
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>Go and bury thy father.</I> Pharaoh was
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willing his business should stand still so long;
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but the service of Christ is more needful,
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and therefore he would not allow one that
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had work to do for him to go first and bury
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his father; no, <I>Let the dead bury their dead,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+8:22">Matt. viii. 22</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Page267"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_14"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>7 And Joseph went up to bury his
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father: and with him went up all the
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servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his
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house, and all the elders of the land
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of Egypt,
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8 And all the house of
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Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's
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house: only their little ones,
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and their flocks, and their herds, they
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left in the land of Goshen.
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9 And
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there went up with him both chariots
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and horsemen: and it was a very great
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company.
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10 And they came to the
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threshingfloor of Atad, which <I>is</I>
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beyond Jordan, and there they mourned
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with a great and very sore lamentation:
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and he made a mourning for his
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father seven days.
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11 And when the
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inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites,
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saw the mourning in the floor of
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Atad, they said, This <I>is</I> a grievous
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mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore
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the name of it was called Abel-mizraim,
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which <I>is</I> beyond Jordan.
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12 And his sons did unto him according
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as he commanded them:
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13 For his
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sons carried him into the land of Canaan,
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and buried him in the cave of
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the field of Machpelah, which Abraham
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bought with the field for a possession
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of a buryingplace of Ephron
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the Hittite, before Mamre.
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14 And
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Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and
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his brethren, and all that went up with
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him to bury his father, after he had
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buried his father.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here an account of Jacob's funeral.
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Of the funerals of the kings of Judah,
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usually, no more is said than this, <I>They
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were buried with their fathers in the city of
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David:</I> but the funeral of the patriarch Jacob
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is more largely and fully described, to
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show how much better God was to him
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than he expected (he had spoken more than
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once of dying for grief, and going to the
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grave bereaved of his children, but, behold,
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he dies in honour, and is followed to the
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grave by all his children), and also because his
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orders concerning his burial were given and
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observed in faith, and in expectation both of
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the earthly and of the heavenly Canaan.
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Now,
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1. It was a stately funeral. He was
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attended to the grave, not only by his own
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family, but by the courtiers, and all the great
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men of the kingdom, who, in token of their
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gratitude to Joseph, showed this respect to
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his father for his sake, and did him honour
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at his death. Though the Egyptians had
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had an antipathy to the Hebrews, and had
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looked upon them with disdain
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+43:32"><I>ch.</I> xliii. 32</A>),
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yet now, that they were better acquainted
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with them, they began to have a respect for
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them. Good old Jacob had conducted himself
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so well among them as to gain universal
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esteem. Note, Professors of religion should
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endeavour, by wisdom and love, to remove
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the prejudices which many may have conceived
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against them because they do not
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know them. There went abundance of chariots
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and horsemen, not only to attend them
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a little way, but to go through with them.
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Note, The decent solemnities of funerals,
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according to a man's situation, are very commendable;
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and we must not say of them, <I>To
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what purpose is this waste?</I> See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+8:2,Lu+7:12">Acts viii. 2; Luke vii. 12</A>.
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2. It was a sorrowful funeral
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>);
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standers-by took notice of it as
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a grievous mourning. Note, The death of
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good men is a great loss to any place, and
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ought to be greatly lamented. Stephen dies
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a martyr, and yet devout men make great lamentations
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for him. The solemn mourning
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for Jacob gave a name to the place, <I>Abel-Mizraim,
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the mourning of the Egyptians,</I>
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which served for a testimony against the next
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generation of the Egyptians, who oppressed
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the posterity of this Jacob to whom their
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ancestors showed such respect.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge50_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge50_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Joseph Comforts His Brethren.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1689.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>15 And when Joseph's brethren saw
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that their father was dead, they said,
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Joseph will peradventure hate us, and
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will certainly requite us all the evil
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which we did unto him.
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16 And they
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sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying,
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Thy father did command before he
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died, saying,
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17 So shall ye say unto
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Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now,
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the trespass of thy brethren, and their
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sin; for they did unto thee evil: and
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now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass
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of the servants of the God of thy father.
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And Joseph wept when they
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spake unto him.
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18 And his brethren
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also went and fell down before his
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face; and they said, Behold, we <I>be</I>
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thy servants.
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19 And Joseph said
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unto them, Fear not: for <I>am</I> I in the
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place of God?
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20 But as for you, ye
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thought evil against me; <I>but</I> God
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meant it unto good, to bring to pass,
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as <I>it is</I> this day, to save much people
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alive.
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21 Now therefore fear ye not:
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I will nourish you, and your little
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ones. And he comforted them, and
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spake kindly unto them.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here the settling of a good correspondence
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between Joseph and his brethren,
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now that their father was dead. Joseph
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was at court, in the royal city; his
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brethren were in Goshen, remote in the
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<A NAME="Page268"> </A>
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country; yet the keeping up of a good understanding,
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and a good affection, between
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them, would be both his honour and their
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interest. Note, When Providence has removed
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the parents by death, the best methods
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ought to be taken, not only for the
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preventing of quarrels among the children
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(which often happen about the dividing of
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the estate), but for the preserving of acquaintance
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and love, that unity may continue
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even when that centre of unity is taken
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away.</P>
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<P>
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I. Joseph's brethren humbly make their
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court to him for his favour. 1. They began
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to be jealous of Joseph, not that he had
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given them any cause to be so, but the consciousness
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of guilt, and of their own inability
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in such a case to forgive and forget,
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made them suspicious of the sincerity and
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constancy of Joseph's favour
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
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<I>Joseph
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will peradventure hate us.</I> While their father
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lived, they thought themselves safe under
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his shadow; but now that he was dead they
|
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feared the worst from Joseph. Note, A
|
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guilty conscience exposes men to continual
|
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frights, even where no fear is, and makes
|
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them suspicious of every body, as Cain,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+4:14"><I>ch.</I> iv. 14</A>.
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Those that would be fearless must
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keep themselves guiltless. If our heart reproach
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us not, then have we confidence both
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towards God and man.
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2. They humbled
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themselves before him, confessed their fault,
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and begged his pardon. They did it by
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proxy
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>);
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they did it in person,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
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Now that the sun and moon had set, the
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eleven stars did homage to Joseph, for the
|
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further accomplishment of his dream. They
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speak of their former offence with fresh regret:
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<I>Forgive the trespass.</I> They throw
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themselves at Joseph's feet, and refer themselves
|
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to his mercy: <I>We are thy servants.</I>
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Thus we must bewail the sins we committed
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long ago, even those which we hope through
|
|
grace are forgiven; and, when we pray to
|
|
God for pardon, we must promise to be his
|
|
servants.
|
|
|
|
3. They pleaded their relation to
|
|
Jacob and to Jacob's God.
|
|
|
|
(1.) To Jacob,
|
|
urging that he directed them to make this
|
|
submission, rather because he questioned
|
|
whether they would do their duty in humbling
|
|
themselves than because he questioned whether
|
|
Joseph would do his duty in forgiving
|
|
them; nor could he reasonably expect Joseph's
|
|
kindness to them unless they thus
|
|
qualified themselves for it
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
<I>Thy father
|
|
did command.</I> Thus, in humbling ourselves
|
|
to Christ by faith and repentance, we may
|
|
plead that it is the command of his Father,
|
|
and our Father, that we do so.
|
|
|
|
(2.) To
|
|
Jacob's God. They plead
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
<I>We</I> are
|
|
the<I>servants of the God of thy father;</I> not
|
|
only children of the same Jacob, but worshippers
|
|
of the same Jehovah. Note,
|
|
Though we must be ready to forgive all that
|
|
are any way injurious to us, yet we must
|
|
especially take heed of bearing malice towards
|
|
any that are the servants of the God
|
|
of our father: such we should always treat
|
|
with a peculiar tenderness; for we and they
|
|
have the same Master.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Joseph, with a great deal of compassion,
|
|
confirms his reconciliation and affection
|
|
to them; his compassion appears,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
<I>He
|
|
wept when they spoke to him.</I> These were
|
|
tears of sorrow for their suspicion of him,
|
|
and tears of tenderness upon their submission.
|
|
In his reply,
|
|
|
|
1. He directs them to
|
|
look up to God in their repentance
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
|
<I>Am I in the place of God?</I> He, in his great
|
|
humility, thought they showed him too
|
|
much respect, as if all their happiness were
|
|
bound up in his favour, and said to them,
|
|
in effect, as Peter to Cornelius, "<I>Stand up,
|
|
I myself also am a man.</I> Make your peace
|
|
with God, and then you will find it an easy
|
|
matter to make your peace with me." Note,
|
|
When we ask forgiveness of those whom we
|
|
have offended we must take heed of putting
|
|
them in the place of God, by dreading their
|
|
wrath and soliciting their favour more than
|
|
God's. "Am I in the place of God, to whom
|
|
alone vengeance belongs? No, I will leave
|
|
you to his mercy." Those that avenge
|
|
themselves step into the place of God,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+12:19">Rom. xii. 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. He extenuates their fault, from
|
|
the consideration of the great good which
|
|
God wonderfully brought out of it, which,
|
|
though it should not make them the less
|
|
sorry for their sin, yet might make him the
|
|
more willing to forgive it
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
<I>You
|
|
thought evil</I> (to disappoint the dreams), <I>but
|
|
God meant it unto good,</I> in order to the fulfilling
|
|
of the dreams, and the making of
|
|
Joseph a greater blessing to his family than
|
|
otherwise he could have been. Note, When
|
|
God makes use of men's agency for the
|
|
performance of his counsels, it is common
|
|
for him to mean one thing and them another,
|
|
even the quite contrary, but God's
|
|
counsel shall stand. See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:7">Isa. x. 7</A>.
|
|
Again,
|
|
God often brings good out of evil, and promotes
|
|
the designs of his providence even by
|
|
the sins of men; not that he is the author of
|
|
sin, far be it from us to think so; but his
|
|
infinite wisdom so overrules events, and
|
|
directs the chain of them, that, in the issue,
|
|
that ends in his praise which in its own nature
|
|
had a direct tendency to his dishonour;
|
|
as the putting of Christ to death,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:23">Acts ii. 23</A>.
|
|
This does not make sin the less sinful, nor
|
|
sinners the less punishable, but it redounds
|
|
greatly to the glory of God's wisdom.
|
|
|
|
3. He assures them of the continuance of his
|
|
kindness to them: <I>Fear not; I will nourish
|
|
you,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
See what an excellent spirit
|
|
Joseph was of, and learn of him to render
|
|
good for evil. He did not tell them they
|
|
were upon their good behaviour, and he
|
|
would be kind to them if he saw they conducted
|
|
themselves well; no, he would not
|
|
thus hold them in suspense, nor seem jealous
|
|
of them, though they had been suspicious of
|
|
him: <I>He comforted them,</I> and, to banish
|
|
all their fears, <I>he spoke kindly to them.</I> Note,
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page269"> </A>
|
|
|
|
Broken spirits must be bound up and encouraged.
|
|
Those we love and forgive we
|
|
must not only do well for but speak
|
|
kindly to.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge50_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge50_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge50_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge50_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge50_26"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Death of Joseph.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1635.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he,
|
|
and his father's house: and Joseph
|
|
lived an hundred and ten years.
|
|
23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children
|
|
of the third <I>generation:</I> the children
|
|
also of Machir the son of Manasseh
|
|
were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
|
|
24 And Joseph 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.
|
|
25 And Joseph
|
|
took an oath of the children of
|
|
Israel, saying, God will surely visit
|
|
you, and ye shall carry up my bones
|
|
from hence.
|
|
26 So Joseph died, <I>being</I>
|
|
an hundred and ten years old: and
|
|
they embalmed him, and he was put
|
|
in a coffin in Egypt.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. The prolonging of Joseph's
|
|
life in Egypt: he lived to be <I>a hundred and
|
|
ten years old,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
Having honoured his
|
|
father, his days were long in the land which,
|
|
for the present, God had given him; and it
|
|
was a great mercy to his relations that God
|
|
continued him so long, a support and comfort
|
|
to them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The building up of Joseph's family:
|
|
he lived to see his great-grand-children by
|
|
both his sons
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
|
|
and probably he saw
|
|
his two sons solemnly owned as heads of
|
|
distinct tribes, equal to any of his brethren.
|
|
It contributes much to the comfort of aged
|
|
parents if they see their posterity in a flourishing
|
|
condition, especially if with it they
|
|
see peace upon Israel,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+128:6">Ps. cxxviii. 6</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The last will and testament of Joseph
|
|
published in the presence of his brethren,
|
|
when he saw his death approaching. Those
|
|
that were properly his brethren perhaps
|
|
were some of them dead before him, as
|
|
several of them were older than he; but to
|
|
those of them who yet survived, and to the
|
|
sons of those who were gone, who stood up
|
|
in their fathers' stead, he said this.
|
|
|
|
1. He
|
|
comforted them with the assurance of their
|
|
return to Canaan in due time: <I>I die, but
|
|
God will surely visit you,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
To this
|
|
purport Jacob had spoken to him,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+48:21"><I>ch.</I> xlviii. 21</A>.
|
|
Thus must we comfort others with the
|
|
same comforts with which we ourselves have
|
|
been comforted of God, and encourage them
|
|
to rest on those promises which have been
|
|
our support. Joseph was, under God, both
|
|
the protector and the benefactor of his brethren;
|
|
and what would become of them now
|
|
that he was dying? Why, let this be their
|
|
comfort, <I>God will surely visit you.</I> Note,
|
|
God's gracious visits will serve to make up
|
|
the loss of our best friends. They die; but
|
|
we may live, and live comfortably, if we
|
|
have the favour and presence of God with
|
|
us. He bids them be confident: <I>God will
|
|
bring you out of this land,</I> and therefore,
|
|
|
|
(1.) They must not hope to settle there, nor look
|
|
upon it as their rest for ever; they must set
|
|
their hearts upon the land of promise, and
|
|
call that their home.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They must not
|
|
fear sinking, and being ruined there; probably
|
|
he foresaw the ill usage they would
|
|
meet with there after his death, and therefore
|
|
gives them this word of encouragement:
|
|
"<I>God will bring you</I> in triumph <I>out of this
|
|
land</I> at last." Herein he has an eye to the
|
|
promise,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:13,14"><I>ch.</I> xv. 13, 14</A>,
|
|
and, in God's name,
|
|
assures them of the performance of it.
|
|
|
|
2. For a confession of his own faith, and a
|
|
confirmation of theirs, he charges them to keep
|
|
him unburied till that day, that glorious day,
|
|
should come, when they should be settled in
|
|
the land of promise,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
He makes them
|
|
promise him with an oath that they would
|
|
bury him in Canaan. In Egypt they buried
|
|
their great men very honourably and with
|
|
abundance of pomp; but Joseph prefers a
|
|
significant burial in Canaan, and that deferred
|
|
too almost 200 years, before a magnificent
|
|
one in Egypt. Thus Joseph, by faith
|
|
in the doctrine of the resurrection and the
|
|
promise of Canaan, gave <I>commandment concerning
|
|
his bones,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:22">Heb. xi. 22</A>.
|
|
He dies in
|
|
Egypt; but lays his bones at stake that God
|
|
will surely visit Israel, and bring them to
|
|
Canaan.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The death of Joseph, and the reservation
|
|
of his body for a burial in Canaan,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
He was <I>put in a coffin in Egypt,</I> but
|
|
not buried till his children had received their
|
|
inheritance in Canaan,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:32">Josh. xxiv. 32</A>.
|
|
Note,
|
|
|
|
1. If the separate soul, at death, do but return
|
|
to its rest with God, the matter is not
|
|
great though the deserted body find not at
|
|
all, or not quickly, its rest in the grave.
|
|
|
|
2. Yet care ought to be taken of the dead bodies
|
|
of the saints, in the belief of their resurrection;
|
|
for there is a covenant with the dust,
|
|
which shall be remembered, and a commandment
|
|
is given concerning the bones.</P>
|
|
|
|
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