What a great testament to the life of integrity Joseph led by Pharaoh letting him return to Canaan. Not only return, but it was attended by all the Egyptian dignitaries. They didn’t know Jacob, but they respected Joseph and owed him and his God their very lives. The funeral procession had to be in the hundreds as they returned Jacob’s body to be with his Father and Grandfather and the rest of his family.

You may be wondering, like I was, if they ever found that cave with all the fathers of our faith. And the answer is yes. Herod the Great built some walls around it to protect it, but these patriarchs have definitely not been able to R.I.P. (Even though they aren’t there, it’s just their bones) From Muslims to Crusaders and Jews there has been much bloodshed over this site of the cave for 1000’s of years right up to today!

After Jacob died, the 10 brothers feared Joseph’s revenge would now fall on them and once again, Joseph became leaky. (Verse 17) And then the epic conclusion to this story comes with Joseph pointing to God’s sovereignty in all of life. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.” I hope that one short sentence brings you comfort as you struggle through some of the tough stuff of life. There will always be mean people who do bad things because we live in a fallen world. The dominoes of our depravity have been falling all throughout this book of Genesis from Eve to Adam to Cain on and on right up to the end of Genesis. (And right up to today too.) But if there is one thing that is woven throughout Genesis as much as our depravity, it is the reassuring promise of God’s intimate relentless pursuit of man.

Thanks for going with me on this journey through Genesis. Stay hungry for God’s Word and keep your nose in it. Someone once said “This book (the Bible) will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.”

Tune in next time, same Bat time, same Bat channel for EXODUS—movement of ya people.