Now with Jacob out of the picture, the brothers feared for their lives. Pleading with him for mercy and grace, they literally threw themselves at him and gave themselves up to him as his slaves. Joseph reassured them that they wouldn't be harmed and gave them the perspective that defines his life (v20) and the bigger picture. The Bible reinforces the tone of the speech in v 21. The rest of the chapter details the rest of Joseph's life (110 years) and the 3 generations of Ephraim 's children as well as Manasseh's offspring. Unlike Jacob who was buried with his ancestors, Joseph's remains were embalmed and was placed in a coffin in Egypt until he would be moved from this place. This was carried out in spirit in Ex. 13:9 and in reality in Joshua 24:32.
I really enjoyed my run through Genesis. Since I spent some time teaching this book in a high school class, I hesistated for a long while to do this but it was worth the wait. I guess the next step will be to "let my people go"....
Looking forward to going home later but not having to fix my toilet tomorrow. I guess that is the joys of homeownership. Hopefully, this won't take all day.
Praise for today: His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. Luke 1:50
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