In the final chapter on the life of Joseph, which is also the final chapter in the Book of Genesis, we find him mourning Jacob's death. Verse 1 opens up with Joseph weeping over his father's body. He then orders the body to be embalmed. This takes 40 days, yet Egypt mourned for Jacob for 70 days (Genesis 50:3). In the meantime, Joseph requests permission from Pharaoh to bury his father; his request is granted and so he goes to bury Jacob.

It did not hit me until this chapter just how significant God's work in Egypt was until I realized who He was doing it through. We have talked about how Hebrews were detestable to the Egyptians before. But God's work through Joseph ignored this barrier. Notice the clout this family of Hebrews had. Starting with verse 7, we see the caravan of people traveling to bury Jacob with Joseph. In this caravan, we not only see the elders of Joseph's family, but all of the servants of Pharaoh and Egyptian elders. Wow, this was a huge event. Imagine if a president or high ranking government official were to die. Jacob received the same level of attention.

What else is interesting is the lamentation that occurs and how the Canaanite inhabitants reacted. They recognized that this was grievous for the Egyptians. They named this location Abel-mizraim or meadow (or mourning) of Egypt. Okay, really stop and think about that. They named the location after the Egyptian mourners. How often do we name a location after an event, let alone a funeral?

The sons did what they were told and buried Jacob with his fathers. Then Joseph returned to Egypt. His brothers figured now that Jacob was dead Joseph would seek his revenge. But Joseph had no intentions to do so. He remained a good servant to God and was kind to them. He said, "Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." (Genesis 50:19-21)

Joseph's story ends with him living one hundred and ten years of age. He grows old enough to see three generations of his son Ephraim's children and Manasseh's son Machir's children. When it was time for him to die Joseph spoke to his brothers. He repeated the oath God made to their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He then makes the sons of Israel swear in verse 25 that they would carry his bones up from there. Once Joseph died he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

This ends our survey of the life of Joseph, God's incorruptible servant.