JACOB SERIES: THE BURIAL

At the close of Genesis 49, the death of Jacob was shared. He lived in many places throughout his 147 years, and the last seventeen years were spent in Egypt with his family, particularly his beloved son Joseph, who was very emotional upon his father’s demise.

Jacob had instructed his sons of his desire to be buried in Canaan, in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the same cave where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah were buried. Notably, Joseph was in charge of the funeral arrangements; therefore, he had the Egyptian physicians embalm Jacob. The process of embalming took forty days, plus thirty more days for mourning.

In Egypt, during mourning, you were prohibited from meeting with the Pharaoh; therefore, Joseph requested another official to speak to the Pharaoh on his behalf. Not only did the Pharaoh respond favorably to Joseph honoring his father’s burial request, but he also honored it. He allowed his counselors, his assistant, and all his senior officers to accompany Joseph, his brethren, and their families to honor his father’s request, and he buried him in the cave with his ancestors.

Finally, when the caravan arrived at Atad, seven days of mourning and lamentation occurred. The Canaanites were so impressed by the magnitude of this event that they renamed the area to Abelmizraim. Then Joseph and his brothers carried Jacob’s body into the land of Canaan and buried him as he had instructed them.

When they got back to Egypt, still feeling guilty for what they had done to Joseph and the possible repercussions that they could experience now that their father was dead, the brothers sent a message to Joseph. It said, “Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father.” This caused Joseph to weep. He once again assured them that he was not going to retaliate, but he would continue to care for them and their family, which he did until he died.

Here are additional information and nuggets for this last blog on the Jacob series:

Weeping over the death of a loved one is a normal emotional response.

When everyone who matters was previously informed of your wishes, there is no reason for future disagreements.

The Egyptians, known to surpass other nations in the art of embalming, did so over a forty-day process, with an additional thirty days for mourning.

Being a top official in Egypt, Joseph needed permission to leave his post to bury his father.

Because Joseph was highly respected in Egypt, Jacob was given a stately funeral.

When your deemed protector is gone, other provisions must be made for your safety.

There is a strong possibility that Jacob did not tell his sons to ask Joseph for forgiveness; therefore, their request for forgiveness was made out of fear and guilt.

Sometimes it takes years before forgiveness is requested.

This concludes the series on the life of Jacob. I pray that, as you read the blogs, they were meaningful to you and that you were able to apply the principles they contain to your life.