What is your inheritance? (Gen 48-50)

What is your inheritance?

Genesis 47:13-50:26

Key verse 49:29-32

Last month, I happened to read an interesting article. The title was “Which billionaire could buy your city?” The article read, “Bill Gates could buy all 114,212 Homes in Boston.” I knew he was the richest person in the world, but didn’t know he was such a rich person. But another article surprised me even more. Though Bill Gates’ fortune is worth about 76 billions, he has no plan to give much of his money to his three children. Instead, he will give most of his money for charity. Bill said, “They need to have a sense that their own work is meaningful and important…[My wife and I] want to strike a balance so they have the freedom to do anything, but not sort of a lot of money showered on them so that they can go out and do nothing.” Bill Gates knows what is more important than money for his children and wants to give it to his children as his inheritance.

What about you? If you could give only one thing to your children, what would you like to give them? What is the best thing you want to give them? I am asking all of you, whether you have children or not, because this question is about your present value system.

Today’s passage is the last chapters of the book of Genesis. Jacob would die in Egypt. He possessed a lot of fortune. But what he gave to them was something else, no money. Today I would like to talk about inheritance – my inheritance and your inheritance for our next generation. I pray that God may bless us to know what is the most valuable, meaningful so that we may look forward to it and pass it to our next generation.

I. Jacob’s death

Bury me where my fathers are buried

Jacob’s family came down to Egypt and Jacob could see Joseph, who he thought was lost 20 years ago. Now the severe famine continued and Joseph wisely administrated food. Joseph had people buy grain with their money, livestock, land, and even by selling themselves. As God’s agent Joseph saved people from the famine and also made Pharaoh richer and more powerful. What happened to Jacob’s family during the famine then?

²⁷ Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.

Regardless of such a severe famine, Jacob’s family settled in Egypt successfully, acquiring property, becoming fruitful, and Increasing greatly in number. As said in 45:7, God used Joseph to save them and made them prosper in Egypt. Interestingly, for the first time Jacob’s family was mentioned here as the Israelites, which meant this was the beginning of Israel as a nation.

²⁸ Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. 

Jacob had lived a tough life, but at the end of his life he was greatly comforted because of Joseph. Jacob regained his most loved son Joseph and his family was preserved. After a long suffering, he finally enjoyed peace for the first time in his life. He lived 17 years in Egypt and died there when he was 147 years old. However, he was not buried there. What happened? Genesis 47:28-50:14 covers Jacob’s death in detail and explains where he was buried.

²⁹ When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” “I will do as you say,” he said.

Jacob’s family successfully settled in Egypt and enjoyed prosperity. He had no problems with food and medical insurance because everything was provided for his family. His sons settled down well under Joseph’s protection. His grandchildren entered best schools in Egypt and some of them already married. Nothing was lacking to him. However, Jacob was very anxious about one thing - where to be buried. He did not want to be buried in Egypt. He actually implored Joseph to bury him not in Egypt but in the land where his fathers were buried. Though he prospered in Egypt, he knew that he did not belong to Egypt. Egypt was only a temporary place for him. But it seemed that he would not see the land of Canaan again so he would like to go back to the land even after he died.

So, Joseph swore to Jacob that he would bury him with his fathers. Then, Israel bowed, leaning on the top of his staff. Probably, Joseph’s oath relieved his anxiety and engendered gratitude to God. Now, there was one last thing left for Jacob to do before he died, however. That was passing God’s blessing to his sons.

Some time later when Jacob was ill, Joseph came to see him along with his two sons. It looked like Jacob’s death was close. Jacob told Joseph something very important to him.

First, Jacob told Joseph about God’s promise given to him at Luz, which was also called Bethel.

³ Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me ⁴ and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’

Jacob always remembered these promises God gave to him when he was on the way to Paddan. He cherished the promises and believed that God would make his descendants a nation in the land of Canaan.

Second, Jacob reckoned Joseph’s two sons as his own.

⁵ “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. ⁶ Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. 

Surprisingly, Jacob would promote Joseph’s two sons so that they would become his own sons and thus inherit the land of promise like his sons. Actually, Jacob was giving Joseph double portion of his inheritance through his two sons.

Lastly, Jacob also told Joseph that Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way from Paddan and he buried her in Bethlehem. This was a personal talk about Joseph’s mother and the wife Jacob loved the most. He missed her all his life but she was buried in the land of Canaan.

Why did Jacob say these things to Joseph then?  These were all related to the land of God’s promise.

·         God’s promise that he would give the land of Canaan to Jacob’s descendants.

·         Joseph’s two sons would inherit the land of the Canaan.

·         Rachel was buried in the land of Canaan.

All this showed what the land of Canaan meant to Jacob. The land of Canaan was the land he belonged to. His fathers were buried there. His most loved wife was buried there. Most of all, God’s promise would be fulfilled there. Jacob and his descendant were strongly attached to the land. That was the main reason he asked Joseph to bury him when he died.

Jacob blessed Joseph’s two sons

Now Jacob was about to bless Joseph’s two sons. He first made sure that they were Joseph’s sons since his eyes were failing – he remembered how he deceived his father to get his blessing, using his blindness.

¹⁵ Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, ¹⁶ the Angel who has delivered me from all harm—may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly on the earth.”

Jacob blessed them in the name of God

§  Before whom his fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully

§  Who was his shepherd all his life

§  Who delivered him from all harm

So that the two sons might

§  Be called by names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

§  Increase greatly on the earth.

This blessing was very similar to the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Basically, Jacob gave not his own blessing but God’s blessing to Joseph’s two sons.

However, Joseph immediately noticed something wrong and was displeased with it.

¹⁷ When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 

When Jacob blessed them, he crossed his arms and put his right hand on Ephraim’s head and his left on Manasseh’s, which was against their custom. Since Manasseh was the firstborn, Jacob should have put his right hand on him. However, Jacob insisted that Ephraim the younger one be greater than Manasseh. As God preferred Jacob to Esau, Jacob preferred Ephraim to Manasseh. This shows that God’s blessing is given by his grace not by human conditions.

After blessing the two sons, Jacob assured Joseph that God would take the Israelites back to the land where their fathers were buried. That meant that as he was going to the land his descendants should go after him to the land of promise. As we can see later, Joseph also assured his brothers of this and helped them to look forward to the land.

Then Jacob gave Joseph the ridge of the land of promise he took from Amorites. We don’t know exactly what land he referred to - probably Shechem (Joshua 24:32). But again by faith Jacob claimed the land of promise and allocated some of the land to Joseph in advance. In this way, Jacob gave Joseph the right of the firstborn by giving double portion to his two sons. (48:5; 49:3-4; 1 Ch 5:1) Actually, Joseph and his two tribes played the role of the firstborn.

Jacob blessed his sons as the twelve tribes

Now Jacob called for all his sons and told them what would happen to them in days to come. Beginning his first son Ruben, Jacob blessed each of them. What is intriguing here is that,

First, every one of his sons didn’t receive equally. Jacob gave each of them the blessing appropriate to him, inspired by the Spirit of God.

Second, Jacob gave special blessings to Judah and Joseph.

·         Joseph would be blessed abundantly and his brothers would rest on him. (22-26) He was so instrumental in saving and growing Jacob’s family as a nation in Egypt.

·         However, Judah would be the ruler. (10) Later, when they went back to the land of promise, the tribe of Judah became the most powerful. From Judah, King David came and his dynasty was established.

Third, Jacob cursed Ruben, Simeon and Levi for their sins. Ruben committed incest with Jacob’s concubine Bilhah (35:22), and Simeon and Levi brutally killed the Shechemites in revenge of Dinah’s disgrace. (34:25-29) Why did Jacob curse them?

Interestingly, in 49:2 Jacob said he was telling them these things as Israel. In 49:28, Jacob’s sons were referred as twelve tribes for the first time. All this meant that Jacob as Israel was telling them the twelve tribes as a nation. What nation are we talking about? In Gen 18:18-19, God envisioned that his kingdom would be established through Abraham and that his children should keep the way of the Lord by doing what was right and just. Jacob blessed his sons to be God’s people and God’s people must not tolerate sexual immorality and violence. His curse on Ruben, Simeon and Levi was given as a warning for all the tribes. If they would fail to live according to God’s righteousness they would not be part of God’s kingdom people.

This way Jacob passed God’s blessing to his sons. Then, Jacob gave a specific instruction about his burial again to all of his sons.

²⁹ Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

This time, he gave more detailed instructions than when he asked Joseph about his burial previously. They should bury him with his fathers in the cave of Machpelah in Canaan, which

·         Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite.

·         Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah were buried.

By saying this, Jacob taught them the history of the burial site so that they would know whose descendants they were, what the land meant to them, and where they belonged. They should live with the sense of history and claim the Promise Land by faith.

As such, Jacob not only looked forward to the land of promise but also in that hope passed God’s promises and his blessing to his sons so that they would hope for the land as he did.

When Jacob died, Joseph and his sons buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah as Jacob instructed. Through this, his sons had an opportunity to see the Promised Land again and their faith in God’s promise might have been strengthened.

After Jacob’s death, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that Joseph would pay them back for their wrongdoing to him. So they asked Joseph for forgiveness. Joseph reassured his brothers that he had already forgiven them according to God’s will and plan, which was to save many lives. Then he promised that he would provide for them and encouraged them kindly.

II. Joseph’s death

Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family.  He lived a hundred and ten years and saw the third generations of Ephraim’s children until he died in Egypt. He enjoyed his life in Egypt. When he died, he told his brothers.

²⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” ²⁵ And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

He said to his brothers that God would surely come to their aid and get them out of Egypt to the land he had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This showed Joseph’s hope for the Promised Land and his faith in God as his father Jacob did. In that hope and faith, Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath that they must carry his bones up from Egypt when God came to their aid. According to his command, the Israelites carried his bones when they got out of Egypt (Ex 13:19) and then buried them in Shechem when they conquered the land (Joshua 24:32).

Overall, what did Jacob and Joseph look forward to and what did they do for that?

They looked forward to the land God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Though they lived comfortably in Egypt, they hoped for the Promised Land. However, it was not only about the land. Actually, it was about God’s promise, which included the land, people and God’s blessing. All this together pointed to the kingdom God would establish through Abraham’s descendants. He would be their king forever. (Gen 17:6-8) Jacob and Joseph wanted to be buried in the land of promise in hope for eternity in God’s kingdom.

Such a hope and certainty had them see things from God’s eternity and have a sense of history. In the past, Jacob had struggled for what was visible, but he had no peace and began to lose them one by one. And when he saw eternity in God’s kingdom, he understood what he must seek. Then, he began to give and bless others. He did not see the fulfillment of God’s promise in his generations but he taught his children about God’s promises and passed his blessings down to his next generation. Then Joseph did the same thing. Hebrews 11:13-16 talks about their hope and faith like this.

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

What do you look forward to? What inheritance would you like to give to your children?

The other day my daughter Susan asked me if I had college fund for her. So, I said, “Nope.” And she seemed surprised and disappointed. She said, “How come?” I said, “Why do you expect that from me? I am not Bill Gates.” I did not mean that I would not help my children at all but I would like my children to look for and receive from me a much better thing. Even Bill Gates would not give much of his money to his kids because they would lose a much more important thing. I do not have much money for my children. Even if I were rich, I would not give much money to them because I am afraid that they will lose a much greater and more important thing - God’s promise and his kingdom. That is God’s eternal blessing for me and that is my inheritance for my children. I hope that my children will appreciate that and cherish it and pass it down do their children as well.

As I get old, I have felt that the kingdom of God is real and getting closer. Through a series of events that happened to me for the last years, I have realized that I had lived a foolish and selfish life though I thought I had served God and people. God taught me that I should purely seek his kingdom and look forward to it. I should have no string attached to it. I should not let the number of this ministry or my unfruitfulness disappoint me. Rather, I should focus more on passing God’s blessing to my children and helping the next generation to continue the work of God in hope of the kingdom of God. In that vision, I pray that I may find a different role for me for the next generation in several years. I hope that God many raise many young leaders among us and continue his work through them.

The people in America live in a very comfortable environment, which is much like Egypt. So people here do not have much of hope or desire for God’s blessings. Their interest and concerns are about how to live a comfortable life, how to make money, and how to please and amuse themselves. Even Christians become mundane and our children don’t know well how valuable and important our spiritual heritage is and how great God’s blessing is. I pray that God may have mercy on them and help them to seek his kingdom. Nothing on earth lasts forever, but only His kingdom lasts forever. Let’s remember the Lord’s Prayer and seek his kingdom. Now what is your inheritance for your children and our next generation?

by David Yun