The first book of the Bible draws to a close with the passing of Jacob, and then Joseph. Both are embalmed, per Egyptian custom, which I found interesting. Per his request, Jacob's body was taken with great ceremony (I wonder what folks who saw that processional would have thought!) to be buried with his forefathers, and I suppose that in order for remains to make such a journey that would pretty much be required. If it were not so, surely Jacob would have brought Rachel's body to be buried in his family's tomb rather than laying her to rest as they traveled.
After they return from burying their father, Joseph's brothers once again get paranoid that Joseph might seek revenge on them. Of course he has no such interest, and calms them down, but it is surprising how much their actions haunted them over their entire lives. I guess that should serve as a warning to us that we should be careful of what we do so that we don't regret things or live in fear our entire lives.
When Joseph nears death, he too shows a desire to be buried in the promised land - and makes his family swore that they will do so when God brings them up out of Egypt. I wonder if he realized how long it would be before that happened...
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15 years ago
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It does seem he has some idea it will be a while. As of now, the Israelites are still basically guests in Egypt, at least tolerated for Joseph's sake, but he says, "God will surely come to your aid." It hasn't seemed like they were being forced to remain in Egypt, but Joseph appears to foresee a time when they will.
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