4 “I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.” – Genesis 46:4
You hold with great fondness the memories of Joseph’s birth.
How could you not? The firstborn son of Rachel, the love you toiled so long for. A lot of heartaches preceded Joseph’s birth. Your own brother accused you of stealing his birthright. In fear you fled your home to make a new life. You were deceived by your father in law and tricked into marrying his daughter you did not love. When your marriage with Rachel was consummated, you found that her womb was barren. At least for a time. While Leah was bearing you children, Rachel was living in grief. But no longer.
As Rachel beamed, you held Joseph for the first time.
Coyly you counted his toes and fingers thinking Rachel didn’t know that you were taking inventory. Her slight blush betrayed that she had beat you to it. As you enveloped his tiny hands in yours, you were mesmerized by his eyes as your souls connected. What can compare with new life?
It wasn’t long before little Joseph could tightly grip your finger in his little hand. When it was time to take his precarious first steps you held his little hands and guided him. You held your breath with every tiny step he took as if breathing on him might topple him. Love may be exhilarating, but it isn’t always logical.
Your love for Joseph caused you to make an unwise decision.
You gave him a special coat. In showering him with your special affection, you placed a wedge between Joseph and his brothers. A wedge that was driven deeper by Joseph’s dreams. We need to show our children love, but there is no place for favoritism. It creates an environment in which every one loses. A lesson you should have learned from your own childhood. But some lessons are harder learned than others.
You have learned a lot of life lessons since you last saw Joseph.
Lessons that have matured you and made you wiser, but none that have served as a balm for your loss. You vividly remember your last exchange with Joseph. You asked him to go and check on his brothers as they were pasturing the flock near Shechem. You placed his special robe on him and watched him take his staff in hand as he walked out in pursuit of his brothers in obedience to your request. Never to return and grace the threshold of your home.
Although Joseph never returned, his special coat did.
Bloodstained and drenched with deception. The old deceiver was now the deceived. As you held the stained coat your tears mingled with the blood stains. With a grief beyond words you envisioned Joseph mauled by a wild animal. Certainly his young hands bravely resisted before they finally succumbed to the savage beast. And now they are at rest. Never to be touched or to touch again. Poor Joseph. First Rachel and now you? What can compare with the sting of death?
How many seasons have come and gone since you shared your love?
Benjamin is by your side but his presence is as much a reminder of your loss as anything else. To protect your heart you stopped giving it away. Unfortunately when you barricaded your heart you made yourself a prisoner. In order to protect yourself from the rain and storms you have shut out the sun. Is such a live worth living? Is such a life worth preserving?
Little did you know how your heart would be revived. In the midst of a drought and surrounded by bare cupboards the unthinkable happened. As you awaited the arrival of your sons bearing food from Egypt, your front door was practically torn off it’s hinges. In rushed your sons with much more than physical sustenance, they brought a balm for your soul.
Joseph is alive!!
While you stopped living, Joseph was alive and well. The hands that you thought stilled were anything but. Joseph’s hands knew the feel of a cold pit. They knew the restriction of Midianite chords. They knew the responsibility of Potiphar’s house and field. They knew the betrayal of Potiphar’s wife. Joseph’s hands were acquainted with the cold bars and rough stocks of an Egyptian prison. But the prison would give way to Egyptian power. As second in command Joseph’s hands would save Egypt from starvation. In the process, you and your sons would be saved as well. While you stopped living and loving, Joseph’s hands were never stayed.
Life is full of lessons.
What your sons intended for harm, God worked out for good. While Joseph was dead to you, he was in the service of God. Far from being mauled by a beast, Joseph was under the protection of his heavenly Father. When you deceived your father by disguising your hands, God was not deceived. God knows the hands of his children. When you fled from the presence of your brother, you were never removed from the presence of God. There isn’t a place on earth we can run to where God isn’t present. When you wrestled with God at Jabbok, God humbled you with a limp and blessed you. When you returned to Esau, God prepared the way. He always does.
When you learned of Joseph’s supposed death, you refused to be comforted and resolved to mourn until you joined him in the grave (Genesis 37:35). God had other plans.
Time is running out Jacob.
God is sovereign. Live in faith. Don’t be afraid to live and love. Don’t shut out the sun. Don’t worry. When God calls you home, “Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes”. And when you open them, Jesus’ arms will welcome you home.
What can compare with new life? Certainly not the “sting” of death!
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