And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
Genesis 50:1 belongs to the last chapters of Genesis, the Book of Beginnings, and to the rest of the story of Joseph and his brethren, a story full of lessons lying on the surface as well as deeper ones. Its immediate setting is the account in Genesis 46 to 50 of Israel's journey to Egypt, reception by Joseph and Pharaoh, Jacob's prophetic blessing upon Joseph's sons and his own sons, and Jacob's death and burial. In the larger structure, Genesis 12 to 50 shows God's dealings with the chosen race, distinct from Genesis 1 to 11, which shows God's dealings with the human race.
The verse records Joseph's grief at the death of his father Jacob, falling upon his face, weeping upon him, and kissing him with love, tears, grief, and affection. It begins the account of Jacob's embalming and the mourning for him, which lasted seventy days. That mourning is joined to the care and food Joseph gave Jacob in life, the dying scene, the funeral rites, and the long funeral march to a distant foreign land to lay him in the cave of Machpelah beside his father, and the care and respect shown at his burial reveal the regard he had earned in Egypt.
Joseph's honoring of his father in death proves that the duty later written in the fifth commandment was already known and obeyed, was no new idea at Sinai but a subsisting law by which God governed mankind from creation and which controlled and guided His chosen servants and the patriarchs. Joseph's grief shows God's care for the preservation of the progenitors of the Seed. As part of Joseph's history, the verse shows that God guided Joseph through a winding course to the purpose intended for him.
The life of Joseph contains underlying principles designed to guide the various contingencies of life, to help those called to pass through similar experiences, with practical lessons from his human experience to be made as familiar as one's own name for the good of the soul and for counseling others in similar difficulties as a guidebook to be trusted till the very end. Studying the Bible by books and making a title for each chapter makes study of such a verse interesting and fruitful and helps retain knowledge of its contents. The verse models weeping and mourning with love when a faithful servant of the Lord dies, missing him from his places of labor in school, Sabbath-school, farm, and mission work, while bowing in submission to God's will and viewing him as having laid off his burden and resting in Jesus.
Genesis 50:1 belongs to the last chapters of Genesis, the Book of Beginnings, and to the rest of the story of Joseph and his brethren, a story full of lessons lying on the surface as well as deeper ones. Its immediate setting is the account in Genesis 46 to 50 of Israel's journey to Egypt, reception by Joseph and Pharaoh, Jacob's prophetic blessing upon Joseph's sons and his own sons, and Jacob's death and burial. In the larger structure, Genesis 12 to 50 shows God's dealings with the chosen race, distinct from Genesis 1 to 11, which shows God's dealings with the human race.
The verse records Joseph's grief at the death of his father Jacob, falling upon his face, weeping upon him, and kissing him with love, tears, grief, and affection. It begins the account of Jacob's embalming and the mourning for him, which lasted seventy days. That mourning is joined to the care and food Joseph gave Jacob in life, the dying scene, the funeral rites, and the long funeral march to a distant foreign land to lay him in the cave of Machpelah beside his father, and the care and respect shown at his burial reveal the regard he had earned in Egypt.
Joseph's honoring of his father in death proves that the duty later written in the fifth commandment was already known and obeyed, was no new idea at Sinai but a subsisting law by which God governed mankind from creation and which controlled and guided His chosen servants and the patriarchs. Joseph's grief shows God's care for the preservation of the progenitors of the Seed. As part of Joseph's history, the verse shows that God guided Joseph through a winding course to the purpose intended for him.
The life of Joseph contains underlying principles designed to guide the various contingencies of life, to help those called to pass through similar experiences, with practical lessons from his human experience to be made as familiar as one's own name for the good of the soul and for counseling others in similar difficulties as a guidebook to be trusted till the very end. Studying the Bible by books and making a title for each chapter makes study of such a verse interesting and fruitful and helps retain knowledge of its contents. The verse models weeping and mourning with love when a faithful servant of the Lord dies, missing him from his places of labor in school, Sabbath-school, farm, and mission work, while bowing in submission to God's will and viewing him as having laid off his burden and resting in Jesus.