Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem
Genesis 50
The Death of Joseph
22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years 23 and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.[c]
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.”
26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
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I don't know if this is significant, but I finished Moby Dick and The Book of Genesis on the same day! WOO HOO! This was my tenth journey through the Melville Tome and I found some things that I had never noticed before. Ishmael, Daggoo, Tashtego, and Queequeg seem like old friends now, and Ahab a very interesting study of what happens to the human soul when it becomes obsessed with vengeance. I have put the book back up on the shelf and will let a few years roll by, like the endless oceans, until the time comes that I feel myself restless bored, and wanting to knock people's hats off in the street. Then it will be time to head back to the watery part of the world and sign onto the Pequod yet again.
Now, since I've been reading the Torah twice yearly for 41 years, I have read Genesis over 80 times. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Leah, Rachel, Esau, Joseph, and Judah, are like family to me. Every time I read Genesis, I find something new. The Book starts with a Promise, ends with a Promise, and describes a family through generations. Certain themes keep popping up, such as Infertility and Miraculous Births, Sibling Rivalry, and, most importantly, Reconciliation.
Joseph's dying wish is that he be buried in the Land of His Fathers. And so, the man who saved Egypt from Famine, Grand Advisor to the King, Second only to Pharaoh, Father of Two and Patriarch of the People of Israel, dies and is given a royal Egyptian burial. He is mummified in the proper Egyptian way, which is a good thing, because it will be a long time before his body arrives at his final destination.
In a previous post, I mentioned Imhotep. Thetre is a stele in Egypt that describes this remarkable man. He was a brilliant Physician, Architect, and Administrator, and was second only to Pharaoh in rank. He saved Egypt during a seven-year famine, and was supposedly buried in Saquarra. However, when archaelogists found his coffin, there was no mummy inside. Not only that, but the coffin was oriented North, which would indicate that he was not a worshipper of Ra, the Sun God. Also, near his tomb are vast underground silos and cisterns, which would have been perfect for the storage of grain. When I entered "Imhotep=Joseph?" into my search engine, all that came up on Page One were haughty articles scoffing at the idea that Imhotep and Joseph were the same person. But I suppose that's typical.
Journalists use the terms "debunked", "discredited", "baseless" and "false" to squelch the search for truth, whether in science, politics, or religion, so I should have expected that. I have learned to SCROLL DOWN a lot when doing my searches.
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)
God Bless America.
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS