REVIEW Joseph, brought before Pharaoh at the age of 30, is now the second most powerful man in Egypt.
-What had been Joseph’s experiences up to then?
-How long had he been in jail?
-Why was he brought before Pharaoh?
-Who did Pharaoh consult first? (41:8)
-Then what happened? (41:9)
-On being summoned, what did he first do?
-What was the significance of Pharaoh having two like dreams?
-What did the dream foretell?
-Along with the interpretation did Joseph give recommendations on how to proceed?
-What did Pharaoh do?
READ Genesis 41:39-41
Genesis 42
It had been twenty-two years since the sons of Jacob had last seen Joseph—thirteen years of slavery and prison for Joseph, seven years of plenty, and two years of famine—before Jacob’s family was forced to go to Egypt for grain. Joseph was a teenager when his family had last seen him.
-What did Jacob ask of his sons? Which son did he not send?
-Who did they have to meet with?
READ 42:6-8
-Why did they not recognize him?
-Why did he not reveal himself to them
Genesis 41:8 And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
9 Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:
41:39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
42:6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
OT-12 SS Lesson: March 14-20 Genesis 42-50 “God Meant It Unto Good”
SUMMARIZE Joseph’s experiences with his brothers and family in Egypt.
-What do we learn about Joseph?
READ Joseph: The Fascination…in Additional Resources
Forgiveness brings peace.
-How did his actions toward his brothers allow them to show their repentance for their acts against him?
-What was Benjamin’s role?
-How were Judah’s actions different concerning Benjamin?
-Why might it have been difficult to forgive his brothers?
-What blessings came from Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers?
-Compare the relationships in Jacob’s family at the beginning of his story (READ Genesis 37:3–4) with their state at the end (READ Genesis 45:9–10, 12-15). What role did forgiveness play in the change in Joseph’s family?
-How might things have turned out differently if Joseph had not been willing to forgive?
-What do we learn from the experiences of Joseph and his family?
-How could this story help families today overcome contention and jealousy?
After Jacob died Joseph’s brothers worried that he might hate them.
READ Genesis 50:19-21
-What does verse 20 mean to you?
-How could understanding this help you in your life?
Genesis 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
Genesis 45:9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
Genesis 50:19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
READ Genesis 45:5-8
This touching scene, in which Joseph finally revealed himself to his brothers, demonstrates the Christlike nature of his character. He forgave without bitterness, extended love when undeserved, and saw the Lord’s hand in all that happened. But his similarities to Christ go much deeper. As Nephi said, all things from the beginning of the world were given to typify, or symbolize, Christ.
READ The life and mission of Joseph…in Add’l Res
READ Jacob blesses Joseph and his sons…in Add’l Res
READ JST, Genesis 48:5–11…in Add’l Res
-Why did Joseph receive the birthright?
-What was his double portion?
READ President Joseph Fielding Smith
-What happened when Jacob blessed Joseph’s sons.
-What this mean for Ephraim and Manasseh
-How did they benefit?
-How do we benefit?
How can we receive blessings?
-How are we teaching children about Patriarchal Blessings?
READ Father’s Blessings… in Add’l Res.
Genesis 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
President Joseph Fielding Smith: “When Jacob blessed Joseph, he gave him a double portion, or an inheritance among his brethren in Palestine and also the blessing of the land of Zion—‘the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.’ He also blessed him with the blessings of heaven above, of the deep which lieth under, and of posterity [Genesis 49:22–26]. Jacob also blessed the two sons of Joseph with the blessings of their father, which they inherited, and he placed Ephraim, the younger, before Manasseh, the elder, and by inspiration of the Lord conferred upon Ephraim the birthright in Israel.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:250–51.)
NUGGET ! To learn about the laws governing the birthright inheritance read this article by Daniel H. Ludlow in the Sept. 1980 Ensign:
What was the significance of Joseph’s Blessing
READ Genesis 49:22-25
Orson Pratt “Joseph’s peculiar blessing, which I have just read to you (49:22-26), was that he should enjoy possessions above Jacob’s progenitors to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills. This would seem to indicate a very distant land from Palestine.” (Journal of Discourses, 14:9.)
READ verse 26
-Where is the land of the everlasting hills?
-How did his seed get here?
Orson Pratt“ I suppose that Jacob saw this land as well as Moses, and he designates it a land afar off; the utmost bounds would signify a very distant land. He said this land was over and above, what his progenitors gave to him and he would give it to Joseph. The precious things of heaven [are] revealed to the people of Joseph on the great land given to them unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills.” (JD, 18:167–68.)
The works of Joseph, Moses, and Joseph Smith testify of the mission of Jesus Christ.
READ Summary
READ JST, Genesis 50:24–38…in Add’l Res
-What precious truths had been deleted from the biblical acct?
Genesis 49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
Summary: Joseph in Egypt prophecies of Moses freeing Israel from Egyptian bondage; of a branch of Joseph’s descendants being led to a faraway land, where they will be remembered in the covenants of the Lord; of God calling a latter-day prophet named Joseph to join the records of Judah and of Joseph; and of Aaron serving as a spokesman for Moses.
In 2 Nephi 3, the prophet Lehi told his son Joseph of the great prophecies of their progenitor, Joseph who was sold into Egypt. These prophecies were evidently on the brass plates that Lehi had but have been lost from our present Bible. Through revelation, Joseph Smith restored the lost scriptures by adding thirteen verses between Genesis 50:24 and 25 of the King James Version.
My Thoughts:
As we conclude the book of Genesis with this lesson I am grateful for the opportunity we have had to study the lives of the ancient patriarchs. I feel that I have been reintroduced to them through my readings and have great respect and love for their diligence in living the gospel and serving the Savior. Certainly they were blessed during their lifetimes but imagine experiencing 500. 900 or even just 130 years like Jacob. They experienced “toil and trouble” during their lifetimes as well as great sorrow over the unrighteousness of their children and the people that were around them. To remain righteous and faithful required great faith, devotion and love for the Savior. These great patriarchs received covenants which blessed them and through their restoration blesses our lives today.
We learn in this lesson that important parts of the blessings given to Joseph and his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, were omitted from the bible, only to be made known to us through Joseph Smith’s retranslation work on the bible. Perhaps it was the explicitness of his blessings that caused various scribes over the years to modify or delete wording, particularly as we study in this lesson in chapters 48 and 50 of Genesis. As descendants of the house of Israel, either directly or through adoption, these blessings apply to us and to the restoration of the gospel which is still ongoing.
Through our righteousness and desire we are invited, encouraged and entitled to receive Patriarchal Blessings from ordained Patriarchs. President James E. Faust said this blessing must be requested…”by individual and the immediate family.” Elder John A. Widtsoe wrote: “These [Patriarchal] blessings are possibilities predicated upon faithful devotion to the cause of truth. They must be earned. Otherwise they are but empty words. Indeed, they rise to their highest value when used as ideals, specific possibilities, toward which we may strive throughout life…If we labor for them, He helps us by pointing out the divine goal which we may enjoy if we pay the price.
In addition, worthy men can administer father’s blessings which can greatly bless family members with comfort and direction. Elder John A. Widtsoe stated: “Every father, having children born to him under the covenant, is to them a patriarch, and he has the right to bless his posterity in the authority of the priesthood which he holds.”
”These blessings can be given when needed, such as before the start of a new year, the beginning of the school year or other significant events in family life. I believe we need to make these blessings an integral part of our lives. They are important in not only bestowing blessings and encouragements, as directed by the spirit, but also demonstrating our own faith.
I have a testimony of the Lord’s ability to bless our lives in ways that benefit us as we pursue our efforts to follow Him. These blessings are not usually not immediate, thought they might be, but are given according to His will. Just as in the life of Joseph of Egypt the Lord said “God meant it unto good,” our blessings will also be bestowed.
I think last week I said we could take hope that spring would soon be here. Tonight, as I look at the snow, maybe we have missed spring and the advancing clock has moved ahead 9 or 10 months. Regardless, spring will come. I hope you have a good week.
Greg
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
The life and mission of Joseph typifies the life and mission of Jesus. Consider the following:
Jacob blesses Joseph: “Joseph, son of Jacob, because of his faithfulness and integrity to the purposes of the Lord, was rewarded with the birthright in Israel. It was the custom in early times to bestow upon the firstborn son special privileges and blessings, and these were looked upon as belonging to him by right of birth. Reuben, the first of Jacob’s sons, lost the birthright through transgression, and it was bestowed upon Joseph, who was the most worthy of all the sons of Jacob [1 Chronicles 5:1–2].
“When Jacob blessed Joseph, he gave him a double portion, or an inheritance among his brethren in Palestine and also the blessing of the land of Zion—‘the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.’ He also blessed him with the blessings of heaven above, of the deep which lieth under, and of posterity [Genesis 49:22–26]. Jacob also blessed the two sons of Joseph with the blessings of their father, which they inherited, and he placed Ephraim, the younger, before Manasseh, the elder, and by inspiration of the Lord conferred upon Ephraim the birthright in Israel.” (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:250–51.)
Joseph: The Fascination of Biblical Scholars
Biblical scholars have also found great interest in Joseph and his story, especially those who seek archetypes—prophetic foreshadowings of events to come, notably those related to the life of the Messiah. A good example of a rendering of biblical history in archetypical fashion is found in Paul’s comparison of the birth of Ishmael and Isaac to the giving of the Mosaic law and the law of Christ (see Gal. 4:22–31). In its general outline, the account of Joseph’s life is an excellent foreshadowing of the life of the Master.
He is the favored son of the father, sent by the father on a mission to his rebellious brethren. His brethren, resenting his closeness to the father and his teachings to them, reject his message, maltreat him, and eventually take his life, as it were. The next phase of his life, beginning with his descent into the pit and concluding with his experience in prison in Egypt, may be compared typologically with the descent of Christ into the pit of hell and his mission to the spirit prison.
Ultimately he is brought out of the prison and given a position of power second only to the ruler of the kingdom. His coat, which his brethren had taken from him (a symbol of his flesh), is replaced with a majestic robe, and every knee is made to bow to him. In his new exalted position he becomes the savior of his brethren, extending forgiveness, and feeding them, as it were, with the bread of life. Arthur R. Bassett, “Joseph, Model of Excellence,” Ensign Sept. 1980
Joseph, Model of Excellence
"If we were to follow Joseph’s example and acquire his character traits our lives would be richer and generally more successful. He shows us the way to a knowledge of the Master, and in that sense learning about our father Joseph (or any of our righteous ancestors) is an exercise in growing closer to the Lord... Faith in God is the beginning, including trust in his way and his promises. To follow the way outlined by God requires courage—Peter’s virtue—and understanding. Further, it requires one to have temperance or self-control, subjecting one’s own will to that of God. It requires patience if one is to see the fruits of Christian efforts; it requires also a piety that attempts to remain close to God in understanding his way. Ultimately, it requires the development of brotherly kindness and then the blossoming of that brotherly feeling into the quality of charity, the pure love of Christ—love like Christ and love for Christ."
Bassett, Arthur R.. "Joseph, Model of Excellence." Ensign Sept 1980: 9-13.
JST, Genesis 48:5–11 (JST additions to the chapter are in bold print.)
5 And now, of thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt; behold, they are mine, and the God of my fathers shall bless them; even as Reuben and Simeon they shall be blessed, for they are mine; wherefore they shall be called after my name. (Therefore they were called Israel.)
6 And thy issue which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance, in the tribes; therefore they were called the tribes of Manasseh and of Ephraim.
7 And Jacob said unto Joseph when the God of my fathers appeared unto me in Luz, in the land of Canaan; he sware unto me, that he would give unto me, and unto my seed, the land for an everlasting possession.
8 Therefore, O my son, he hath blessed me in raising thee up to be a servant unto me, in saving my house from death;
9 In delivering my people, thy brethren, from famine which was sore in the land; wherefore the God of thy fathers shall bless thee, and the fruit of thy loins, that they shall be blessed above thy brethren, and above thy father’s house;
10 For thou hast prevailed, and thy father’s house hath bowed down unto thee, even as it was shown unto thee, before thou wast sold into Egypt by the hands of thy brethren; wherefore thy brethren shall bow down unto thee, from generation to generation, unto the fruit of thy loins for ever;
11 For thou shalt be a light unto my people, to deliver them in the days of their captivity, from bondage; and to bring salvation unto them, when they are altogether bowed down under sin.”
JST, Genesis 50:24–38. Compare Genesis 50:24–26; 2 Nephi 3:4–22
Joseph in Egypt prophecies of Moses freeing Israel from Egyptian bondage; of a branch of Joseph’s descendants being led to a faraway land, where they will be remembered in the covenants of the Lord; of God calling a latter-day prophet named Joseph to join the records of Judah and of Joseph; and of Aaron serving as a spokesman for Moses. (Joseph’s additions to the chapter are in bold print.)
24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die, and go unto my fathers; and I go down to my grave with joy. The God of my father Jacob be with you, to deliver you out of affliction in the days of your bondage; for the Lord hath visited me, and I have obtained a promise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of my loins, the Lord God will raise up a righteous branch out of my loins; and unto thee, whom my father Jacob hath named Israel, a prophet; (not the Messiah who is called Shilo;) and this prophet shall deliver my people out of Egypt in the days of thy bondage.
25 And it shall come to pass that they shall be scattered again; and a branch shall be broken off, and shall be carried into a far country; nevertheless they shall be remembered in the covenants of the Lord, when the Messiah cometh; for he shall be made manifest unto them in the latter days, in the Spirit of power; and shall bring them out of darkness into light; out of hidden darkness, and out of captivity unto freedom.
26 A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins.
27 Thus saith the Lord God of my fathers unto me, A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins, and he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give commandment that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren.
28 And he shall bring them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers; and he shall do whatsoever work I shall command him.
29 And I will make him great in mine eyes, for he shall do my work; and he shall be great like unto him whom I have said I would raise up unto you, to deliver my people, O house of Israel, out of the land of Egypt; for a seer will I raise up to deliver my people out of the land of Egypt; and he shall be called Moses. And by this name he shall know that he is of thy house; for he shall be nursed by the king’s daughter, and shall be called her son.
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30 And again, a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins, and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins; and not to the bringing forth of my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing them of my word, which shall have already gone forth among them in the last days;
31 Wherefore the fruit of thy loins shall write, and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together unto the confounding of false doctrines, and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to a knowledge of their fathers in the latter days; and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.
32 And out of weakness shall he be made strong, in that day when my work shall go forth among all my people, which shall restore them, who are of the house of Israel, in the last days.
33 And that seer will I bless, and they that seek to destroy him shall be confounded; for this promise I give unto you; for I will remember you from generation to generation; and his name shall be called Joseph, and it shall be after the name of his father; and he shall be like unto you; for the thing which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand shall bring my people unto salvation.
34 And the Lord sware unto Joseph that he would preserve his seed forever, saying, I will raise up Moses, and a rod shall be in his hand, and he shall gather together my people, and he shall lead them as a flock, and he shall smite the waters of the Red Sea with his rod.
35 And he shall have judgment, and shall write the word of the Lord. And he shall not speak many words, for I will write unto him my law by the finger of mine own hand. And I will make a spokesman for him, and his name shall be called Aaron.
36 And it shall be done unto thee in the last days also, even as I have sworn. Therefore, Joseph said unto his brethren, God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land, unto the land which he sware unto Abraham, and unto Isaac, and to Jacob.
37 And Joseph confirmed many other things unto his brethren, and took an oath of the children of Israel, saying unto them, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
38 So Joseph died when he was an hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and they put him in a coffin in Egypt; and he was kept from burial by the children of Israel, that he might be carried up and laid in the sepulchre with his father. And thus they remembered the oath which they sware unto him.
Father’s Blessings
Elder John A. Widtsoe stated: “Every father, having children born to him under the covenant, is to them a patriarch, and he has the right to bless his posterity in the authority of the priesthood which he holds” (Evidences and Reconciliations, p. 72).
The First Presidency has issued the following policy statement:
“‘Certainly we should give new and additional emphasis to the role of the father in giving blessings to children in the family. We think we should generally leave to the ordained patriarchs in the stakes the responsibility of declaring lineage in connection with an official patriarchal blessing, but still we could leave unlocked the door so that any father who felt inspired to pronounce the lineage in connection with a father’s blessing he was giving to his children should not be prevented from doing so.
“‘We should urge and encourage fathers to give a father’s blessing to their children on such occasions as their going into the military, or away from home to school or on missions and on other appropriate occasions.’
“A father’s blessing may be recorded [and preserved] in family records, but [in contrast to a blessing given by one of the ordained patriarchs] it is not to be preserved in the archives of the Church.” (General Handbook of Instructions, 21, p. 50.)