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First of all, let me explain that I am a heavy box that is overlaid
with gold. Inside of me are the bones of a truly wonderful man of God
who lived thousands of years ago in the land of Egypt. My name is
SARCOPHAGUS (sar-coff-a-gus). I know that is a real mouthful, but the
name really fits me perfectly, because it means flesh-eater.
For nearly five hundred years, the Children of Israel kept me in
Egypt. When Moses led them out of Egyptian slavery, I was carried into
the wilderness where they wandered for forty years, and then I finally
came to rest in the land of Canaan.
The bones that I carried were originally covered with the flesh of a
great man by the name of Joseph. In the last eighty years of his life,
Joseph was the Prime Minister of Egypt. He was the most powerful and
influential man in the kingdom.... second only to the Pharaoh himself!
I'd like to tell you how Joseph reached that position of authority, so
let's take a closer look at the Word of God for the record.
If you are a Bible student, you have surely heard of Abraham. He was
the father of the Jewish race, and God called him His friend. Abraham
was Joseph's great- grandfather. He never knew Abraham, but he did
learn many lessons that were passed down from Abraham, then to his
son, Isaac, and finally to Jacob who was Joseph's father.
Jacob had twelve sons, and Joseph was the second youngest of them.
Because Joseph was very stable and wise, his father promoted him above
his older brothers and made him overseer of their many flocks. Jacob
also gave Joseph a beautiful coat of many colors, and it was a badge
of Joseph's authority.
Joseph was given the gift of interpreting dreams. Before the Bible was
completed, God spoke to certain men through dreams, visions and direct
conversations.
One night, Joseph had a dream and related it to his brothers. He said,
"We were binding sheaves of corn in the field. My sheaf stood upright,
and your sheaves bowed down to mine."
Joseph's brothers tried to ignore what he told them, but when he had a
second dream that was similar to it, they complained to their father.
Joseph related the dream to his father and said, "I dreamed that the
sun, the moon and the eleven stars bowed down to me."
Jacob was very irritated when he heard that, and he said to Joseph,
"What is this dream of yours? Shall I, and your mother and your eleven
brothers all bow down to you?" (Jacob understood the meaning of the
dream, and he thought about it many times after that)
Joseph's brothers resented his authority over them, and because of
their hatred they kept trying to find a way to get rid of him.
CHAPTER 2
One day Jacob sent Joseph out to find his older brothers and report
back how the boys were caring for the flocks. The brothers saw Joseph
a long way off. They were laughing among themselves and said to one
another, Look! Here comes the preacher! Let's kill him while we have
the chance to be rid of him!"
The eldest brother Reuben said, "Let's not be so hasty about this!
Wouldn't it be more wise if we threw him into a dry pit and left him
to die rather than shed his blood? Look! I see a pit over there that
we could use!" (Reuben secretly planned to return later in the day to
release Joseph, but meanwhile he had a responsibility to his father's
flocks so he left his brothers and went about his business.
Reuben's idea appealed to the others, so they took Joseph by force,
tore his coat from him and threw him into the dry pit.
The pit was dark and very deep. Of course, Joseph complained bitterly
and cried out to his brothers to let him go, but instead they decided
to move away from the sound of his crying and sat down to eat their
lunch.
Suddenly, one of them looked up and announced, "Here comes a large
caravan of Ishmaelite traders. No doubt they are on their way to Egypt
to sell their wares."
Another brother named Judah spoke up and offered his suggestion, "Why
don't we sell Joseph to these Ishmaelites instead of leaving him to
die in that pit? They could take Joseph far away from here, and we
wouldn't have to look at him again or feel guilty about what happens
to him."
The others agreed, and when the Ishmaelites came closer, they sold
Joseph to them for thirty pieces of silver. Afterward, they killed a
young goat, and dipped Joseph's beautiful coat in its blood. Then they
took the coat to their father.
When Reuben returned to free Joseph, he was heartsick! Joseph was
nowhere in sight, and the pit was empty! He hurried home to ask his
brothers what they had done with Joseph.
Meanwhile, the brothers showed the bloody coat to their father and
said to him; "Father, do you recognize this coat? It looks like the
one you gave Joseph, but he is nowhere to be found!"
Jacob was grieved when he looked at the coat, and he replied, "It
surely is Joseph's coat! Wild animals must have killed him! Jacob
believed the lies his sons told him, and he mourned for his favorite
son for many days.
The Ishmaelites who bought Joseph, bound him in irons and sold him as
a slave to the Chief of Police in Egypt whose name was Potiphar.
Joseph was a slave in Potiphar's house for the next nine years.
Not long after he bought Joseph, Potiphar saw how wise and dependable
Joseph was, so he placed him in authority over his entire estate.
Potiphar's wife took an immediate fancy to young Joseph, and day after
day during the nine years that Joseph was in Potiphar's house, the
woman asked Joseph to lie with her. He consistently refused to comply
with her request, so one day she arranged to have everyone out of the
house so that she could be alone with Joseph. She grabbed him by his
coat when he came into the house and she said, "Lie with me!" Joseph
ran as fast as he could, left his coat in her hands and went to his
own house.
When Potiphar came home, his wife showed Joseph's coat to him, and
then she lied, saying, "Look at this coat! You brought a Hebrew slave
into our house, and he attempted to assault me! I screamed for the
servants! He became frightened and ran away, leaving his coat in my
hands."
Potiphar was furious, but instead of calling for Joseph to get his
side of the story, Potiphar believed his wife's lies and gave the
order, "Find Joseph at once and arrest him!" Then he threw Joseph into
the dungeon where the king's prisoners were held.
Joseph found himself in another testing situation, but he continued to
trust in the Lord. He knew that the Lord had a definite purpose for
his life and that this unfair treatment by Potiphar and his wife was
part of God's plan for him
Shortly after being cast into the dungeon, the jailer saw that Joseph
could be trusted, and he put him in charge of all the other prisoners
in the dungeon.
CHAPTER 3
Two years went by, and Pharaoh was informed that one of his most
trusted household servants was planning to assassinate him. The
would-be assassin had to be either his chief cup-bearer or the servant
who supervised all of the activities in the kitchen of the palace.
Of course, Pharaoh was extremely angry when he got that information,
but, being a very wise man as well as a king, he sent for Potiphar and
said to him, "Arrest my cup- bearer and the duke of the kitchen and
put them both in the dungeon while we make a thorough investigation to
see which of them is guilty of a plot to assassinate me!"
Potiphar personally took charge of the prisoners and ordered Joseph,
"Here! These two men are the king's special prisoners! You are
assigned as their personal body slave while they are here in the
dungeon!"
One morning when Joseph went to take care of their needs, the two were
very sad, and when Joseph asked why, they told him that they both had
dreams that troubled them because they didn't understand what the
dreams meant.
Joseph said, "Don't be sad. Interpretation of dreams belongs only to
God. If you will tell me what you dreamed. He will give the
interpretation of them to me."
The cup-bearer spoke first. His duty to the Pharaoh was to taste the
wine and food before Pharaoh partook of them, and his dream was
related to his duties. He said to Joseph, "In my dream, a vine with
three branches budded and brought forth grapes. I squeezed the grapes
into Pharaoh's cup, and then I woke up."
 Joseph
explained, "This is the interpretation of your dream.... The three
branches are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will lift you out
of this place and restore your position of serving him as you did
before." Then, almost in the same breath, Joseph appealed to him and
said, "When you are back in the palace again, remember me! I was put
here unfairly and did nothing to deserve imprisonment!"
When the chief baker saw that his friend's dream was good, he said to
Joseph, "In my dream there were three white baskets on my head. They
were full of wonderful bakery goods for the king. Suddenly, birds came
and ate the food in those baskets, and then I awoke!"
Joseph answered him and said, "Your three baskets also represent three
days. At the end of those three days, Pharaoh will take you out of
this place and hang you on tree! Then the birds of the air will come
and eat your flesh!"
Everything happened just the way Joseph had interpreted the dreams.
However when the chief cup-bearer stood before Pharaoh again, he did
not remember to make plea for Joseph. In fact, he forgot about Joseph
completely!"
Did you say, "POOR JOSEPH?" Don't feel sorry for Joseph! He was being
disciplined by the Lord because he trusted in a man for deliverance,
and because of that the Lord left him in prison for two more full
years!
CHAPTER 4
After Joseph had been in prison for those two additional years,
Pharaoh had two dreams that troubled him. He called for all of the
magicians and wise men in Egypt, but they could not interpret his
dreams.
Suddenly, the cup-bearer remembered how Joseph had interpreted his
dream and also that of the chief baker. He told Pharaoh, "Your
majesty, I remember that there was a man in prison who interpreted my
dream and also your baker's dream, and everything he said did come to
pass exactly the way the man said it would."
Pharaoh replied, "Send for that man at once.... what is his name?"
The chief cup-bearer answered, "His name is Joseph, and he is in
charge of all of the prisoners in your dungeon."
Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph to appear before him right away.
When Pharaoh's servants took Joseph out of the dungeon, they explained
that Pharaoh wanted an interpretation of his dreams.
Joseph knew that the Egyptians were a clean-shaven and
clothing-conscious people, so he shaved and changed his garments
before leaving. When he stood before Pharaoh, the king said, "Joseph,
I've been told that you can give the interpretation of my dreams to
me."
Joseph responded, "Your majesty, it is not because of any ability in
me that I am able to interpret your dreams, but there is a God in
heaven who can do that. Tell me your dreams, and the Lord will reveal
the meaning of them to me."
Pharaoh's dreams were similar, and he explained them to Joseph saying,
"I stood upon the bank of the river and saw seven healthy cattle come
up out of the water. Right after them were seven very scrawny and
ill-fed cattle. The ill-fed cattle devoured the healthy cattle, and
then I awoke. The following night in my dream I saw seven healthy ears
of corn come up on one stalk. After them came seven thin, dried-up
ears, and the thin ears devoured the good ears of corn. Again, I
awoke! Can you tell me the meaning of these dreams?"
Joseph answered, "Yes, your majesty. Both dreams tell you the same
thing. The seven good cattle and the seven ears of good corn reveal
that there will be seven years of plenty in the land of Egypt. After
those good years, there will be seven very bad years when there won't
be enough food to take care of your people. The Lord is telling you
before it comes to pass so that you may prepare for the lack of food
during the seven years of famine."
Pharaoh looked around at his servants in amazement and said, "I know
of no one more qualified in my kingdom than this man Joseph who stands
here before you to take charge of the nation's food supplies!"
Then the king turned to Joseph and said, "Joseph, I am the Pharaoh of
Egypt, and I'm promoting you to be second in command in my kingdom."
Pharaoh placed a gold chain about Joseph's neck and gave him a
beautiful wife who later bore two sons for him.
Joseph was thirty years old when he became Prime Minister of Egypt,
and he took charge of the gathering of grain during the seven good
years of plenty.
The land brought forth an abundance of grain, and it was stored in
huge warehouses in all the cities in preparation to feed the people
during the famine that was to come.
 
CHAPTER 5
Meanwhile, back in the land of Canaan where Jacob and Joseph's eleven
brothers lived with their families, there was also a lack of food at
the end of the seven plentiful years.
Jacob looked at his grown sons as they walked around kicking the dirt
and wondering what to do, and he said to them, "I've been told that
there is plenty of corn in Egypt. Get over there and buy some for us
so we don't all starve to death!"
Ten of the older brothers took some money in their sacks and went to
Egypt to buy food, but they left Benjamin, the youngest, home with
their father.
When they reached the grain storage area, Joseph happened to be there.
He recognized his brothers right away, but they did not know him.
After all, he was now a thirty-year old man, and it had been thirteen
years since they sold him into slavery. Joseph looked like an Egyptian
now. He was clean-shaven and wore Egyptian clothing.
As the brothers approached Joseph with their money in their hands, he
spoke to them very sternly through an interpreter and said, "Who are
you men, and why have you come here?"
When they tried to explain their mission, Joseph said to them, "I
think you are spies and that you have come here to see the nakedness
of the land of Egypt so that you can report back to your people!"
They denied the accusation saying, "Oh, no, your excellency! We are
not spies! We are all the sons of one man who lives in Canaan! We also
have a younger brother at home. He is with his father who loves him
and wanted to keep him by his side to comfort him while we were away!"
Then Joseph said, "If what you tell me is true, leave one of your
brothers here while the rest may go back to Canaan. When you return to
me, bring your younger brother with you., and then I will know you are
speaking the truth!"
After saying that, Joseph took Simeon and put him in prison where he
was to remain until his brothers returned again.
While the grain was being loaded, the brothers argued among themselves
and said, "All of this evil has come upon us because of what we did to
Joseph! We showed no mercy to him when he cried to us from the pit,
and we sold him without having any shame about it. Now, we'll have to
tell our father that Simeon has been left behind in Egypt!"
Joseph overheard their conversation, but he didn't let them know he
understood what they said. Instead, he went into a private room to
control his emotions because he realized that they had finally learned
to take responsibility for their bad decisions.
When the brothers stopped to spend the night at an inn along the way,
one of then took some grain from his sack to feed the animals. He saw
his money staring him in the face when he opened the sack! He was
badly shaken, and told his brothers about it They became frightened
out of their wits and said, "Why has God allowed this thing to (
happen to us?"
When the ten brothers got back to Canaan, they told Jacob what had
taken place and when they opened their sacks, each man found his money
in his own sack, and they were all-afraid of what might happen to them
when the Egyptian Prime Minister found out.
Then they told Jacob why Simeon was left behind, and Jacob felt very
sorry for himself. He complained, "Joseph is dead! Simeon is as good
as dead! Now you want to take Benjamin from me? All these things are
against me!"
Reuben said, 'Father, take my two sons and kill them if I don't bring
Benjamin back from Egypt! The man strictly told us not to return for
more grain unless we have Benjamin with us!"
Frantically, Jacob replied, "Benjamin shall NOT go with you! His
brother is dead, and now Benjamin only is a comfort to me in my old
age! If you take him from me, I'll die, and the nine of you will be
responsible for my death!" (Joseph and Benjamin were the only sons of
Jacob's favorite wife, Rachel. The other sons were born of three
different women whom Jacob had married)
Some time later when they had eaten all of the grain they had brought
from Egypt, Jacob said, "Go again and bring food for us from Egypt!"
They reminded their father that Joseph had warned them not to return
without Benjamin.
Then Judah said, "Father, I will be personally responsible for
Benjamin's safe return if you will permit him to go with us! If we had
not waited this long, we would have been back by this time!"
Jacob said reluctantly, "Alright, take him then, and take twice the
amount of money with you to pay for the grain."
The eleven brothers journeyed back to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
When Joseph saw his brothers, he said to the steward of his house,
"Take these men to my house and make them comfortable while we prepare
a fine meal for them. They will all dine with me at noon today!"
The brothers were afraid when they were taken into Joseph's house, and
thought he was trying to find something of which to accuse them and
then take them all for slaves.
They approached the steward of Joseph's house very meekly and said, "0
Sir, when we came here the first time, we brought money to pay for the
grain, but when we left, we found the money in our sacks. We don't
know how that happened!"
The steward gave them water for their feet and fed their animals. Then
he brought Simeon to them and told them that Joseph had ordered their
money to be put into their sacks.
Joseph arrived at noon, and they bowed down to him and gave him twice
the money that was owed for the grain. Joseph spoke to them through an
interpreter and asked if they were well, and he greeted Benjamin. Then
he went into his private chambers to hide his emotions at seeing his
brother Benjamin. After that, he returned and said to his servants,
"Bring the food for our guests!"
Joseph was seated at a table by himself. The Egyptians sat alone at
another table, and the eleven brothers were seated by themselves at a
third table. When the
 brothers
saw that they were seated according to their respective ages, they
were amazed and wondered how anyone could possibly have that
information.
Joseph directed his steward to give the best portion of food to
Benjamin. He was testing the jealousy of his older brothers, and they
passed the test. They were not jealous of Benjamin, and they all drank
and were merry with Joseph.
When they finished eating and were ready to leave, Joseph instructed
his servants to put the money back in their sacks again, and he told
his steward to put his personal silver drinking cup in the sack
belonging to Benjamin.
When the brothers had gone a short distance, Joseph sent his steward
after them to demand which of them had taken his silver drinking cup.
They all emphatically denied taking it and said, "If you find the cup
in one of our sacks, the person to whom the sack belongs will stay in
Egypt and be your slave!"
The cup was found in Benjamin's sack, and they sadly returned to face
Joseph. They fell before him, and Judah said, ""Oh, my lord, you asked
us if we had any other brothers at home and if our father was still
alive. We told you that our father is a very old man who needs to have
his youngest son near him. We also said that it would no doubt kill
our father is anything happened to him. We have come back to Egypt
with our brother Benjamin as you requested. We all need food for our
families, but how can we return to our father and tell him that
Benjamin isn't allowed to leave Egypt? Please take me in his place,
because I promised my father I would offer my own life to protect my
youngest brother."
When Joseph saw how unselfish Judah had become, he sent all of the
servants out of the room and spoke to his brothers in their own Hebrew
language. He said, "I am Joseph! Does my father still live?" Then he
wept aloud as he spoke to them, and all of the Egyptians in Pharaoh's
household heard him.
Joseph's brothers were so frightened that they could not answer him.
Then Joseph drew closer to them and repeated, "I AM JOSEPH, THE
BROTHER WHOM YOU SOLD INTO EGYPT MANY YEARS AGO! Now stop being afraid
because you sold me. God sent me before you to preserve life. There
are still five more years of famine to come, and God has made me
second to Pharaoh so that He may deliver all of you from starvation!"
While his brothers stood speechless before him, Joseph continued,
"Hurry, all of you, and go back to your father in Canaan. I will send
supplies with you, and bring our father here to me with your families
and your cattle also, and I will take care of you!"
Then Joseph embraced his brothers, and they talked with him. Joseph's
last words to them as they left for Canaan were, "Be sure you don't
argue among yourselves along the way!"
When the brothers had gone a short distance, Joseph sent his steward
after them to demand which of them had taken his silver drinking cup.
They all emphatically denied taking it and said, "If you find the cup
in one of our sacks, the person to whom the sack belongs will stay in
Egypt and be your slave!"
The cup was found in Benjamin's sack, and they sadly returned to face
Joseph. They fell before him, and Judah said, ""Oh, my lord, you asked
us if we had any other brothers at home and if our father was still
alive. We told you that our father is a very old man who needs to have
his youngest son near him. We also said that it would no doubt kill
our father is anything happened to him. We have come back to Egypt
with our brother Benjamin as you requested. We all need food for our
families, but how can we return to our father and tell him that
Benjamin isn't allowed to leave Egypt? Please take me in his place,
because I promised my father I would offer my own life to protect my
youngest brother."
When Joseph saw how unselfish Judah had become, he sent all of the
servants out of the room and spoke to his brothers in their own Hebrew
language. He said, "I am Joseph! Does my father still live?" Then he
wept aloud as he spoke to them, and all of the Egyptians in Pharaoh's
household heard him.
Joseph's brothers were so frightened that they could not answer him.
Then Joseph drew closer to them and repeated, "I AM JOSEPH, THE
BROTHER WHOM YOU SOLD INTO EGYPT MANY YEARS AGO! Now stop being afraid
because you sold me. God sent me before you to preserve life. There
are still five more years of famine to come, and God has made me
second to Pharaoh so that He may deliver all of you from starvation!"
While his brothers stood speechless before him, Joseph continued,
"Hurry, all of you, and go back to your father in Canaan. I will send
supplies with you, and bring our father here to me with your families
and your cattle also, and I will take care of you!"
Then Joseph embraced his brothers, and they talked with him. Joseph's
last words to them as they left for Canaan were, "Be sure you don't
argue among yourselves along the way!"
CHAPTER 6
After the death of Jacob, Joseph continued to rule as Prime Minister
of Egypt for many more years. He lived to enjoy his grandchildren and
his great-grandchildren.
Joseph's brothers prospered, and their families increased because of
Pharaoh's kindness to them.
When Joseph reached the age of one hundred ten, he knew he was about
to die. He called the members of his family together and said to them,
"I'm going to die. Don't bury me in Egypt, but take my body with you
wherever the Lord leads you, and then bury my bones in the land that
God promised to Abraham. Remember that the Lord told Abraham our
people would be in bondage for four-hundred years and then He would
deliver them from slavery and take them to a land of their own."
After giving those instructions to his family, Joseph died. His body
was embalmed and placed in the gold box that bears my name, "SARCHOPHAGUS".
I had the honor of carrying Joseph's bones during the Jews' four
hundred years of bondage in Egypt and also throughout their forty
years of wandering in the desert with Moses.
I found no rest until Joshua and the people who were with him went
into the land of Canaan where they buried me and the bones of Joseph
in Shechem, according to the will of God.
Egyptian Embalming
THE END
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