Genesis 50:21-23

Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father’s house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph’s knees.

There is something so beautiful about the way Joseph finishes.

He had known the pit. He had known slavery. He had known prison. He had known power. He had known what it was to be the man through whom a nation was preserved. But when you come to the closing scene of his life, the Spirit of God does not leave you with Joseph standing beside Pharaoh. It leaves you with Joseph comforting people, speaking kindly, and holding little ones on his knees.

That says a lot.

Joseph tells his brothers, “Fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones.” He is not merely sparing them. He is not simply saying, “I will not destroy you.” He is going much farther than that. He is saying, “I will take care of you. I will feed you. I will care for your children too.” That is grace in its full sweetness. Grace does not only cancel judgment. Grace nourishes. Grace comforts. Grace speaks kindly.

That sounds so much like Jesus.

Our Greater than Joseph does not merely pardon us and then leave us to fend for ourselves. He nourishes us. He speaks peace to us. He comforts us. He cares for us and for those who belong to us. What a Savior. What a heart.

And then the chapter takes one more tender turn. Joseph lived long enough to see Ephraim’s children of the third generation. The children of Machir were brought up upon Joseph’s knees. You can see it, can you not. An old man who once carried the weight of Egypt now carrying grandchildren. The one who once interpreted dreams for kings now bouncing little ones on his knees.

And I cannot help but think that he did more than bounce them.

Surely he told them the story.

Surely he told them about the faithfulness of God.

Surely he told them about the pit and the prison and the palace.

Surely he told them that what men mean for evil, God means for good.

Surely he told them about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And I have to believe Joseph was on his knees in another way too. Not only with grandchildren on them, but before the Lord because of them. Praying for them. Asking God to keep them. Asking God to make Himself known to them. Asking that the God who had been faithful to him would be faithful to them also.

That is ministry.

And if you are a grandparent, do not miss that. There is a ministry there unlike any other season of life. Scoop those little ones up physically and talk to them about God. Tell them the stories. Tell them what the Lord has done. Let them hear His name from your lips in the ordinary moments. And then scoop them up spiritually too. Carry them before the Lord in prayer. Get on your knees for them. Ask God to put His hand upon them all the days of their lives.

There is something very rich in this closing picture. Joseph had been used in public ways, in national ways, in mighty ways. But the Spirit of God closes his story with a family scene. Not spotlight. Not office. Not title. Grandchildren on his knees.

That is not a small ending.

That is a rich ending.

A man can rise high in this world and still finish poorly. Joseph did not. He finished tender. He finished feeding others. He finished comforting others. He finished speaking kindly. He finished with another generation close enough to hear.

That is a life worth wanting.

Not merely to be used greatly.

But to finish graciously.

Not merely to stand before rulers.

But to sit with children.

Not merely to have stories worth telling.

But to tell those stories to the next generation.

Psalm 78:4 says, “we will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.” Joseph may not quote those words here, but he is living them. He is passing something on. He is not letting the goodness of God stop with him.

And that is how a godly legacy is built. Not only through big moments, but through repeated faithful moments. A grandfather with a child on his knees. A voice speaking kindly. A life that has been through enough with God to have something real to say.

Joseph ends there.

And it is lovely.