When Jacob found out
that his son Joseph still lived, he naturally wanted to go see him right away.
But on his way there he realized what this implied. Although Jacob wanted to
see his son Joseph, he did not want to leave the Land that God had promised to
give to his descendents.
Leaving the land,
especially at his age, meant that he would very likely not come back. Jacob
found himself in a dilemma: on the one hand, the purpose of his life had to do
with the land; on the other hand, his son Joseph was waiting for him in Egypt.
Surely Jacob’s heart was split in two. That is why he asked God for guidance.
(Genesis 46:1) So Israel took his journey with all that he had and
came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
In that same place, Abraham
and Isaac had called upon the Name of God.
* Abraham in
Beersheba
(Gen. 21:33) Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and
called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.
* Isaac in Beersheba
(Gen. 26:23-25) From there he went up to Beersheba. (24) And
the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of
Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and
multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” (25) So he built
an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his
tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
Beersheba is the
city located south of the Promised Land; after this city, the road through the
desert towards Egypt began. In the past, God had told Isaac not to descend to
Egypt, and he never left the Promised Land. The question was if this same
instruction applied to Jacob. Surely Jacob wondered if God was ok with him
descending to Egypt. [Note that the Bible always uses de word “descend” when it
refers to Egypt, which symbolizes the world].
If Jacob left the
Promised Land, would God’s promise of his sons inheriting the land still stand?
VISIONS OF THE NIGHT
Being found in this
dilemma, Jacob searched for God. He searched and he found him. God answered
though a vision at night.
(Gen. 46:2-4) And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and
said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” (3) Then he said, “I am God,
the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will
make you into a great nation. (4) I myself will go down with you to Egypt,
and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”
This answer calmed
Jacob’s worries. The Lord made it clear that it was His will that Jacob and his
entire family go to Egypt.
It is so important to
always search for God’s will for our lives. We cannot take what God has spoken
to someone else and make it our own. God has plans for each person, and we must
seek that revelation.
Having God’s
approval and direction, Jacob went on to Egypt with the confidence that he was
walking in divine will. Now he had the freedom of fully enjoying his
reencounter with his son Joseph.
(Gen. 46:5-7) Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of
Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the
wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. (6) They also took their
livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and
came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, (7) his sons, and
his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters. All his
offspring he brought with him into Egypt.
ISRAEL’S SONS IN EGYPT
The Bible says that
ALL of Israel’s sons went to Egypt. It mentions them by name, and in the end it
says how many they were in total:
(Gen. 46:8-27) Now these are the names of the descendants of
Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Reuben, Jacob’s
firstborn, (9) and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and
Carmi. (10) The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and
Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. (11) The sons of Levi: Gershon,
Kohath, and Merari. (12) The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and
Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan); and the sons of Perez were
Hezron and Hamul. (13) The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Yob, and
Shimron. (14) The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. (15) These
are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his
daughter Dinah; altogether his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.
(16) The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. (17)
The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, with Serah their sister. And
the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. (18) These are the sons of Zilpah,
whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob—sixteen
persons. (19) The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin. (20)
And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom
Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On, bore to him. (21) And
the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim,
Huppim, and Ard. (22) These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to
Jacob—fourteen persons in all. (23) The son of Dan: Hushim. (24) The
sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. (25) These are the
sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and these she bore to
Jacob—seven persons in all. (26) All the persons belonging to Jacob who came
into Egypt, who were his own descendants, not including Jacob’s sons’ wives,
were sixty-six persons in all. (27) And the sons of Joseph, who were born
to him in Egypt, were two. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into
Egypt were seventy.
In total, there were seventy descendents of Jacob that
arrived at Egypt.
[Note: Exodus 1:1-5 begins with this same reference].
JACOB AND JOSEPH’S
ENCOUNTER
Jacob did not go to Egypt’s capital, where Joseph was. But
he stayed at Goshen, a land suited for all the livestock they were travelling
with. From there, Jacob sent a message to Joseph, telling him they had arrived.
(Gen. 46:28) He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way
before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen.
Joseph was not going
to wait any longer, and he immediately left to see his father…
(Gen. 46:29-30) Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to
meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell on his
neck and wept on his neck a good while. (30) Israel said to Joseph, “Now
let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.”
Without a doubt, it
was a very emotional reencounter. Jacob not only saw the son that he loved so
much, but he saw how the Lord had made his dreams come true. He could see how
God’s hand had sent them there to keep them alive; but to also, as He had
revealed to him, God took them there to make of them a great nation.
AT GOSHEN
Jacob and Joseph
were reunited at Goshen. This would be the land that Pharaoh would give to
Jacob’s family to keep their livestock.
(Gen. 46:31-34) Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s
household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and
my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. (32)
And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they
have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ (33)
When Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ (34) you shall
say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until
now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell in the land of
Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”
In Egypt, shepherds
were very much disliked. God knew that, and it was part of his strategy; which
is why he took Israel’s sons to Egypt, so that they wouldn’t be mixed with
other peoples but that they would form a set apart nation. Jacob and his sons
were going to live in Egypt, but they were not to come together with the
Egyptians (Gen. 43:32).
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