Genesis 46-47

Joseph sent his brothers back to Canaan, urging them not to argue along the way. What might they be arguing about? “You were the one who wanted to sell Joseph into slavery.” “Yeah, but you were going to leave him to die. At least I wanted him to live.” Can’t you just imagine the arguing among themselves? The brothers explained to their father Jacob (Israel) that Joseph is not only alive but is a ruler in Egypt. At first Jacob is stunned, speechless, perhaps thinking that this is a cruel joke. “How did this happen?” he might have asked. “Don’t ask, Dad, let’s pack and hit the road.” Jacob agreed to go to Egypt eager to see Joseph and see Joseph before he died.

Chapter 46:1 “So Israel set out with all that was his.” This must have been a logistical challenge. I led an army convoy of trucks from the upper Midwest down to Texas. I still can’t understand how a truck in the convoy could take a wrong turn and get lost, but it happened. I hope all of Israel’s camels, mules, etc. made it to Egypt.

Verse 2, “And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” He called him twice. Jacob must be a bit hard of hearing by this time. “Here I am,” he replied. When God spoke to him, I wonder what his first thoughts were. Perhaps, “I hope this is good news this time. I’ve had enough drama for one lifetime.” God didn’t disappoint him. God gave him a message of encouragement. “Don’t be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.” OK, is that it? No bad news to add to this message? Great, now can I go back to sleep?

God had to reassure Jacob because back in Chapter 26:2 God told Isaac to NOT go down to Egypt. This word from God assured Jacob that this move to Egypt was what God wanted him to do.

Did you notice that God said he was going to be in Egypt to make his clan into a great nation. It will be in Egypt that the house of Jacob would become the Nation of Israel. What does this suggest? Increasing the population from a clan to a nation takes time. And where will they be located in Egypt? In a rather isolated place, by themselves, away from the corrupting influence of the neighbors they left. God has big plans for these folks. God also tells Jacob that his favorite son, Joseph, will be the one who will be there at his death and “close his eyes.”

Verse 5, the convoy is on the move, with the wives, all the kids, livestock, and all their possessions they had acquired in Canaan. Do you think there might have been a few arguments about what was loaded for Egypt? “You’re not going to take THAT thing, are you?” “We have to, it was grand mama’s, and she gave it to me when I was a little girl.” Do you want to see a picture of Jacob in the lead vehicle? Here he is. No, not really.

You have my permission (not that you need it) to skim over the long list of names of all who were in the convoy. It took thirty minutes at least for roll call in the morning. “Where are Benjamins’ kids, Bela and Beker? Has anyone seen Bela and Beker?” “I think they went to look for the dog.” “The dog? I thought we left that worthless creature back in Canaan.”

If you are very conscientious and carefully read the list of children, as some scholars do, you might notice in verse 10, where it reads, “and the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.” This passage shows that Shaul had a different mother than the other siblings. It also implies, according to a Jewish commentary, that most of the other sons of Jacob were not married to Canaanites. Because there is some intermarriage with the Canaanites shows the need to get out of the Land of Canaan and into the land of Egypt where they would live among themselves, not intermingling with outsiders.

Verse 27, the total number of family members who went to Egypt were seventy in all. Verse 28, “Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen.” What happened? Did Jacob get lost and refuse to ask anyone along the way for directions?

Understandably, Joseph was anxious for the arrival of his family. “Have they arrived yet?” must have been a frequent question asked of his aide. When the family arrived, Joseph ordered, “Get me my chariot.” As soon as he met his father, he threw his arms around him and wept for a long time (verse 29). It had been about twenty-two years since they’d seen each other.

Jacob (Israel) then said to Joseph, “What, you couldn’t write me a letter to say you were alive?” No, he really said, verse 30, “Now I am ready to die since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.” No, he wasn’t wishing he was dead. Nor was he reaching for a pistol. But seeing Joseph was one thing that he really wanted to do before he died. This was the number one item on his bucket list.

Verse 31, Joseph was all excited and said that he had to go tell the Pharaoh that his family had arrived. Then he told them, that if the Pharaoh asks you what you do for a living, tell him you raise livestock. Apparently, Egyptians looked down upon such people and wouldn’t want to associate with them. Which is fine with them because the land that Joseph picked out for them was Goshen. It was located in the eastern Delta of the Nile, lower Egypt. They would remain there for 430 years and the small clan of 70 would grow to 600,000 men plus women and children for an estimated population at the time of their exodus under Moses to 2.5 million. Their isolation from the rest of the Egyptians would mean there would be little contact with outsiders and less risk of intermarriage or blending of their religions.

We have a picture here of God not only working through his chosen people, but also working through other nations and their leaders. Just because leaders of nations don’t recognize God doesn’t mean that God can’t use them for His purposes. He got Pharaoh involved in His plan. He got Cyrus working for him, also. In Isaiah 45:1, “This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor.” Yes, Cyrus is referred to as a messiah or savior. It was the decree of Cyrus that authorized the rebuilding of the temple, which would lead to a restored Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar is similarly called, “my servant.” Whether or not the leaders of this world know it, at any time they could be working for God.

In Chapter 47 we see the Pharaoh being informed of the arrival of Joseph’s family and he really is excited and gets quite involved in this drama. Joseph only took five of his brothers to meet the Pharaoh. I wonder how he made the decision who to invite. “No, not him. He has ADHD and will be distracted and wander off from the rest of us. No, not him either, he might say something stupid and embarrass all of us.” So, they met the Pharaoh, and the brothers gave the Pharaoh the canned presentation Joseph told them to give. “We have come to live here a while because the famine is severe in Canaan. Please let your servants settle in Goshen.” I hope their delivery of the message was smoother than a fourth grader, standing stiffly in front of a class, haltingly trying to recite the Gettysburg Address. The Pharaoh grants them permission to live in Goshen and even has Joseph’s brothers care for his own herd of livestock (verse 6).

Joseph then asked Jacob, “Would you like to meet the Pharaoh?” “OK, I guess.” So, they are introduced to each other, and Jacob seems to be a depressive personality of sort. When Pharaoh asked him is age, Jacob says in verse 9, that he is 130 years old and “My years have been few and difficult.” Really? You get to meet the most powerful person in the world, and you complain about how difficult your life has been. Did he also tell him about all of his aches and pains, his medical history and surgeries as well as all of the medication he was on? And whatever you do, don’t get him going on his kids. When the Pharaoh asked, “How are you?” It was meant as a pleasantry, not a request for a laundry list of your problems. Keep that in mind when you meet some dignitary. Be brief, courteous, and upbeat. If you want to whine and complain, do what they tell you to do in the Army, “Go tell it to the chaplain.” Translation: “Shut up, I’m not interested.”

The famine deepens in Egypt, verses 13-26. When people ran out of money to purchase grain from the government, they brought their cattle to exchange for food. When the cattle were all gone, they turned over the deeds to their land. The government ended up with all the money, all the cattle (scrawny as they must have been) and all the dried-up land. The people had nothing more to give than their labor and offered to become servants in exchange for food.

What did Joseph do with all of these assets? Verse 23, once the rain came, he gave the people seed and told them to go plant crops. In return one fifth of the harvested crops would go to the government. Though not stated, one-fifth would go into storage so that when the next famine comes, they will be prepared for it.

So, the Egyptian people were no longer landowners but sharecroppers. The people were thrilled with this plan. Verse 25, “You have saved our lives. May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”

Meanwhile, the Israelites settled in Goshen, were fruitful and increased greatly in number. In this verse, Jacob’s descendants are referred to as Israelites for the first time. And it is here that Jacob lives his twilight years, seventeen years in all, in Goshen with all of his family and safe from the threat of starvation. His one last request was that he not be buried in Egypt but taken back to Canaan.

Joseph made a similar request of his children, that his bones be removed from Egypt and taken back to Canaan. Why was this so important to them? The promise of the land, first given to Abraham, was a central element of the Abrahamic Covenant.

Both of these men had plans for their own death. One final act of love we can all do is to make decisions now, in writing, the decisions that family members would otherwise have to make once we die. That means pre-planning our funerals, making a list of people and organizations to call, making your wishes as to who gets what so that there are no conflicts later on, etc. Jesus had an estate plan. It was a last-minute thing, but he did make his wishes known before he died. He made plans for his death and who should take care of Mary. You’ll find it in John 19:26. I hope he put it in writing beforehand.

A budding nation was saved from famine all because one man, Joseph, had lived such an honorable life. How many people would have starved if a corrupt bureaucrat was placed in charge of this program? You will notice that Joseph, in spite of the weighty responsibilities, took care of his family. Paul tells us in 1 Tim. 5:8, that if you don’t take care of your own family, you are worse than an unbeliever.