Genesis
chapter 46 tells us of careful obedience and the ultimate reunion of
Israel with the son that was dead to him. It begins, “So
Israel set out with all that was his“.
This was no weekend camping trip, he took everything. On the way,
they stopped in Beersheba, “and
offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac“.
For a time, both Abraham and Isaac lived in Beersheba, and Israel
does not rush down to Egypt, but takes the time to wait on God. “And
God spoke to Israel in a vision“.
Israel is told, “Do
not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you 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“.
God gives these words of encouragement because Israel knew of God’s
promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:13, “your
descendents will be strangers in a country not their own, and they
will be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years…afterward
they will come out with great possessions“.
After Israel receives God’s assurance, we read, “Jacob
and all his offspring went to Egypt“.
He does not hesitate because he knows he is being obedient. God
does not speak to me in visions, but He does give me His written
word. We can have as much confidence in the truth of scripture as
Israel had because we know the Bible is God-breathed. While the
world around us seems to lack any certainty, and the lines between
right and wrong are slowly being erased, my confidence in the truth
of scripture is vindicated daily.
The
sons and the grandsons of Israel are listed for us and these
genealogies are crucial because each of the twelve sons will become
individual tribes later on. Each tribe will have a specific role in
the future of the nation. We are told that the direct male
descendents of Israel (including the two sons of Joseph) were seventy
in all. Over the next four hundred years the nation will grow to
over two million. Isolated and segregated in Egypt, the nation will
not be defiled by intermarrying with the Egyptian people. We even
read at the end of the chapter that Joseph tells them how to answer
Pharaoh’s question, “What
is your occupation?“.
He tells them to say, “Your
servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our
fathers did“.
Joseph explains, “Then
you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for shepherds
are detestable to Egyptians“.
Egypt will be a great incubator for the development of the nation
God promised to Abraham.
We
read that “Jacob
sent Judah ahead… to get directions to Goshen“.
Joseph had his chariot ready to rush to meet them and be united with
his father again at last. “As
soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his
father and wept for a long time“.
“Israel
said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for
myself that you are alive“.
The emotion is impossible to capture with mere words. The same hope
that kept Israel moving toward Goshen keeps our hearts full of
anticipation that we too will be reunited with the Son of God.
Romans 8:16 tells us, “The
Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of
God“.
And Romans 8:38-39 reminds us that, “neither
death, not life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor powers, not height, nor depth, nor any other
created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord“.
A great reunion awaits ahead for us too!