Today in God’s Word

Today in God's Word—December 2024

East Tallassee Church of Christ

December 2, Genesis 46

All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.

- Genesis 46:7

God told Abraham and Isaac it would happen. But it was late in Jacob's lifetime when his whole family went to Egypt. They went and stayed a long time. Over 400 years, the family became slaves instead of invited guests, and grew into a nation known by Jacob’s God-given name, Israel.

Joseph's story dominates the last section of Genesis. Those events were necessary to set the stage for what happened in this chapter. But Joseph's story is told within the section called “The Generations of Jacob.” This chapter is a turning point and milestone for Jacob’s family. Prophecy was fulfilled by their journey and before their eyes.

Jacob stopped to worship and sacrifice at Beersheba on his way to Egypt. Maybe he used an altar his father had used decades before. Was he afraid to go on? God had warned his father not to go to Egypt, and Isaac never did. Jacob's grandfather Abraham had left the land where God brought him and went to Egypt during a famine. Remember the trouble he had there about Sarah being his "sister,” and how Pharaoh made him leave? But God appeared to Jacob and told him, "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt." He assured him that his family would return, and that his son Joseph would be with him when the old man died.

This chapter names Jacob’s direct descendants who went to Egypt. All his named sons, his daughter Dinah, along with all their unnamed wives, daughters and granddaughters went to Egypt with their patriarch. The number 70 seems figurative for “all of them.” The number has figurative significance in Israel's history. Stephen said it was 75. The total of Jacob’s company could have been 100 or more. The idea is not the exact number, but rather the fact that all Jacob's direct descendants went along. Judah went ahead to Goshen as the forerunner to show Jacob and the others the way. That’s another Christ-like image in Judah's life. The book of Hebrews says that our forerunner, Jesus, has gone ahead of us to show us the way home to the Father.

Can you imagine the emotional temperature of the meeting when Joseph rolled up in Pharaoh's second chariot? Did he run to his father? The two men, separated for over 20 years, were finally reunited. Imagine Jacob in that moment. The son he thought was torn to pieces and killed by wild beasts all those years ago is alive, well and holding him in a tearful embrace. He experienced what the prodigal’s father said: “He was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found."

Joseph had already secured an ideal territory for Jacob and Sons to set up as their home base. The land of Goshen had two particular qualities that made it the perfect place for Israel's family. There was plenty of open pasture to feed their large flocks and herds. Plus, Goshen was sparsely populated. That was an essential part of God's plan to grow the family into a nation. Their occupation as shepherds made the Israelites abominations to the Egyptians. They, like many other "advanced" ancient cultures, looked down on the humble people who did hard, unpleasant work. It’s ironic that those despised folks were essential workers in the process that fed the folks who looked down on them. A modern parallel would be sophisticated urban and suburban professional people who look down on farmers and other people who work in the food industry. I'm not a farmer. I don't grow my own tomatoes or raise my own beef, pork or chicken. But I admire and appreciate the hardworking people who do it. Let's never have a snobbish air of superiority to the people who work to get our food to the store or table where it comes to us. God used Israel’s isolation and segregation to protect the bloodline and grow them into a nation. It wouldn’t have happened that way in Canaan.

Jacob and Joseph could not recover their lost years. But they were together now. The other sons of Jacob couldn't undo or go back to erase the wrong they had done or change the effect it had on their father and brother. But Joseph showed them that God used the terrible things that happened then to arrange their rescue from the famine now. Joseph could have been bitter, but he was not. Jacob could have lived on in agony about the past. But instead, he once again embraced the beloved son he thought he'd never see again. Remember, our God does good for his people through circumstances, and sometimes, in spite of them.

Copyright © 2021 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.