Genesis 46: 28-34
Jacob/Israel is bringing his whole clan from Canaan to Egypt, sight unseen.
(28) Now he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out the way before him to Goshen.
So, he sends Judah ahead to find Joseph, to get directions to the district they're to settle in. This means that Judah, not Joseph, will be leading the whole clan into the district that they will be living in.
(29) Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; as soon as he appeared before him, he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time.
I wonder if Joseph decorated his chariot for this momentous moment. It is a very emotional meeting; Joseph has not seen his father since he was seventeen, and now they're finally reuniting! No wonder he wept on his neck a long time!
(30) Then Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive."
This doesn't mean that Israel wants to die right away, it only means that he has completed the most important item on his "bucket list" so he's not waiting for anything else. And now that he's moved, he's starting a whole new life chapter!
(31) 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.'
Joseph tells his brothers that he will prepare for their meeting with the king so that everything will go well.
(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,' that you may live in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is loathsome to the Egyptians."
Goshen is the best area in all of Egypt, with the most fertile soil and the most lush grazing for their sheep and cattle. In telling the people that they are shepherds, the other Egyptians who already live in Goshen will probably move out, so they will have the whole lush area all to themselves.
God's Greenhouse for growing His chosen people.
O my Father, You are so precise about Your plans for us. You knew that Jacob's family were very fragile and vulnerable while they were still few in number. So You brought them into Goshen so they could safely and healthily grow into the nation of Israel You intended.
My Father, You also have the same preciseness in Your plan for me, too. Please help me not to waste any of this time I am waiting on You, and to take the steps You set my feet upon to follow You.
O Father, use me, use all of Your children, to share with everyone in the world in all the ways You enable each of us to communicate. Let every living person hear how much You love us all, and want us all in Your own family. Cause every spiritual embryo to come to the birth, and grow Your children to maturity, to reach the full stature of the Son of God.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, the Lord God Almighty, King of the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
