The Story Of Joseph Part 30--Jacob's Blessing On Joseph's Sons

 Genesis 48: 1-22

Now that Joseph has moved his whole family to Egypt where he can take care of them as the second in command after the king, they've stayed there for longer than the rest of the years of famine, prospering in the most fertile region of the whole nation. Life is good, so they've settled down there "permanently." 

(1) Now it came about after these things that Joseph was told, "Behold, your father is sick." So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 

This is years later, and Joseph is bringing his sons because he wants Jacob to see them again. 

(2) When it was told to Jacob, "Behold, your son Joseph has come to you," Israel collected his strength and sat up in his bed. 

He is Israel again, and he collected his strength to sit up on his bed, to greet his son and grandsons.

(3) Then Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, (4) and He said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.'

This is when he started out to come to Egypt sight-unseen because he heard that Joseph was still alive and a lord in this foreign land. And he offered a sacrifice to God in thanksgiving, trusting that this is true. Then God spoke to him, and he knows that he can trust God.

(5) "Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. (6) But your offspring that have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the names of their brothers in their inheritance. 

Jacob tells Joseph that instead of just one son, he is claiming both of his grandsons as his own sons, to be counted among his sons. Any other children Joseph will have after these two will be considered grandsons, at the same level as the children of his other sons. But Ephraim and Manasseh will be counted as among Jacob's sons, as Reuben and Simeon and the rest. This is a legal declaration. 

(7) "Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died, to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)." 

Why Jacob would bring this bit of history up here is a mystery. Is he saying that, since she died, he couldn't have any more children by her, therefore he is claiming Joseph's sons as his own?

Now he is starting the ceremony of official blessing.

(8) When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?" (9) Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." So he said, "Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them." 

This is all ritual language, as Israel is going to officially bless these descendants of his with God's blessing. This means that they are prophesies that will come to pass in the future.

(10) Now the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 

Because he couldn't see very well any more, Joseph brought his sons so close to his father that he could get to know them by touch and scent and voice, to distinguish one from the other.

(11) Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well." 

Israel is rejoicing in God's goodness to him, in granting him this blessing of seeing Joseph again after believing that he was dead for so many years, and now seeing even two grandsons from his favorite son! This is overwhelming to him!

(12) Then Joseph took them from his knees and and bowed with his face to the ground. 

Joseph honors his father and the Lord God in obeisance, with his face to the ground.

(13) Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right, and brought them close to him. 

Joseph was careful to make it easy for his father to put his right hand on the elder son and his left hand on the younger.

(14) But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn. 

Israel had other ideas, though, and crossed his arms in order to put his hands where he wanted to, not where Joseph wanted him to.

(15) He blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my Shepherd all my life to this day, (16) the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; And may my name live on in them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the Earth." 

Here Israel is blessing Joseph, by blessing both of his sons together. By this time, Joseph notices something, and tries to correct it.

(17) When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim's head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. (18) Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head." 

Joseph thinks his father made a mistake, and tries to correct him, so that the firstborn's blessing will go to his firstborn son. 

(19) But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." (20) He blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying, 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!'" Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 

Israel assures Joseph that he knows what he is doing, because God is going to give the greater blessing to the second-born son over the firstborn. God is leading Israel to pronounce His prophecy accurately. God has often chosen the second-born over the firstborn, sometimes for reasons we can see, other times for His own reasons. But it is God who blesses who He chooses to bless.

(21) Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and bring you back to the land of your fathers. (22) I give you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow." 

Israel is blessing his favorite son with a double portion, and God is in agreement, to bless Jacob with granting this desire of his. God knew that there needed to still be twelve tribes to settle the Promised Land, even when He will not grant the sons of Levi their own land, but will scatter them throughout the others' territories as their teachers. So having two tribes of Joseph will provide the proper number. God always sees the Big Picture, and knows what He is going to do, even when He doesn't tell us about it! He is God, we are not. 

Jacob is now Israel. He is no longer the "Deceiver," but is the "Prince with God." He knows that he is old and will die soon but is confident that God will bring them all back to Canaan, as He promised. And he trusts God and Joseph to keep their promises. 

We do not have any record of Jacob using a sword and bow to take some land by force from this unnamed Amorite. Jacob has always been shown to be, "a peaceful man, living in tents" (25:27), and fearing if the Canaanites and Perizzites might come against him and attack, that, "I will be destroyed, I and my household" (34: 30). So we have a different picture now of this second son of Isaac. Evidently he was sufficiently proficient in warfare to use his sword and bow successfully.

O my Father, You are such a good God. You are the Standard for what is good. And You are the Source of everything that exists. There is so much more to the stories You have given us in Your written Word, all combined into the whole Story of Mankind, that You have revealed to us. I look forward to learning all the details of the stories of all those that You have determined we don't need to know now. And to be able to share my own story with others, all the details that don't seem pertinent at this time. 

But I am anticipating even more getting to know You better, my Lord and my Father. And I know, because I trust You, that I will have all eternity future to continue to learn more and do more in Your service. 

My Father, You are teaching me more every day right now, how much You love me, and care for me and are working all the details of my days to bring about the very best for me. So I want to cooperate with you, in whatever You allow to come across my path, that You will continue to hold my hand, leading and guiding me over, around, and through all the bumps and potholes and brambles on the way. 

O Father, bring all of Your children to the birth, and grow us all up to the maturity of the full stature of the Son of God. Send us all out to tell every living person in the whole world how much You love us all, and are not willing that any would perish, but come to repentance and seek Your face. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, the Lord God Almighty, our Lawgiver and Fulfiller, the sovereign King over the whole World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus! 

The story Of Joseph Part 29--Jacob's Request From Joseph

 Genesis 47: 27-31

We saw yesterday how the Egyptians were so thankful to Joseph for saving their lives by making them all slaves of Pharaoh, owning them and their land, and the new economic system he instituted that prevailed for a long time. 

But Joseph cared for his family, so they didn't have to sell their land and themselves for food, like the Egyptians did.

(27) Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen, and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous. 

Joseph's father Jacob and his brothers and their families were able to own their properties and fields in Goshen, because they didn't belong to Pharaoh, like the rest of the land of Egypt. And they prospered and grew in numbers, just as God planned.

(28) Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the length of Jacob's live was one hundred and forty-seven years. 

When Jacob came into Egypt, he told Pharaoh that he was one hundred thirty years old. Now this is seventeen years later.

(29) When the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, "Please, if I have found favor in your sight, place now your hand under my thigh and deal with me in kindness and faithfulness. 

The practice of placing the hand "under the thigh" was a ceremony that was observed when requesting a promise. So Jacob wanted Joseph to promise to do something for him, without fail.

Please do not bury me in Egypt, (30) but when I lie down with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place." 

Jacob did not want his body to remain in this foreign country, he was asking Joseph to carry it back to Canaan to the burial place Abraham had purchased to bury Sarah, the cave and field of Machpelah, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite (Genesis 23: 1-20). This was the graveyard for the Hebrews ever since. 

And Jacob was asking Joseph to carry his body there for burial, in the Promised Land.

And he said, "I will do as you have said." (31) He said, "Swear to  me." So he swore to him. Then Israel bowed in worship at the head of the bed. 

Jacob wanted to make sure that Joseph understood, and would do this for him when he died. He knew that the Israelites would be going back there, and he wanted his body to rest with his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham, and all the other family members who would also be buried there. 

God had promised Jacob that his family would grow to a mighty nation in the greenhouse of Goshen in Egypt, away from the gross immorality of the Canaans; and that God would bring them back to Canaan out of Egypt, which He did after 400 years. 

And when Joseph assured him that he would carry his bones back to Canaan, Jacob bowed in worship to the Lord God who had spoken to him.

O my Father, You are so good to us all. Even those who don't know You, and even refuse to seek You, You bless every day with light and life and sustenance. And Your care for and compassion on Your children is beyond comprehension. 

My Father, You have planned out every step of our lives, and even when we can't see Your hand, we can still trust Your heart. We can trust that You know what lies ahead that we can't see. 

So I put myself and my life into Your hand, Daddy. I want to curl up in Your lap, with Your strong and gentle arms around me, as I traipse the path I find my feet upon, not knowing what I will encounter along the way. I trust that You will never allow me to face anything that You won't help me through. Just keep my hand in Yours, and I know that You'll never let me go. 

O Father, please use me and my words, and send out all of Your children to go out into all the world's nations and peoples to tell every living person everywhere how much You have loved us all, and want everyone to come to repentance, realizing where they stand before You, and that Your Son has solved all of our sin problems. Let every one of Your babies come to the birth, and grow us all up to maturity, to grow into 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 Savior and Redeemer, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign 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! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 28--Egypt's "New Normal" Economy

 Genesis 47: 13-26

Joseph has become the lord of all the land of Egypt when he interpreted Pharaoh's dream, in order to prepare during the seven years of super-plenty for the following seven years of severe drought. 

Then he was also in charge of doling out the food to the people. So he was the one who made sure everyone had enough to eat. This is how he did it.

(13) Now there was no food in all the land, because the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 

This means that no food could be grown, no crops could be planted, no harvest of any kind of foodstuffs at all, there was just no water to irrigate the fields, the Nile must have been at an all-time low.

(14) Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 

While the people's finances held out they could still buy the grain that Joseph had stored up, and they apparently had several years of finances. I wonder how many years of finances people today have stored up for a non-"rainy day."

(15) When the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, "Give us food, for why should we die in your presence? For our money is gone." 

Now all their money was gone, what could they do now since the drought is still raging in the land and they still can't plant.

(16) Then Joseph said, "Give up your livestock, since your money is gone." (17) So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses and the flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he fed them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 

These people were honest citizens, they didn't expect to get something for nothing, they had no sense of entitlement at all, and wanted to pay something for the food they needed. So Joseph told them they could pay with their animals. So he bartered with them exchanging their livestock for grain. This kept everyone honest.

(18) When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, "We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent, and the cattle are my lord's. There is nothing left for my lord except our bodies and our lands. 

These people are still not able to provide for themselves, and all their money and animals already belong to Pharaoh, so all they have left to pay with is their properties they own, and their own selves. They still don't want something for nothing.

(19) "Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. So give us seed, that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate." 

So they are willing to give up their lands and even their own freedom in order to get food to eat, so they won't starve to death. Still no sense of entitlement. They are still honest people.

(20) So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. Thus the land became Pharaoh's. 

Now all the property and fields and lands of the whole country now belong to Pharaoh, because the people sold them for food.

(21) As for the people, he removed them to the cities from one end of Egypt's border to the other. 

Now that the people were slaves to Pharaoh, he needed to know where they were to command them, so Joseph took them out of the rural areas into the cities where his servants could keep an eye on them. 

Remember this when the governmental authorities start to involuntarily move the rural population to ever more crowded cities, so that the cameras can keep track of each person. Control is what they crave, and we need to recognize this.

(22) Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived off the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore, they did not sell their land. 

The priests were already on the dole, so they always were given their food in payment of their religious services to Pharaoh.

(23) Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land. (24) At the harvest you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and as food for your little ones." 

Now that the seven years of drought are about to end, Joseph is instituting the new normal. The people are not free any more, they're slaves of Pharaoh, and Pharaoh will take care of them now. So Joseph is giving them seed to plant in the fields that now belong to Pharaoh; so whenever anything will grow to harvest, then they must give a 20% tax to Pharaoh, and the rest can be used by them for seed to plant the next season, and for food for them and their families. This looks like a good deal for the people.

(25) So they said, "You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's slaves." 

This looks so good to the people that they are saying, "Thank you so much for making us your slaves!" They have given up their freedom for slavery, because they didn't think they could take care of themselves any more. It's like being in prison, you can't do anything for yourself, but you will be cared for and get enough food to eat every day. Is it worth it?

(26) Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh's. 

So it became the law in Egypt that all the people would pay a 20% tax of all their income to the king, and the government would take care of them. Only the religious institutions were exempt from taxes, because what they earned was from the government, anyway. 

God had brought these conditions onto the people of that whole geographic area (Egypt and Canaan). So God showed Joseph how to save the lives of many people in that area so that they wouldn't starve to death; including his own family. 

God also put this story into His written Word so that we could learn from it. These people had no way to grow their food for this extended time, so, even though they were able-bodied, they were still helpless to take care of themselves. That is why they were so willing to give away their property, possessions and freedom, and become slaves. 

I see today that the government is reducing as many people as they can into this mindset, to think that they cannot earn anything for themselves, so they have a right to be supported by others who can earn wages and make wealth. 

And today government officials are even going so far as to consider if thieves and looters are stealing others' property because they "need" it before charging them with theft. I think this is ridiculous and evil, and only encourages more people to do wrong against their neighbor. 

We as Christians are God's people, and He has given us the ability to make wealth for ourselves so that we can enjoy His prosperity and share with others. 

See Deuteronomy 8: 18; "But you are to remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth ..." God gives each one of us the ability to create wealth.

And II Thessalonians 3: 10-12; "If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, ... Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread;" we are each to work to earn our own living, not mooch off of others.

And Ephesians 4: 28; "He who steals should steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need." We are never to take for ourselves what someone else has earned. We are instead to work to make our own living, to have something to share with someone else who may be disabled or diseased or otherwise unable to work, sharing of our own volition. 

When people who are able-bodied refuse to do physical labor, or people who have intelligent minds refuse to use them to create wealth, then they are shirking their responsibility to take care of themselves and their families, choosing instead to be a leech and a parasite on the society in which they live. This is evil and a detriment to their whole culture. 

God's people need to think God's way and realize that they are royal children of the King, and are expected to give benefit to their society and lift it up to higher standards; for the benefit and prosperity of their whole nation. 

O my Father, You gave us this story of Joseph making a "new normal" for Egypt not as an example for us to follow, but as a warning to be aware of the trap of enslavement. The Egyptian people truly were helped by Joseph's management of the economy, but that is because it was Your way to save lives, especially to save the lives of Joseph's family. You arranged this to let Israel grow into a great nation without the attractions and seductions of the gross immorality happening in Canaan. 

And today it is a good example to recognize when our "powers that be" in the world are attracting and seducing people into modern-day slavery. 

My Father, please wake up and open the eyes of Your people today, to see what is going on, and to realize what each of us can do to either fight against the evil or to promote Your good that You have programmed into this Earth for us to enjoy. 

O Father, teach us how we can go out to the whole world, speaking Your wonderful Truth in the face of destructive deceptions; and to find all of Your unborn babies who are searching for You, even if they don't realize it is You they are looking for. Father, I didn't know that I was looking for Jesus when I searched for Truth, and You found me! Let all of Your children come to the birth, and grow us all up to the maturity of the full stature of the body of Christ. 

For every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will profess that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and Messiah, the Lord God Almighty, King over the whole World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 27--Israel Officially Settles In Goshen

 Genesis 47: 1-12

Joseph had sent the wagons to carry his father and all his household to Egypt from Canaan, so he could take care of them, and make sure they didn't starve. 

He had the authority, as the king's vizier, to determine where to let them live, and gave directions to Judah to lead them into the Goshen area of the land of Egypt.

(1) Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen." 

Now Joseph is making everything legal and official, and informs the king that his family has arrived. 

(2) He took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. (3) Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" So they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers." (4) They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen." 

Then Joseph chooses five of his brothers to introduce them to the king, and they did what Joseph had told them to do, answering politely with their occupation as shepherds.

(5) Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you. (6) The land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock." 

Now Pharaoh is officially welcoming Joseph's family, and granting them as much property as they need in the very best district of his nation. Joseph is already the lord over the whole country, so he is granted to settle them in the most prosperous and lush part of the whole land. It's now legal and in the records. 

And Pharaoh even tells Joseph to hire his family members who have the skills to manage Pharaoh's own herds and flocks. This is continuing God's blessing on Joseph that everything he does succeeds.

(7) Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 

Now Joseph introduces Pharaoh to his father Jacob, and Israel gives a blessing over the king. It is always the greater who blesses the lessor, and Jacob is obviously the elder of the two. And also, God has given Abraham His blessing with which to bless his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob, so Israel has God's blessing to bless Pharaoh. Through this blessing, the whole world will ultimately be blessed (Genesis 18: 18).

(8) Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many years have you lived?" 

Pharaoh is impressed with his extreme age, and asks him how old he is.

(9) So Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning." 

This sounds like he is not considering this long length of life to be anything to boast about, claiming that he's not famous for anything, and has not even attained what his ancestors have. Is this humility?

(10) And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from his presence. 

We are told again that Jacob blessed Pharaoh, so he left him with a blessing, and probably never did come into his official presence again.

(11) So Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered. 

Now everything is signed, sealed and delivered, to make their home in this beautiful, lush and safe land; the best of the whole nation, and the best in the whole world that God determined for them to have at this time. Now they will be able to grow in God's spiritual greenhouse, to multiply in numbers and maintain their faith to worship God.

(12) Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to their little ones.

Joseph was in charge of all the resources in the land, so he was able to provide for his extended family with all the grain and foods they would need, according to the size of each family; so everyone received enough; they all could prosper here. 

There were still more years of famine ahead, but the children of Israel would not have to spend their resources to buy food, Joseph provided for them from the king.

Tomorrow we will see how Joseph dealt with the rest of the citizens of Egypt. 

O my Father, You have told us this story so that we could see how you take care of all the details for us. The children of Israel were special in Egypt because they were Joseph's family, and Pharaoh appreciated and loved him. As long as this king's line were ruling in Egypt, the Hebrews were respected and honored. 

Father, this was the greenhouse You prepared for Your chosen ones. You have moved Heaven and Earth to provide the safe, nurturing environment they needed to grow strong both physically and spiritually. And You gave them all the time they needed to do this in this protected space. 

My Father, You always provide everything we need, whether it is physical, material, financial; or mental, psychological, emotional; or moral, ethical, and spiritual. You give us every advantage and opportunity to be healthy and do the right thing, every time. Please teach Your children that You have already given us everything we need to make the righteous and prosperous decisions, every time. 

O Father, grow Your children, and grow Your family, as You grew Israel in Goshen. Help us to seek Your face and to follow Your ways in all that we do in every area of life, whether at church or at home or at work or at leisure; when arising and retiring, going out and coming in. Send us out into the whole world, to tell every living person how much You love us all. Bring all of Your babies to the birth, and grow us all to maturity, to attain 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, sovereign King over the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 26--Going To Goshen

 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! 

 

 

 

 

The Story Of Joseph Part 25--Jacob Moves To Egypt

 Genesis 46: 5-27

When Jacob set out with his clan, he came as far as Beersheba and offered sacrifices there; and that night God encouraged him in a dream not to be afraid to go, because He would grow his family into a great nation in Egypt. 

Jacob is finally putting into practice his growing awareness that he really is a Prince with God (Israel)!

(5) Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry them. 

Pharaoh was very considerate to send wagons in which to carry Joseph's aged father and all the wives and little children all the way from Canaan to Egypt.

(6) They took their livestock and their property, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him: (7) his sons and his grandsons with him, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt. 

Jacob gathered and packed up everything they had, all their belongings, their animals, and every member of his extended family: his sons and daughters, his grandchildren, and even some great-grandchildren that had been born. The whole clan just uprooted and began the journey to Egypt. 

(8) Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons who went to Egypt: ...

Verses 8-27 list all twelve of Jacob's sons, his daughter Dinah, and all of their children and grandchildren. 

(27) ... All the persons of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy. 

If you wish, you can read this list, but I don't think it necessary to duplicate it here. The only comment I would like to make here, is that they were already beginning to intermarry with the Canaanites, as Simeon had a son, Shaul, by a Canaanite woman (46: 11). So, I don't wonder why God wanted them in the Goshen neighborhood, the hot-house of Egypt. 

There they will not have the temptation to be seduced by the idolatrous peoples who lived in Canaan. They will not be as tempted by the Egyptians, who didn't practice human sacrifice. 

And they have grown numerous enough to dilute the DNA enough to not have intermarriage between too close relations. Every generation experiences microscopic breaks in the DNA and the RNA, and the human race was damaged when Adam disobeyed, but the damage was not very extensive until many, many generations had been born. 

Abraham and Sarah were half-brother-and-sister (the same father but different mothers; Genesis 20: 12), and Isaac and Rebecca were first cousins once removed (Isaac's father Abraham was brother to Nahor, Rebecca's grandfather; Genesis 24: 15), which was still acceptable, so early in the genetic history of our race. 

But by the time this family had become a nation, 400 years later, it was time for the Law God gave Moses to forbid marriages between close family members such as these. 

That is also why there are laws today that forbid marriages between relatives, because intermarriage with close relatives multiplies the damage in our DNA and RNA and produces children who have anomalies and rare diseases and conditions. 

God is not as concerned with the genetic dangers, though, as much as He is to the moral and spiritual dangers that were extant in Canaan, even back then. 

God wants us to be like Him, so that we can have good, happy and prosperous lives here on Earth, and then to live with Him as His own family forever. He made the human race to be His children, but He wants us to want to love Him back. He does not want puppets, He wants sons and daughters. 

O my Father, You always know what is best for us, in every situation at every time. You know how weak we are, and You will protect us from what we would not be able to resist. So You moved this group of chosen people out of the strong temptations that would have assailed them into the warm cocoon of Goshen. 

O Father, send out Your children into all the world to share with everyone how much You love us all, and will protect us from danger that can destroy us. You are not willing for any of us to perish or be destroyed, because You sent Your Son to save us from all that. Please use us to bring all of Your babies to the birth into Your family, and to grow up and mature into the full stature of the Son of God as His body. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 24--Jacob's Promise From God

Genesis 46: 1-4

Jacob trusted the Lord God with his children when he let his sons take Benjamin with them to Egypt, and God rewarded this step of faith by encouraging him in the knowledge of Joseph's being alive, and his ascendancy to being the Egyptian king's vizier, to be lord over the whole nation of Egypt. 

So now Jacob, being more the Israel (Prince with God) than ever, he is acting on this new information, trusting that it is true. 

(1) So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 

Israel is offering worship to God, to thank Him for the good that He is doing for him in his old age, to be able to see his favorite son again, and to remove all the doubt and despair he had been feeling. Then he camps there for the night.

(2) God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here I am."  

And now Jacob is having a dream.

(3) He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. 

God tells him that He is taking him out of Canaan, out from all the seductive cultures that surrounded his family there. Egypt will be the hot-house where God will grow Israel's family into a whole nation.

(4) "I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes." 

God promises that He will be with Israel while they are in Egypt, that Jacob will live the rest of his life there, and that Joseph, his favorite son, will be with him when he dies. He will have a peaceful going into the next plane of existence, Sheol, the place of the dead. And his body will be carried back to Canaan for burial, because Canaan is the land that God will give to the nation that he will engender. So his body will be laid to rest in their own land, not Egypt. 

Egypt will only be temporary, and God will grow and strengthen this fledgling nation to be strong and capable to take possession of their land. 

Israel entered Egypt a family; in time they will leave as a nation. 

O my Father, Your plan was to take Abraham, whose great faith in You when he was the about only one who knew You then, to make his line into a whole nation, through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. Now at this point in the plan, You are taking Jacob and all of his whole family into Egypt, out of all the attractions of the Canaanites around them, to grow them into the great nation Israel in the sanctuary of Goshen, the most prosperous neighborhood in Egypt. 

And Father, You are also working out Your plan for me, even the little I will be able to do for Your Kingdom, You are working out in my life. Father, keep me in Your arms, close to Your heart, that my heart will beat in sync with Yours, and I will accomplish Your will as Your hands and feet. 

O Father, send out all of Your children into all the world to tell every living person of Your love for all of us, and how they can be born into Your family, also. Let every person in every nation hear and understand. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!