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Genesis 46
Listen Now!
But for Jacob to take his entire family down to Egypt is not a small decision—more like a seismic shift. His sons had just brought back the incredible news that Joseph was alive—and ruler in the land of Egypt. But move there? God had told Isaac not to do so years before (Gen. 26:2). Early Abraham had done so—and it just led to trouble. Both times had been times of famine.
Would the family survive if they went?
Would they be absorbed into the Egyptian nation?
Would God’s promise of a Deliverer, the offspring of Abraham, be thwarted?
Jacob is old. He has experienced much heartache. To pull up stakes and move to an entirely different region is unsettling. He has been through it before. He will likely never lay eyes on Canaan again. Change is hard for anyone, but especially for those up in years. Feels insecure and our natural inclination would be to stay put—except for the famine and the prospect of seeing Joseph again.
So how will Jacob know what to do? How do we know when or how to embark on major change in our own lives?
When God says move—what is important?
Worship: Make worship a priority. (1)
Promise: Trust God’s Word. (2-4)
Exodus: Commit completely to the journey. (5-27)
Reunion: Anticipate renewed relationships. (28-30)
Distinction: Don’t forget you belong to God. (31-34)
I. Worship: Make worship a priority. (1)
Israel was a man changed by the intervening grace of God. He went to worship at Beersheba, a place known throughout history as a place of worship. It was the place where Hagar wandered in the wilderness and cried out in despair—the angel of God answered her (Genesis 21). It was where Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech of the Philistines (Genesis 21). It was where Abraham lived after God tested him by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac and provided a ram in Isaac’s place (Genesis 22). It is where God promised Isaac that He would be with Isaac and bless him and multiply his offspring for Abraham’s sake (Genesis 26).
“Many Christians . . . are confronted with change. They suspect God may be leading. But they never pause to ask him whether he is or not, and as a result they often go off in wrong directions and waste precious years of their lives.” ~J.M. Boice
The God reminded Israel and us of the continuity of God’s covenant to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was the same God through all the generations and all changes. Many years earlier the Lord had affirmed to Jacob His covenant promises (Genesis 28 and in Genesis 35). God will do so now again in Jacob’s old age.
As we get into the latter days of our life, we treasure the sweet memories of our early devotion to God and His gracious blessing then. In our old age or even middle age, it is easy to feel that those days of blessing have vanished with our youth, and that all we have to look forward to in this life is decline and death. That has been Jacob’s perspective for some time—he is always talking about his gray hairs going down to the grave in sorrow. But he is wrong. God is still blessing him! God is still leading him (Psalm 71:9, 17-18)!
We must remember that God’s blessings are not relegated to just one part of our lives. Look to Him to do great things now and in the years to come.
II. Promise: Trust God’s Word. (2-4)
God spoke! He does not leave us in the dark—He gave us His written word today and His Holy Spirit. He calls Jacob by name—the name that reminds him of his conniving past and God’s intervention to rescue him from himself.
Jacob has personal relationship with the God of heaven and earth through a covenant of grace. Do you?
God’s covenant of grace is through Jesus Christ alone. Only those whose names are in the Lamb’s Book of life enter eternal life.
Do not be afraid—Why not?
God’s Word of Promise:
“I will make of you a great nation.”
God has not abandoned the covenant promises made at Bethel years before. Yes, the children of Israel will—and must—survive.
“I myself will go down with you to Egypt.” Right from the beginning, God had promised Jacob He would be with him wherever he went. The presence of God makes every strange land home—we are safe anywhere when God is with us. Emmanuel (Matthew 28:18-20).
“I will also bring you back again”—no, you will not be absorbed into the nation of Egypt. You will be preserved. Canaan will be your home again—just as God has promised time and time again.
In fact, long ago God had told Abraham precisely what would happen in this part of Israel’s history—even before Isaac was born (Genesis 15:13-16)!
God also gave an additional personal gift—Joseph’s hand will close your eyes. In other words, Jacob would get to spend the rest of his life with his son Joseph after all these years of being apart.
III. Exodus: Commit completely to the journey. (5-27)
When God says move, pack up and move out. Don’t make provision to turn back from what God has shown you to do.
Reminder: Joseph—Safely Down—though a slave; Jacob and his extended family will have safe journey as well
Not one person remains behind. Except to bury Jacob seventeen years later, none of them will be back for 430 years.
Their history in Canaan has been a sordid one. Their chance to live out the kind of godliness walking with God can produce is over. No more opportunity.
What impact are you having where you are now? You have no idea how much time is left.
These 70 people are all there is of Abraham’s promised offspring after 215 years. But in another 430 (twice 215), they would number 2 million. Don’t be discouraged by slow beginnings.
All these names mean little to us, but they are real people with real lives that matter to God.
The Lord knows your name, too. Your entire personal history. Your soul struggles. And you fit into the plan He is bringing to pass in history.
IV. Reunion: Anticipate renewed relationships. (28-30)
Jacob has sent his family to Egypt for food twice now. But now he goes with all that he has—in large part because Joseph is there and has told him to come.
This whole move has huge significance in redemption history, but for Jacob, it’s about seeing Joseph again.
I can’t say that this observation is the main point of the passage, but it is an encouraging reminder that God has a compassionate heart for His people. He blesses them with relationships dear to their hearts, even when they have to make significant changes and moves in their life. Hence, “Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”
To follow God through a major paradigm shift is hard to do—But God knows our frame. He knows we are dust. He knows how to encourage us in the way.
Our lives will not parallel Jacob’s in every detail, but God often brings us together with brothers and sisters in Christ to make a new place and a new chapter in our lives a great personal blessing.
If God calls you to break ties where you are, you will build new ones, even in the most unlikely of places. Jacob had hoped for years that Joseph would return to him. Now he will go to Joseph.
We never know what is truly our last day to be close to another person. Great truth: all our partings with fellow believers are temporary. We will serve God forever in the life to come.
V. Distinction: Don’t forget you belong to God. (31-34)
Egypt is pagan. How will the children of Israel live there 400+ years without losing the faith of their fathers?
Think how long 430 years is—the time distance from 1582.
25 years before Jamestown is founded.
Queen Elizabeth reigns
6 yrs till the defeat of the Spanish Armada
The year William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway
God kept Israel distinct because they were keepers of livestock and every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians. (Genesis 46:34).
In Goshen they thrived. In Goshen they remained separate from the pagan Egyptians. They never forgot their identity.
Joseph would make them promise to take his bones with him when they went back to the promised land of Canaan. And that is what they would do.
Wherever you go, make sure God is the One who sent you there. And when you go, remember that you belong to Him. Live all your life that way wherever you live, through all the changes of life. Pass on to your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren the faith you have received.
God is no tribal deity bound within the city limits of where you live now. All the earth is His and every part of history. “Through every change, He faithful will remain.” Jesus declared before He ascended to heaven, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore, and make disciples of all ethnicities. Baptize them. Teach them all I’ve taught you. I will be with you all the days, even to the goal of the age.”
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