Imagine your whole family, all your kids and their spouses, and their kids and spouses, all your descendants, everybody, your entire family from the oldest to youngest, all of you pack up everything, uproot and move to Egypt.
Could you pull it off? Would every single member of
your family go along with it?
Somehow, that’s exactly what Jacob and family did.
Of course, it might’ve been a bit easier for them
considering they probably all lived near each other and worked the same family
shepherding business.
Plus, they were in the middle of a severe famine, so
things weren’t so great where they were.
Plus, plus, they just learned that their long lost Joseph was a royal prince of sorts over all the land of Egypt.
Genesis 46:1 So Israel took his journey with all that he had,
and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father
Isaac.
When Jacob heard that Joseph, his son, was alive and well,
he immediately said, “I’ll go and see him before I die.” Genesis 45:28.
He was all in. He didn’t just pack an overnight
bag; he took all that he had.
But it wasn’t that easy. Jacob was 130. The trip was
over 300 miles. At 10 miles a day at most with the livestock the journey would
take a long hard month, at least.
Surely, he remembered the promise of the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That’s me (he might’ve said), God,
You said, You’d give us this land, you’d bless us and keep us and make us a
mighty nation.
Perhaps he remembered that God told his dad, Isaac, not
to go to Egypt when there was a famine (Gen. 26:2). And how Isaac obeyed and
stayed and sowed in the land of famine and in that same year prospered and
continued prospering until he became very prosperous.
Then, perhaps, he remembered the prophecy God gave
Abraham, that his descendants would be slaves in a foreign land for four
hundred years. Genesis 15:13.
Perhaps that’s why he paused to talk to God in
Beersheba. “Lord I’d really like to go see my son, but, is it a mistake? Am I
leading us into slavery? If You don’t want me to go, let me know.”
Stopping in Beersheba was no coincidence, it had
significance.
Many years earlier, Jacob fled Beersheba, and stopped
in Bethel, where God passed to him the promise of Abraham and gave him the
dream about the ladder to heaven, Genesis 28.
Beersheba was where treaties were made between Abraham
and Abimelech, and then, between his dad, Isaac, and Abimelech. Both Abraham
and Isaac built altars there, to the Lord. (Gen. 21, 26).
Now, once again in Beersheba, Jacob pauses and offers
sacrifices to the Lord.
What kind of sacrifices?
Likely, thanksgiving offerings. Thank You
Lord for the news that my boy Joseph, is alive. Sacrifice offerings for forgiveness
in case he was presumptuous about the journey; and for direction and protection
on the journey if he wasn’t.
What matters is that he sought the Lord
before taking another step.
In our excitement do we ever leap without looking? Or,
pursue before praying?
If we want the Lord’s blessed direction, we must, trust
in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding in in all
our ways acknowledge Him, and (then), He shall direct our paths. Proverbs
3:5-6.
If we do our part, God will do His.
Draw
nigh to God and He will draw near to you, James 4:8.
Seek
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added
unto you, Matt. 6:33.
Jacob paused to seek the Lord.
The Lord, did not disappoint.
2 Then God
spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
More than 50 years before when Jacob was headed north
out of the Promise Land, God encouraged him through a dream. (Jacob's ladder).
Now as he’s headed south out of the Promise Land, God
does it again.
Notice, Jacob does not say, “Oh no, He’s coming, hide
behind the fig leaves. Hurry, snuff that out, turn that off, close that, dump
that down the drain, don’t let Him see us like this, in a place like this...”
Lord, we pray for our relationship to be such
that when You call our name we joyfully, like Jacob, without hesitation say, “Here
I am, Lord!”
3 So He
said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I
will make of you a great nation there. 4 I will go down with you to
Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand
on your eyes.”
I AM God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and you
Jacob. I remember My promise to you. My hand is not shortened, I will fulfill
My promise to you, even down in Egypt...
Even down at the doctor’s office, even in the cancer
center, the ICU. And even to your sons and daughters overseas, down on the battlefield,
even the battles here, in prison cells, courtrooms, classrooms, bedrooms, that
room inside you where no one is allowed to go.
Through the lowest loneliest darkest night, I AM with
you. And even, especially, beside the grave, you never stand alone.
Paul says it like this:
Romans
8:35-39
Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As
it is written:
“For
Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet
in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For
I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities
nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor
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.
King David says it like this:
Psalm
139:7-14
7
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on
me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from
You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For
You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully
made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
The Lord is saying through His Word, no matter how
far down you go, I go down with You. And from there, I will surely bring you up
again.
Jacob was surely brought up again. Seventeen
years later, after he died in Egypt, his sons carried his body back to Canaan
to bury him in the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham
purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. (Gen. 23, 50).
You see, dear friends, God doesn't see death as an obstacle,
but many times as a catalyst.
Jacob's body died, but Jacob didn't. The God of Jacob
didn't.
Remember, God called Jacob, Israel. God never forgets
a Promise and 430 years later, God brought Israel up out of Egypt and into the Promise
Land.
By death of the first born in Egypt, God
released them from bondage. By death of the lamb, on that first Passover, God
delivered them from death and brought them up out of Egypt into the Promise
Land.
By death of the only begotten Son, The Passover Lamb,
God made a Way for those who receive Him to be released from bondage, brought up
out of Egypt, out of darkness, out of death, into His marvelous Light, out of
the land of famine, into His Promise Land, where there is no lack, sorrow, or death.
God was telling Jacob, (and is telling us) not even death
can stop Me from fulfilling My promise and giving you the Promise Land.
The Lord tells us through His Word, Dear child, I
AM Love, My Love never fails, and I Love you, so, do not fear. I will go down with you and I will surely
bring you up again. (1 John 4:8, 16, 1 Corinthians 13:8, John 3:16, John 14:27,
Isaiah 41:10).
Now from verses 5-27 we have a list of names and then it sums it all up by saying: All
the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.
5 Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. 7 His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.
8 Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s
firstborn. 9 The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 The
sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a
Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The
sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in
the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 The sons of
Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron. 14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered,
Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in
Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his
daughters, were thirty-three.
16 The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri,
Arodi, and Areli. 17 The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and
Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. 18 These
were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she
bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.
19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin.
20 And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom
Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 21 The sons of
Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim,
and Ard. 22 These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen
persons in all.
23 The son of Dan was Hushim. 24 The sons of Naphtali were
Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban
gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all.
26 All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from
his body, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all. 27 And
the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the
persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.
They started out slowly; it took 215 years to grow
from one man, Abraham, to 70 people with Jacob and crew.
Then, because of the exclusive, segregated nature of
the Egyptians, Israel grew as a distinct nation inside a nation; as if in
a mother’s womb.
And just as God said, there in Egypt, they grew into
a great nation. In just 430 years they grew to about 2 million strong.
We have the advantage of hindsight. But just imagine the faith,
the trust that it took for all of them to let go of their Promise Land.
At God's Word to Jacob, they all walked away from the
only life they'd ever known, their homes, their lands, all of it.
QUESTION:
Are we able to hear God clear enough, willing to trust
Him full enough, to obey even if it means walking away from the only life we've
ever known?
Our calling?
Our ministry?
Our comfort zone?
Our Promise Land?
In God we Trust is stamped on every dollar, every coin...
But is it stamped on our heart?
Jesus puts it like this:
Matthew
16:24
If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross
and follow Me.
Are we willing to lay down “ours” to pick up His?
28 Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out
before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen.
Judah was the fourth born of Jacob, not the first; yet, it’s fitting that Judah, of the line of Christ, once again rises to
the front and points the way.
How much more should the Child of God, His Church, His
Ekklésia, filled with His Holy Spirit, rise to the front, in every arena of
this life, pointing to the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Ask yourself: When
folks look at my life, which way is it pointing?
Fun? Food? Stuff? Recreation? Relaxation? Money?
Politics? Religion? Or... Jesus?
29 So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to
meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck
and wept on his neck a good while.
Grown men, do cry.
30 And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen
your face, because you are still alive.”
He wasn’t wishing for death, he was saying, now, I can
die a happy man. My long lost son, I thought was dead, is alive.
Jacob would go on living another 17 years.
Like when I finished the novel, “The Voice” I said, now
I can die. Everything I want my kids to know about life and Godliness is woven
in the words of this story.
Are you ready, to die happy?
31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s
household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and
those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32
And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and
they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’ 33 So it
shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 that
you shall say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our
youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the
land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”
Notice the parallels:
Joseph represented his family before pharaoh, like Jesus
represents us before the Father.
Joseph not only prepared to meet his family’s needs,
but he also prepared a place for them; a place called Goshen.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd not only meets the needs of
His sheep, but also prepares a place for them, a place called heaven.
Notice their honesty:
They didn’t try to hide their identity. They were shepherds,
plain and simple.
Don’t be deceived, or confused, or ashamed about who
and how God made you.
You can never be happy trying to be someone you’re
not.
Listen. You are a Masterpiece, one of a kind, the only
one in the universe, you are world champion: YOU-nique.
God despises hypocrisy.
Like the dog that bites the hand that feeds it, the world
considers the Shepherd and His sheep an abomination, even though they
are the very ones trying to save them.
Current Event Object lesson: Those protesting against exposing waste, fraud and abuse, (DOGE) are protesting against their own provision and protection. They are biting the hand that feeds them. Except for folks with their hands in the cookie jar, they protesteth too much, for fear of cutting off the waste, fraud and abuse that feeds their power lust. Folks like: Maxine Waters, Chuck Shumer AOC and the likes of them.
No worries though, just as the Egyptians despising the
shepherds caused Jacob and crew to be granted Goshen, the very best pastureland
in all of Egypt. We know that all things work together for good to those who
love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans
8:28.
Psalm
2:1-5
Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He
who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, we are willing to lay down our
Promise Land, and pick up and pursue, Yours. We need Your help and wisdom and
guidance to do it. You lead, Good Shepherd, we will follow. We trust You and
love You, forever.
Amen.
Prayer Requests:
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612-554-2522
Email: pray4measap@aol.com
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Promise Land, Genesis 46
This was feed for you to
read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.
Thank you for sharing.
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