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. 2 And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. 4 I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”
5 Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 They also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, 7 his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters. All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.
8 Now these are the names of the descendants of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. … 27b All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.
28 He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. 29 Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.” 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.’ 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,’ in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
On the way to Egypt, the family stop at Beersheba, the place where God appeared to Abraham about sacrificing his son Isaac (Gen 21:31-22:2), and the place where God appeared to Isaac (Gen 26:23-24). There God encourages him and makes a promise that Joseph will close his eyes—Joseph will be with him when he dies. God has not ignored the fact that Joseph has been without Joseph for all these years. God cares for us personally (1 Pet 5:7).
The family that arrived in Egypt was seventy people (including Joseph’s family). Sometimes numbers in the Bible feel a bit boring but in this case they show God working. When Jacob entered Canaan the family was about fourteen people and now it had grown to seventy. God had promised Abraham that he would make a nation from his offspring (Gen 12:2) and we now see the beginnings of that nation.
Jacob is reunited with Joseph. Jacob is ready to die in peace as God has fulfilled all his promises to him. Joseph continues to show wisdom as he sets up his family apart from the Egyptians in a separate part of Egypt. This will allow them to grow as a nation without adopting Egyptian culture and custom.