Jacob and Joseph Reunited

Story:  Jacob and Joseph Reunited

Passage: Genesis 46:28-34

Characters:  Joseph, Jacob, Joseph’s whole family

Summary:  Jacob sent Judah ahead of them to Joseph.  Joseph met Jacob in Goshen.  He wept on his neck for a long time.  Israel was ready to die in peace.  Joseph told his family to tell Pharaoh that they were shepherds so that Pharaoh would let them stay in Goshen since shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians.

Notes:   It is interesting that Judah led the way for Israel to enter Egypt.  Judah appears to have taken his place as the one in the Messianic line in the family.  The meeting between Joseph and Jacob was emotional.  Jacob’s whole attitude was transformed.  He was ready to die in peace for he knew Joseph was alive.  Jacob had spent twenty years grieving the loss of his son.  Now that he is face to face with the son he thought was dead, he is at peace again.  God had formed the Egyptian culture in such a way that the Israelites could develop and grow untainted by the culture of sin around them.  Ironically, He accomplished this throught he Egyptians’ pagan religion which deemed sheep as unclean.  It is ironic that while the shepherd Israelites were unable to obey God’s commands to not mix with the sinful cultures of the Canaanites around them, the Egyptians were able to follow their convictions and not mix with the shepherds.  God was preparing an entire culture for the Israelites. 

Questions:  Did Jacob regain his trust in God at this point?  Why did the Egyptians find sheep unclean?  What emotions went through Joseph when he saw his father?  How much stronger were they than when he saw his brothers, specifically Benjamin? 

Lessons:  We can learn a lot about trusting God through this story.  Jacob’s family was dealing with a famine and now they were living in a foreign country, but God was behind it the whole time.  They had no idea what a huge role this played in God’s redemptive plan for the world.  I think sometimes we have no idea how our circumstances fit into God’s plan.  Sometimes our misfortunes are not misfortunes at all in the big picture.  If we take our focus off of ourselves and instead focus on God like Joseph did, we can be used to our full capacity for God.  If we focus on our circumstances like Jacob did, we are almost useless.    

Joseph Brings His Family to Egypt

Story:  Joseph Brings His Family to Egypt

Passage: Genesis 46:1-27

Characters:  Joseph, Joseph’s whole family

Summary:  Jacob took his family and traveled to Beersheba where he offered sacrifices to God.  God appeared to him in a dream and told him to not be afraid to go to Egypt for God would turn him into a great nation there.  He also heard he would die with Joseph.  So Jacob took his family and went to Egypt.  The passage then lists all seventy of Jacob’s descendants who moved to Egypt.    

Notes:  Jacob was apparently afraid of something considering God had to explain that He was the reason they were going to Egypt.  He probably knew his father and grandfather had some history in Egypt and it wasn’t good.  Both Abraham and Isaac had sacrificed to God in Beersheba.  In fact, Jacob was probably using an altar built by Isaac.  God promised to make Jacob into a great nation while in Egypt.  The racial segregation in Egypt along with the ample amount of food there made it a perfect place to grow into a nation set apart for God.  In the list of people who traveled to Egypt, most of the people are sons or grandsons of Jacob.  However, Judah’s son Perez also has his sons listed.  This is significant because Perez is in the line of Jesus.  Asher’s son Beriah also has his sons listed.  Overall, seventy people came to Egypt.  Jacob’s faith is evident in the fact that he brought his entire family to Egypt.  He left no one behind in case something went wrong.  He trusted God and followed Him into Egypt. 

Questions:  Why was Jacob afraid?  How did Jacob’s family perceive Egypt at that time?  Did Jacob believe that Joseph was really alive until God told him?

Lessons:  We can learn from Jacob’s trust and obedience in God.  He felt like God wanted him to move his entire family to Egypt so he packed up and brought all seventy members of his household to Egypt.  If God tells us to do something radical and dramatic, are we willing to obey?