In the Beginning: A Study in Genesis 37-50ናሙና

How can you get over the past and get on with the future?

Joseph had been living in God’s will almost his entire life, and God’s anointing had clearly not left him throughout every stage of his life. Finally, now Jacob and the rest of his sons are also going to start living within the perfect will of God, as Jacob packs up the family to move down to Egypt.

This scene opens with the now elderly Jacob/Israel, in faith, leaving his home like his great grandfather Abraham had before him, trusting God to bless him in a new land. Along the way, Israel, as a man now filled with faith, much unlike his early years, stopped at Beersheba to worship God, the God of his father Isaac. This was the same place where the previous patriarchs, his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham, also worshiped the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 21:33, 26:23-25), who is now also the God of Judah.

The only divine encounter in the story of Joseph is reported as God appeared to Jacob, commanding him to move to Egypt, and promising a blessing and reuniting with his long lost beloved son, Joseph. Jacob has seemed to be the kind of guy that only shows up at church once or twice a decade. However, before the family departs for Egypt, Jacob decides to gather the family together to worship God. He’s an older man and a godlier man. This is hope to those of us that maybe feel like we have wasted some years of our life; it’s never too late to start worshiping God faithfully.

Jacob is now at the start of a major life transition; God has called him to leave the promised land for Egypt. Instead of worshiping God when all is said and done, like many of us do, Jacob worships God before and along the way. More than ever, when you’re in the middle of a major life transition, you need to be in church, in the Word and in prayer.

When God speaks to Jacob, he tells him to not be afraid, and that it is in Egypt that Jacob will be made into a great nation. This is important for Jacob. He’s certainly heard the stories from his father about grandpa Abraham’s misguided road trip to Egypt and how disastrously that could have ended had God not intervened. Putting ourselves in his shoes, we can certainly see why Jacob might be hesitant to potentially repeat this mistake and take his family to a godless land with a different culture and a different language.

God says “fear not” to Jacob. We often want resolution from our fear of the unknown, but what God offers is a relationship. We might not know every detail of the future, but we do know the God who rules and reigns over the future, and we can trust him with our plans, our lives and our families. The most common invitation and command from God in the entire Bible is “fear not” which appears hundreds of times in some form or fashion. God keeps telling us to not choose fear, because we so often find ourselves fraught with fear. Often, God also says in some form or fashion that He is with us through the thing we fear, and it is His presence that leads and comforts us. This is precisely what is happening to Jacob and his family for generations in this scene.

Sometimes we can miss God’s will for us by following God’s will for someone else. What did God tell Abraham? “Go to the Promised Land.” What did God tell Isaac? “Stay in the Promised Land.” What did God tell Jacob? “Leave the Promised Land.” Jacob would have missed God’s will if he copied his grandfather and left home a moment before God had told him to. Jacob would have missed God’s will if he had stayed in the Promised Land like his father. The point is Jacob followed God’s will for his family, not for anyone else’s. We want God to work like paint-by-numbers, where He can work for us the same exact way He worked for someone else. But to discern God’s will, we need to go to the Scriptures first. Much of what God wills for you is already in the Bible. Second, we can find God’s will through prayer by asking Him, “Lord, burden my heart with what you want me to do.” Third, God also works through wise counsel. These are people that know and love the Lord, and we say, "Here's what I'm thinking. Let me check with you.” If you need God’s will for a financial decision, find someone who loves the Lord and is good with money. If you want to get married, find a godly couple that has been married for a long time and ask for their wisdom.

Lastly, once we have determined God’s will, we need to accept it and move forward in it. Joseph probably didn’t like God’s will very much at first. Betrayal, abandonment, slavery, false accusations, imprisonment; Joseph wouldn’t have picked these for himself, but he accepted his circumstances and worshiped God through them. Jacob probably has some reservations about leaving the land his family has existed on for over a hundred years, but he accepts God’s will and obeys.

Joseph and Jacob finally reunite in the land of Goshen, and it’s a wonderful family moment. In one of the most touching occasions in all of Scripture, Joseph reunited with his loving father Jacob as the men embraced and “wept for a long time.” This is hope for many of us with broken families or relationships; if we can show forgiveness to those who have hurt us, God can work in amazing ways to reconcile people to each other and reunite families.

The next thing Joseph does is bring his family before the Pharaoh. His father and brothers are foreigners who don’t speak the language and who work in one of the lowest-class sectors of the workforce - shepherding. This is a picture of what Christ does for us. We are foreigners to Heaven, outcast, low-class, dirty people, and Jesus brings us to His Father to intercede for us. Jacob and his sons in any other circumstance would have no place standing before a king like the Pharaoh, just like we have no place standing before Father God without Jesus Christ.

Joseph’s brothers have humility and ask nothing from the Pharaoh other than to continue to fulfill their roles as keepers of the animals. They don’t look at Joseph’s title and expect for themselves high-standing positions or roles. The meeting with the Pharaoh is concluded with a blessing that Jacob speaks over the Pharaoh. As believers, we have the power through the Holy Spirit to be a blessing to those we interact with, even if they don’t know Jesus. Joseph has been a blessing to those around him his entire life, and now Jacob is to the Pharaoh. Never underestimate the impact you can have if you let God bless people through you.

Joseph then brought his 130-year-old father Jacob to meet the mighty Pharaoh. Amazingly, the lowly old man actually blessed the Pharaoh twice (Genesis 47:7,10) as the blessing of God was given through him as the patriarch head of the covenant family. This family, like every family, has sins and struggles, but God is always with them, working things out for them, and pouring out blessing upon them. This is the hope and encouragement for every believing family - that we worship the same God.

Question:

What does this part of Joseph’s story teach us about forgiving people quickly and waiting patiently to possibly reconcile our relationship with them?