Home thoughts from abroad.wordpress.com

Genesis 46:31-47:6: Not ashamed.

^“31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, ‘I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, “My brothers and my father’s household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me. ³² The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.” ³³ When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, “What is your occupation?” ³⁴ you should answer, “Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.” Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.’47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, ‘My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.’ ² He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.³ Pharaoh asked the brothers, ‘What is your occupation?’‘Your servants are shepherds,’ they replied to Pharaoh, ‘just as our fathers were.’ ⁴ They also said to him, ‘We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.’⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Your father and your brothers have come to you, ⁶ and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.’ NIV

Gordon Wenham, writing in the ‘New Bible Commentary’, suggests that the expression:’’…for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians’’ (46:34), conveys the suspicion of the settled urban population for the more nomadic peoples (e.g. somewhat like the negative feeling towards gypsies and travellers we sometimes still encounter today).

Although Joseph’s brothers were ordinary working men, who would be despised by the cultured Egyptians, Joseph was not ashamed of them before Pharaoh – not ashamed to speak up for them to the king. In fact, he coached them in what to say: they were not looking for jobs or food, just pastureland for their livestock. Our God is a generous God, and we are surely meant to see His providential Hand yet again in that Pharaoh gave instructions that they should live in ‘’the best part of the land’’ (6). See the abundant goodness of God.

‘The Egyptians detested shepherds (verse 34); the highly civilised Egyptians preferred not to mix with rustic country folk. This contempt on the part of the Egyptians would work to the advantage of Jacob’s family, because once it was known they were shepherds they would be left to themselves in the countryside around Goshen, where they could prosper and multiply without being exposed to the idolatry of Egypt.’ Tom Hale: ‘The applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.197.

I read this story and recall that Jesus is ‘’not ashamed’’ to call us His brothers (Hebrews 3:11). I would be ashamed to call me my brother (!!) knowing what I do about myself. But Jesus is unashamed of any who trust Him. We are clothed in His righteousness, and that is how He sees us.

PRAYER: Thank you Lord Jesus for the difference trusting you has made in my life, and that I am now ‘’accepted in the Beloved’’.

Genesis 46:28-30: Tears.

²⁸ Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen, ²⁹ Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father^[a] and wept for a long time.³⁰ Israel said to Joseph, ‘Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.’ NIV

God had said to Jacob: ‘’And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes’’ (4), so it’s not surprising, then, to read his words in verse 30. It’s important to remember that God keeps His promises.

Verse 29 speaks volumes. Joseph had shed many tears in recent weeks, but now the banks of his heart fully burst, and the pent-up flood broke loose. It almost feels too sacred to stand and watch this scene. But God wants us to see it and learn from it. Don’t be ashamed of tears. In the main they are therapeutic and they are precious to God:

‘’You keep track of all my sorrows. You have kept all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book’’ (Psalm 56:8 New Living Translation).

I know self-pity is not good, and we should want to avoid it. But as I once heard a minister say, many people just need to have a jolly good cry.

Genesis 46:8-27: Jacob and sons.

^“8 These are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob.⁹ The sons of Reuben:Hanok, Pallu, Hezron and Karmi.¹⁰ The sons of Simeon:Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.¹¹ The sons of Levi:Gershon, Kohath and Merari.¹² The sons of Judah:Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan).The sons of Perez:Hezron and Hamul.¹³ The sons of Issachar:Tola, Puah,[a] Jashub and Shimron.¹⁴ The sons of Zebulun:Sered, Elon and Jahleel.¹⁵ These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram,^[c] besides his daughter Dinah. These sons and daughters of his were thirty-three in all.¹⁶ The sons of Gad:Zephon,Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.¹⁷ The sons of Asher:Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah.Their sister was Serah.The sons of Beriah:Heber and Malkiel.¹⁸ These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah – sixteen in all.¹⁹ The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel:Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁰ In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.²¹ The sons of Benjamin:Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.²² These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob – fourteen in all.²³ The son of Dan:Hushim.²⁴ The sons of Naphtali:Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.²⁵ These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel – seven in all.²⁶ All those who went to Egypt with Jacob – those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives – numbered sixty-six persons. ²⁷ With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy^]in all.”NIV

Some of us may struggle with reading lists of names in the Bible. But they show us that God works through people; He loves people. He knows all about us; the many details of our lives. He even works through our sins and failures. He is not responsible for them; He does not desire them; but in His sovereignty He can use them. We are names to God, and not just numbers. He knows our (God-enabled) contribution to the story.

A further thought from Tom Hale is worth recording here:

‘Seventy seems like a very small number compared with God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would be like the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5; Deuteronomy 10:22). But God has no problem multiplying numbers. No matter how small our number, no matter how tiny our offering, God will multiply it (Isaiah 60:22). Indeed, there is only one number God can’t multiply:zero. God can create something out of nothing, but He can’t ‘’multiply’’ something that does not exist. We may think that our labour or our offering is insignificant, but it is not insignificant to God; He will multiply it. But He will not multiply what we do not offer Him.’ ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.197.

If you’re in the middle of a day of (apparently) small things, don’t despise it, but remember this truth and be encouraged.

PRAYER: Thank you Lord that you still take the five loaves and two fishes sincerely offered to you, and you use them to feed a multitude.

Genesis 46:1-7: Keep in step with God.

“So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ² And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, ‘Jacob! Jacob!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. ³ ‘I am God, the God of your father,’ he said. ‘Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. ⁴ I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.’⁵ Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. ⁶ So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt, taking with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan. ⁷ Jacob brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters – all his offspring.” NIV

An effective missionary was asked, ‘What is the secret of your success?’ He replied, ‘I just watch what God is doing and go and join Him.’ It is important to try to keep in step with God. At one time, God had told Jacob’s father, Isaac, not to go down to Egypt (26:2, 3). But this was now a different day. As someone observed, the times and seasons (and purposes) differ, but whatever God says is to be obeyed. We are not to copy other people or live in the past. Of course, we may; we must imitate good examples. But Jacob has to walk with God for himself; he cannot live off Isaac’s experience.

As we journey through life with God, let’s be worshippers. (Note Jacob stopped to worship in the very place where Abraham and Isaac worshipped: 21:33; 26:23-25).

This time it was God’s purpose to make Jacob ‘’into a great nation there’’ (3). This was a confirmation of God’s original promise to Abraham (12:2). F.B. Meyer comments: ‘…who would have thought the promise would be realised amid the pressure and persecution of Egypt!…faith is led by very uncommon paths. Trust and obey.’

Jacob would come back to the land of promise, but not alive. He would die in Egypt, and later his body would be carried back to Canaan, and buried in the cave near Mamre where Abraham and Isaac had been buried years earlier (50:12, 13).

Just note that they brought their livestock and possessions with them, contrary to Pharaoh’s advice (45:20).

PRAYER: Lord, I thank you so much for the ‘Abraham’s’ and ‘Isaac’s’ in my life story. I’m grateful for their examples – for every memory of them. But although I learn much from them, and I see principles at work in them I need to apply, help me to walk with you myself, in my day.

Genesis 45:25-28: By word and by sign.

^“25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. ²⁶ They told him, ‘Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.’ Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. ²⁷ But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. ²⁸ And Israel said, ‘I’m convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.’ NIV

The brothers ‘witnessed’ to Jacob concerning Joseph.

‘’They told him, ‘’Joseph is still alive!’’ ‘’ (26);

‘’…they told him everything Joseph had said to them…’’ (27a);

‘’…he saw the carts Joseph had sent…’’ (27b).

The result was the conviction dawning on Jacob: ‘’I’m convinced! My son Joseph is still alive’’ (28). This parallels the New Testament witness to Jesus. It is by word and by sign.

I think of these words about our Lord:

‘’After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive’’ (Acts 1:3).

Genesis 45:21-24: The discerning word.

^“21 So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he also gave them provisions for their journey. ²² To each of them he gave new clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels^[a] of silver and five sets of clothes. ²³ And this is what he sent to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey. ²⁴ Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, ‘Don’t quarrel on the way!’” NIV

Reading about Joseph, my mind turns again to Jesus. John records this about Him in his gospel: ‘’But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man’’ (John 2:24,25).

Joseph knew what was (potentially) still in his brothers, so he said to them, ‘’Don’t quarrel on the way!’’ (24b). It sort of makes me smile in its humanity, and knowingness. He knew them well -knew what they’d been, and what they might still be capable of.

I wonder, was it another test that he gave Benjamin more? (22). Possibly. Or was history repeating itself to some degree? Was this a blind spot for Joseph? Was it a family trait with potentially damaging consequences?

In the light of Joseph’s words in (24b) I’m left thinking it was probably another test. But I’m not sure.

However, here’s the thought that challenges me today: if I see a characteristic in someone that could potentially sabotage them, will I have the courage to call that out? Do I love them enough to endure their anger, or misunderstanding, when I tell them? Such warnings need to be well-timed, and delivered in wise and sensitive ways, but they do need to be delivered.

Prayer: Lord, please help me to be honest when I need to be. May I not let anyone just fall into a pit because I’m too afraid of their anger when I warn them.

Genesis 45:8-20: Conscious Of God.

^~8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.⁹ Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. ¹⁰ You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. ¹¹ I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’¹² “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. ¹³ Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”¹⁴ Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. ¹⁵ And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.¹⁶ When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. ¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, ¹⁸ and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.’ ¹⁹ “You are also directed to tell them, ‘Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come.²⁰ Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.’”NIV

‘’For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God’’ (1 Peter 2:19).

Joseph’s God-centredness is striking.

Note these words:

‘’…it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you’’ (5b);

‘’But God sent me ahead of you…’’ (7a);

‘’So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt’’ (8);

‘’God has made me lord of all Egypt’’ (9b).

There’s a difference between Sunday religion and walking with God. When you seek to do the latter, you have a different perspective. Joseph’s brothers had previously dismissed his God-given dreams. They had abused him and disrespected him, to put it mildly. He was now this great success. But he did not brag. There’s not a whiff of boastfulness in his words. He recognised that he was where he was, doing what he was doing, and that he had what he had, because of God. Is God the great reality in your life? Do you see everything (or try to) in the light of Him? What an example Joseph is.

One of the many things that God had done for Joseph was to put him in a place where he could abundantly bless his family. He was in a position to settle them in ‘’Goshen’’ (10) – the most fertile part of the whole of Egypt.

Joseph again reminds us of the Lord Jesus, who wants us near’’ Him, and, who in that relationship of intimacy will provide for all our needs (10,11; see also Romans 8:31,32).

PRAYER: Lord God, please help me to live every day of my life with a deep consciousness of your reality and presence, and then, I know, I will see all things differently.

Genesis 45:1-7: Seeing God in the details.

“Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, ‘Make everyone leave my presence!’ So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.³ Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph! Is my father still living?’ But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.’ When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ⁶ For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no ploughing and reaping. ⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” NIV

Joseph’s brothers must have been ‘’terrified’’ (3). They had thought their sibling was dead, but now here he was, this rather strange and scary Egyptian ruler, talking to them in their own language. At least, he had been frightening and slightly unpredictable at times. But now they saw deep emotion overflowing from him, like a huge waterfall, and they felt his love wanting to enfold them (2,4).

But Joseph’s compassion did not let them off the hook (5a). He didn’t whitewash over their sin, but he pointed to the higher reality that God was at work in the bad stuff that took him to Egypt. This did not condone the wrong, but it helps when you can see God’s Sovereign Hand in the details.

Joseph saw two parts to God’s purpose. In the short term this was ‘’to save lives’’ (5); but in the long term it was ‘’to preserve…a remnant’’ (7) – a remnant of Abraham’s descendants who, during their time in Egypt, would grow into a great nation (Exodus 1:6,7).

In Timothy Keller’s book, ‘Walking with God through pain and suffering’, he says that during Joseph’s years in Egypt he must have often prayed prayers which seemed to go unanswered. However, God was not ‘missing in action’. He was hidden, but He was in control. If Joseph had not been taken to Egypt, numerous people would have died; his own family would have been wiped out by starvation. Furthermore, his family would have been a spiritual disaster: Joseph himself would possibly have been corrupted by his arrogance and pride, and his brothers would have destroyed each other in their anger. Jacob would have self-destructed with his ‘idolatrous’ and ‘addictive’ love for his youngest sons. I think Keller makes good points. It was sin that dumped young Joseph in Egypt, but God had a great purpose in him being there. It was bigger than even Joseph could see at the time.

Genesis 45:1-4: Revelation.

“Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, ‘Make everyone leave my presence!’ So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. ³ Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph! Is my father still living?’ But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. ⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.’ When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” NIV

What a day it will be when the Lord Jesus reveals Himself to His brethren, the people of Israel. There is coming a day when ‘’All Israel will be saved’’ (Romans 11:26). We may not fully understand all that Paul writes in Romans chapters 9-11, but he seems to indicate that one day there will be a large-scale turning of the Jews to their Messiah, and what a blessing that will be for the whole world, when He brings them close to Himself. We can prayerfully and eagerly look for that day, with joy.

PRAYER: Lord, I pray for the peace of Jerusalem.