If you were living in Egypt, as an Israelite, what would it be in Genesis which would give you hope and build your faith in God? We have been studying the book of Genesis from that perspective and we have brought our study to a conclusion in this lesson.
An outline of the biblical text:
Consider these verses in our text: 46:1-4. Observe that Moses identifies Jacob by his new name: Israel. Israel packs his bags to move to Egypt to escape the rest of the famine. He stops in Beersheba to offer sacrifices to God. God speaks to him and promises that He will make him a great nation in Egypt. “Egypt will become the womb for this great nation” (Hamilton, Genesis 18-50, 591). God was with Jacob in Mesopotamia (31:13), Canaan (35:3), and now, in Egypt. Joseph will be at his side when he dies.
46:31-34: Joseph was thoughtful in settling Israel in Goshen because the shepherd is “loathsome” to the Egyptian. 47:6: Pharaoh put Hebrews in charge of his livestock. 47:7, 10: Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 47:13-20: Through Joseph’s management, practically the entire land of Egypt came into Pharaoh’s possession. 47:27: Israel was “fruitful” and “became very numerous.” 47:30: Israel asked Joseph to carry him out of Egypt and bury him in “their burial place.”
48:3-4: On his death bed, Jacob reiterates the promise of God to Joseph: 1.) Israel will become fruitful and numerous. 2.) They will become a people. 3.) They will receive the land of Canaan as a possession. 48:21: Israel reminds Joseph that God will be with them (“you” is plural) and bring them back to their land. 49:8-12: In contrast to the three older brothers, Judah receives words of praise with the indication that he would have royal descendants. 48:15 (as a participle) and 49:24 (noun): God is described, for the first time, as a “shepherd” and a “stone.”
49:29-31: Israel asked to be buried “back home,” in the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah and Leah were buried. In fulfillment of God’s promise, Joseph was present at Jacob’s death. 50:3: The Egyptians even wept for Jacob 70 days. 50:6: Pharaoh allowed the Hebrews to leave, to bury Jacob in Canaan. He even sent some of his servants with Joseph and the family: 50:7.
50:20: The whole sojourn of Jacob’s family in Egypt was to “preserve many people alive.” When the time would come, Israel would / should return to their homeland. 50:24-26: Joseph’s last wishes: Joseph, who could foretell the future in interpreting dreams, tells the Hebrews that God would provide for them and bring them up out of Egypt to the land He had promised them “on oath” to the fathers. Compare verses 24 & 25 with Exo 3:16. What would a typical reaction be toward the brothers in this instance?
Joseph, at his death, was embalmed, placed in a coffin, prepared to go back home, to the land of the fathers. There is no religious connotations to Joseph’s (or Jacob’s) embalming. The last word in the text (English and Hebrew) is “in Egypt,” which prepares us for the book of Exodus, set “in Egypt.”
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Lessons from “Israel Moves to Egypt” for the nation of Israel:
The multitude of promises, Gen 46:4 being the most recent, that God will bring Israel out of Egypt, into Canaan, ought to have encouraged Israel that God had plans for them. The same message should have informed Egypt, through Israel, that Israel was not, in fact, a threat to Egypt: Exo 1:10. They would be leaving, not staying.
Israel could see that God was, in fact, making them into a great nation: Exo 1:7, 12.
There have been numerous incidences where Joseph’s behavior brought blessings and good to Pharaoh. The attitude of the new Pharaoh is the more egregious: Exo 1:8. The description of Israel’s growth from 47:27 is repeated in Exo 1:7. The prior Pharaoh was, apparently, not threatened by that growth. The current Pharaoh ought not to be either. In Jacob’s blessing of Judah, we see he would have royalty in his lineage: Deut 17:14-15. God had plans for the nation of Abraham and He had promised many times that He would give them the land of Canaan.
Lessons for the present generation:
God fulfills His promises. Christians will be a blessing in their home, their country, and their world as long as they imitate the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The church of Christ is also a nation, the great nation of Christ: 1 Pet 2:9. Jesus Christ is the Shepherd (1 Pet 2:25) and the Stone (1 Pet 2:4ff) of the Christian age.
Paul Holland
