THE MYSTERY OF GOSHEN
Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Let your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock. " (Genesis 47:5-6). NKJV
The famine was so severe in the land of Canaan that Joseph had to invite his brothers and father to come and dwell in the land of Goshen, and told them that "You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty, for there are still five years of famine. "' (Genesis 45:10-11).
Canaan is indeed the Promised Land, but to survive physically, Israel must go down to Egypt for a period. God was working amid the sinful actions of Joseph's brothers to prepare the way for Israel to move his entire household to the best part of Egypt, the land of Goshen.
The land of Goshen was the best land and far enough from the center of Egyptian life that the influx of Hebrews would not affect daily affairs or their culture, yet the land was still under Egypt’s control. With Pharaoh’s consent (Genesis 47:5), Joseph assigned his family a place near their God-given heritage, possibly so that they would never forget the land that would one day be theirs.
Many years later, the new Egyptian King, who did not know Joseph ( Exodus 1:8), did a wise, though cruel thing, by making the Israelites slaves so that they wouldn’t subdue the Egyptians (Exodus 1:8-11). They subjected them to great toil, thinking their spirits would be crushed, but God intervened and overruled this.
The hand of the Lord was on the Israelites, and they grew exponentially despite their affliction. It is obvious that if the contest had been merely between Pharaoh and Israel, the Egyptian king could have used his power and policy to defeat the sons of Jacob and reduce them to serfdom; however, when a new name is introduced, and the contest appears to be truly between Pharaoh and Jehovah, the God of Israel, the Egyptian king is unable to defeat the sons of Jacob and reduce them to serfdom. There is one behind the curtain that takes Israel’s part. He sees through all Pharaoh’s plots. Before his thoughts have ripened into plans, they are forestalled; as fast as they are set up, they are upset; for every intrigue, there is a reprisal. Thus, "he frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot carry out their plans." He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them (Job 5:12-13).
The Land of Goshen had so many mysteries that only God could unravel. "The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied." (Exodus 1:12). Had it been another people, the tactics might have been successful, but they were God’s people, endeared to Him by their ancestry, ennobled in His sight by their covenant destiny, and encompassed with His favor as with a shield. No conspiracy formed against them could thrive, just like the plot against Prophet Jeremiah that was outrun by the judgment of God (Jeremiah 18:18–23).
The glory of God shines forth conspicuously in the use to which He turned their persecutions; the harsh treatment they had to bear from the enemy became a salutary discipline for them; this comes from the Lord of Hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.
1. GOD NEVER INTENDED FOR THE ISRAELITES TO BE ABSORBED INTO ANOTHER FAMILY. They are God’s children, separated and unique to God, yet they sojourn among the taskmasters. They had settled down very quietly in Goshen and thought that it was their rest. They had imbibed many of the manners and customs of the Egyptians. They appear to have been almost naturalized in that country; they were little better than the Egyptians. God never meant them to be anything other than sojourners on that soil. He had some better thing for them than that they should dwell in that land and be as the heathen were. God was thus answering one purpose, but he did more than this.
God had a good purpose for his children, and he separated and set them apart for his glory (Deuteronomy 14:2). So that he might present it to himself as a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:27), so they might dine with him in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:3).
If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us; a land flowing with milk and honey.(Numbers 14:8)
2. GOD SENT PLAGUES TO EGYPT, BUT GOSHEN WAS SPARED. He sent a thick darkness over all the land, even darkness that might be felt; but in all the land of Goshen, there was light. (Exodus 10:22–23). He sent all manner of flies and lice into all their borders, but throughout the habitations of Israel, not a fly was to be seen, nor were they molested by the living things which crept upward from the quickened dust of the earth (Exodus 8:17). The Lord sent hail and a murrain upon all the cattle of the Egyptians, but the cattle of the children of Israel were spared, and on their fields fell no desolating shower from heaven (Exodus 9:6). Finally, the destroying angel unsheathed his glittering sword to smite his last decisive blow. At every house throughout the land of Egypt, there was weeping and wailing. He smote the firstborn of Egypt, the chief of all their strength (Exodus 12:29); but as for his people, he led them forth like sheep, through the wilderness like a flock (Psalm 78:52), by the hand of Moses and Aaron (Psalm 77:20).
Whenever God sends his wrath upon the wicked, he will spare and keep us. The scriptures say that God will "us and keep us during our trials" and "Because you have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try those that dwell upon the earth (Revelation 3:10)"
"The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make thy enemies thy footstool" (Psalm 110:1).
WHY DID GOD GIVE THE ISRAELITES SECULAR TREATMENT IN GOSHEN?
Long before their sojourn in Goshen, God made a promise to Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation and occupy the land of Canaan (Genesis 17:7-8). He chose them to be a servant of God. "But you, Israel, are my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend." (Isaiah 41:8). As already noted, through Abraham’s descendants would come the Messiah, the One through whom "all the families of the earth" would be blessed (Genesis 12:3).
Because you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and He has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all people; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:6-8)
God wanted Israel to be a model nation, a group of people through whom other people could learn vitally important lessons. God wanted Israel to be "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6). Other nations would see that when the Israelites obeyed God, they were blessed (Exodus 19:5), and when they disobeyed God, they would be punished.
God kept this covenant and dwelt with the Israelites in the Land of Goshen, "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy with those that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations" (Deuteronomy 7:9).
While the whole world lay in the wicked one, these precious jewels were selected from the dunghill of the fall. Better than other men by nature, they certainly were not; yet divine sovereignty, linked arm in arm with divine grace, selected some to be the vessels of mercy, who should be fitted for the Master's use, in whom Jehovah should show forth not his long suffering merely, but the plenitude of his grace and the riches of his love.
The Church of God is clearly God’s chosen people. As Peter wrote, "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God; who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9-10).
As people from different nations became part of the Church founded by Jesus and his apostles, they came to realize that they were to be one unified body in Christ. As Paul explained, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
The significance of God’s work with Abraham and his descendants was clearly respected by the first-century Church of God. Members were considered "Abraham’s seed" regardless of their race, and the body of believers was referred to as "the Israel of God" (Galatians 3:29).
CANAAN LAND - THE DESTINATION
More than that, remember that it was necessary for these people to be altogether rescued from that land which for many years had taxed their labor and bound their enterprise, because it was not the land which had been promised to them as an inheritance. It was God’s intention and covenant purpose to give them the land of Canaan, a land that flowed with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8), but it is not very easy to induce a nation, numbering some millions, to leave a country in which they have been born, nourished, and found a home; only some very fearful evil can induce them to expatriate themselves.
In order to cut loose the bonds that bound them to Egypt, the sharp knife of affliction had to be used, and Pharaoh, though he knew it not, was God’s instrument in weaning them from the Egyptian world and helping them as His church to take up their separate place in the wilderness and receive the portion that God had appointed for them.
GOSHEN AND CHURCH
The ancient church faced a lot of persecution in their land of Goshen. Though persecuted by the heathen, they were protected by God’s hand. "The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers took counsel together, against the Lord and against his anointed" (Psalm 2:2), but he that sit in the heavens did laugh at them; Jehovah had them in derision (Psalm 2:4). The Church went forth conquering and to conquer, and her main weapon was her non-conformity to the world, her coming out from among men. The Church and the world were never joined in marriage with one another.
The more distinct the Church is from the world in her actions and maxims, the more true her testimony for Christ and the more powerful her witness against sin. We are sent into this world to testify against evils, but if we dabble in them ourselves, where is our testimony? If we ourselves are found faulty, we are false witnesses; we are not sent by God, and our testimony is of no effect. There are millions of professing Christians whose testimony before the world is rather injurious than beneficial, but many of them forget that they are bearing testimony; they do not think that anybody notices them.
There are no people more scrutinized than Christians; the world reads us from the first letter of our lives to the last, and if they can find a flaw—and, God forgive us, they may find many—they will magnify the flaw as much as possible. Let us therefore be very watchful, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong "(1 Corinthians 16:13); that we live close to Christ, that we walk in his commandments always, that the world may see that the Lord has made a difference.
PERSECUTION IN THE CHURCH - A BLESSING
Whenever there has been great persecution raised against the Christian church, God has overruled it, as He did in the case of Pharaoh’s oppression of the Israelites, by making the aggrieved community more largely to increase. The early persecutions in Judea promoted the spread of the gospel. After the death of Stephen, the disciples were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. The result is thus given: "Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word." (Acts 8:4) So it was too, when Herod stretched forth his hands to vex certain members of the church and killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. What came of it? "The word of God grew and multiplied." (Acts 12:24)
While we sojourn in our land of Goshen, we should see opposition as an omen of good, and persecution for righteousness’ sake (Matthew 5:10) as a tearful seed-time, quickly to be followed by a harvest of joy.
Persecution seems to be like a sea wave that when it leaps up around the church, it speeds its course! Let the mountains be removed and cast into the midst of the sea, but after long experience of Jehovah’s faithfulness towards His people, we are confident that His church shall not be moved—in quietude shall she possess her soul!
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. There is a river, the streams of which shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. God shall help her, and that right early. (Psalm 46:1–5)
SCATTERED ABROAD FOR A PURPOSE
According to the scriptures, the early Christians were scattered abroad and they preached the gospel everywhere they went (Acts 8:4). Even when persecution rose against Stephen, the Christians still preached, though to the Jews only (Acts 11:19). We need God’s wisdom to guide our brethren during persecution, especially where Christianity is forbidden. Let us encourage ourselves in Christ, the same way the Apostle James encouraged the twelve tribes that were scattered abroad (James 1:1). In like manner, the Apostle sent letters to the strangers that were scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (1Peter 1:1).
Remember that "the Lord your God in your midst is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over you with joy; he will rest in his love, he will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17).
Persecution has evidently assisted in the increase of the church by the scattering abroad of earnest teachers, and it is permitted to scatter the hive of the church into various swarms, and each of these swarms begins to make honey. If we are true Christians, we are all like salt, and the proper place for the salt is not massed in a box, but scattered by handfuls over the meat or fish that it is to preserve. We are of good service when we are kept together in great bands; we are happy being in each other's presence. Moreover, beloved, persecution in the church, even when it does not take the form of burning or imprisonment, but of slander, of cruel mocking's, jesting, jeering, and venomous spite, helps to keep up the separation between the church and the world.
LEAVE YOUR PLACE OF COMFORT
The Israelites were scattered throughout the land of Goshen, but they remained united in their pursuit of the same goal. When we are separated and scattered, we will conquer as we are dispersed! There might not have been a church in the United States if our forefathers had not been driven to the wilds among the Red Indians to establish themselves and raise a banner for the truth of God as it is in Jesus.
Christian men are sometimes called to leave positions of great comfort and to occupy stations of great hardship; they may consider it a reverse of fortune, while God designs it as an appointment to special service. If they bear Christ’s gospel with them to a people sitting in darkness, that will be great gain, in the long run, for the church; your being sent to a village, though you may not like it, may be a lasting blessing to the hamlet; your residing among strangers, when you would far rather find a more congenial home among your own kindred, may be for the good of that neighborhood. Who knows? Where should lamps be set up in dark places?
Where should we have a guard for Christ’s army but where the enemy is most likely to make an assault? Not in the city where there are watchful eyes on the enemy. There are many people in the remote parts of the world who need the message of the gospel and deliverance from the enemy’s regular attacks. Be patient, then, my beloved, amidst the persecutions or trials you may be called upon to bear, and be thankful that they are so often overruled for the growth of the church, the spread of the gospel, and the honor of Christ!
"Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. " (2 Timothy 3:12–15)
HEAR THE CLARION CALL
1. Come out from among them, be separate, and do not touch anything unclean, and I will receive you and be your father; you shall be My sons and daughters.(2 Corinthians 6:17-18).
The great king told his spouse to "forget also your own people and your father’s house." So shall the King greatly desire your beauty; for He is your Lord and you worship him. " (Psalm 45:10-11); "Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2). Do not give in to worldly pleasures; it makes our spirit lean and removes our Christian identity and weakens our testimony as well. This promotes Satan’s ends.
2. Don’t be afraid of the ordinary ordeal of human censure and malignity. If we run with the footmen, and they weary us, what should we do when we contend with horses? This is the opposition appointed for us; it is through much tribulation that we are to inherit the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22), and if we are sincere, honest, and true, we shall not flinch at this; we shall feel that God will overrule it for our sanctification by making us take heed to our ways because the wicked watch our paths.
3. While in our land of Goshen, we are drawn nearer to God as our only hope. God assured the Israelites through their leader, Moses, that the Lord would fight for them, and they would hold their peace, and the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward (Exodus 14:14-15). What a great relief!
Persecutors draw Christians closer to God; how many prayers have been offered up as a result of persecution that would not have been offered otherwise? Heaven alone can tell. How many groans, sighs, and tears acceptable to God have been forced from true hearts by their sufferings? Only God knows! We tend to relax when we are in our comfort zone, not giving much attention to our maker, but when the rod of affliction arises, we cry to God.
Anything that brings me to my knees is good; anything that causes me to trust in the promise and wait only on God because my expectation is from Him is good for my soul, instills courage, inspires confidence, and provides her with new strength. Brethren, the real glory of the church is to live nearer to God! Persecution drives her to her stronghold, where she is helped by the invincible arm of God.
4. It is very inconvenient to profess Christ during persecution, especially in areas where Christianity is banned. Some will forsake the gospel like Dema, "for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia" (2 Timothy 4:2). While the cowards shrink away, those who love Christ stand fast and firm, like the true and the brave, the regenerate (Titus 3:5), and the elect of God.
If we are to be conformed to Him, it cannot be by ease and sloth; slander and severe criticism, not the downy couch, but the crown of thorns! The shame, not the triumph, must be the lot of the Crucified's imitators!
5. Can we defend our profession as Christians before the Judgment Seat of God? We may have attained a great position in Christendom—bishop, priest, pastor, etc. Can our work be tested by the consuming fire of God? Every man's work shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. (1 Corinthians 3:13)
Tremble, sirs, at God's right hand. There hangs the scale, and you must be put on it; if you are found wanting, your portion must be among the deceivers, and you know where that is—it is in the lowest pit of hell. If you are not what you profess to be, there is a doom awaiting you, of a fiercer sort than even for the ungodly and the reprobate. You will be plucked from the pinnacle of your profession. You have built your nest among the stars, but you must make your bed in hell. (Obadiah 1:4). When you get to hell, you will have a new title, "THE MAN WHO DESTROYED HIMSELF BY DECEIVING OTHERS."
CONCLUSION
The Mysteries of the Land of Goshen depict God’s promises to set us apart for his glory and bring us into the land of Canaan. Even if we are persecuted, the Lord will arise like a man of war to rescue us; "The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name. and his chariots were cast into the sea; his chosen captains were also drowned in the Red Sea. " (Exodus 15:3-4)
This Pharaoh was the great representative of the power of evil in those days, and he still stands as the type of the seed of the serpent to the Christian church; but the Lord withstands him, despoils him of his purpose, and turns all he does to the highest and best end.
God’s mercy will be over us—in our land of Goshen—and give us greater faith. Even if our trials increase more and more, so may our strength increase. God’s infinite wisdom will guide us to get more faith out of more trials, for trials do strengthen faith.
I will build my church on this rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the understanding of your word. Your light shines into our darkness and we have the assurance that the gates of Pharaoh and Egypt shall not prevail against our land of Goshen. Please forgive us where we have murmured, especially during persecution, and rescue us with your outstretched arm, the way you rescued the Israelites with great wonders in Jesus name, Amen.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever. His heart's desires for all generations Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. The people he has chosen as his own inheritance. (Psalm 33:11-12)
And on that day, I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between my people and your people. This sign will be removed tomorrow.(Exodus 8:22–23)
James Dina
james@mountzionblog.org
February 2, 2022.
References
1. "Prosperity under Persecution" by Charles Spurgeon
2. Separating the precious from the vile by Charles Spurgeon
3. "Israel Moves to Goshen" by Mark vander Hart
4. https://www.gotquestions.org/land-of-Goshen.html
5. "Why did God choose Israel?" David Treybig's
