Genesis 46: 1 – 34
Moving Day
46 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.” 5 Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. 7 His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt. 8 Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn. 9 The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron. 14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daughters, were thirty-three. 16 The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 17 The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. 18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons. 19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. 20 And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 21 The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22 These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all. 23 The son of Dan was Hushim. 24 The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all. 26 All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all. 27 And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy. 28 Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. 29 So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30 And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.” 31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’ 33 So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 that you shall say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”
Moving can be an exciting time in your life. Or, it can be a negative, unwelcome event. In fact, moving is one of the top stressors in life, right along with death of a loved one, divorce, a major illness, and job loss. So, how can you make moving a little less stressful and more enjoyable? Believe it or not, there are things you can do to make this transition a positive experience.
Here are some tips for making the best of moving to a new place:
1. Pray
In the book of James chapter 4 we learn that in making any major decision we should first seek out the Wonderful Counselor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In fact James specifically speaks to us about packing it up and moving to another location. We read this advice from him as our Precious Holy Spirit guided his pen, “13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”
2. Adopt the right mental attitude.
Maybe it was your choice to move, but maybe it wasn’t? And if it wasn’t, then the first thing you are going to have to do is adopt the right viewpoint. You can wallow in your unwelcome move, or you can try to make the best of it. Think of all the good things that can happen. You’ll meet new people, have new experiences, and hopefully create a life that’s even better than the one you’re leaving behind.
3. Research the new area
If you’re moving a significant distance away, then you will need to do your research. People are always the most comfortable when they feel prepared, so do your research. For example, find the schools, the malls, the restaurants. See what events regularly happen in the area. Get a feel for where you will be setting your roots down. I was just reading about how a lot of retirees have moved near colleges. Here they can have numerous opportunities of taking some classes that they always dreamed of. In addition the colleges offer a lot of entertainment and special events that keep their calendar busy with sports and such.
4. Plan, plan, plan
If you’re a procrastinator, this tip is especially for you. Doing things at the last minute is always stressful, but when you have to move an entire household full of things — and get your family ready — well, you don’t want to be doing this at the last minute. Start planning as far ahead as you can.
5. Hire professional movers.
No one really likes packing and lugging around furniture. So if your budget allows for it, hire a dependable moving company. When I have moved, I have done it both ways — done it myself (along with friends and family members who helped out), and I have hired movers. Trust me, having movers do all the work took away so much of my stress, and it was definitely worth it.
6. Take care of your emotional needs
If you are moving against your wishes, then you will probably be sad about leaving. It’s normal! Usually, we think that grief is reserved for when people die or for events like divorce but grief often accompanies a move. So don’t be afraid - experience your feelings. It will help you move to a happier emotional space faster than if you ignore them.
7. Rely on others for help
You might feel overwhelmed with things that need to be done before, during, and after the move. So don’t be afraid to ask for help! That’s what friends and family are for. Yes, they are there for you in the good times, but they are also there for you during times of life transitions. So don’t feel like you have to go it alone.
8. Make specific plans with your old friends to see them in the future
This is a really good point if you have teenagers. They need the assurance that they will be able to see their friends again.
It’s always difficult to say goodbye. And when people move, they usually have very good intentions of staying in touch and visiting. But let’s face it — sometimes life gets in the way and you don’t get around to making those plans. So put the get-togethers and reunions on your calendar before you leave. That way, you’re more likely to follow through.
9. Introduce yourself to your new neighbors
Even if this is out of your comfort zone, it is always helpful to know your neighbors. Whether you need to borrow a cup of sugar, have someone keep an eye on the house when you’re traveling, or simply to make new friends, it is definitely worth it to go out of your way to get to know the people who live near you.
10. Seek out new experiences
You’ll want to make new friends, so don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to new circles of people at work or school. Is your company starting a softball team? Join them! Does the PTO need someone to organize a school event? Volunteer for it! This will help you become socially integrated into the new area
11. Establish new routines
Let’s face it — everything has probably changed for you. And that includes your routines. Maybe your route to work is a lot longer, so now you can’t get up early to do your morning workout. Try to figure out ways that you can still do the things you love, but with different routines.
12. Think of it as a new beginning, not an ending
The only thing constant in life is change. And while most people resist change, it’s just not possible to do so. Everything ends eventually, but that also means that it’s a new start. So, make sure you don’t look back. The past is over. Embrace your new future and look forward to the wonderful things yet to come!
Whether you like moving or not, it is something we all do. If you take some of these tips into consideration when you are going through this transition, it will make your life a whole lot easier!
Today we are going to see that in our Holy Lord God’s plans He is moving all of Jacob’s family to Egypt. Keep an eye out for the things I suggested and see how many of my recommendations were implemented by Jacob.
46 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Jacob had just received news that his favorite son, Joseph is alive. So, he prepares the family to leave Canaan and join Joseph in Egypt. Jacob is 130 years old as he sets out for Egypt. This is not the time when people begin making radical changes in their lives. But Jacob is about to launch into one of the most remarkable faith ventures of his life
It is probable, although not stated, that Jacob started off from Hebron (37.14). The area of Hebron was one often dwelt in by the patriarchs. Beersheba was another. Moses records that Jacob offered sacrifices at Beersheba. Why? Beersheba was the southernmost boundary line of Israel. In essence, it was the point of no return. Before Jacob advanced into the desert wasteland that separated Canaan and Egypt, he determined to inquire of the Lord to be absolutely certain he was in God’s perfect will.
The famine was severe and was prophesied to continue and the move seemed like a sensible one to make, especially as he would see his son. But the fact that he calls in at Beersheba may suggest he is seeking God’s assurance that his move is the right one. It was there that YHWH had appeared to Isaac - for he ‘offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac’. He is no longer the careless Jacob of old but a man of deep piety and trust in YHWH.
Fortunately, Jacob starts off right by first offering sacrifices to God. His sacrifices are not burnt offerings, but offerings of thanks to our Holy Creator that his son Joseph is alive. One of the things that has been a help to me in my Christian walk is in learning to give thanks in everything as the book of 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 18 teaches. I encourage you to regularly spend some time in prayer without asking for anything. Instead, spend the whole time thanking the Lord for Who He Is and what He has done. I strongly believe that you will find that the disappointments and frustrations of life are not nearly as troubling.
2 Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.”
Jacob has to leave everything familiar and the security of his earthly comforts. Often, following God’s plan includes stepping out in faith and taking a risk. If God calls you to another location or another job, will you go where He leads despite the risks to your personal comfort and security?
God graciously responds to his prayers. He assures him that the visit to Egypt is not to be shunned and that He will go with him. Indeed there he will become a great nation. But He also confirms that one day he will return. This refers partly to the return of his body to the land, which he considered important (50.5), but also to the return of his descendants. The land is his and theirs and he will ‘return’ in them in accordance with the covenant. Egypt is but a temporary dwelling place.
He has to believe that he still has a mission from God. When most Christians would have long-since turned the ministry over to the next generation, Jacob is taking giant steps of faith. Are you willing to find creative ways to keep serving and fulfilling God’s plan for your life?
He has to be willing to obey God’s Word no matter the cost. Do you love the Lord enough to deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Him (Luke 9:23-25)?
Joseph will close his eyes when he dies. Thus he can be assured that at the time of his death Joseph will be with him to carry out his wishes.
5 Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. 7 His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.
So at God’s assurance Jacob now takes all he has into Egypt. It is clear that much of his herds have survived the famine up to this point, probably helped by the corn from Egypt, but water was getting scarcer and they may not have survived much longer. They also took their goods (in spite of what Pharaoh had said) because our Holy God had told him that they were going to be staying for a long time. God said that they would stay there in this foreign land for 400 years and then God would judge the oppressive nation in which they stayed and God’s people would be released. God’s Word always comes to pass
The second section in which we will now take a look at consists of a long list of names of people we know nothing about. It’s not even useful if you are looking for names for your baby unless you want some very unique names. You might want to consider some like Muppim, Huppim, or Ard. Our Holy Lord God saw fit to include in His Holy Word this information and we need to think about the reason why. We need to remember that to the first readers of this gerontology these names meant something. This is a list of every tribe that later formed the nation of Israel.
8 Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn. 9 The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
We know from 42.37 that Reuben had two sons at that stage (he would be about 46). Therefore two of these must be recent births, possibly twins
10 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
Joseph was about eighteen when he was sold into slavery (37.2) making Judah about twenty two when he married Shua. He was possibly twenty three when he bore Er and Er grew up and married. If Er married at eighteen that would make Judah forty one. Shelah was too young to marry when Er died. Thus when Shelah came of age Judah was at least forty three. So unless Er married very young Judah must have been at the very least forty four when he bore Perez. Thus Perez could not have two children before he moved to Egypt when Judah was about forty four (41.46 plus seven good years plus two bad years plus say five years older than Joseph). It is clear therefore that Hezron and Hamul were seen as ‘in the loins of Perez’.
13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron. 14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daughters, were thirty-three. 16 The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 17 The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. 18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons. 19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. 20 And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 21 The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22 These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all. 23 The son of Dan was Hushim. 24 The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all.
Please note that it is listed that Benjamin has ten sons, but we must question whether he has had all ten by this stage. Certainly the impression we have of him as a ‘young man’ does not tie in with this. They are probably seen as going down to Egypt ‘in his loins’, but by the time of the writer they are there to be seen walking about. The writer is careful to number all the groups. In all there are sixteen plus fourteen plus seven making thirty seven. This with the previous thirty three makes seventy.
26 All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all. 27 And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.
Moses is careful with his wording. Having made up thirty and three for the first group by including Jacob, he then says all who came ‘with Jacob’ were sixty and six, because there were thirty four in the second group excluding Joseph and his two sons. But he carefully points out that he has not included the sons’ wives. These would have taken the number above seventy and therefore had to be excluded. Reaching the number seventy was the important thing, not because of some attempt to fit in with other writings but because the number seventy was so significant. It signified that the group was divinely complete. But the group as a whole was actually composed of a much larger number because of their households. And they were included in the divine completeness.
28 Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. 29 So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30 And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.”
It is quite noticeable that Jacob chose Judah to be their guide. It indicates that he trusted his son, which suggests that the men had told their father everything and were in his good graces again. Now Jacob could see the hand of God in all that had happened. In spite of his past failures, Judah now proved himself faithful. Regardless of what you have done or how you have lived, our Great God Is a God of Grace and He loves to forgive His children. Like Judah, God’s Grace can propel you forward. He can make a success out of the shambles of your life.
The eleven brothers had already been reunited with Joseph, but now Jacob meets him after a separation of 22 years. Previously, Jacob had said that the loss of his sons would bring him to his grave in mourning. Yet in the Mercy and Grace of our Holy Lord God Joseph’s resurrection enables his father to die in peace.
Joseph comes up in his chariot. If this is before the Hyksos the chariot would be a rare sight in Egypt and would cause something of a sensation on its way. But he wants to reach his father quickly. And when they meet he weeps on his shoulder for some good long while. We are not told if Joseph is accompanied by his retinue but it seems probable that he would have at least some of his bodyguard with him.
Jacob’s happiness and great joy is brought out by his words. Now that he has seen his son is still alive he can die content.
31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’ 33 So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 that you shall say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”
Why do you think Joseph placed such emphasis on having his family live in Goshen? Well for one thing it had some of the best pastureland in all of Egypt. It was also located near Joseph’s home Joseph is clearly very concerned that they should settle in Goshen. That was his purpose from the beginning (45.10). He knows that it will be better for them there. It is good pasture and they will be with their own kind. They might be very miserable elsewhere in Egypt because of the general attitude to shepherds and foreigners. Pharaoh has, however, said that they can live anywhere and he is a little afraid that Pharaoh might, with the best of intentions, insist on somewhere else. So with his knowledge of affairs he briefs them on what to say so as to get his way.
‘I will go up and tell Pharaoh.’ Pharaoh had told him to bring them to Egypt. Now he must report back on his accomplishment of the task. He knows then that Pharaoh will call them into his presence. This is a great privilege indeed, but it will be because they are his kinsfolk. Then they must know what to say.
