Introduction: Jacob had believed Joseph, his favorite son, had been killed many years before. Now he not only heard the news, but saw proof, Joseph was alive. This was some of the best news Jacob had ever heard!
1 The good news when he heard about Joseph being still alive
Text: Genesis 45:25-28, KJV: 25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, 26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not. 27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: 28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
For the background, Jacob had sent his sons to Egypt, twice, in order to buy food. Joseph had explained to Pharaoh, ruler of Egypt, that there were seven years of plenty but seven years of severe famine to follow. All this happened exactly as Joseph had said (see Genesis 41 for the backstory) and now it appears quite a bit of the area near Egypt, even as far away as Canaan, was suffering from a famine. Jacob’s sons went once, then a second time, and that leads to this next chapter of Jacob’s life.
In the first part of Genesis 45, Joseph showed his brothers he was really their brother whom they had sold 20 or so years ago. Apparently none of them thought they would ever see each other again so imagine the surprise when they were reunited!
And that wasn’t all. Joseph informed his brothers that more famine was to come—it wasn’t over yet by a long shot—in fact, five more years of the famine were to come (Gen. 45:11). Joseph then encouraged them to go back to Canaan, get Jacob and all the others, and then come down to Egypt and settle there.
The brothers did so and can you imagine the shock on Jacob’s face when he saw what his sons brought back! They had left with pack animals (donkeys or mules, probably) to carry the grain, but now they’re coming back with all that plus wagons! This might have been too much for Jacob, as Moses recorded that “Jacob’s heart fainted” and didn’t believe what his sons told him.
But things changed when Jacob not only heard what his sons said about Joseph, but also when he saw the wagons and all the other things Joseph had sent home to his father. This made Jacob “revive” and led him to say, “Joseph IS still alive and I’ll see him before I die”.
Talk about good news!
And even more good news was soon to come.
2 The good news when he received God’s approval
Text, Genesis 46:1-7, KJV: 1 And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. 2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. 3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. 5 And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: 7 His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
Jacob and his household had lived in Hebron for at least some time, most likely since they met up with his father Isaac (Gen. 35:27) years before. There is no record of Jacob moving anywhere after he arrived in Hebron, so we can believe all was going well for him. That is, until this incredible famine came and caused a food shortage that few had Jacob scrambling to find enough food for his household.
But now, Jacob had received some incredibly good news! First, he heard from his sons that there was still plenty of grain in Egypt; then, he heard and saw proof Joseph was still alive and well! Jacob had no doubt mourned and grieved over Joseph for over 20 years, ever since his 10 oldest sons brought Joseph’s coat, torn and stained with animal blood, insisting Joseph was dead. Now his hopes were about to be fulfilled—he was going to be reunited with his long-lost son!
His other sons had brought back not only some food but also some of the best stuff Egypt had to offer (Gen 45:21-24). I’ve sometimes wondered if Jacob thought of what he had sent as a present to the unknown Egyptian ruler who had arranged for them to purchase grain (see Gen.43:1-15) but now he saw a lot more coming back his way!
Now came moving time. It’s anybody’s guess how much time they needed to pack up and load up the wagons Joseph had provided for them. Maybe that had a yard sale or moving sale? Hey, the first one had to come from somewhere, no? But eventually, all was loaded onto the wagons and now Jacob, with his household, was ready to go and meet Joseph in Egypt.
I have to confess, this seems like a “Wagon Train” moment in Jacob’s life! If ever you’ve seen the show, in nearly every episode there’s a point when the wagon master, trail boss, guide, or whatever he’s called would ride his horse to the front of the wagon train and holler, “Wagons, ho!!!!!!!!” which was the signal for “Let’s get started!”
And start out they did, leaving Hebron for Egypt, a good ways to the south and west. Looking at one or more Bible maps, it seems there was a valley which probably made the journey somewhat easier for the travelers. Compared to crossing rivers, and climbing mountains, this trip might have seemed like a walk in the park for Jacob.
Then came a confirmation, some additional good news which I’m sure Jacob was grateful to hear. After they left Hebron, they came to Beersheba which was about 20-30 miles away (estimates vary). Jacob may have had some troubling thoughts once they arrived in Beersheba: here is where Abraham and Isaac had lived (Gen. 21:31-33, 22:19; 26L23) and this was Jacob’s home before he cheated Esau and Isaac out of the paternal blessing (Gen 27:1-28:10). How much he remembered about the place or if anyone was still there who knew him is not stated. Even so, I’m sure Jacob must have had some misgivings when he arrived at “the old home place”.
To Jacob’s credit, though, he offered sacrifices to God, the God of his father Isaac. It isn’t stated whether Jacob built the altars for these sacrifices or if some from Isaac’s day were still there and in good enough condition for this. This act of faith and dedication paved the way for a moment I don’t think Jacob ever forgot.
Jacob heard God call his name. Twice.
Digressing for a moment, this is only the second time God had called a person, by name, twice; the only time this had happened before took place when Abraham was ready to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham had his knife in his hand, ready to take Isaac’s life, when God said, “Abraham! Abraham!” and later told him to let Isaac live. See Genesis 22:1-19 for that story. Now Jacob had that same privilege.
Jacob heard God’s voice and replied, “Here am I” which seemed to be a standard reply for those times. Interestingly, this reply is the only thing Jacob said during this encounter with God: no bargains, nothing else, just simply listening to what God had to say.
After this, God spoke directly to Jacob, giving him a preview of the future. God promised Jacob that He would go with Jacob on the journey, and that He would make of Jacob a great nation (that was true, later there were over 600,000 military-aged men)! God closed this message by giving Jacob a hint of the future: God would bring Jacob back to Canaan and that he would die there in Egypt (that saying, “Joseph will put his hand on your eyes” meant Joseph would close Jacob’s eyes after Jacob died).
Knowing God approved of this move had to be some very good news for Jacob. And there was still more good news to come.
3 The good news when he saw Joseph in person
Text, Genesis 46:28-30, KJV: 28 And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. 29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. 30 And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.
Jacob and his household had left Hebron, stopped at Beersheba, and now were about to enter Egypt. Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph, was now the second most powerful man in Egypt, and Joseph had made arrangements for his extended family to settle in Egypt. We’re not told for how long; the original intent might have been just to stay till the famine was over but Israel wound up staying in Egypt for anywhere between 200-400 years!
The land of Goshen, where Joseph had arranged for his family to settle, was some of the best land in Egypt. Several Bible atlases show that Goshen was a region in the north of Egypt, part of the Nile Delta, close to the Mediterranean Sea. The members of Jacob’s family must have been amazed at what was probably lush, green, land with plenty of water compared to what they had left behind in Hebron.
But the best news of all for Jacob was to arrive in person. Joseph himself prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen so he could see his father again! We need to remember that nearly 30 years had passed since Jacob had last seen Joseph, and Jacob had been told (lied to) that Joseph was dead. Now he’s about to see Joseph in person, as the saying goes, “up close and personal”!
Moses did not record who spoke first, or what words, if any, were exchanged between father and son. Maybe no words were necessary. Joseph may have been wearing his official government clothing, but that wouldn’t have made a difference, because Jacob knew who this man was. I heard someone say that no matter how high Joseph’s position was, to his dad he would always be “little Joe”, the son whom Jacob loved the most.
The last words of this text are those of Jacob: “Now let me die, since I’ve seen your face, and you’re still alive!” Jacob remembered the words of God, that Joseph would “close his eyes”, and may have thought this was the end of the journey. Nobody could fault him for that: the family was saved from starvation; they had just been settled in some of the best land around, the whole family was at peace, and a long-sought reunion had just taken place. Jacob must have thought, “It can’t get much better than this!”
But it wasn’t. God wasn’t yet done with Jacob. True, Jacob had received some very good news; first, that Joseph was still alive. The other ten sons brought back ample proof of this. Second, God Himself spoke to Jacob and gave him a word of comfort and encouragement. Finally, the best news of all was when Joseph arrived and what a reunion that had to be!
You and I may not be going through all that Jacob went through but we can still enjoy the best news of all: God loves us, God wants the best for us, and He has promised a home in Heaven for all who accept His gift of salvation. For those of us who have received that gift, there are no words to describe it—it’s that great! If you haven’t, why not do so today?
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV).
