A Time for Reunion Under God
A. God’s Promised Protection
B. God’s People
C. God’s Providence in the Land
I remember as a young serviceman stationed in the Philippines for 3 years without returning home.
I was going to school doing things and always figured I’d have tomorrow to right wrongs and fix things that I had done wrong.
I had left my home not under the best of terms with my parents, feeling really bad about things that had happened earlier in my life and during my senior year of High School. I felt fully justified in my feelings, and even though I felt justified—I know today I was wrong for the bible tells us to “Respect and honor your father and your mother…” this even comes with a promise for long life.
That may be why as a young man, I never felt I had a future. Really, to think of it, I didn’t. For had I died in my sin and ignorance, I would have been condemned to the very pit of hell—for I had not trusted fully in my Lord and Savior and called upon His name asking Him to come into my heart.
I also remember getting on that plane after those three years and humming the words to “I’m coming home I’ve done my time…”. Today I would rather hum a Christian hymn like “When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there…” but it was good even in my fallen condition at the time to be headed home.
Home to the parents of my youth,
Home to my siblings,
Home to my cousins,
Home to my grandparents,
And home to the swamps of the Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana.
Let us journey in the different direction with Jacob today as prepares to head to the new home that God is calling His nation too.
Will you be ready if God calls you to a new home today? I pray you are.
A. God’s Promised Protection
Genesis 46:1-7 (KJV)
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, 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 Beer-sheba: 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.
I start this message as I have started many messages concerning Jacob, he was a wise steward that continually was in communication with God.
Are you able to say the same?
If you cannot then that may be part of the strife in your life today. We are required to be in prayer…unceasingly.
We see that Jacob upon arriving at Beer-sheba is encouraged by a revelation from God. Beer-sheba may be regarded as the fourth scene of Abraham’s abode in the land of promise.
Jacob does something that has been passed down. He “Offered sacrifices.” He had gathered from the words of the Lord to Abraham Gen. 15:13, and the way in which the dreams of Joseph were realized in the events of Providence, that his family were to descend into Egypt.
Jacob felt therefore, that in taking this step he was obeying the will of God.
So being the wise steward we know him to be, he approaches God offering sacrifices at an old abode of Abraham and Isaac, before he crosses the border to pass into Egypt.
On this solemn occasion God appears to him in the visions of the night. He designates himself “EL” the Mighty, and the God of his father. The former name cheers him with the thought of an all-sufficient Protector. The latter identifies the speaker with the God of his father, and therefore, with the God of eternity, of creation, and of the covenant Promise.
God directs Jacob “Fear not to go down into Mizraim.” This implies both that it was the will of God that he should go down to Egypt, and that he would be protected there.
Jacob had become “A great nation.” Jacob now had a large family. And for the first time not one was selected, but all were included in the chosen seed. He had received the special blessing and injunction to be fruitful and multiply Gen. 28:3; 35:11.
The chosen family is to be the beginning of the chosen nation.
Can you claim to be part of this family today?
God tells Jacob “I will go down with thee.” The “I” is here emphatic, as it is also in the assurance that he will bring him up in the fullness of time from Egypt.
God went down with them into captivity, He would assuredly bring them up out of captivity. If Israel in the process of growth from a family to a nation had remained among the Kenaanites, they would have become as the heathen nations surrounding them by intermarriage, and conformity to its vices.
God protects His chosen seed by its removal into Egypt, keeping them apart from the demoralizing influence of the surrounding nations.
Are you today in a place God would call you from? Are you turning to things in the world far more than you are turning to God and the things of God?
God then promises Jacob that “Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.” His long-lost son shall be present to perform the last offices to him when he comes to the point of death.
Jacob and all his descendents come into Egypt, they will be a servant nation. Considered below the Egyptians, so this will prevent a large amount of intermarriage and intermingling. Let us look at God’s Nation.
B. God’s People
Genesis 46:8-27 (KJV)
And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. [9] And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.
[10] And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.
[11] And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
[12] And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.
[13] And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.
[14] And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. [15] These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
[16] And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.
[17] And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel. [18] These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls. [19] The sons of Rachel Jacob’s wife; Joseph, and Benjamin.
[20] And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him.
[21] And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. [22] These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.
[23] And the sons of Dan; Hushim.
[24] And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. [25] These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven. [26] All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six; [27] And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
The list given here of the family of Jacob as it came down into Egypt is not to be
identified with a list of their descendants two hundred and fifty years later, contained in
Num. 26, or with another list constructed after the captivity, and referring to certain of
their descendants in and after the times of the monarchy.
Our desire today is to examine shortly the nature and import of this ancient
and original list of the family of Jacob.
We see that it claims to be a list of the names of the sons of Israel, “who went into Mizraim.” This phrase implies that the sons of Israel actually went down into Egypt; and this is accordingly historically true of all his immediate sons, Joseph having gone thither about twenty-two years before the others. And the word “sons” is to be understood here in its strict sense, as we find it in the immediate context Gen. 46:7 distinguished from sons’ sons and other descendants.
“Jacob and his sons.” From this expression we perceive the progenitor is to be
included with the sons among those who descended to Egypt. This also is historically
exact. For the sake of clearness it is proper here to state the approximate ages of these
heads of Israel at the time of the descent. Jacob himself was about 130 years of age Gen. 47:9.
Joseph was in his thirtieth year when he stood before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams and
receive his commission as governor-general of Egypt, Gen. 41:46. At the end of the
second year of the famine nine full years were added to his life. He was therefore, we
may suppose, 39 to 40 years old when Jacob arrived in Egypt, and born when his father was 91. As we conceive that he was born in the fifteenth year of Jacob’s sojourn in Padan-aram, and Reuben in the eighth, we infer that Reuben was at the time of the descent into Egypt seven years older than Joseph, or 46, Simon 45, Levi 44, Judah 43, Dan about 43, Naphtali about 42, Gad about 42, Asher about 41, Issakar about 41, Zebulun about 40, Dinah about 39, and Benjamin about 26.
“Jacob’s first-born Reuben.” This refers to the order of nature, without implying that the rights of first-birth were to be secured to Reuben 1 Chr. 5:1-2.
The sons of Leah and their descendants are here enumerated. Reuben has four sons,
who appear without variation in the other two lists Num. 26:5-6; 1 Chr. 5:3. Of the six
sons of Simon, Ohad appears in the other lists, and Nemuel and Zerah appear as
colloquial variations of Jemuel and Zohar. Such diversities in oral language are usual to
this day in the East and elsewhere. “Son of a Kenaanitess.” This implies that
intermarriage with the Kenaanites was the exception to the rule in the family of Jacob.
Wives might have been obtained from Hebrew, Aramaic, or at all events Shemite tribes
who were living in their vicinity. The three sons of Levi are common to all the lists, with
the slight variation of Gershom for Gershon.
The sons of Judah are also unvaried. We are here reminded that Er and Onon died in the land of Kenaan Gen. 46:12, and of course did not come down into Egypt.
The extraordinary circumstances of Judah’s family are recorded in Gen. 38.
The four sons of Issakar occur in the other lists, with the variation of Jashub for Job. The three sons of Zebulun recur in the book of Numbers; but in the list of Chronicles no mention is made of his posterity. Dinah does not appear in the other lists.
The descendants of Leah are in all thirty-two; six sons, one daughter, twenty-
three grandsons, and two great grandsons. “All the souls, his sons and his daughters,
were thirty and three.” Here “all the souls” include Jacob himself, and “his sons and his
daughters” is what should be understood.
Next are given and numbered the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid. The seven sons of Gad recur in Num. 26, with the variants Zephon, Ozni, and Arod, for Ziphion, Ezbon, and
Arodi; but they do not occur in Chronicles. Of Asher’s five children, Jishuah is omitted
in Numbers, but appears in Chronicles. This could have arisen from circumstances that the list in Numbers was drawn up at the time of the facts recorded, and that in Chronicles is extracted partly from Genesis. The other names are really the same in all the lists.
The descendants of Zilpah are sixteen—two sons, eleven grandsons, one granddaughter, and two great-grandsons.
The sons of Rachel. It is noteworthy to say that she alone is called the wife of Jacob, because she was the wife of his choice. God calls us in the perfect union of one man and one woman. We choose to try and change His perfect design but bring only harm upon ourselves and others in doing so.
Yet the children of the beloved, we perceive, are not placed before those of the less loved Deut. 21:15-16. Joseph’s two sons are the same in all lists. Of the ten sons of Benjamin only five appear in Numbers Num. 26:38-41, Bela and Ashbel being the same, and Ahiram, Shupham, and Hupham, being variants of Ehi, Muppim, and Huppim. In two hundred and fifty years the other five have become extinct. Naaman and Ard seem to have died early, as two sons of Bela, named after them, take their places as heads of families or clans. In Chronicles 1 7:6-12 we have two lists of his descendants which do not seem to be primary, as they do not agree with either of the former lists, or with one another, though some of the names recur.
The descendants of Rachel are fourteen—two sons and twelve grandsons.
The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid, come last. Hushim, the son of Dan, appears in
Numbers 26:42 as Shuham, and perhaps in Chronicles 1 Chr. 7:12. The four sons of Naphtali occur in all the lists, Shallum being the variant in Chronicles 1 7:13 for Shillem. The descendants of Bilhah are seven—two sons and five grandsons.
All the souls that went with Jacob into Egypt, “that came out of his loins,” were eleven
sons, one daughter, fifty grandchildren, and four great-grandsons; in all, sixty-six.
Sixty-six could be significant if we consider the amount of books that God authored. Jacob, Joseph and his two sons, are four; and thus, all the souls belonging to the family of Jacob which went into Egypt were seventy. This account, with its somewhat intricate details, is expressed with remarkable brevity and simplicity.
It stands forth, therefore, on the record merely as a historical fact.
It amazes me that it is the product of seven, the number of holiness; and ten, the number of completeness.
The covenant with Abraham is a special means by which the seed may come, who is to give legal and vital effect to the old and general covenant with Noah the representative of the nations. The church of God in the world is to be the instrument by which the kingdom of the world is to become the kingdom of Christ.
Are you doing your part to bring this about?
“When the Most High bestowed the inheritance on the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel”.
It does convey the truth that the great and obvious principle that all
things whatsoever in the affairs of men are antecedently adapted with the most perfect
exactitude to the reign of grace already realized in the children of God, and yet to
be extended to all the sons and daughters of Adam, to the ends of the earth.
C. God’s Providence in the Land
Genesis 46:28-30 (KJV)
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.
“Judah he sent before him.” “To lead the way before him into Goshen”—to get the directions from Joseph, and conduct the nation into their destined resting-place.
Where do you go to get your direction? Do you rely on yourself and your great experience or do you truly wait on God’s direction in your life?
We all need the direction that only God can provide for our safety and protection to come to that place of providence with Him.
“And he appeared unto him.” The blessed sight of his long lost son is a picture of what Jesus should appear to you and I and the expectation of seeing Him when He comes again. Oh, what a Savior.
Joseph sought to bring his family into the best of the land, just as God wishes for you His child to be in the best of the land.
Being in the center of God’s will is of utmost importance. You can be in the middle of a desert with God and be better off than being in the middle of an ocean are anywhere else with Satan.
God provides this situation for two reasons: first, because Goshen was best suited for pasture; and secondly, because the chosen family would thus be comparatively isolated from Egyptian society.
The two nations were in some important respects mutually repulsive. The idolatrous and superstitious customs of the Egyptians were abhorrent to a worshipper of the true God; and “every shepherd was the abomination of Egypt.”
Herodotus makes the cowherds the third of the seven classes into which the Egyptians were divided (Herodotus ii. 164). Others include them in the lowest class of the community.
We can take courage then that the things that are elevated in this world, are lowly in the eyes of God. The things that are considered least by this world, are elevated in the eyes of God.
If you seek to be elevated in the eyes of God, you must first confess to God that you are indeed a sinner in need of forgiveness, confess your sins, and ask Jesus Christ into your heart and life. In this manner you will have God’s full providence in any and all situations in your life.
This means he will meet your every need. A very big problem with our country today is the confusion over needs and desires. We all have our basic needs met and confuse our every desire with those of true needs—food, water, clothing, and shelter. Look around you and see God’s providence as you seek to fulfill His good and perfect will.
If you have any prayer needs are concerns please let us know. We would love to pray for you.
Closing prayer.
