Jacob - Part 6 of 8

Genesis 45:25-46:7 (New Living Translation)

25 And they left Egypt and returned to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan.

26 “Joseph is still alive!” they told him. “And he is governor of all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned at the news—he couldn’t believe it. 27 But when they repeated to Jacob everything Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, their father’s spirits revived.

46 So Jacob set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. 2 During the night God spoke to him in a vision. “Jacob! Jacob!” he called.

“Here I am,” Jacob replied.

3 “I am God, the God of your father,” the voice said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation. 4 I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring you back again. You will die in Egypt, but Joseph will be with you to close your eyes.”

5 So Jacob left Beersheba, and his sons took him to Egypt. They carried him and their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had provided for them. 6 They also took all their livestock and all the personal belongings they had acquired in the land of Canaan. So Jacob and his entire family went to Egypt— 7 sons and grandsons, daughters and granddaughters—all his descendants.

Genesis 46:26-30

26 The total number of Jacob’s direct descendants who went with him to Egypt, not counting his sons’ wives, was sixty-six. 27 In addition, Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. So altogether, there were seventy members of Jacob’s family in the land of Egypt.

28 As they neared their destination, Jacob sent Judah ahead to meet Joseph and get directions to the region of Goshen. And when they finally arrived there, 29 Joseph prepared his chariot and traveled to Goshen to meet his father, Jacob. When Joseph arrived, he embraced his father and wept, holding him for a long time. 30 Finally, Jacob said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen your face again and know you are still alive.”

Genesis 47:7-10

7 Then Joseph brought in his father, Jacob, and presented him to Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

8 “How old are you?” Pharaoh asked him.

9 Jacob replied, “I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors.” 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving his court.

Dear God,

The story sort of skips over this part, but I wonder what the conversation was like among the brothers as they returned to Jacob. They were going to have to tell him what they did: “Uh, Dad. Yeah. Well. Remember Joseph? Remember how we told you that he had been eaten by a wild animal? Well, that wasn’t really true. As it turns out, we sold him as a slave to some Ishmaelites—you remember Uncle Ishmael? Anyway, apparently, Joseph is now the governor of Egypt, so it’s all good!”

All this does not seem to have mattered too much to Jacob. His son was alive! I told a group the other night that one thing that surprised me about being a parent was how easy I found it to forgive my children. It gave me a picture of your love for me in a new way. For Jacob, he had his boy back. He had all twelve boys (including Simeon). And now there was hope for his future.

Finally, I guess I should mention that Jacob agreed to leave his homeland to be closer to his son so that he could care for him, and he allowed Joseph to have that role in his life. This can be a real issue when aging parents agree to accept help from their children. Help me to be willing to be that humble when my time comes.

Father, thank you for the experience of fatherhood. Thank you for teaching me so much through my children—both through being a father and what you have taught me through them as individuals. Thank you for growing and stretching me through my wife and partnering with her as parents as well. It has not always been easy, but you have really used all of them to shape me, mold me, and humble me. Do with me what you will.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen