The Book of Genesis
Part 91
Chapter 45:25 - 46:48
It has been said that the shortest distance between two points is a good companion; to this might be added, the shortest time between two distant points results from good news. How briefly the narrator covers the journey from Egypt to Canaan! “They (Joseph’s brothers) went up to Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob.” Obviously Joseph’s words of caution were sufficient, and they arrived home ready to execute his charge which involved the confession of their sin and the convincing of their father, a period of spiritual preparation on the father’s part, and the journey itself.
Convincing Their Father
Their own statement was free from duplicity, altogether different from the evil deception made at the time they showed Joseph’s bloodstained coat to Jacob (Gen. 37:31-33). They told their father, “Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” What wonderful experiences they had to report! Not only experiences did they recount, but confessions did they make!
One would gather from chapter 50:16-17 of this Book of Genesis that they had admitted to their father the crime of which they were guilty in the selling of Joseph and in their deception throughout so many years. They had proved the veracity of the proverb, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Prov. 28:13). Through Joseph’s dealings with them, even before he revealed himself, they had acknowledged among themselves their dreadful guilt, and had stood before him self-condemned and ashamed.
Before all inward conflict could be stopped, and a true relationship within the family be restored, their trespass had to be confessed to their father. James exhorts in his Epistle, “Confess your faults one to another.” This was very imperative in the case of these men.
The brethren of Joseph not only had a story of guilt to uncover; they had a wonderful story of grace to tell. Joseph, who knew in every detail the acts of their wickedness, had forgiven them fully and was most anxious to bring them all close to himself, and to provide abundantly for them.
How like the benevolence of our heavenly Father who forgave us all sins, and raised us up and made us sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! It is very gratifying to believe both the bad news of his sons’ deception and the good news of Joseph’s exaltation. It was not until the visible evidence of Joseph’s existence, magnanimity, and power were demonstrated in the wagons and animals did he exclaim, “It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die” (45:28)!
Spiritual Preparation
“And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba.” What memories must have filled his mind as he approached the edge of the wilderness and looked beyond the southern frontier of Palestine! Both his grandfather and his father had stayed in that place at different times, and he himself had been there previously. While he lingered in this open-air sanctuary, God appeared to him once more in visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob … 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.” A similar promise had been made at the very same place to Isaac (Gen. 26:23-25). These promises to Isaac and Jacob were only a reaffirmation of God’s covenant to Abraham. “He said unto Abraham, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs … afterward shall they come out with great substance” (Gen. 15:13-14). “He is faithful that promised” (Heb. 10:23). Furthermore, “What He had promised, He is able also to perform” (Rom. 4:21).
God’s promises to His ancient earthly people form a substantial proof that to us “all the promises of God in Him (Christ) are yea, and in Him, Amen, unto the glory of God” (2 Cor. 1:20).
Not only was God going to be with Jacob and his descendants, but in the prediction and pledge there was an item of very personal importance, an item very precious to Jacob, a father who for long had considered himself bereaved of his favourite son. God averred, “Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.” This was more than Jacob had expected. The promise was tantamount to saying, Thou shall die in Joseph’s arms.
Among the ancients the grief of a parent was greatly intensified if he were unable to be with his loved one in the hour of death, unable to close his eyes and fold his arms, to perform the last acts of love and respect for one more intimate than others. This promise to Jacob was a special consolation meant to mitigate the sorrow and anxiety of the past years.
One, consequently, is not surprised to read, “Israel … offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.” The spirit of awe and gratitude in Jacob impelled him to worship and to ascribe praise, thanksgiving, and honour to the Lord. God had revealed Himself as “God,” the Mighty One (El), in intimate and perpetual relationship with Jacob’s ancestors, “the God of thy father,” and therefore with him.
The Journey
With this revelation and promise deeply implanted in his mind “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 Pharaoh had sent to carry them” (46:5).
Some have thought that there is a discrepancy between the list of those who entered Egypt recorded here and the 75 souls mentioned by Stephen in his address given in the Book of Acts chapter seven. (Stephen probably was quoting from the Septuagint, the Greek Version of the Old Testament). It must be remembered that the list drawn up in Genesis was recorded in a legal manner, giving only the names of all who became heads of families, whether they were actually born at the time of the migration, or later. Such a listing may not therefore be numerically complete, but it is, nothwithstanding, historically very important. In this instance it was most important for it not only traced the history of the fathers of the nation of Israel, but it traced the thin red line of redemption in the Scriptures, the line of the Messiah and Saviour.