Genesis Part 070
Finally, after all this time, Joseph and his father Jacob are reunited! Jacob hadn’t seen him since he was 17 years old. How much had Joseph changed even in appearance over that time? God had refined Joseph so much, he was a different person so many years later.
In Genesis 46, Jacob packs and leaves for Egypt. He takes everything he owns, making it clear that Jacob is leaving and intends to stay in Egypt. Along the way, he stops at the place where Abraham (Gen 21:33) and Isaac (Gen 26:25) have both previously worshiped God, and Jacob does the same.
In verse 4 it says,
“Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.”
According to commentaries, God is telling Jacob that Joseph is truly alive, that Joseph will be by the side of Jacob when he dies, and that Joseph will close his eyelids at his death. This was a custom of the living to the dead, and it used to be done by the nearest relations and friends. While we don’t see this in scripture, we do see that Joseph is literally weeping over Jacob’s body when he dies in Genesis 50.
Regarding verses 7–27, the UCG Bible Commentary says that “Genesis 46 catalogs the names of all the members of the family of Israel that immigrated to Egypt. Once there, counting Joseph and his family, the total came to 70 persons. We know from the book of Exodus that this small group of people will grow to 600,000 men at the time of their deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 12:37), which probably indicates a total population of two to three million people. Joseph settles his father’s family in the land of Goshen—the part of Egypt closest to Canaan and a land well-watered with rich soil and well furnished with pastures for their herds—where the family and its descendants will live until the time of the Exodus.”
In verse 28, Judah is sent ahead of the group to Goshen. Why was this done? Jamieson-Fausset-Brown states, “This precautionary measure was obviously proper for apprising the king of the entrance of so large a company within his territories; moreover, it was necessary in order to receive instruction from Joseph as to the locale of their future settlement.”
Why was Judah the one selected? Here’s what John Gill’s commentary says about him: “[Judah] was the more honorable of his sons, and in greater esteem with Jacob than his elder brethren were, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, who by their conduct had greatly displeased him: moreover, he was a man of a polite address, and had endeared himself to Joseph by his speech to him, in which he discovered so much affection both to his father, and his brother Benjamin, and was upon all accounts the fittest person to be sent to Joseph.”
Finally, after all this time, Joseph and his father Jacob are reunited in verse 29! What a moment this must have been! Jacob hadn’t seen him since he was 17 years old. How much had Joseph changed even in appearance over that time? God had refined Joseph so much, he would have been such a different person so many years later.
After mourning Joseph for more than two decades and now having the immense joy of seeing him alive and well, Jacob is now in a place of satisfaction.
Next week we will move on from Genesis and look at more of the minor prophets of the Bible in our Know Your Sword series.
UYA Team | uya@ucg.org
United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of the young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships, and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.
