A Pilgrim’s Confidence (46:1-30)
Change is something most elderly people fear and resist, and we can’t blame them. Familiar surroundings and furnishings, and the presence of family and longtime friends, all give older folks a feeling of confidence and control that makes life feel safer and happier. Jacob had lived with his family in Hebron for many years, but now the time had come for all of them to move.
God’s promise (vv. 1-4). Jacob and his family left Hebron (37:14) and traveled for about a week until they came to Beersheba, the southernmost town in Canaan (Josh. 15:21, 28). Beersheba was a very special place to Jacob, for there Abraham had dug a well (Gen. 21:30) and there Abraham lived after offering Isaac on Mount Moriah (22:19). Isaac had also lived at Beersheba (26:23, 32-33), and it was from the home in Beersheba that Jacob left for Laban’s house to find a wife. At Beersheba, God had appeared to Hagar (21:17) and to Isaac (26:23-24), and now He would appear to Jacob.
Since Jacob was about to leave his own land and go into a strange country, he paused to build an altar and worship the Lord. It’s good to ask for God’s special help and blessing when we’re about to enter a new phase in life. I recall seeing an entire family come to the front of the church at the close of a worship service and kneel to pray. Since the father was in the armed forces and was being transferred to another base, the whole family joined him in committing themselves to the Lord for this new venture.
But why should Jacob worry about going to Egypt? Didn’t his son Joseph instruct him to come? Wasn’t it the wisest thing to do in light of the continued famine in the land? Perhaps Jacob was fearful because he remembered that his grandfather Abraham had gotten into serious trouble by going to Egypt (12:10ff.). And when Jacob’s father, Isaac, started toward Egypt, the Lord stopped him (26:1-2). Egypt could be a dangerous place for one of God’s pilgrims.
But the Lord came to Jacob at night and assured him that it was safe for him and his family to relocate. “Jacob, Jacob!” reminds us of “Abraham, Abraham” (22:11), “Samuel, Samuel” (1 Sam. 3:10), “Martha. Martha” (Luke 10:41), and “Saul, Saul” (Acts 9:4). It’s encouraging to know that the Lord knows our names and our personal needs (John 10:3, 14, 27). Jehovah wanted to remind Jacob that He wasn’t limited to the land of Canaan, for He’s the Lord of all the earth, including Egypt (Josh. 3:11, 13; Ps. 83:18). God would go with Jacob to Egypt and be with him to bless him, just as He had been with Joseph and blessed him (Gen. 39:2, 21). Jacob had nothing to fear, because the Lord would keep the promises He had made to him at Bethel (28:15).
Why did God want Jacob’s family to live in Egypt? Because in Egypt He would multiply Jacob’s descendants and make them into a great nation (12:2). The Jews would begin their sojourn in Egypt under the protection of Pharaoh, enjoying the best of the land. Centuries later, however, the Jews would be suffering cruel bondage in Egypt and crying out to God for deliverance (Ex. 1; 2:23-25). But God would use their suffering to mold them into a mighty nation under the leadership of Moses.
God gave Jacob the added assurance that he would die in Egypt and that his beloved son Joseph would see to it that his funeral would be an honorable one. Jacob’s body would be brought back to Canaan and buried in the cave where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Leah had been buried (Gen. 49:30-31). On the basis of these promises, Jacob left Canaan and moved to Egypt.