The
ABC of Scattering
Part 8: Back and forth between Egypt and Hebron
John
Plunkett
July 23rd, 2016
Last
time, in Part 7, we followed Jacob’s family on their travels from Penuel,
where Jacob wrestled with the LORD (YHVH); and we followed their travels all the
way back to his father Isaac’s temporary home at Hebron.
After
Isaac’s death, we saw how young Joseph – who was, of course, one of the
principal sons of Jacob and, therefore, the father of one of the major branches
of Israel – how Joseph travelled voluntarily from Hebron to Shechem;
and then how he was dragged involuntarily from Shechem down to
Egypt. That is where we left him at the end of Part 7 and at the end of
Genesis 37.
As
we move into chapter 38, we briefly leave poor Joseph in Egypt, and we go back
up north, back into the land of Canaan where we learn of Joseph’s brother,
Judah – one of the other principal sons of Jacob – doing some travelling
of his own; but for very questionable purposes:
Genesis
38:1:
And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went
down from his brethren, and turned in
to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
Judah
was a naughty boy!
In just this one chapter , we find two more examples of his immorality.
I won't go into them today because we have some "young ears"
here with us.
What I want to point out is the contrast between the immorality of Judah
and the morality of his brother Joseph.
I'm sure you know what happened in
Potiphar’s house.
Of
course, Joseph
was not perfect, by any means. There was only one perfect human being, and we
all know who that was!
Some
very complex, major family troubles came down upon Judah’s head – perhaps
partially for the part he had played in Joseph’s enslavement; perhaps
partially for his own multiple immoral behaviours; and perhaps partially as
another slap on the wrist for the family’s continued dwelling (yashabing) –
this time at Hebron.
As
the 39th chapter opens, we have a repetition of the location of Joseph’s new
home:
Genesis
39:1:
And Joseph was brought down to Egypt;
and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought
him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought
him down there.
I
want to concentrate on the verses that deal specifically with the travelling
of the family of Abraham.
As
I’m sure you know, Joseph had his “downs and ups” in Egypt; but he was
richly blessed and used by God, to the point that, amazingly, he eventually came
to be the number-two ruler of the whole country!
Lots
of time went by and, with no scriptural mention of any travelling
by the now elderly Jacob and his extended family, they were still evidently
dwelling {yashabing} up in the Hebron area of Canaan.
We
might think that young Joseph – now very successful – was also yashabing
down in Egypt.
But he wasn’t!
In his new job, the equivalent of the Prime Minister, he was constantly
on the move:
Genesis
41:
45: And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaph-nath-paaneah; and he gave him
to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On.
And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
46: And Joseph was thirty years old {Wow!} when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt.
And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout
all the land of Egypt...
This
was just prior to the seven years of plenty.
Even
though Joseph was doing a lot of travelling
in his new job, this new Egyptian name that Pharaoh had given him might imply
that Joseph had come to the dubious luxury of a full-stop there in Egypt.
His
new name, Zaph-nath-Paaneah
means
"Treasury
of the Glorious Rest"!
That
name might have been wishful thinking on the part of Pharaoh, because he wanted
Joseph to stay there.
He knew that Joseph was a great ally to have, and a really good guy to
have working for him!
But
even though Joseph’s father and brothers seemed at the time to be of the
opinion that they were settled, the true God’s will for the scattering of His
chosen people had evidently not yet ended; so the time did at last come
for them to “hit the road” again, to leave the Hebron area, and to do some
more travelling.
And the LORD initiated this travel by means of the major seven-year
famine.
First
of all, due to that great famine that hit the whole area, Joseph’s brothers
– other than young Benjamin – took their first road-trip
into Egypt.
As we continue to read through these verses, please note the many,
many references to travel. Still in chapter 41, just one more
verse:
Verse
57:
And all countries came
into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in
all lands.
Genesis
42:
1:
Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his
sons, “Why do you look one upon another?”
2:
And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get
you down thither, and buy for us from there; that we may live, and not die.”
3:
And Joseph’s ten brethren went
down to buy corn in Egypt…
5:
And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for
the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6:
And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all
the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down
themselves before him with their faces to the earth...
You
know the details.
Joseph knew who they were; but they did not recognize him, and they even
bowed down before him. Joseph’s earlier, God-inspired dreams were
starting to come to fulfillment.
Joseph
– still a young man of about 32 years old – played some “games” with his
brothers who didn’t recognize him.
I believe that the purpose of the tricks that he played on them was to
bring them to point of confession and repentance. First, he pretended to
accuse them of being spies:
Verse
9:
And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto
them, “You are spies; to see the nakedness of the land you are come.”
10:
And they said unto him, “No, my lord, but to buy food are your
servants come”...
Perhaps
these “games” also brought their father Jacob to the realization of some of his
former errors, including those regarding his favouritism for Joseph. But
also, Joseph’s “games” resulted in some back-and-forth travels between
Canaan and Egypt – which may have been the first instance of a kind of “shuttle
diplomacy”:
Verse
15: “Hereby you shall be proved.
By the life of Pharaoh you shall not go forth hence {back
to Hebron},
except your youngest brother come hither.
16:
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and you
shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any
truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely you are spies…
Verse 19:
If you be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of
your prison: go you, carry corn for the famine of your houses:
20:
But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be
verified, and you shall not die.”
And they did so…
Verse
26:
And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence
{back to Hebron}
…
These
poor guys were walking with their laden donkeys. They were very likely hot
and miserable.
They had travelled all the way down into Egypt and then back up again.
Verse
29:
And they came unto Jacob their father unto
the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them…
Verse 36:
And Jacob their father said unto them, “Me have you bereaved of my
children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not {Joseph
was presumed dead, and Simeon as good as dead because he was in an Egyptian
prison},
and you will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
37:
And Reuben spoke unto his father, saying, “Slay my two sons, if I bring
him not to you: deliver
him into my hand, and I will bring
him to you again.”
38:
And he {Jacob}
said, “My son shall not
go
down
with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by
the way in the which you go, then shall you bring down my grey hairs with
sorrow to the grave.”
On
into chapter 43, where we find poor old Jacob reluctantly changing his mind:
Genesis
43:
2:
And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought
out of Egypt, their father said unto them, “Go again, buy us a
little food”…
Verse 4:
“If you will send our brother with us, we will go down
and buy you food”…
Verse 7: And
they said, “The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred,
saying, ‘Is your father yet alive?
Have you another brother?’
And we told him according to the tenor of these words.
Could we certainly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”
8:
And Judah said unto Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we
will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and you, and also
our little ones.
9:
I will be surety for him; of my hand shall you require him: if I bring
him not unto you, and set him before you, then let me bear the blame for
ever”…
Verse 11: And
their father Israel said unto them, “If it must be so now, do this; take
of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a
present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds…
Verse 13: Take
also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:
Please
note that all of these verses mention travel.
14:
And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away
your other brother {Simeon}
and Benjamin.
If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”
15:
And the men took that present, and they took double money
in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose
up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph…
Joseph
played some more tricks on his brothers, causing their back-and-forth travel to
continue:
Verse
20:
And said, “O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy
food:
21:
And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our
sacks, and, behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money
in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.
22:
And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we
cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.
Now
we move into Chapter 44 and read of even more tricks from Joseph on his
brothers:
Genesis
44:
3:
As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and
their asses.
4: And
when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said
unto his steward, “Up, follow after the men; and when you do overtake them,
say unto them, ‘Why have you rewarded evil for good?’”
The
brothers’ defensive reply:
Verse
8: “Behold,
the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto you
out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of your lord’s
house silver or gold?”…
Verse 13: Then
they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the
city.
14:
And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; for he was
yet there: and they fell before him on the ground…
Verse 17: And
he {Joseph}
said, "God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is
found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your
father."
Again,
the brothers’ spokesman speaking:
Verse
21:
“And you said unto your servants, ‘Bring him {Benjamin}
down unto me,
that I may set my eyes upon him’.
22:
And we said unto my lord, “The lad cannot leave
his father: for if he should leave his
father, his father would die.
23: And
you said unto your servants, ‘Except your youngest brother come down
with you, you shall see my face no more.’
24:
And it came to pass when we came up unto your servant my father {in
Canaan},
we told him the words of my lord.
25:
And our father said, ‘Go again, and buy us a little food.’
26:
And we said, ‘We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with
us, then will we go down: for we may not
see the man’s face, except our youngest brother be with us’…
Verse 30:
Now therefore when I come to your servant my father, and the lad
be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life…
Verse 32: For
your servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, ‘If I bring
him not unto you, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.’
33:
Now therefore, I pray you, let your servant abide instead of the lad a
bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.
34:
For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me,
lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father?
As
we go on into Chapter 45, we find Joseph finally revealing his identity to his
brothers who were finally broken and repentant. There is a spiritual
example right in there, that sometimes trials are necessary to bring us
to repentance. We also read of even more travels for the brothers
back and forth again between Egypt and Canaan. Joseph speaking here:
Genesis
45:
5: “Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me
here: for God did send me before you to preserve life…
Verse 7:
And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the
earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8a:
So now it was not you that sent me here, but God…
This
is a very important point for all of us to remember.
God often works through human beings.
8b:
... and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a
ruler throughout all the land of Egypt…
So here is Joseph now, calling the shots and sending his brothers back to Jacob:
9:
Haste you, and go up to my father, and say unto him, 'Thus says your son Joseph,
"God has made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
10: And you shall dwell {yashab!}
in the land of Goshen,
and you shall be near unto me, you, and your children, and your children’s
children, and your flocks, and your herds, and all that you have:
11:
And there will I nourish you; for yet there are five years of famine;
lest you, and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty.'"
I
believe that this verse is very significant, because it puts a time-stamp on the
narrative. We know that Joseph was thirty years old at the very beginning of the
seven years of plenty.
Now they were two years into the seven-year famine; so, at this
point, Joseph would have been thirty-nine years old.
Yes,
God did use Joseph to get Jacob’s family into Egypt to see them through
the remaining five years of that terrible, seven-year famine.
They were His chosen people, so He certainly didn’t want them to die of
starvation!
He made arrangements to take them to Egypt, temporarily though, to
see them through the remaining five years of this terrible seven-year
famine. But
neither
Goshen nor anywhere in
Egypt was to be their permanent home, as Joseph seemed to be suggesting here.
Verse
13:
And you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that
you have seen; and you shall haste and bring down my father here” …
16: And
the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, 'Joseph’s brethren are
come': and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
Pharaoh
gave Joseph’s brothers permission to return to Hebron to fetch Jacob.
But Pharaoh invited them – maybe even insisted – that they
return to Egypt to dwell their permanently:
17:
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “Say unto your brethren, ‘This do you;
lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
18:
And take your father and your households, and come unto me:
and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of
the land.
19:
Now you are commanded, this do you; take
you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives,
and bring your father, and come"…
Yes,
the Pharaoh was being nice to them by providing transportation so that they
would not have to walk or ride donkeys – especially the elderly and the
children.
Verse
21:
And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons,
according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way…
Verse
23:
And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with
the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with corn and bread and meat
for his father by the way.
24:
So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto
them, “See that you fall not out by the
way.”
25: And
they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob
their father…
From
our lack of any more recent scriptural evidence, we must believe that Jacob’s
camp was still in the Mamre/Hebron area.
Verse
27: And
they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he
saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit
of Jacob their father revived:
28:
And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will
go and see him before I die.”
So,
as chapter 46 begins, we find Jacob, finally, after such a long stay (yashab),
breaking camp at Mamre/Hebron and heading south toward Egypt. But, with
one significant stop-over:
Genesis
46:
1:
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to
Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.
2:
And God spoke 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 {El},
the God {Elohim}
of your father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of
you a great nation:
4: I
will go down with you into Egypt; and I will also surely bring you up again: and
Joseph shall put his hand upon your eyes.”
Now,
at first reading, we might think that this would imply that it was okay with God
that Jacob’s family remain in Egypt beyond the time of the famine – even for
hundreds of years! thereafter!
But He doesn’t say this! Based on what we have seen throughout
this series so far, I don’t believe it to be true.
5:
And
Jacob rose up from Beersheba: 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.
8:
And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into
Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn... (etc.,
etc.)
Verse
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.
28: And he sent Judah before him unto
Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen…
A
temporary sojourn in Goshen was acceptable to get them through the balance of
the seven-year famine.
Remember
how we talked about Rachel in a previous episode of this series? And how
we have always thought that she was a "pretty good gal"?
Likewise, we have always thought that her first son, Joseph, was a "pretty
good guy" – even that he was virtually perfect.
Again, the only perfect human
being was Jesus Christ!
I am not knocking Joseph's reputation. He certainly was a
relatively good guy. But he was not perfect. He did make some
mistakes; and I believe that this was one of them:
Verse
31:
And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, “I
will go up, and show Pharaoh, and say unto him, ‘My brethren, and my
father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are
come unto me;
32:
And the men are shepherds, for their trade has been to feed cattle; and
they have brought
their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.
33: And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say,
'What is your occupation?'
34:
That
you shall say, ‘Your servants’ trade has been about cattle from our youth
even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that you may dwell
{yashab!}
in the land of Goshen; for every
shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.'
I
am not so interested in the Egyptians' opinion of shepherds as I am in the idea
and desire for Jacob's family to dwell {yashab} in the land of
Goshen. As we move into chapter 47, we see a reply to Pharaoh likely from
a spokesman for the eleven brothers:
Genesis
47:
4a: They said moreover unto Pharaoh, “For to
sojourn
{guwr}
in the land are we come; for your
servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of
Canaan: now therefore, we pray you, let your servants dwell
{yashab!}
in the land of Goshen.
The
Hebrew word guwr is a totally different word from yashab; and has
a totally different meaning. A sojourn – guwr – is a temporary
stay which, we believe, is what God wanted for them.
5:
And Pharaoh spoke unto Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brethren
are come
unto you:
6:
The land of Egypt is before you; in the best of the land make your father
and brethren to dwell {yashab!};
in the land of Goshen let them dwell
{yashab!}:
and if you know any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my
cattle…
Remember what happened with Laban and Jacob? We are seeing something similar here. Pharaoh knew which side his bread was buttered with Jacob's family. Pharaoh knew that having Joseph and his brothers with him, with all of their talents that God had given them, would be a great benefit for himself and his country. Joseph had given such a great example on their behalf.
Verse 11: And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded…
Yes.
God had promised Abraham that He was going to give them a possession
(Genesis 17:8); but here we see Joseph giving them a possession that was not
God-given.
Verse
27:
And Israel dwelt
{yashab!}
in
the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions
therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
In
effect, "they got their feet under the table" in Goshen.
28a:
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen
years…
Seventeen
years! That was five years during the famine and twelve whole years after
the end of the famine!
Again, the famine had been raging for two years when Jacob moved from
Hebron to Egypt.
28b:
…
so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.
29a: And
the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said
unto him, “If now I have found grace in your sight, put, I pray you, your hand
under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me...
Here we read words containing an unusual and interesting tone of deference from father to son – possibly due to Joseph's rank and all the great things he had done for his own family and for many, many others.