G
E N E S I S
CHAP. XLVI.
Jacob is here removing to
Egypt
in his
old age, forced thither by a famine, and invited thither by a son. Here, I.
God sends him thither, ver. 1-4. II. All his family goes with him, ver. 5-27.
III. Joseph bids him welcome, ver. 28-34.
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Jacob
Sacrifices at Beersheba.
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B. C. 1707.
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1 And Israel took his journey with all
that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of
his father Isaac. 2 And God spake 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, the God of thy father: fear not to go down
into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4 I will
go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again:
and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
The divine
precept is, In all thy ways acknowledge God; and the promise annexed to
it is, He shall direct thy paths. Jacob has here a very great concern
before him, not only a journey, but a removal, to settle in another country, a
change which was very surprising to him (for he never had any other thoughts
than to live and die in Canaan), and which would be of great consequence to
his family for a long time to come. Now here we are told,
I. How he
acknowledged God in this way. He came to Beersheba, from Hebron, where
he now dwelt; and there he offered sacrifices to the God of his father
Isaac, v. 1. He chose that place, in remembrance of the communion
which his father and grandfather had with God in that place. Abraham called on
God there (ch. xxi. 33), so did Isaac (ch. xxvi. 25), and
therefore Jacob made it the place of his devotion, the rather because it lay
in his way. In his devotion, 1. He had an eye to God as the God of his father
Isaac, that is, a God in covenant with him; for by Isaac the covenant was
entailed upon him. God had forbidden Isaac to go down to Egypt when there was
a famine in Canaan (ch. xxvi. 2), which perhaps Jacob calls to mind
when he consults God as the God of his father Isaac, with this thought,
"Lord, though I am very desirous to see Joseph, yet if thou forbid me to
go down to Egypt, as thou didst my father Isaac, I will submit, and very
contentedly stay where I am." 2. He offered sacrifices,
extraordinary sacrifices, besides those at his stated times; these sacrifices
were offered, (1.) By way of thanksgiving for the late blessed change of the
face of his family, for the good news he had received concerning Joseph, and
for the hopes he had of seeing him. Note, We should give God thanks for the
beginnings of mercy, though they are not yet perfected; and this is a decent
way of begging further mercy. (2.) By way of petition for the presence of God
with him in his intended journey; he desired by these sacrifices to make his
peace with God, to obtain the forgiveness of sin, that he might take no guilt
along with him in this journey, for that is a bad companion. By Christ, the
great sacrifice, we must reconcile ourselves to God, and offer up our requests
to him. (3.) By way of consultation. The heathen consulted their oracles by
sacrifice. Jacob would not go till he had asked God's leave: "Shall I go
down to Egypt, or back to Hebron?" Such must be our enquiries in doubtful
cases; and, though we cannot expect immediate answers from heaven, yet, if we
diligently attend to the directions of the word, conscience, and providence,
we shall find it is not in vain to ask counsel of God.
II. How God
directed his paths: In the visions of the night (probably the very next
night after he had offered his sacrifices, as 2 Chron. i. 7) God spoke unto
him, v. 2. Note, Those who desire to keep up communion with God
shall find that it never fails on his side. If we speak to him as we ought, he
will not fail to speak to us. God called him by name, by his old name, Jacob,
Jacob, to remind him of his low estate; his present fears did scarcely
become an Israel. Jacob, like one well acquainted with the visions of the
Almighty, and ready to obey them, answers, "Here I am, ready to
receive orders:" and what has God to say to him?
1. He renews the
covenant with him: I am God, the God of thy father (v. 3); that
is, "I am what thou ownest me to be: thou shalt find me a God, a divine
wisdom and power engaged for thee; and thou shalt find me the God of thy
father, true to the covenant made with him."
2. He encourages
him to make this removal of his family: Fear not to go down into Egypt.
It seems, though Jacob, upon the first intelligence of Joseph's life and glory
in Egypt, resolved, without any hesitation, I will go and see him; yet,
upon second thoughts, he saw some difficulties in it, which he
knew not well how to get over. Note, Even those changes that seem to have in
them the greatest joys and hopes, yet have an alloy of cares and fears, Nulla
est sincera voluptas--There is no unmingled pleasure. We must always
rejoice with trembling. Jacob had many careful thoughts about this journey,
which God took notice of. (1.) He was old, 130 years old; and it is mentioned
as one of the infirmities of old people that they are afraid of that which
is high, and fears are in the way, Eccl. xii. 5. It was a long journey,
and Jacob was unfit for travel, and perhaps remembered that his beloved Rachel
died in a journey. (2.) He feared lest his sons should be tainted with the
idolatry of Egypt, and forget the God of their fathers, or enamoured with the
pleasures of Egypt, and forget the land of promise. (3.) Probably he thought
of what God had said to Abraham concerning the bondage and affliction of his
seed (ch. xv. 13), and was apprehensive that his removal to Egypt would
issue in that. Present satisfactions should not take us off from the
consideration and prospect of future inconveniences, which possibly may arise
from what now appears most promising. (4.) He could not think of laying his
bones in Egypt. But, whatever his discouragements were, this was enough to
answer them all, Fear not to go down into Egypt.
3. He promises
him comfort in the removal. (1.) That he should multiply in Egypt: "I
will there, where thou fearest that thy family will sink and be lost, make
it a great nation. That is the place Infinite Wisdom has chosen for the
accomplishment of that promise." (2.) That he should have God's presence
with him: I will go down with thee into Egypt. Note, Those that go
whither God sends them shall certainly have God with them, and that is enough
to secure them wherever they are and to silence their fears; we may safely
venture even into Egypt if God go down with us. (3.) That neither he nor his
should be lost in Egypt: I will surely bring thee up again. Though
Jacob died in Egypt, yet this promise was fulfilled, [1.] In the bringing up
of his body, to be buried in Canaan, about which, it appears, he was very
solicitous, ch. xlix. 29, 32. [2.] In the bringing up of his seed to be
settled in Canaan. Whatever low or darksome valley we are called into at any
time, we may be confident, if God go down with us into it, that he will surely
bring us up again. If he go with us down to death, he will surely bring us up
again to glory. (4.) That living and dying, his beloved Joseph should be a
comfort to him: Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. This is a
promise that Joseph should live as long as he lived, that he should be with
him at his death, and close his eyes with all possible tenderness and respect,
as the dearest relations used to do. Probably Jacob, in the multitude of his
thoughts within him, had been wishing that Joseph might do this last office of
love for him: Ille meos oculos comprimat--Let him close my eyes; and
God thus answered him in the letter of his desire. Thus God sometimes
gratifies the innocent wishes of his people, and makes not only their death
happy, but the very circumstances of it agreeable.
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Jacob's
Removal to Egypt.
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B. C. 1706.
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5 And 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 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. 9 And the sons of
Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. 10 And the sons
of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the
son of a Canaanitish woman. 11 And the sons of Levi; Gershon,
Kohath, and Merari. 12 And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and
Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And
the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 And the sons of
Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron. 14 And the sons
of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These be the
sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter
Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and
three. 16 And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and
Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. 17 And the sons of Asher; Jimnah,
and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of
Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel. 18 These are the sons of
Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even
sixteen souls. 19 The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife; Joseph, and
Benjamin. 20 And unto Joseph in the land of
Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of
Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him. 21 And the sons of
Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and
Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. 22 These are the sons of
Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.
23 And the sons of Dan; Hushim. 24 And the sons of Naphtali;
Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These are the
sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these
unto Jacob: all the souls were seven. 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.
Old Jacob is here
flitting. Little did he think of ever leaving Canaan; he expected, no doubt, to
die in his nest, and to leave his seed in actual possession of the
promised land: but Providence orders it otherwise. Note, Those that think
themselves well settled may yet be unsettled in a little time. Even old
people, who think of no other removal than that to the grave (which Jacob had
much upon his heart, ch. xxxvii. 35; xlii. 38), sometimes live to see great
changes in their family. It is good to be ready, not only for the grave, but
for whatever may happen betwixt us and the grave. Observe, 1. How Jacob was
conveyed; not in a chariot, though chariots were then used, but in a waggon, v.
5. Jacob had the character of a plain man, who did not affect any thing
stately or magnificent; his son rode in a chariot (ch. xli. 43), but a
waggon would serve him. 2. The removal of what he had with him. (1.) His
effects (v. 6), cattle and goods; these he took with him that he
might not wholly be beholden to Pharaoh for a livelihood, and that it might
not afterwards be said of them, "that they came beggars to Egypt."
(2.) His family, all his seed, v. 7. It is probable that they
had continued to live together in common with their father; and therefore when
he went they all went, which perhaps they were the more willing to do,
because, though they had heard that the land of Canaan was promised them, yet,
to this day, they had none of it in possession. We have here a particular
account of the names of Jacob's family, his sons' sons, most of whom
are afterwards mentioned as heads of houses in the several tribes. See Num.
xxvi. 5, &c. Bishop Patrick observes that Issachar called his eldest son Tola,
which signifies a worm, probably because when he was born he was a very
little weak child, a worm, and no man, not likely to live; and yet there
sprang from him a very numerous offspring, 1 Chron. vii. 2. Note, Living and
dying do not go by probability. The whole number that went down into Egypt was
sixty-six (v. 26), to which add Joseph and his two sons, who were there
before, and Jacob himself, the head of the family, and you have the number of
seventy, v. 27. The LXX. makes them seventy-five, and Stephen follows
them (Acts vii. 14), the reason of which we leave to the conjecture of the
critics; but let us observe, [1.] Masters of families ought to take care of
all under their charge, and to provide for those of their own house food
convenient both for body and soul. When Jacob himself removed to a land of
plenty, he would not leave any of his children behind him to starve in a
barren land. [2.] Though the accomplishment of promises is always sure, yet it
is often slow. It was now 215 years since God had promised Abraham to make of
him a great nation (ch. xii. 2); and yet that branch of his seed on
which the promise was entailed had increased only to seventy, of which this
particular account is kept, that the power of God in multiplying these seventy
to so vast a multitude, even in Egypt, may appear the more illustrious. When
God pleases, a little one shall become a thousand, Isa. lx. 22.
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Meeting
between Jacob and Joseph.
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B. C. 1706.
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28 And he sent Judah before him unto
Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of
Goshen. 29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet
Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on
his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. 30 And Israel said
unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art
yet alive. 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 hath 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
ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle
from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye
may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination
unto the Egyptians.
We have here, I.
The joyful meeting between Jacob and his son Joseph, in which observe,
1. Jacob's
prudence in sending Judah before him to Joseph, to give him notice of his
arrival in Goshen. This was a piece of respect owing to the government, under
the protection of which these strangers had come to put themselves, v.
28. We should be very careful not to give offence to any, especially not to
the higher powers.
2. Joseph's
filial respect to him. He went in his chariot to met him, and, in the
interview, showed, (1.) How much he honoured him: He presented himself unto
him. Note, It is the duty of children to reverence their parents, yea,
though Providence, as to outward condition, has advanced them above their
parents. (2.) How much he loved him. Time did not wear out the sense of his
obligations, but his tears which he shed abundantly upon his father's neck,
for joy to see him, were real indications of the sincere and strong affection
he had for him. See how near sorrow and joy are to each other in this world,
when tears serve for the expression of both. In the other world weeping will
be restrained to sorrow only; in heaven there is perfect joy, but no tears of
joy: all tears, even those, shall there be wiped away, because the joys there
are, as no joys are here, without any alloy. When Joseph embraced Benjamin he wept
upon his neck, but when he embraced his father he wept upon his neck a
good while; his brother Benjamin was dear, but his father Jacob must be
dearer.
3. Jacob's great
satisfaction in this meeting: Now let me die, v. 30. Not but
that it was further desirable to live with Joseph, and to see his honour and
usefulness; but he had so much pleasure and satisfaction in this first meeting
that he thought it too much to desire or expect any more in this world, where
our comforts must always be imperfect. Jacob wished to die immediately, and
lived seventeen years longer, which, as our lives go now, is a considerable
part of a man's age. Note, Death will not always come just when we call for
it, whether in a passion of sorrow or in a passion of joy. Our times are in
God's hand, and not in our own; we must die just when God pleases, and not
either just when we are surfeited with the pleasures of life or just when we
are overwhelmed with its griefs.
II. Joseph's
prudent care concerning his brethren's settlement. It was justice to Pharaoh
to let him know that such a colony had come to settle in his dominions. Note,
If others repose a confidence in us, we must not be so base and disingenuous
as to abuse it by imposing upon them. If Jacob and his family should come to
be a charge to the Egyptians, yet it should never be said that they came among
them clandestinely and by stealth. Thus Joseph took care to pay his respects
to Pharaoh, v. 31. But how shall he dispose of his brethren? Time was
when they were contriving to get rid of him; now he is contriving to settle
them to their satisfaction and advantage: this is rendering good for evil.
Now, 1. He would have them to live by themselves, separate as much as might be
from the Egyptians, in the land of Goshen, which lay nearest to Canaan,
and which perhaps was more thinly peopled by the Egyptians, and well furnished
with pastures for cattle. He desired they might live separately, that they
might be in the less danger both of being infected by the vices of the
Egyptians and of being insulted by the malice of the Egyptians. Shepherds, it
seems, were an abomination to the Egyptians, that is, they looked upon
them with contempt, and scorned to converse with them; and he would not send
for his brethren to Egypt to be trampled upon. And yet, 2. He would have them
to continue shepherds, and not to be ashamed to own that as their occupation
before Pharaoh. He could have employed them under himself in the corn-trade,
or perhaps, by his interest in the king, might have procured places for them
at court or in the army, and some of them, at least, were deserving enough;
but such preferments would have exposed them to the envy of the Egyptians, and
would have tempted them to forget Canaan and the promise made unto their
fathers; therefore he contrives to continue them in their old employment.
Note, (1.) An honest calling is no disparagement, nor ought we to account it
so either in ourselves or in our relations, but rather reckon it a shame to be
idle, or to have nothing to do. (2.) It is generally best for people to abide
in the callings that they have been bred to, and used to, 1 Cor. vii. 24.
Whatever employment or condition God, in his providence, has allotted for us,
let us accommodate ourselves to it, and satisfy ourselves with it, and not
mind high things. It is better to be the credit of a mean post than the
shame of a high one.
Contents
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