LIFE SCRIPTS

1 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.” 5 Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. 7 His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt. 8 Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn. 9 The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron. 14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daughters, were thirty-three. 16 The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 17 The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. 18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons. 19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. 20 And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 21 The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22 These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all. 23 The son of Dan was Hushim. 24 The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all. 26 All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all. 27 And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy. 28 Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. 29 So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30 And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.” 31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’ 33 So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 that you shall say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”
Genesis 46:1‭-‬34 NKJV

https://bible.com/bible/114/gen.46.1-34.NKJV.

Jacob and his sons were invited to Egypt by Joseph himself. As he departed with his sons, he offered sacrifice to God at Beersheba where God appeared to him and assured him to proceed to Egypt. He also reminded that Israel would become a great nation in Egypt. It looked like God’s promise to Abraham was experiencing a diversion. God had promised Abraham to make him into a great nation in the land of Canaan yet now, his entire family was en route to Egypt. But as Jacob sought the Lord, He assured him that His promise still stands irrespective of what’s going on around us. Changes might destabilize us. However,God never leaves us. He shall keep on walking with us every step of the way fulfilling His promises over our lives. It is important to note the way the families of Jacob’s children were listed in this scripture. It’s interesting that as the people of Israel were migrating from the land of the promise, their numbers kept growing bigger. God was in the business of fulfilling His promises over His people. So the Egyptians set aside an entire region called Goshen to host the people of Israel. Goshen seemed to be a fertile land. However it seemed detached from the rest of the kingdom of Egypt. Perhaps it was a region set aside by the Egyptians to host foreigners. But something striking is that it was a land with plenty. Secular historical records point to the land being situated in an arable zone. Here, there was pasture for the people and also it meant that they could farm and produce their own food. How amazing is it that God can create an opportunity for His people to be hosted in a foreign land and enjoy plenty in their midst while the rest of the region experienced famine… This reminds me of Psalm 23 where it says that ‘He prepares for me a table in the midst of my enemies’. God is in the business of caring for His people. He’s in the business of preparing a way where there seems to be none. Even in the midst of a challenging and a hostile situation, God has placed people in positions of influence whom He can use to show favor to His people. It would not be just to ignore Joseph’s encounter with his father, Jacob. Years had passed and the father son bond seemed irreparable. However God created a situation for the relationship to be restored. God is a God who restores relationships. What a joy it was to see father and son reunite.