Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
I’m sure all of you have moved at least once in your lifetime. Maybe, some of you, like my wife and me, have moved many times, and several of those moves have been across the country. You remember the feelings of being lost in your new place and missing ‘home’, right? Let’s face it… relocation can be one of life’s greatest challenges. So today, let’s join Jacob and his large ‘clan’ of 70 descendants, as they finally arrive in the land of their new home, Egypt.
I left you yesterday watching the remarkable reunion between Jacob and his son Joseph, whom he had not seen in 22 years. You may recall Jacob had been told, by his sons, Joseph’s brothers, that young Joseph likely had been killed by a wild animal, as they presented Joseph’s blood soaked, multi-colored coat to their father Jacob. Jacob had been in mourning ever since. Until the day, only a few weeks ago, that old Jacob was told by his sons, as they returned from Egypt with grain they had purchased to keep them alive in the famine, that Joseph was amazingly alive and more… he was one of the great leaders of Egypt! Jacob could hardly believe his ears, but then his sons told him Joseph had invited them all to move temporarily to Egypt to survive the famine which would be lasting 5 more years. So here in Genesis 46:29, we see the tearful, joyful reunion of Jacob and Joseph.
Finally, after what was I’m sure a long embrace and the initial words, they dried their tears and began thinking about what’s next! Joseph told them he would go speak to the Pharaoh on their behalf and find them a suitable place to settle as their new, temporary home. Joseph also warned them that their family business, sheep ranching, was not an honorable vocation in Egypt, so they shouldn’t be surprised if they were not viewed with great respect here in Egypt. Wow, what a welcome to their new home!
Genesis 47 describes the initial meeting of Jacob and his family with the Pharaoh, the most important and powerful man in the world. Sure enough, the Pharaoh asked what their vocation was! That’s important to me. They were coming into Egypt as refugees, but Pharaoh was making it plain to them that they would not be freeloaders. Egypt was willing to have them, but they would be expected to work and be law-abiding refugees who contributed to the society of Egypt by working hard and providing for their families. There’s a lesson there for all refugees and governments, anywhere in the world in our day, right?
Notice carefully what Joseph’s brothers said to the Pharaoh: “We have come to live here AWHILE, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture.” (Gen. 47:4) Joseph’s brothers were making it clear their intention was NOT a permanent move to Egypt. They were grateful for temporary relief from the famine, but they would not be seeking citizenship, since they planned to return to their homeland as soon as the famine was over.
Pharaoh’s response was generous: “Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Your father and brothers have come to you, and the land of Egypt is before you: settle them in the best part of our land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any of them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.” (Gen. 47:5,6) May I ask what you hear my friends? Can you detect the early beginnings of a future struggle for Joseph’s brothers? Like all men, we can assume they took their vocation seriously and wanted to prosper. Pharaoh has offered the BEST OF THE LAND, and more! He has offered some of them government jobs! They would be put in charge of the care of the livestock of the Pharaoh! I’m sure Joseph’s brothers were stunned and excited. They would likely have the best pastureland they’ve ever seen for their own flocks, and some of them would be the highest paid ranchers in the world, in charge of the Pharaoh’s ranch! Life suddenly became very comfortable for Jacob’s refugee family. From starving refugees, to living in the best of the land!
But my friends, have you learned there is great danger in affluence and too much comfort? The rest of Genesis 47 describes the horrificness of those ensuing years of famines for most everyone in Egypt and the surrounding countries. When people began to run out of money to buy grain, they sold their animals, then their homes, and even in extreme cases, they indentured themselves or their children to buy grain to survive! But not Jacob’s large family. . .they were living in comfort, in the best of the land, with plenty to eat and some of them had good government jobs!
Look closely with me at two summary verses which grab our attention: “Now the Israelites (Jacob’s family) settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number. Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years… (Gen. 47:27,28)
When the time drew new for him to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him: ‘Promise that you will show me kindness. Do not bury me here in Egypt, but when I die, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where my ancestors are buried.’ Joseph agreed and said ‘I will do as you say.” (Gen. 47:29,30)
Now we must remember that when Joseph first sent the invitation to his old father Jacob and all the family to move to Egypt, he had said “For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be neither plowing nor reaping…” (Gen. 45:6) I think it’s safe to assume it was at least 6 months from the time Joseph said this to the time Jacob and family finally arrived in Egypt, so that would mean only 4.5 years of famine left. And I’ve tried to point out to you how often Jacob and his family made statements which declared their intention to LEAVE Egypt and return to their homeland in Canaan as soon as the famine was over. But did you notice how long Jacob lived in Egypt… 17 years! (Gen. 47:28)
So, my “Walking with Jesus” friends, I have an important question for each and all of us…What happened to Jacob? You’ll remember they were living in the best of the land of Egypt. (Gen. 46:6) When the famine was over, the rain began to fall again, crops grew and life returned to bountiful normal in Goshen, Egypt, but Jacob and his family were settled in Egypt! Did you notice they bought land, they had babies born in Egypt and after 17 years, Egypt was home and none of them had any desire to return to Canaan!!!
In his old age, nearing his death, Jacob realized that he had failed his family again! Rather than watching carefully for the famine to end and frequently reminding his family that they were refugees in Egypt and should be prepared to return to Canaan as soon as the rains began to fall again… Jacob was enjoying the good life in Egypt. Months turned to years, and years to decades, and suddenly Jacob was overcome with his leadership failure as an old man. As he looked closely, his family was becoming Egyptian! He now had grandkids and great grandkids who knew nothing about Canaan. His family was becoming Egyptian! All he could do was appeal to his son Joseph to NOT bury him in Egypt!
Oh my friends, please take very special note of this disaster. Oh, it doesn’t look like a disaster right now, in fact it looks like God’s great blessing, doesn’t it? Everyone in Jacob’s family is happy and prosperous in Egypt. But in their prosperity they’ve turned away from the Covenant blessing of land given to them by God, and we see no evidence they ever talk about God anymore nor do they build any altars in Egypt to worship God.
Egypt’s bounty is changing them from being identified as God’s chosen people, descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… to being Israelites who are at home in Egypt. In the next few days you and I will be shocked, as we continue in Genesis & Exodus, to see what the result of this comfortable disaster will be! For us today, the lesson is clear! Affluence, comfort, abundance will almost always insulate you from any desire to know God, or deepen your relationship with God, or dig into God’s Word. You’ll be too busy enjoying the good life to notice you are drifting away from God.
So here’s a worship song to help us look deeply into our lives today. Any chance we are drifting, getting complacent? Is there an insulation of comfort that is growing inside of us, distancing us from God?
