Reunion

View daily reading plan: Genesis 46.1-7; 47.7-10

After some hesitation to give credence to the news from Egypt, “Joseph is yet alive” (Gen 45.26) Jacob was determined, “I will go” (Gen 45.28), but he appeared to hesitate again when he arrived at Beersheba (Gen 46.1). It seems that this second hesitancy was justified. He had embarked on his journey without any guidance from heaven so he paused at Beersheba to take God into account, and he “offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac”. The response from heaven was positive; “fear not to go down into Egypt”.
 
It may be that you have embarked on some course in life without seeking God’s approval. Only now has it dawned on you that there was no prayer for guidance and no submissive “Thy will be done”. Like Jacob, pause in the early stages of your journey and take God into account.
 
The emotional reunion after all these years is most touching as Joseph fell on his father’s neck and wept (Gen 46.29). Then, “Joseph brought in Jacob his father” before Pharaoh (Gen 47.7). Jacob proved himself to be superior to the most powerful man on earth at that time when on two occasions we read that “Jacob blessed Pharaoh” (Gen 47.7,10). “Without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better” (Heb 7.7), so it must have left Joseph quietly content to see this demonstration of patriarchal dignity and authority; the aged pilgrim was unfazed in the presence of Egypt’s mighty monarch. As the aristocracy of heaven, we need never be intimidated by the bureaucrats of this world.

Wednesday, 21 February, 2024