Jacob is a great example of growing toward spiritual maturity. He shows us how to finish our earthly lives well. He didn’t reach spiritual maturity without work, suffering, trials or prayer. But it’s clear that he saw many of God’s purposes fulfilled in his life.
Jacob’s sons return home and tell him that Joseph is alive and is the governor of Egypt. Imagine all of the confession and reconciliation that took place between Jacob and his sons! Jacob wants to go to Egypt to see Joseph, but Jacob is unsure if God wants him to do anything other than that. He doesn’t know if God wants Jacob to move his family and settle in Egypt. Afterall, Jacob’s grandpa Abraham had disastrous experiences in Egypt, and God specifically told Jacob’s father, Isaac, not to go to Egypt. We can understand Jacob’s hesitation in wanting to go to this land.
The only solution Jacob considers is going to God. Jacob returns to Beersheba, the place he first met God and wrestled with Him. Jacob seeks God’s guidance about whether or not Jacob’s family should settle in Egypt.
God confirms Jacob’s inclination and tells him to go to Egypt. God also promises to go with them and to make Israel a great nation there.
Jacob, all of his family and all of their possessions head to Egypt. Jacob and his family settle in Goshen, a lush, fertile land where they could benefit from Joseph’s famine relief policies while avoiding Egypt’s sinful influences
Jacob sought out God’s guidance and then acted on what God revealed to him. I can receive God’s guidance in the same way. When God calls me to do something, I must start with prayer. When I have peace with God, then I can move forward as He directs me. When I see red flags, I should stop and return to prayer, asking God for clear guidance. I’m so glad that God doesn’t leave us alone but offers clear direction and guidance for our lives!
Genesis 46:8-27 details the names of the people in Jacob’s family who enter Egypt. This record was used later to establish the tribes of Israel that will receive land when the Israelites return to Canaan (more than 400 years later). This list also helps trace the line of Christ back to Judah in Matthew 1.
We don’t have written histories like this today, but God has given us a much greater record – Christians’ names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Luke 10:20, Revelation 20:12-15). What an amazing feeling to know that my name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, never to be forgotten!
After Jacob’s family has settled in Goshen, the famine continues. Joseph has a three-step plan to save the people from this disaster:
- He offers food in exchange for the people’s money.
- He offers food in exchange for the people’s animals.
- He offers food in exchange for the people’s servitude (working the land for Pharaoh). One-fifth of the harvest was given to Pharaoh as a tax, and the people kept the remaining four-fifths.
This final step of servitude may be difficult for us to understand in light of the economic and political freedom we enjoy as Americans. But this was what Joseph had to do to save the Israelites and the Egyptians during this severe famine. And since Joseph has already proven that he fully relies on God, I have to believe that through prayer he involved God in this planning process.
The people were grateful for Joseph and his actions on their behalf. For hundreds of years after the famine, Joseph was remembered in Egypt as a godly and honorable leader.
The Egyptians were so desperate and anxious during the famine that they turned to Joseph and depended on him. Remember from previous lessons that Joseph is an Old Testament picture of Jesus. When we are desperate and anxious, we can turn to Jesus and depend on Him. But we need to learn to depend on Him now instead of waiting until things turn desperate. Have I learned to depend on God for everything?
This section ends with Jacob approaching his last days on earth. We see two incidents between Joseph and Jacob. First, Jacob asks Joseph to swear that he will bury Jacob in Canaan not Egypt. Jacob is demonstrating his faith in God’s promise that He would give the land of Canaan to Jacob and his descendants.
In the second event, Joseph and his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, visit an ill Jacob. Jacob wants to bless them. Ephraim was not the firstborn, but Jacob gives him the blessing of the firstborn. As we’ve seen so many times before in Genesis, God surpasses the expected, natural birthright and blesses the younger son. Jacob takes these grandsons as his own, and later they become two of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Looking at Jacob’s example, how am I growing toward spiritual maturity? It’s not a destination but a process that is intended to last my entire lifetime, until I see Jesus face-to-face in heaven.