City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“¹So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ² And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, ‘Jacob, Jacob.’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ ³ Then he said, ‘I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. ⁴ I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.’ ⁵ Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ⁶ They also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, ⁷ his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters. All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt. ⁸ Now these are the names of the descendants of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, ⁹ and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ¹⁰ The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. ¹¹ The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹² The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan); and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. ¹³ The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Yob, and Shimron. ¹⁴ The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. ¹⁵ These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah; altogether his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three. ¹⁶ The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. ¹⁷ The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, with 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 bore to Jacob—sixteen persons. ¹⁹ The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁰ And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On, bore to him. ²¹ And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. ²² These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob—fourteen persons in all. ²³ The son of Dan: Hushim. ²⁴ The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. ²⁵ These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob—seven persons in all. ²⁶ All the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his own descendants, not including 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. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.”

Genesis 46:1-27 (ESV)

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9 (ESV)

Megan’s Musings

Like a state line, Beersheba is the southernmost place in the Promised Land, the last stop before Israel and his family leave their true home.  Beersheba is a sacred place to Israel’s(Jacob’s) father and grandfather Isaac and Abraham, where wells were created and oaths were made (Genesis 21:22-33, 26:23-33). Before Israel’s vision, he had a lot on his mind. His father Isaac told him what God told Abraham, that their people would be enslaved in a foreign land for four hundred years but would be prosperous after that time (Genesis 15:13-14, Exodus 1-14). What a heavy burden for a patriarch. At his last stop before leaving home, was he thinking of taking his family back?

Why did God call Israel Jacob, his original name? And He calls him twice, maybe to comfort him by calling the name his mother Rebekah would have used. God tells Israel to not be afraid to go to Egypt, as He will keep His Word and make him into a great nation. In V. 4 God is assuring Israel He will be with him. When God says He will bring Israel up again, it could have double meaning: Israel’s children will bury him in the Promised Land and God will bring the freed people of Israel back home. Israel and his family continued.  

When reading family lines in the Bible, any deviation from the listing is important. Reuben is referred to as the firstborn, and that’s it for him, as he isn’t Israel’s favorite. The Canaanite heritage of Simeon’s wife is mentioned, possibly to point out his marriage wasn’t approved of because she practiced idol-worship. Of all Israel’s family, he only had one daughter and one granddaughter: Dinah and Serah. Rachel is the only one referred to as Jacob’s wife, even though technically he had four. Also, Joseph’s wife Asenath is the only daughter-in-law named to emphasize Jacob’s favoritism. A total of seventy people from Jacob’s blood family went to Egypt. Seventy persons, seventy nations, a reflection of the seventy nations that came from Noah’s sons (Genesis 10:1-32). Israel had a heavy burden to bear, he knew what would happen to his family, his legacy he worked so hard for, but still, He obeyed God, took them to Egypt, knowing the hardships that would happen later, but that God would be with them and would make something good out of their bitterness.

Forty years after the first Passover, God kept His Word to Israel. Moses commissioned Joshua to lead the Israelites back home, telling him to be strong and of good courage, if you read Joshua 1:1-9, Moses tells Joshua to be strong and courageous three times!

Jacob wasn’t the first (or last) in the Bible to be called to a difficult journey. The night before Jesus was about to suffer our punishment, He begged God if it was possible for the bitter cup to be passed over, His anguish was so great he sweated blood. But Jesus would only do it if it was God’s will (Mark 14:32-36, Luke 22:39-44).  

Application

Has God called you to do something very difficult? Don’t just pray about it (keep in mind, there is a difference between prayer and procrastination), confide in at least three strong Christ-following friends. And it is easier said than done but be strong and of good courage.

Prayer

               Dear Lord, help me to be strong and of good courage in all Your Ways. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.