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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. ~ Genesis 46:5-27
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. ~ Genesis 46:5-27
Today, the family of Jacob embarks on a massive relocation project. It wasn’t just one family moving, this was a multi-generational move. At the command of God, Jacob moved his entire extended family from Hebron in the Promised Land of Israel to Goshen in the foreign land of Egypt. The journey included distance of just over 200 miles. As Jacob moved his family to Egypt, he set in motion the drama of the Old Testament including the formation of the nation, the exodus, and the conquest of the Promised Land. And when Israel disobeyed God, He sent them back into exile in Babylon. Even this factored into God's great plan to present to the world the birth of His Son, the long awaited Messiah of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Until this point in the narrative God placed the focus on how He had developed the life of Joseph, but in today's passage the spotlight moves onto Joseph's father, Jacob. As we reflect on Jacob's experience, we’ll see familiar themes like the complexity of family dynamics, haunting memories of the past, anxious fears for the future, and the hopes of a storybook picture of the perfect family. But in the middle of all of this, we will see how God meets Jacob just at the right spot. And this will help us in our walk with the Lord whether we’re moving, staying, or somewhere in between.
Jacob trusted God and obediently responded to Him by leading his family to Egypt. In v.5 Jacob’s sons are referred to as "the sons of Israel." This designation is used over 600 times in the Old Testament. It became a phrase for the people of God, the people that the LORD God has chosen for Himself. When Jacob went down into Egypt, all of Israel went with him. They were the complete nation of Israel to that point in time, ready to grow as God had ordained. This narrative reveals further description of how God was forming "the sons of Israel" into the nation through whom He would bless all the nations of the earth.
The second section of today's passage is a long list of names of people we know little about. God saw fit to include these names in the narrative because He makes several key points by doing so. This list was not meant to be a precise counting of the individuals who moved from Hebron to Egypt because the number doesn’t include all of the wives and most of the children. And then, in v.10 "Shaul" is mentioned. He was "the son of a Canaanite woman." Others in the list were born of Canaanite women, but Moses didn’t mention them because he wanted to highlight that Shaul was a son of Simeon which means "He who hears." The key is that we listen to the Lord because as the Apostle Paul reminds us: "Faith comes by hearing the Word of God." This is key because who we really hears defines us.
This list is a symbolic reference to the sons of Jacob. From the moment that Abraham came to Canaan it had been 215 years til this point. And there had been only 70 names given of those in the covenant line. The number 70 is meaningful. It communicates perfection, completeness, and totality. This is the whole family of Jacob. No one was left behind. This is not a perfect family, but this is the family of God’s perfect plans. In the same amount of time while in Egypt, just 215 years from this point in time, there will be born to Israel over 600,000 fighting-aged males. These, along with all the others probably numbered between 2 to 3 million Israelites who came out of Egypt during the Exodus.
Back in Genesis 10, there was a listing of the nations of the world. The sons of Gomer, the sons of Ham, the sons of Cush. The number of nations listed in Genesis 10 is 70. These were the nations that Abraham was to bless. This family subsequently moved to Egypt, one of those nations of the world. The purpose wasn’t just to escape the famine, it was to fulfill Abraham’s blessing to the entire world. The number 70 tells us that our calling is for the sake of the whole world. We are the whole people of God with a message of salvation for the whole world.
Through the numbers accentuated throughout the Bible, we can discover mystery messages that God has placed in His Word for the one willing enough to seek and knock. What seems arbitrary isn’t. What seems confusing is because we are looking at individual trees and not the forest. If we can keep in mind the macro-structures of the Bible, we can more clearly see what is going on in the individual details and why things are listed as they are. Of all of the macro structures, there is one overall theme which is that there is a God who loves us all dearly, so dearly that He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who did everything required to grant us delivery from Hell into a personal relationship with the God who created us.
God’s goal is not to make us comfortable, it is to make His kingdom known on earth. Jacob led his family into Egypt and in due time they were ill-treated. The ensuing oppression lasted for 400 years. All of this was part of God’s plan for the sake of the 70 nations. For the sake of the world. The number one god in America right now is comfort. One of the reasons we struggle walking with God is due to the fact that He deliberately leads us into uncomfortable situations. He does this because there are yet lost people who need to enter into God's family. We are wise to obey God to the point that it is uncomfortable because it is out of the uncomfortable that we transcend to the point to see God for who He really is and that is comforting.
