Morning Light – Genesis 47: The Children of God in the Land of Goshen

[Today: Genesis 47] The Children of God in the Land of Goshen. In chapter 47 of Genesis, we see the sons of Jacob installed and thriving in the land of Goshen while the famine rages all around them. For us, this is a type of the blessing of God that will rest upon us as we stay in a place of intimacy with Him. Instability and turmoil may typify the existence of all others, but we are safe and nourished by the hand of God.

In this chapter, we find the account of Joseph presenting five of his brothers to Pharaoh and consequently bringing his father Jacob before the king as well. The brothers are instructed to emphasize their vocation as shepherds, and therefore, Pharaoh is willing for them to settle in Goshen, one of the wealthiest and most verdant pasture lands in the entire empire. The closing verses of the chapter describe the increase of the people of God in Egypt and the closing years of Jacob’s life during which he will extract an oath from Joseph that his bones will not be buried in Egypt but returned to the land of promise in Canaan.

In verse 1, Joseph notifies the king that his father and his brethren have arrived in Egypt out of the land of Canaan. Their disposition was still not settled or determined until the king makes an official proclamation as to where these famine refugees will live. Joseph temporarily settles the family in Goshen and hopes to make this their permanent place of residence.

Pharaoh has previously expressed a desire to meet Jacob and Joseph’s brothers, and now arrangements are made for this to happen. Verse 2 fills in some details for us in that Joseph didn’t bring the entire family to see Pharaoh but rather only chose five brothers leaving the others behind. Why would Joseph not bring all 11 of his brothers before the king? There are two theories that have been offered in answer to this. One viewpoint is that Joseph brought the weakest and least accomplished of his brothers so that Pharaoh would not be too impressed and consequently take all the brothers into service in the king’s army. If this had happened, the family would have found themselves dispersed and possibly to have bred themselves out of existence in a foreign land and never returning to Canaan. Another theory is that Joseph brought the brightest and most accomplished of his brothers in order to show Pharaoh the quality of his tribe and motivate him to grant their requests regarding the land of Goshen where they wished to live during their time away from their home in the promised land. Jewish theologians go so far as to name (without biblical authority) the brothers that stood before the king as being Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

Other than an interesting bit of trivia, what could possibly be the message for us reading this account thousands of years later? There are two things to consider. First of all, the mention of five brothers and that of their vocation as shepherds. Those who lead God’s people are called shepherds throughout the Bible, and even Jesus speaks of Himself as the Great Shepherd. When Jesus imparted leadership anointings to the earth in Eph. 4:11-12 he gave only five, and that refers directly back to this chapter.

Egypt is a type of the world, and Joseph is a type of Christ. Joseph presenting his five brethren to Pharaoh answers to Jesus, presenting five ministries into the earth at the time of His resurrection. These ministries are that of the apostle, the prophet, the evangelist, the pastor, and the teacher. Unfortunately, the world does not acknowledge the leadership that Christ gave, and in fact, even in the modern church, we only truly recognize the ministry of pastor and evangelist. This isn’t enough and needs to be corrected.

What is the occupation of the brothers of Joseph? In verse 5, the brothers declare succinctly that they are shepherds. What is to be the declaration of those who are called to five-fold ministry? We are shepherds. We are all shepherds of God’s people, not just the pastor. With this in mind, our expectation and thinking should be that the imprint and influence of the five-fold ministry should be felt and demonstrated in every aspect of church culture and activity.

In verse 5, Pharaoh welcomes Joseph and declares that the entire land of Egypt will be put at their disposal for a choice for them to dwell in. He gives them their choice but agrees with Joseph that the land of Goshen is the best place for them to feed their flocks in and goes so far as to ask Joseph to appoint the best and brightest of his brothers to train and supervise his own shepherds (v. 6).

Joseph now (v. 8) brings his father Jacob before Pharaoh, and the king asks him just how old he is. Jacob replies that he is 130 years of age, but his father and grandfather (Abraham and Isaac) lived much longer than he has thus far. This is pretty amazing when you consider the fact that in ancient times, the average life expectancy was little more than 38 years of age. Pharaoh is deeply impressed and allows Jacob to bless him (which means that Pharaoh would have bowed before Jacob and Jacob would have put his hands upon him in benediction.)

In verse 11, Joseph places his father and brothers in Goshen, just as Jesus places us in the world around us. Joseph didn’t put his family in a position to suffer but gave them the best that the nation had to offer. Jesus is our Joseph. As v. 11 says that Joseph gave them a possession in Egypt, so Jesus gives us possession in the world around us. For Joseph to do this does mean that his brothers will become permanent residents in Egypt, and we as well are to remember that we are sojourners in the world around us – this is not our permanent residence.

In v. 13, the continuation of the famine is addressed with the knowledge that no matter how bad things are getting, the people of God are thriving and wanting for nothing. This is God’s plan for you. During this time, there was no need for Joseph’s family to read the crop reports. Things were bad, and they were getting worse, but it would be unnecessary for them to worry because they were under Joseph’s care, and Jesus is our Joseph. It doesn’t matter what upheaval we see in things around us; we are in the land of Goshen. We are protected under the care of our Great Shepherd. We will want for nothing. If that is not your experience, then go back and refresh your mind regarding what the word “Goshen” means. Goshen was the land of “Drawing Near.” It was referred to this way because when you came near to Goshen, you were coming near to the Nile, which was the source of life for the entire region. For Joseph’s family, however, it didn’t just refer to the nearby water source. Joseph wanted them in Goshen so that they would be close to him and his family. For us, the land of Goshen is not a geographical location, but it is a state of living in nearness to God and abiding fellowship with Jesus through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If that is not your experience, then trouble may find you and become a fixture in your life. If, however, you live in the land of drawing near to Jesus as a lifestyle of intimacy with Him, troubles may come, but you will be delivered every time.

In the concluding verses of the chapter, we see that Jacob (Israel) dwells in Goshen with his sons for 17 years and the increase and multiply exceedingly. Finally, at the age of 147, Jacob begins to think of the time of his passing and makes it clear to Joseph that he desires to be buried in his native land. His ultimate burial place is in the environs of Jerusalem – where the ancient dead came to life and walked the streets of the city during Jesus’ crucifixion.