Staying Focused

Genesis 46:30 – 47:12 (1 of 2)

Staying focused is one of the challenges of life. With deep conviction we can sometimes decide to do something only to get distracted or tempted and not do it. That is why staying focused is one of those great challenges of life. It’s important if we aim to accomplish anything in life in general, but it’s especially important in our spiritual life. The added challenge in staying focused on our spiritual life is that often when we focus on the worldly accomplishments, we can get distracted and lose our emphasis on the spiritual life. The great challenge for believers I believe is it to stay focused on both aspects at the same time but is that even possible.

The answer, of course, is yes, that’s a challenge, and sometimes it’s difficult, but it can be done, and this is perfectly illustrated here in chapters 46 & 47 in the story of life of Joseph and his father, Jacob.  So, let’s continue our study in Genesis by looking at what happened next in this story of Joseph following the re-unification of his family against the backdrop of the famine. You will know if you have followed us along with us so far that there was a famine in the land of Egypt and Joseph has been elevated to the second highest political position in Egypt and he is the one who came up with the plan to store food in the years of plenty to prepare for the famine that was coming. Later, when the famine hit not only Egypt but Canaan as well his family came to Egypt and they were reunited after more than 20 years apart. 

We’ve been looking at all of that story in great detail over these last weeks and months and we are now at the end of chapter 46, where it says.

 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me. The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ 

Genesis (46: 31-32)

Now let me just pause and mention that Joseph just been reconciled with his father, and he now says to his brothers and to the whole household for that matter, alright, here’s what’s going to happen next. I’m going to go see Pharaoh and I’m going to tell him that you have come from the land of Canaan and that you are shepherds. He is going to tell Pharoah that his family are here and that they are shepherds, and that is very important, He makes a point of saying, I’m going to tell them that you are shepherds and that’s your occupation to tend livestock and that you brought your flocks and herds and all that they had with you. So, Joseph just announces that this is what he is going to do. Now look at verse 33. 

When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ you should answer, ‘Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”

(Genesis 46: 31-34)

Very, very interesting, he says to them. Look, I’m going to go see Pharaoh and I’m going to tell him you tend all types of livestock.  Then he repeats himself, so to speak, and he says now let me rehearse this with you. You ready. I’m going to have you talked to Pharaoh, and when he asked you what your occupation is, you tell him that you tend livestock and that you have done that since you were young. But he is emphatic that they tell him that they are more than just shepherds. He is downplaying the shepherd aspect and presenting them as owners of livestock in general. Because it appears the Egyptians would normally have an issue with shepherds. Next there is the presentation of his family to Pharaoh so let’s pick it up at chapter 47, verse one.

Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.” He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

(Genesis 46: 1-2)

So very clearly, we’re in the part of the passage where he’s prepared them as to what to say in the latter part of Chapter 46. And now he’s going to present them to Pharaoh, and he has told Pharaoh that come from Canaan, they tend livestock there and they brought all their flocks with them. He takes five of his brothers to present them to Pharaoh, who has already promised now to give them the best part of the land.  Verse three then says.

 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?” 

(Genesis 46: 3)

That’s exactly what Joseph said he would do, and that’s what he did. What is your occupation? And they said to pharaoh.

“Your servants are shepherds,” [Oh dear! What were they meant to say] they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” [Meaning we’ve done this for a long time].They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen. ”Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

(Genesis 47: 3-6)

So, when they get before Pharaoh, they explain that there are shepherds, and they explain that coming to Egypt was a necessity because the famine was so severe in Canaan. Pharaoh’s response is completely favorable to them, mainly I suppose because Joseph had saved the whole nation, no issue about them being shepherds in fact he suggest they can help in the future manage his own flocks and herds. You recall that story that he had a dream that there was going to be seven years of plenty and then seven years of famine and because of that they stored food for seven years. When the famine did hit, they were prepared for it. So, Pharaoh is responding to the great blessing that Joseph has to him and his nation and so he says. Alright, I’ll give them the best land and if you’ve got some competent people in your family, I’ll put them in charge of some of my own flocks and herds…. Verse seven then say.

Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?” And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.

(Genesis 47: 7-10)

Now we’re going to get to the, I think, interesting part of this story. Up to this point, the whole focus has been their need to find food and their getting settled in Egypt. Joseph has been focused on that, as he feels he has got to get the family settled and provide for. We got to get them food and we got to get their flocks settled and that’s been his whole focus so far. Then suddenly, Jacob comes on the scene and Jacob says, look in verse 10. Jacob “blessed pharaoh”. Now normally it would be a superior person who blessed an inferior person but here is Pharaoh being blessed by Jacob. Now what I’d like to suggest is that this is a critical part of this story, because the rest of this chapter ais just about them settling in Goshen and getting fed. But it is significant that twice this passage it says, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Even in the midst of this crisis, even in the midst of this emergency, to get food for their families, Jacob didn’t lose his spiritual focus and that, I think, is a critical part of this passage. He didn’t have to bless Pharaoh. I don’t know exactly what that meant, other than he probably prayed for Pharaoh and called for God’s blessing in his life. However, it was significant because it stated twice in this part of the passage, so it is worth thinking about for a minute.

If you’re reading the Book of Genesis and you hold this passage within the context of that book, then you can’t help but remember that way back in Chapter 12, God said to Abraham, I’m going to bless you and I want you to be a blessing to the rest of the world. It is obvious that in the Book of Genesis and in the Old Testament, God chose the Jews, but what sometimes what gets missed is the reason that God chose the Jews was in order to bless others, and in fact, bless the world through them. And of course, the primary way they did that was, it was through their linage that we get to the Messiah.

The whole seed plot of the Bible, here in the Old Testament, and to an extent, the New Testament as well, is in Genesis chapter 12. God says, I’m going to choose you to bless you, so you can bless others. Jacob, who’s in line with Abraham and Isaac to receive the blessing is seen here giving that blessing others. I would like to suggest that this is the focus we always need to keep in our own faith lives and always remember to focus on blessing others. God blesses us, so that we can bless others. I would go so far as to say that when we stop blessing others, we stop growing spiritually. Blessing other people is critical to our own spiritual life. Even in the middle of an emergency, as a matter-of-fact Jacob here talks about the fact that his whole life has been a life of difficulty, but he still kept his focus on his purpose, which was to bless others. So, you can do both of these things at the same time.  That’s the point of this story up to know,

So, Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.

(Genesis 47: 11-12)

The focus now goes back to he’s got to provide for the physical needs of his family, perfectly legitimate, but sandwiched in the midst of all this concern for providing physically was this man, Jacob, who blessed Pharaoh spiritually. I don’t normally do this, but can I go off tangent for a minute? Did you notice that in Verse 11, it says, “in the district of Rameses”. That short phrase existing here in the book of Genesis is a huge problem for some people. 

Let me take a minute and explain. In Exodus chapter one this is 400 years after these, event, hundreds of years later the children of Israel are said to be in the city of Rameses. Liberal scholars who tend to shred the Bible, like to land on that verse in Exodus chapter one and they say that because of the name of Rameses mentioned there the children of Israel did not get out of Egypt until around 1300BC. Some say based on that one word, Rameses in Exodus chapter one the Israelites did not leave Egypt until 1300BC and here’s their argument. Rameses did not live until roughly 1300, so therefore, the children of Israel must still in Egypt in 1300. That assumes that the city of Rameses, was named after a living Pharaoh, which is not stated. If you follow the biblical chronology mainly based on First Kings the Exodus must have taken place in somewhere around 1446-1447BC and if you follow biblical chronology, that’s the conclusion you reach. So how do you answer the fact that the Pharaoh Rameses didn't live until nearly 50 years later in approx. 1300 BC and it appears this city was named after him, by the way. I know that sounds all kinds of technical and so forth, but if you watch secular history documentaries and they ever mention the exodus, they're going to say it was around 1300 and it’s based on the word Rameses appearing in Exodus chapter one.  The answer to them is that maybe other people called Rameses existed hundreds of years before that. So, the city of Rameses mentioned in Exodus chapter one was not named after the pharaoh of 1300, because it already existed here in, in Genesis Chapter 47, hundreds of years earlier. So again, that’s another case where a supposed contradiction in the Bible or in this case or something that’s used to contradict the Bible needs to be answered. and it is, right here in the text.