(Genesis) Genesis 47:1-6

We've seen now that Jacob and his family, 70 souls in all, have arrived now down in the land of Egypt, and Joseph, as a move of strategy, he brought them into the land of Goshen, which actually was the richest land in that day. But they are right now in the midst of a famine, and any land is not very valuable to the owner at this particular time. Now, we are going to find this is the best chapter of Jacob so far.

Jacob just doesn't appear in a good light when you first meet him in Scripture, in fact, all the way through, until you get to the time he makes his trip to Egypt, and you begin to see he's become a man of faith. And I believe this chapter more than any other reveals that. Now, the famine has become more intense, and worse.

Of course, it's drawing to an end, but the people in the world were involved in this, and not just the land of Canaan, not just Egypt. They're the only two mentioned here, and the reason is obvious, because they are the only two sections, geographical sections, that concern our story at all. Now, we want to begin reading here at chapter 47, verse 1. And we find now that Joseph is going to present his father and the family to Pharaoh in Egypt.

"...Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father, and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have are come out of the land of Canaan, and behold, they are in the land of Goshen." You see, before he asked for a place for his father and his brethren, why he put them in the land of Goshen. And you can see the strategy in that, for the very fact that if they are there, why he'd be more apt to give them that land, in view of the fact they had already moved in and unpacked their goods. The idea would be, well, just go ahead and stay where you are.

And that would be the attitude. Now, will you notice verse 2, "...And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, Watch your occupation.

They said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers." We saw last time shepherds and cattlemen didn't get along in those days, and the Egyptians, they just didn't care for shepherds. In other words, they didn't care for taking care of sheep. That wasn't their, what is the slang expression today? That wasn't their bag, taking care of sheep.

The little poem about what was it and who was it, it had three bags full, one for my master and one for the dame and one for the little boy lives in the lane. Well, the Egyptians, that wasn't their bag at all, let alone three bagfuls, and they didn't care for that. So, that opened up an occupation for the children of Israel to do something that they could do and that the Egyptians didn't want to do.

"...So Pharaoh said unto his brethren, Watch your occupation. They said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers. They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land o'er we come, for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks.

For the famine is sore in the land of Canaan. Now therefore we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren have come unto thee, the land of Egypt is before thee.

In the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell. In the land of Goshen let them dwell. And if thou knowest any man of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle." In other words, here is an occupation that apparently in Egypt was not popular, being shepherds, and also it would seem here that Pharaoh needed someone to take care of his cattle.

Now, the famine was worldwide, and the seriousness of it is revealed because it's now affecting the land of Egypt. You see, the land of Egypt depended upon the flooding each year from the Nile. Well, there's no flooding from the Nile, and as a result why even Egypt was suffering.

But Joseph had already gathered up the grain.