King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 11 notes
1And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.
2And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
So God waited all this while as the drama unfolded and real raw emotions were put to the test; and now that the drama was over and Jacob knew the truth,
God shows up from behind the curtains and lays forth the next set of plans for the future 🔮.
Lord God almighty, why did you call him twice?
3And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:
Why did God have to keep telling Jacob who he was?
I think 🤔 obviously because Jacob barely heard from God. Unlike our days where God is in our hearts, so we easily discern him.
But from the text it has been over twenty years since God’s last appearance to Jacob, so it was only right to let him know it is not some dream from some spirit, but this is him.
God almighty.
This time God didn’t even mention his signature name of God almighty but rather referenced the covenant he had with Abraham.
4I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
Where God sends, he God follows.
So all the while and years the children of Israel were in Egypt there was a GOD in their midst — through the great initial moments and through the slavery time, there was a God with them.
Oh how God dwelleth in our midst, God with us — Immanuel. We are not ordinary — there is a God in our midst.
So he told me over the weekend, Sunday I think, to taste and see that the Lord is good.
5And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
Each passing day of this journey his bowels yearned for his son Joseph, just to meet him.
Benjamin was what had kept him, so for each of us we serve as a treasured reminder and joy to our parents of their love for us, and same for us our children do serve that purpose.
We must therefore, as much as possible, with all our might make the most of our lives so our memory is greatly cherished and a joy to both our parents and children.
6And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him:
7His sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
They were running 🏃 a very huge family business.
I am sure other tribes and families will perch so they can survive. Who would not want to?
8And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
9And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.
10And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.
11And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.
13And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.
14And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.
15These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
16And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.
17And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.
18These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.
19The sons of Rachel Jacob’s wife; Joseph, and Benjamin.
20And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him.
Joseph married a fetish priests daughter. And not just any fetish priest but the national priest associated with Pharaoh.
21And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.
22These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.
23And the sons of Dan; Hushim.
24And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.
25These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.
26All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six;
27And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
28And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.
29And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.
30And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.
31And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me;
32And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.
33And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?
34That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
Good advice and wisdom. Lord give us good advisers.