Genesis 46:1 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Genesis 46:1

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God has secret plans of his people in Egypt, which they would never have thought of or expected. How can our guidance be based on so-called sanctified common sense alone, when God has surprise turns in the road ahead of us which we would never have thought of? How is common sense going to discover the right way? Jacob had to make the decision to go. He was not carried to Egypt by God without being aware of it. He had to see it was the right thing to do. His name Israel is used, because he is about to do something on behalf of the typical church. There is corn in Egypt; Joseph is responsible for all food stuff. Should he go down, or not? It is a perplexing journey of indecision. He wants to go. This is the favourite son whose death he has lamented so long. Joseph’s dreams are now true; he can see that. Of course he wants to go, and there is good reason to go because of the famine, and yet he is troubled by hesitation. Abraham had great problems in Egypt, and Isaac was prohibited from going down there. This was the standing instruction on the family, and to do otherwise required divine sanction. Pharaoh has virtually sent for him, but he will not go until he has the Lord’s guidance. He takes all that he has because he is ready to leave. This does not mean that Canaan is no longer the promised land, and he trusts that his descendants will return according to the promise. Jacob would certainly have been aware of the word of God to Abraham: ‘Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years’ (Genesis 15:13). Such a great move as he was now making in taking his entire family and possessions could certainly be the fulfilment of this prophecy, but he still wanted a personal direction from the Lord. He therefore seeks the Lord’s face and offers up sacrifices at Beersheba. He is trying to resolve the dilemma. Beersheba is on the southern edge of Canaan, and before he leaves, he wants to know for sure. Jacob brings all his family and all his possessions. Pharoah had said to him, ‘Regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours’, but Jacob did not want to presume, and it is unwise for a believer to be too dependant on a worldling and to put themselves too much in the world’s debt.

Application

We do no major thing in life without the sanction of the Lord. Some attempt to reduce this to absurdity: ‘Should we seek the Lord’s guidance for the breakfast cereal we eat in the mornings?’ There is a distinction between major and minor things; we seek guidance for the major things, for all the crossroads of life. Of course the Lord wants us to grow in wisdom, but when it comes to the major things, our wisdom can never afford to take over from the direction of the Lord. Forty to fifty years ago no Christian doubted that God had a specific will for our lives, but since the 1980s this has been abandoned. Now it is said that God wants maturity and uses your own wisdom. Major Christian teachers fall for this. Seeking God’s guidance through dreams or voices or random text plucked from Scripture is a foolish thing to do, but this is presented as if it was the only alternative to making all your own decisions without consulting the Lord, and doing what pleases you. Of course we don’t believe in dreams and special words from God, but Jacob is our example here.

How do you seek guidance? Firstly, we clear the decks. We remove selfish desires or fears and clear them out – they must not be the basis of our decisions. Next, we weigh the principles of Scripture which bear on the decision. We are not looking for a sounding board, but we consult also those Scripture which challenge what we are doing – there must be no self-deceit in this. Then we pray. We pray, but with an attitude that is ready for God to lead us in whatever way he chooses. We do not decide what to do without him and come to him to approve our preferences. Oh, if I could have the blessing of God about every major decision. If we are genuine, then we may be sure that God will sharpen us in our decision making: he may guide us circumstantially, or may give unease about a wrong way of proceeding. So we are not asking in a lucky charm manner.

It is a great cause of peace of mid to know that we are in the Lord’s will. We have sought his guidance about the great issues of life – the church we belong to, the place we live, the spouse we marry, the job we do, and other important things also. We did no proceed on our own but stopped to ask God what he would have us to do, and prayed earnestly about it.

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Genesis 46:1 Commentary and Bible Study