October 28th, 2013
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

The Waiting Father

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Lord of time, You alone give me the gift of time. You’ve given me time in this world. Thank You.

Read Genesis 46:1-34

[1] So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. [2] And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he replied. [3] “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. [4] I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.” [5] Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. [6] So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt, taking with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan. [7] Jacob brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters-all his offspring. [8] These are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob. [9] The sons of Reuben: Hanok, Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. [10] The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. [11] The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. [12] The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul. [13] The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron. [14] The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon and Jahleel. [15] These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, besides his daughter Dinah. These sons and daughters of his were thirty-three in all. [16] The sons of Gad: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli. [17] The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malkiel. [18] These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah-sixteen in all. [19] The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. [20] In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. [21] The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard. [22] These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob-fourteen in all. [23] The son of Dan: Hushim. [24] The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem. [25] These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel-seven in all. [26] All those who went to Egypt with Jacob-those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives-numbered sixty-six persons. [27] With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all. [28] Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen, [29] Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time. [30] Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.” [31] 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. [32] The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ [33] When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ [34] 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.”

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION

Meditate

“Hope in the God of all our tomorrows provides optimism for the future and gives strength for today” (Haddon Robinson). We may not know the future, but we know who holds the future!

Think Further

If Genesis 37 to 46 were a play, Jacob would not have set foot on the stage since the beginning of Act 1. Yet he has never been far from the action. Joseph has longed for him, spoken of him and asked about his fate. The memory of his father’s love has never dimmed. Ripped away in his teens from a father who loved him, Joseph has yearned for reunion.

Joseph’s embrace of his father (29) is the true climax of this drama. Along with Jacob, all the family has been delivered into safety in Egypt (6,7). That this is truly the work of God is confirmed in vs. 3 and 4. Jacob hears God’s voice directly affirming his journey, urging him not to be afraid. 

It is Jacob, more than anyone, who is astounded by the faithfulness of God. Behind the scenes, God has been at work for the sake of his chosen people. Jacob is ready to die in peace (30). No matter how deep our troubles, the promises of God are deeper still. God will complete the work he has begun. God will fulfill the dreams he has given us. Joseph wasn’t the first dreamer in his family. Walter Brueggemann suggests that Jacob nurtured in Joseph a bias toward dreaming: “Jacob evoked in Joseph’s life a sense of his being bound for something more and something better beyond the competence of his older brothers” (W. Brueggemann, Genesis). Jacob himself inherited a dream from Isaac, who received it from his father Abraham. It was the dream of a family as numerous as the stars, living in the peace and prosperity of God. It becomes, in Christ, God’s dream for the human family.

Apply

If God called you on a journey (a journey of spiritual growth or an area of service), what would he ask you to leave behind? How would God calm your fears?

Closing prayer

Sometimes, Father, I long to hear words of reassurance, words to calm my fears. I give all my anxieties to You.

Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.

© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.

Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.

View all readings

Get ENCOUNTER:

in your email:

in Print:

Become a Member | Visit our store