Now Joseph knew
he needed to inform Pharaoh of the arrival of his father’s family. Courtesy
demanded it. So before he went to see him, he prepared his father and brothers
on how to answer Pharaoh when they themselves would come to meet with the king.
Joseph knew how the Egyptians felt about shepherds and used that knowledge to
his advantage. He said to them, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him,
‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me; and the men
are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock; and they have
brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’”
Joseph’s
instruction was strategic. By informing Pharaoh that they had brought along
their livestock, he was making an impression on the mind of the king that they
would not be an economic burden to Egypt. In informing Pharaoh that they were shepherds,
they were subtly suggesting to Pharaoh that Goshen would be the best place for
Israel and his family to settle in. Besides, the well-drained River Nile would be
the perfect place for shepherding. Joseph also knew that Egyptians did not
particularly like shepherds, so they would surely leave them alone and would
not bother them there.
The
whole idea of course was to keep them as a community together. However we can
see, through all these, that Joseph was a true diplomat. He anticipated the
question Pharaoh would ask. So he told his family, “When Pharaoh calls you and says,
‘What is your occupation?’ You shall say, ‘Your servants
have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and
our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen; for every
shepherd is loathsome to the Egyptians.”
The
strategy of Joseph worked perfectly as we shall see. Goshen was the perfect place both to keep them
as a community and also a place to keep them prospering. Here they could keep
their distinctiveness as the chosen people of God, and yet at the same time be given
total protection. It would be Goshen that God would shape and hone them
spiritually yet keep them together nationally. It was here that they grew from
a handful of people into a great nation according to the promise that God made
to Jacob on his journey there.
Like the people
of Israel, the church is also a community of people chosen and called out of
the world. Second Peter 2:9 said that we are “… a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you (we) may proclaim the excellencies of Him who
has called you (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light.” And as a community all of us are “living stones of God”, and He now uses us to build “…a spiritual house for
a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ.” Let’s do our part for His glory!
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