June 18-24
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 46; Romans 10:12, 13; Genesis 47; Genesis 48; Acts 3:25, 26; Genesis 49; Philippians 2:10; Genesis 49:29-50:21.
Memory Text: “And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.” Genesis 47:27
Genesis covers the last years of Jacob and Joseph together. We see Jacob (Israel) leave Canaan (Genesis 46) in order to settle in Egypt (Genesis 47), and there he will die (Genesis 49:29-50:21). And yet, even in this Egyptian setting, the prospect of the Promised Land still looms large in the background (Genesis 50:22-26).
As soon as Jacob arrives in Egypt, Jacob blesses Pharaoh (Genesis 47:7-10), thus fulfilling (partially, of course) the Abrahamic promise to be a blessing to the nations (Genesis 12:3). Later, about to die, Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons (Genesis 48). Jacob also blesses his own sons (Genesis 49:1-28) and makes impressive predictions concerning each of them in the context of the future 12 tribes of Israel (Genesis 49:1-27).
The fact, however, that Israel “dwells” in exile, in Egypt as strangers, is in tension with the hope of the Promised Land. And though the book of Genesis itself ends with the children of Israel in Egypt, some of the last words of Joseph point to another place: “I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (Genesis 50:24).
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 25.
Sunday, June 19
Jacob Goes to Joseph
Read Genesis 46. What is the significance of Jacob’s departure from Canaan?
When Jacob leaves his place in Canaan, he is full of hope. The assurance that he will no longer be hungry and the good news that Joseph is alive must have given him the momentum that he needed to leave the Promised Land.
Jacob’s departure echoes the experience of Abraham, though in Abraham’s case he was heading to the Promised Land. Jacob hears the same promise Abraham heard from God, namely that He will make him “a great nation” (Genesis 46:3; compare with Genesis 12:2). God’s call here is also reminiscent of God’s covenant with Abraham; in both occasions God uses the same reassuring words “fear not” (Genesis 46:3; compare with Genesis 15:1), which carry the promise of a glorious future.
The comprehensive listing of the names of the children of Israel who went to Egypt, including his daughters (Genesis 46:7), recalls God’s promise of fruitfulness to Abraham even when he was still childless. The number “seventy” (including Jacob, Joseph, and his two sons) expresses the idea of totality. It is “all Israel” that goes to Egypt. It is also significant that the number 70 corresponds to the number of nations (Genesis 10), suggesting that the destiny of all the nations is also at stake in Jacob’s journey.
This truth will become more evident only many years later, after the cross and the fuller revelation of the plan of salvation, which, of course, was for all humanity, everywhere, and not just for the children of Abraham.
In other words, however interesting the stories are regarding this family, the seed of Abraham, and whatever spiritual lessons we can take from them — these accounts are in the Word of God because they are part of salvation history; they are part of God’s plan to bring redemption to as many as possible on this fallen planet.
“For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:12, 13). What does Paul say here that shows the universality of the gospel? More important, what do these words say to us regarding what we as a church should be doing to help spread the gospel?
Monday, June 20
Jacob Settles in Egypt
It’s very interesting how, despite all that Jacob had been told about Joseph’s being alive in Egypt, the Lord still gave him “visions of the night” (Genesis 46:2) and in them commanded him to leave. Jacob leaves the Land of Promise for, of all places, Egypt — which later becomes associated with the one place that God’s people do not want to go (Deuteronomy 17:16).
Read Genesis 47. What spiritual truths and principles can we find in this account?
“Joseph took five of his brothers to present to Pharaoh and receive from him the grant of land for their future home. Gratitude to his prime minister would have led the monarch to honor them with appointments to offices of state; but Joseph, true to the worship of Jehovah, sought to save his brothers from the temptations to which they would be exposed at a heathen court; therefore he counseled them, when questioned by the king, to tell him frankly their occupation. The sons of Jacob followed this counsel, being careful also to state that they had come to sojourn in the land, not to become permanent dwellers there, thus reserving the right to depart if they chose. The king assigned them a home, as offered, in ‘the best of the land,’ the country of Goshen.” Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 233.
Wisely, too, Pharaoh does not encourage these sojourners to become beggars, living off the largess of their host. He enquires about their “occupation” (Genesis 47:3) in order that they may adjust better in their new environment. He is also eager to use their expertise, and even suggests that they serve him as “rulers over [his] cattle” (Genesis 47:6).
Then, although Jacob, the foreigner, is the inferior, the stranger, he stands before the leader of the land, and, as the text says, “Jacob blessed Pharaoh” (Genesis 47:7). He, the lowly stranger, is the one who blesses Pharaoh, the ruler of mighty Egypt? Why should that be?
The verb ‘amad lifney, “set … before” (Genesis 47:7), is normally used in priestly contexts (Leviticus 14:11). Considering that in ancient Egypt the pharaoh had the status of the highest priest, this means that, in a spiritual sense, Jacob stands higher than the highest priest of Egypt, higher even than Pharaoh himself.
Whatever our station in life, what should it mean to us, in how we treat others, that we are “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people” (1 Peter 2:9)? What obligations does our faith put on us?
Tuesday, June 21
Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons
As Jacob approaches death, he remembers his earlier return to Bethel (Genesis 35:1-15), when he received from God the renewed promise of the “everlasting possession” (Genesis 48:4) that was given to Abraham (Genesis 17:8). The hope of the Promised Land is, therefore, a comforting thought that nurtures his hope as he feels death coming. Jacob turns, then, to Joseph’s two sons, who were born in Egypt, and blesses them, but does so in the context of the future promise regarding his own seed.
Read Genesis 48. Why did Jacob bless Joseph’s two sons here, and not his other grandsons?
Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, are the only grandsons that Jacob blessed. They are thus elevated from the status of grandsons to the status of sons (Genesis 48:5). Although Jacob’s blessing implies a preeminence of the second (Ephraim) over the first (Manasseh), Jacob’s blessing concerns essentially Joseph (Genesis 48:15).
What we see here is a personal testimony about God’s faithfulness to them in the past and His promise for them in the future. Jacob refers to the God of Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 48:15), who had provided food and protection for them. It is the same God who “redeemed me from all evil” (Genesis 48:16). Jacob also has in mind “the God of Bethel” (Genesis 31:13), with whom he wrestled (Genesis 32:29) and who changed his name from Jacob to “Israel” (Genesis 32:26-29).
By referring to all these experiences where God turns the evil into good, Jacob expresses his hope that not only will God take care of the present lives of his grandsons, just as He did for him and Joseph, he also thinks of the future, when his descendants will return to Canaan. This hope is clear from his reference to Shechem (Genesis 48:22), which is not only a piece of land that he had acquired (Genesis 33:19) but also a place where Joseph’s bones will be buried (Josh. 24:32) and where the land will be distributed to the tribes of Israel (Joshua 24:1). Even amid all that has happened, Jacob kept in mind the promises of God, who said that through this family “shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
Read Acts 3:25, 26. According to Peter, how was this promise of Genesis 12:3 being fulfilled? How have we, ourselves, received this blessing?
