Daily Devotional | Down to Egypt

Most of us would agree that a promise is only as good as the person who made it. But what if the One making the promise is God? Genesis 46 records the final time God appeared to Jacob. Here God reaffirmed many of the promises He had made over the years.

As Jacob set out for Egypt, he paused at Beersheba at the southern border of Canaan and offered sacrifices to the Lord (v. 1). During an earlier famine, God had forbidden Isaac from traveling to Egypt for relief (Gen. 26:2). Perhaps Jacob wondered if going to Egypt was the right decision. Should he leave the land God had promised Abraham?

That night, God appeared to Jacob to provide affirmation (v. 2). Not only was it acceptable for Jacob to travel to Egypt, but God would be with him (v. 4). God was not bound by geography. God also revealed something else. Egypt would be the place where Jacob’s family would grow to become a great nation (v. 3). God had promised to Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation (Gen. 12:1–3). Up to this point, they were just one family living among many other nations. But in Egypt, Jacob’s family would grow and thrive.

Egyptian culture was quite a bit different than Canaan. In Canaan, shepherding was one of the primary occupations, and it was respected. In Egypt, shepherds were despised (v. 34). This allowed Jacob and his family to live separately and maintain their distinct identity even through generations of living in Egypt.

As he had done in the past, Jacob believed God’s promises and moved forward in faith (v. 5). God has made promises to believers today as well: We are filled with His Spirit, Jesus is with us even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20), and He is coming again.