Separation: Genesis 47:1-12
We can derive contentment by avoiding conformity to the standards of the world. There are times to get along. There are times to fit in. There are also times to make sure we stay true to God’s ways without compromise.
Joseph selects five of his brothers to present themselves before Pharoah. The brothers don’t follow Joseph’s advice. They tell Pharoah they are shepherds.
There is great debate over why the brothers do the opposite of Joseph’s recommendation. The most basic rationale is they still didn’t like taking orders from Joseph. These men are adults and have lived their life in a certain way. They are proud to be nomadic shepherds. If being a shepherd their whole life got them this far, why let their Egyptian brother influence their identity now?
Going a bit deeper, Joseph told his brothers being a shepherd is detestable to the Egyptians because he doesn’t want his family to seem detestable. The brothers might not care how the Egyptians view them. They might have hoped Pharoah would find their work detestable and order them to stay distant – and distinct – from Egyptian society. This would grant them permission to remain apart from the Egyptians.
Perhaps their tactic was motivated in keeping the interview short. Pharoah and Joseph got along – Pharoah elevated Joseph to high position for a reason! The brothers may not have wanted a close relationship with Pharoah. By telling Pharoah they are shepherds, it would ensure that Pharoah would not often request their presence.
Their plan works. Pharoah gives them permission to settle in Goshen. He also tells Joseph to elevate his brothers to become the herdsmen of Pharoah’s livestock, too. We truly get a sense of the Egyptian bias against the shepherds. Pharoah willingly gives away his need to task an Egyptian with the duty. This is a win-win for Pharoah. He can show honor to Jacob’s family at the same time as removing Egyptians from a task they would rather not do.
Finally, Jacob comes before Pharoah. Pharoah asks him how old he is and how his life has been. Like his sons, Jacob doesn’t pull punches. Jacob tells him his life has been hard and full of trials. Jacob hasn’t lived as many years as Isaac and Abraham, he spent a good number of those years away from home trying to avoid being scammed by his father-in-law, and when he returned to Canaan his family was filled with internal conflict. He did have a life full of strife – much of it self-fulfilling. The conversation between him and Pharoah is short – but at least it ends with Jacob extending a blessing.
Jacob and his sons may not have always made the right decisions. This section of scriptures illustrates one of their collective strengths. Jacob and his sons kept their ways separate from the ways of the world. We can derive contentment by avoiding conformity to the standards of the world.
