God sent Joseph to Egypt and now Joseph is sending his brothers home to bring the entire family back safely to Egypt. Joseph said, "Come down to me, you and your household. Don't delay! You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near to me. You, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute." And the Pharaoh agreed and supported Joseph's invitation to his father.
So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them carts, and provisions for their journey. To each he gave new clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes.Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and sent his brothers away.
The brothers went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. They told him, "Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt." Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. But when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, "I'm convinced! My son Joseph is alive. I will go and see him before I die!"
So Israel set out with all that was his and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, "Jacob! Jacob!" And Israel/Jacob listened. "Here am I," he replied.
And God said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 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."
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. They also took with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan, and Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt. He took with him his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters--all his offspring.
When they arrived in the region of Goshen, Joseph had his chariot ready and met his father Israel/Jacob. He threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time. And Israel, also filled with emotion, said to his long, lost son, "Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive."
And so, the family was settled in a place meant for shepherding. Joseph also provided his father and brothers and their households food, according to the number of their children, for there was no food in the entire region.
Joseph continued throughout the time of famine to save the lives of many others in Egypt, for the Egyptians, desperately wanting to leave the area, sold their land and belongings in order to leave. They left with seed, given to them by Joseph, to enrich the land wherever they went. Yet it became a law concerning land in Egypt, still in force today, that a fifth of the produce which came from the Pharaoh's seed, would be sold and the profit given to Pharaoh.
Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for Joseph, his son, and said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried, Joseph then swore to him that he would do this. And Israel worshiped the Lord as he leaned on the top[ of his staff.
The end of an era and always another begins. Life does go on.
I hope you enjoyed the story of the coat of many colors and the man its owner became so many eons ago. The name of Joseph has good vibrations, for me. It was the name of my mother's father. Had I been a boy? Probably, it would have been my name.
JoINMN
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