Genesis 46.2-4-Israel Receives Theophany and Divine Reassurance and Promises

Tuesday March 20, 2007

Genesis: Genesis 46:2-4-Israel Receives Theophany and Divine Reassurance and Promises

Lesson # 299

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 46:1.

This evening we will continue with our study of Genesis 46, which is divided into five sections: (1) IsraelJacob worships God at Beersheba and seeks His guidance (46:1). (2) IsraelJacob receives a theophany, divine reassurance and promises (46:2-4). (3) Israel’s family migrates to Egypt (46:5-7). (4) Genealogy of the Israelites who migrated to Egypt (46:8-27). (5) Joseph reunites with his father and prepares his family to meet Pharaoh (46:28-34).

This evening we will study the second section of this chapter, which presents to us the record of Israel receiving a theophany, reassurance from God that his move to Egypt is according to the will of God as well as promises to make his descendants a great nation in Egypt.

Genesis 46:1, “So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.”

The name “Israel” is the proper noun yisra’el (la@r*c+y!) (yis-raw-ale), which means, “one who fights and overcomes with the power of God” since the Lord states the reason for the name is that Jacob has fought with both God and men and has prevailed.

The name “Israel” memorializes the historical event of Jacob wrestling the preincarnate Christ, and which wrestling match symbolized Jacob’s struggles in life with men, which in reality were with God.

The name “Israel” reflects strength and character produced by appropriating the power of the Word of God by claiming the promises of God in prayer.

Thus, the use of this name signifies that Jacob is not walking in his flesh at this point in the narrative but is appropriating by faith the power of God in prayer.

“God” is the noun Elohim (<yh!Oa$), which emphasizes the sovereignty of God, thus indicating God sovereignly intervened in the life of Israel/Jacob and his family by preserving and protecting them from famine and the corrupting Canaanite influence.

The use of this noun implies that Israel was seeking reassurance that the move to Egypt was according to God’s sovereign will.

Henry M. Morris commenting on Israel seeking divine guidance regarding the move to Egypt, writes, “As Jacob prepared to go to Egypt, he was in a quandary. He was eager to see Joseph again and he also knew that the famine conditions in Canaan required some type of positive action if he and his clan were to escape impoverishment and probable death by starvation. God seemed clearly to be leading him to migrate to Egypt, through providential circumstances surrounding Joseph and his elevation to power in Egypt. At the same time, he knew that Canaan was the land God promised Abraham and Isaac, for this had been confirmed to him. They had lived for many years in Canaan and now he was uncomfortable at the thought of leaving it. Until now, each time he had made an important move, God had spoken to him directly. When he left his parents to go to Haran, God appeared to him at Bethel (Genesis 28:13-15); when he had been with Laban long enough, God instructed him to return to Canaan (Genesis 31:3); even when he left Shechem, God had appeared to him (Genesis 35:1, 9-12). Naturally, therefore, he was reluctant to make such a drastic move as this without direct confirmation from God that he should do so. After all, God was quite able to break the famine and supply their needs right there in Canaan, if it was His will to do so. He had often provided miraculously before” (The Genesis Record, page 627, Baker Book House).

The noun Elohim, “God” also emphasizes God’s “transcendence” over time, matter, space and men and also expresses that God is omnipotent and is able to bring to pass that which He has determined to take place.

Therefore, the noun implies that Israel/Jacob requested that God use His omnipotence to protect him and his family from harm while making the journey to Egypt and while residing there.

Israel’s actions in offering sacrifices to God implies that he was seeking confirmation from God who is sovereign and transcendent that the move to Egypt was in accordance with His will.

If the move to Egypt was according to the will of God, then Israel was requesting that God would protect him and his family during the journey to Egypt and while residing there by means of His omnipotence.

The divine reassurance and promises to make Israel’s descendants a great nation while residing in Egypt, which are recorded in Genesis 46:2-4 confirms that Israel was seeking guidance from God on this move to Egypt.

The fact that Israel/Jacob would not make this move to Egypt unless God reassured that it was ok to do so reveals the spiritual maturity of the man and his humility and submissiveness to the will of God.

Israel was aware of the prophecy that Abraham’s descendants would experience slavery in a foreign land for 400 years, which is recorded in Genesis 15:12-16.

Therefore, he must have found it even more difficult to cross into Egypt (vv. 2-4) and so as we will note in Genesis 46:2-4, God reassures him that this move was in accordance with the will of God.

In the past God promised to make Israel’s family a great nation in Egypt (cf. 12:2; 15:13-14; 17:6, 20; 18:18; 21:13-8) and in Genesis 46:2-4, we see Him reconfirming this promise.

Genesis 46:2, “God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, ‘Jacob, Jacob.’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’”

The fact that God spoke to Israel in visions of the night is called in theology a “theophany,” which is a theological term used to refer to either a visible or auditory manifestation of the Son of God before His incarnation in Bethlehem (Gen. 32:29-30; Ex. 3:2; 19:18-20; Josh. 5:13-15; Dan. 3:26).

This theophany was in the form of a vision, which was one of the means by which the Lord appeared to His people prior to His 1st Advent (See Hebrews 1:1-2).

The term “visions” indicates Israel received a visible appearance of the Son of God before His incarnation, which is called in theology, a “theophany.”

Genesis 46:2-4 records an auditory appearance of the “preincarnate” Christ, which is confirmed by the context in that the Son of God speaks with Israel.

This theophany indicates that Israel/Jacob was a prophet according to Numbers 12:6.

Numbers 12:6, “He said, ‘Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream.’”

This is the seventh time that the preincarnate Christ communicated with Jacob either audibly or both visibly and audibly (1st time: Genesis 28:10-22; 2nd time: 31:3; 3rd time: 31:10-13; 4th time: 32:24-32; 5th time: 35:1; 6th time: 35:9; 7th time: 46:2).

The vision given to Abraham at night, which is recorded in Genesis 15:13-15 that prophesied that his descendants would be enslaved in a foreign land for four hundred years and God speaking to Israel “in visions of the night” symbolizes and anticipates Israel’s future enslavement and mistreatment in Egypt.

“Jacob, Jacob” is a figure of speech called epizeuxis, which calls special attention to the solemn moment where God reassured Israel/Jacob that it was according to the will of God that he and his family migrate to Egypt and would also promise to make his descendants a great nation in Egypt.

God addresses the patriarch by his name of weakness “Jacob, Jacob” indicating that the patriarch was living according to the spiritual principle taught by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:1-11 that God’s power is manifested in the believer’s human impotence.

When God addresses the patriarch as “Jacob, Jacob” it indicates that the patriarch is approaching God in prayer and is not trusting in his own power to deal with his fears of moving to Egypt but rather is depending upon the power of God.

“Here I am” is the interjection hinneh (hN@h!), which expresses the intimacy between Israel and God and the respect Israel had for God and demonstrates that Israel recognizes and is responsive to the Word of God.

Genesis 46:3, “He said, ‘I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there.’”

In the original Hebrew text, “I am God” is composed of the personal pronoun `anokhi (yk!n)a*) (aw-noke), “I” and the definite article ha (h^), “the” and the noun `el (la!@), “God,” thus it literally reads, “I am the God.”

“God” is not the usual Elohim but rather the singular form of the noun, which is El (la@) in order to express a contrast between the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who is the one and only true God and the foreign gods of the Canaanites and the Egyptians.

God identifies Himself to Israel as “I am the God of your father” in order to reassure Israel that he will be protected by Him just as He protected his father Isaac.

The prohibition “do not be afraid to go to Egypt” that was issued to Israel/Jacob indicates that the patriarch was fearful of leaving the Promised Land.

The explanatory clause “for I will make you a great nation there” gives the reason why Israel should not be afraid and would give him assurance that it was according to the will of God that he and his family migrate to Egypt.

In Genesis 46:3, God is assuring Israel that everything is ok that he will be protected from the Egyptians and reassures him that God will make his descendants into a great nation while in Egypt in accordance with the promises God made to his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.

The assurance that God gave Israel that He would make Israel’s descendants into a great nation while in Egypt is a positive declaration or guarantee from God intended to give Israel confidence and courage.

This statement “I will make you a great nation there” is a reference to the “Abrahamic” covenant since it reconfirms the promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:2 and 18:17-18 that God would make Abraham’s descendants into a great nation.

Genesis 12:2, “And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing.”

Genesis 12:3, “And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

The “Abrahamic” covenant was an “unconditional” covenant meaning its fulfillment depended upon the Lord’s faithfulness and not Abraham’s.

The “Abrahamic” covenant included not only “personal” (Isaac and land of Canaan) and “national” (Israel) promises to Abraham but also contained the “universal” promise of eternal salvation to all mankind through faith in Jesus Christ who is a descendant of Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah.

(1) Personal: “I will bless you and make your name great” (Gen. 12:2), which refers to the fact that the Lord would make Abraham a famous character with a great reputation among men and before God.

This fame and reputation is expressed in that Abraham is called a “father of a multitude” in Genesis 17:5, a prince of God in Genesis 23:6, the man in God’s confidence in Genesis 18:17-19, a prophet in Genesis 20:7, the servant of God in Psalm 105:6 and the friend of God in 2 Chronicles 20:7 and James 2:23.

(2) National: “I will make you into a great nation” (Gen. 12:2), which refers to the nation of Israel.

(3) Spiritual and Universal: “And all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:3) refers to the fact that through Jesus Christ, Abraham would be a blessing to all mankind (Deut. 28:8-14; Is. 60:3-5, 11, 16) since it is only through Jesus Christ that one becomes Abraham’s seed and heirs of the promise (Gal. 3:29; Eph. 2:13, 19).

The phrase “and you shall be a blessing” is “not” a promise since the verb hayah, “you shall be” is in the “imperative” mood expressing a command and literally means, “so become a blessing” indicating that Abraham had a responsibility to walk by faith, which is expressed by obedience to the Lord’s commands.

The promises “I will bless them that bless you and the one who curses you I will curse” refers to the fact that the Lord is identifying Himself with the cause of Abraham and guaranteeing protection for Abraham and his descendants.

Genesis 46:3, “He said, ‘I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there.’”

“Nation” is the noun goy (yw{G), which is in the singular referring to Abraham’s “national” posterity (Gen. 18:18), the nation of Israel that would originate from Abraham and Sarah’s son Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob.

“Great” is the adjective gadhol (lw{dG*), which refers both to numbers and to significance or impact the nation of Israel would have on both human and angelic history.

Therefore, the “national” posterity of Abraham, the nation of Israel has been a great nation in history during the reigns of David and Solomon and will be significant according to prophecy since she will be the head of the nations during the millennial reign of Christ (See Isaiah 2:1-4).

Israel has had a huge impact upon human history in that she was the custodian of the Old Testament Scriptures, the recipients of the covenants of promise, the Law (Rm. 9:1-5) and the nation from which the Savior, Jesus Christ would originate (Jn. 4:22).

Prophetically, the promise “a great nation” in a “near” sense refers to the nation of Israel (saved and unsaved) and in a “far” sense it refers to saved Israel during the millennial reign of Christ.

Genesis 46:4, ‘I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes.”

The divine promise “I will go down with you to Egypt” echoes the Lord’s promise to Jacob “I am with you” in Genesis 28:15 and the promise made to his father Isaac “I will be with you” in Genesis 26:3.

This promise is a guarantee to Jacob of the Lord’s presence in his life and that he will be protected on the journey to Egypt and while residing there and would calm his fears about migrating to Egypt.

The statement “I will also surely bring you up again” is a reference to the “Palestinian” Covenant, which was a confirmation and enlargement of the original “Abrahamic” covenant and amplified the land features of the “Abrahamic” covenant (Gen. 13:14-15; 15:18).

The “Palestinian” covenant was confirmed to Isaac (Gen. 26:3-4) and Jacob (Gen. 35:12), reiterated to Moses (Ex. 6:2-8) who described the geographical boundaries of the land in Numbers 34:1-12 and who prophesied the fulfillment of this covenant during the millennium in Deuteronomy 30:1-9.

The land grant under the “Palestinian” covenant: (1) Most of the land in Turkey (2) Most of East Africa (3) Saudi Arabia (4) Yemen (5) Oman and Red Sea (6) Syria (7) Iraq (8) Jordan.

The land grant has boundaries on the Mediterranean, on Aegean Sea, on Euphrates River and the Nile River.

The Lord promises that this land would be given to Abraham’s descendants and this promise was fulfilled to a certain extent by Israel under Joshua (Josh. 21:43-45; cf. 13:1-7) and David and Solomon (1 Kgs. 4:20-25; Neh. 9:8).

The “Palestinian” covenant will have its literal and ultimate fulfillment during the millennial reign of Christ (Isa. 11:11-12; Jer. 31-37; Ezek. 34:11-16; Hos. 1:10-11; Joel 3:17-21; Amos 9:11-15; Micah 4:6-7; Zeph. 3:14-20; Zech. 8:4-8).

The promise “I will also surely bring you up again” is “national” promise in that it is a guarantee that the Israelites will return to the land of Canaan.

It is a “personal” promise in that it is a guarantee that Israel himself would return to the land of Canaan not only in a coffin (See Genesis 49:29-32) but more importantly that he and all of born again Israel will live in the Promised Land in resurrection bodies during the millennial reign of Christ.

In the original Hebrew text, the divine promise “Joseph will close your eyes” literally says, “Joseph, he will place his hand upon your eyes.”

Nahum Sarna commenting on this expression, writes that it is “a reference to the custom that the eldest son or nearest relative would gently close the eyes of the deceased. Such has remained time-honored Jewish practice to the present day. The promise, then, is that Joseph will outlive Jacob and will be present at the moment of his death. The promise was indeed fulfilled, as told in 49:33 and 50:1” (The JPS Torah Commentary, page 313, The Jewish Publication Society).