Goshen ! [Gen.47:6]
- Olusegun Emosu
- 7 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
"The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock." (Gen. 47:6).
INTRODUCTION:
Goshen was the thriving and flourishing part of Egypt, even in the face of the most historic and severe famine and the attendant poverty, raging the land. Much as this may appear paradoxical, it yet showed how much benevolence God can show His favorites, in the midst of seemingly humanly impossible situations. It is so ironic, as well, that it was in this choicest part of the land where the "sons of the soil" were languishing in hardship, that God used the reigning king, Pharaoh, to comfortably place His children. As long as the God 'factor' held sway, their immigration status was not a determinant to having a comfortable accommodation, in this strange land, nay, the land of slavery. It was all God-ordained.
JOSEPH: THE PATHFINDER & LINK TO GOSHEN:
Joseph had been a heaven- ordained dreamer from his youthful days. This God-given gift and its manifestations irked the older brothers in no small measure. Invariably, out of envy and fear of seeing themselves lived at the mercy of the young brat sought every possible opportunity to get rid of him. The thought of getting rid of him was not actualised until their father sent him to deliver food for them in Shechem. It was with much zeal to hatch the long-planned scheme when they sighted him, afar. Their primary intent was to kill him outrightly with the belief that, that will put paid to his dreams that they considered a threat to their very existence, "look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him, and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, 'some wild beast has devoured him.' We shall see what will become of his dreams!" (Gen.37:20). However, after a brief back and forth deliberations, among the brothers, on what was to be the final compromise, they conceded to a suggestion from Judah that he be sold. This decision marked the first turn in Joseph's life journey.
JOSEPH'S EARLY DAYS & CHALLENGES IN EGYPT :
After a long and tortuous journey to Egypt, Joseph landed in the house of Potiphar, having been sold by the Ishmaelites. Joseph at that tender age had suffered too many afflictions that were beyond his age, and too many that he refused to give up on life, at the same time. However, in all these travails, it seemed there was an underlying, yet intricately, divine aura, unseen by the naked eyes, working in his favor. Truth be told, the God-given gift of God upon him, [the gifting of dreams and interpetation of dreams] , the primary reason his envious brothers sold him to slavery, still did not divorce him: even in the most unfavorable circumstances. Added to this is the fact that even in a strange land, he was yet successful, "the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man." (Gen. 39:2). Nevertheless, his master the Egyptian, was careful enough to see that "the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand." (Gen. 39:3). Jospeh's presence in the house of his master commanded Godly blessings on the family. Above all, the bible writer submitted, "now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance." (Gen.39:6), - being the very factor that brought Jospeh's troubles to a crescendo! The master's wife showed unrestricted and armorous interest in him. A complete restraint and denial from Joseph introduced a totally different dimension into his already complicated life. The royal madam probably did not expect this turn down. She was perturbed and framed him to cover her shameful gesture. Needless to say at the end, he was sent into the prison, on the grounds of false proof and allegation. What a way for the down-trodden and bourgeois to walk free into the prison, as is common in our days, especially when it involves people in power...
That Joseph maintained his integrity in a place he was a stranger, was quite commendable. If he did that only for fear of God, the clearer picture emerged years later, as the consequence was to route him to place of solitude where his gifting of dream would unknowingly, flourish and blow. It is noteworthy that while under his master's roof, Joseph never had a dream. And it was never recorded in the scriptures that no one had a dream in the royal house, either. That was an atmosphere that was not charged enough for his gifting dream to come to the fore. In addition, had Jospeh fallen for the ungodly sexual advances from the master's wife, the grace of dream and its interpretation would have fizzled away! He would have been relishing pleasure at the expense of lost glory. His integrity threw him out of his master's house and until he got to where he would be well grounded- the prison. Not even the quest to be remembered by his co-prisoner, that had earlier benefitted from the grace of his dream interpretation, to remember him, materialized, at least not immediately- until the king had a disturbing dream. The need for the interpretation of the dream took him to the palace.
INTEGRITY BEFORE ARRIVAL AT GOSHEN:
Integrity is key...in whatever we do. Joseph did not get to Goshen just like that. His integrity spoke for him. Looking at his complicated life in Egypt, the gesture from the master's wife would have been taken as an avenue to feel welcomed in the master's domain, a "greek gift", so to say. Whatever he wanted, he would get, just for the asking, if he had danced to the tune of the master's wife's , for as long as the unholy love affair lasted. Joseph would have everything at his beck and call. Ironically, that was a situation that would have put paid to Joseph's destiny, unknown to him. In addition, such ungodly affairs do not last, anyway. And on the long run, he would have his life messed up and his destiny destroyed ! By extension, the nation he was supposed to redeem- the reason God, whose understanding is unsearchable, sent him to Egypt to preserve, would have been at the mercy of the global famine that was looming. It would have been a colossal loss of life and destiny for Joseph, and a global disaster on his nation of birth. Yet, he raised his head high. He jettisoned whatever the 'woman' of the house promised him as baits. He ran for his dear life at the risk of getting rot in a dungeon. He was next to Moses in deciding not to enjoy "the passing pleasure of sin" (Heb.11:24-25).
Integrity does come at a price- a costly price at that, that varies based on the particular situation we are dealing with. For Joseph, his integrity stood firm against cheap, free, and unsolicited royal sexual craving. In addition, had he fallen into the pitfall, the possibility of his reuniting with his long-lost brothers, in the most gracious manner, who by now took him for dead, might probably not being possible. And that choicest part of Egypt, Goshen, would have probably remained unoccupied. Joseph by reason of his integrity commanded a troop of Israel to settle down in the best part of a nation wherein they were strangers. Integrity is good. Integrity opens doors even for generations yet unborn in our lineages, only if we as predecessors, can sustain it. Sustained integrity is a long-lasting legacy easily bequeathed to oncoming generations.
THE TURN-AROUND & FAMILY REUNION:
By God-ordained plan, Joseph rose to the throne of Prime Minister in a foreign land. A confirmation of an unkillable dream he had several years before . With the passage of time, his brothers appeared to him face-to-face with calm and repentant mien. Their pride of yesteryears already deserted them. Before asking for forgiveness from their supposedly dead brother- turned Prime Minister, Joseph, he forgave them in advance. He accounted all the happenings to God's orchestrated plan, "do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but Godmeant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." (Gen.50:20).
He extended an olive branch to them. He allayed their fear and promised to to provide for them and their children. He comforted them and spoke to them in kind words. Joseph could not do otherwise afterall the LORD had vindicated him. In addition, he was in charge, in a foreign land that welcomed his immigrant people based on his enviable personalty.
GOSHEN:
Based on Joseph's reputation, position, and untainted record in Egypt, Pharaoh had no reason not to offer him and his family the best of benefits, moreso by reason of his elevated status. To a large extent, his nation benefited so much for his influence in a land unknown to them, as pronounced by Pharaoh, "the land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen." (Gen.47:6). And for whoever among them were herdsmen, it was an automatic employment as "chief" herdsmen, "...and if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock" (Gen.47:6b). And even at that, it was Joseph's prerogative to appoint his citizens over the royal livestock! In all, Goshen was a place in Egypt where God's provison and protection were certain. It was a place of relative comfort in the midst of national lack. Suffice to say Goshen was the foodbasket of the world at a time of major national scarcity. A divinely-preserved soul was the game changer that played a pivotal role in preserving a nation at that trying time.
Sidebar:
Their primary intent was to kill him outrightly with the belief that, that will put paid to his dreams that they considered a threat to their very existence.
If he did that only for fear of God, the clearer picture emerged years later, as the consequence was to route him to place of solitude where his gifting of dream would unknowingly, flourish.
Integrity is key...in whatever we do. Joseph did not get to Goshen just like that. His integrity spoke for him. Looking at his complicated life in Egypt, the gesture from the master's wife would have been taken as an avenue to feel welcomed in the master's domain, a "greek gift" , so to say.
And even at that, it was Joseph's prerogative to appoint his citizens over the royal livestock! In all, Goshen was a place in Egypt where God's provison and protection were certain. It was a place of relative comfort in the midst of national lack.
CONCLUSION:
There is so much we can benefit from, if we are dream helpers as against being dream killers. The life and times of Joseph should be a good lesson for all believers that there is little we can fight against whom God had ordained to be the head. Much as his brothers strove to frustrate his God-given dream, it all ended in futility. They found themselves at the receiving end, on the long-run. At the end of the day, they all became direct beneficiaries of the actualization of the dream. On his part, Joseph was diligent to keep away from every trap and pitfall that could hinder his dream fulfilment. He damned all the consequences and hardships along the way. For his singular seriousness, his family escaped the wrath of the famine and also, the flourishing land called Goshen became a relevant place in the history of the Egyptians and the migrating Israelites. And peradventure, should we have any God-given dream, the need to be diligent in pusuing it to the end is essential. Goshen awaits us! And we shall get there. Amen!
Merry Christmas in advance!
PRAYERS:
LORD, deliver and separate me from every household and external dream killer.
LORD, help to maintain my integrity even in the most tempting and daunting temptation.
LORD, You raised me to preserve a generation, please, help not to betray this divine assignment.
LORD, whatever be the challenges, oppostions, and intimidations on the way, take me and my household to a land of abundance You have prepared for us. Amen!
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