The Sojourner's Blessing: Text: Genesis 47:1-12
Introduction: God's Peculiar Providence
We come now to a remarkable scene in the grand drama of redemption. The entire story of Joseph is a masterclass in divine providence. God, in His inscrutable wisdom, orchestrates all events, both the sinful actions of men and the calamities of nature, to accomplish His sovereign purposes. Joseph's brothers meant it for evil, but God meant it for good, for the saving of many lives. This is the constant refrain of Scripture. God is not a frantic firefighter, rushing to put out blazes started by a rebellious humanity. He is the sovereign playwright, and even the villain's lines serve to advance the plot toward its appointed and glorious conclusion.
Here in Genesis 47, the covenant family, the chosen line of Abraham, is brought into the heart of the most powerful pagan empire on earth. They are refugees, driven by famine, seeking asylum. On the surface, it is a story of desperation and dependency. But if we look closer, with eyes of faith, we see something else entirely. We see the quiet, confident advance of God's kingdom. We see a collision of two worlds: the temporal, glittering power of Pharaoh's Egypt, and the eternal, covenantal power residing in a weary, 130 year old patriarch named Jacob.
This passage is not simply about a family reunion or a successful immigration policy. It is about the nature of God's people in the world. We are sojourners. We are shepherds. We are, in the eyes of the world, contemptible. But we are also the bearers of God's blessing. This scene sets the stage for the next 400 years of Israel's history, and it provides a timeless paradigm for how the church is to understand its place among the nations. We are in the world, but not of it. We are dependent on the world's systems for our daily bread, and yet we possess a blessing that the world cannot give and cannot take away.
The Text
Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh and said, “My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen.” And he took five men from among his brothers and set them before Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” So they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.” And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is heavy in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is at your disposal; have your father and your brothers settle in the best of the land, let them settle in the land of Goshen; and if you know any excellent men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock.” Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and stood him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.” And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. So Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to their little ones.
(Genesis 47:1-12 LSB)
Shepherds in a Hostile Land (vv. 1-6)
We begin with Joseph's wise and careful diplomacy.
"Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh and said, 'My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen.' And he took five men from among his brothers and set them before Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, 'What is your occupation?' So they said to Pharaoh, 'Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.'" (Genesis 47:1-3 LSB)
Joseph is a master statesman, not because he learned his craft in some Egyptian Ivy League, but because he fears God. He does not presume upon Pharaoh's favor. He follows protocol. He presents his family, but notice the calculated honesty. He has coached them to be upfront about their occupation. Why? Because, as we are told elsewhere, "every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians" (Gen. 46:34).
This was not just a matter of social snobbery. The Egyptians were a settled, agricultural people who worshipped the stability of the Nile. Shepherds were nomadic, representing a different way of life. More than that, the Egyptians worshipped various animals that the Hebrews would slaughter for sacrifice and for food. Their very vocation was an offense to the Egyptian religious and cultural establishment. So why highlight it? Joseph's wisdom here is profound. He is securing a place for his people to thrive without being assimilated. By declaring themselves shepherds, they are ensuring they will be settled in Goshen, a fertile land on the outskirts of Egypt, suitable for grazing but separate from the main centers of Egyptian culture. This is a deliberate strategy of cultural and religious preservation. They are establishing a buffer zone. It is a picture of the antithesis. God's people are to be a distinct people. We are not called to blend in, but to be a peculiar people, a holy nation.
Their request is humble: "We have come to sojourn in the land" (v. 4). They are not demanding citizenship or seeking to climb the corporate ladder of Egypt. They are asking for temporary residence as aliens. This posture of humility, coupled with their "abominable" profession, works exactly as God, through Joseph, intended. Pharaoh, gracious because of his high regard for Joseph, grants their request. He gives them the "best of the land" for their purposes, which is Goshen. He even sees the value in their expertise, suggesting that the most competent among them could manage the royal livestock. This is how God works. He uses the world's contempt for His people to carve out a protected space for them to flourish.
The Greater Blesses the Lesser (vv. 7-10)
The scene now shifts from the brothers to the patriarch. This is the main event.
"Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and stood him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh." (Genesis 47:7 LSB)
Stop and consider the audacity of this. Here is a famine refugee, a homeless patriarch, standing before the most powerful man on the planet, a man considered by his people to be a living god. And what does Jacob do? He doesn't bow and scrape. He doesn't beg for a handout. He blesses Pharaoh. The spiritual authority in the room is not the man on the throne, but the old man leaning on his staff. The author of Hebrews later gives us the theological principle at work here: "And without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater" (Hebrews 7:7). In the economy of God, Jacob, the bearer of the covenant promise made to Abraham, is greater than Pharaoh. Pharaoh has chariots, armies, and granaries. Jacob has the promise of God. There is no contest.
Pharaoh, likely taken aback, asks a simple question: "How many are the days of the years of your life?" (v. 8). Jacob's answer is a masterpiece of weary, godly realism.
"So Jacob said to Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my sojourning are 130; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.'" (Genesis 47:9 LSB)
Notice he doesn't say "the years of my life," but "the years of my sojourning." Jacob understands that this world is not his home. He is a pilgrim, just passing through. This is the testimony of all the patriarchs, who "confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13). He calls his days "few," even at 130 years, because he is measuring them against eternity. And he calls them "evil." This is not the complaint of a bitter old man. It is the sober assessment of a saint who has lived in a fallen world. He has wrestled with his brother, been deceived by his father-in-law, mourned the defilement of his daughter, buried his beloved wife, and believed his favorite son to be dead for two decades. Life in a cursed world is hard. It is full of trouble. Jacob does not put on a happy face for the king. He speaks the truth. His life has been hard, but it has been lived under the providential hand of a faithful God.
And then, having delivered his solemn testimony, he does it again. "And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh" (v. 10). He brackets the entire encounter with his patriarchal, covenantal blessing. He came in as a superior, and he leaves as a superior. He imparts a portion of God's grace to the pagan king and then departs. This is the posture of the mature believer in the presence of worldly power. We are not impressed, we are not intimidated, and we are not seeking their approval. We are there to bless, to speak the truth, and to represent the King of kings.
Covenant Provision (vv. 11-12)
The chapter concludes with the fulfillment of the plan.
"So Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to their little ones." (Genesis 47:11-12 LSB)
Here we see the tender care of God for His people, mediated through His chosen instrument, Joseph. Joseph, the Christ-figure, having been rejected, exalted, and given all authority, now uses that authority to save his people. He gives them a "possession" in Egypt. This is a temporary possession, a down payment on the ultimate possession of Canaan that God had promised. And he provides them with food, sustaining them through the famine. He nourishes them, "according to their little ones," showing a detailed and personal care for every member of the household.
This is a beautiful picture of God's covenant faithfulness. He promises to preserve His people, and He does. He uses the most unlikely means, a pagan king and a global famine, to bring His chosen family to a place of safety and provision. He places His man on the inside, and through him, He feeds His flock. This is what our greater Joseph, the Lord Jesus, does for us. He has entered the courts of the ultimate King, and having been exalted to the right hand of power, He now ensures that His people are provided for. He gives us our daily bread, both physical and spiritual. He has secured for us a place, a possession, in His kingdom. He nourishes us, cares for us, and will sustain us until the famine of this life is over and we are brought safely into our promised land.
Conclusion: Sojourners Who Bless
What, then, are we to take from this? We must learn to see ourselves as Jacob saw himself. We are sojourners. This world, with all its glittering thrones and impressive institutions, is not our home. We are just passing through on our way to a better country, a heavenly one. Our lives, like Jacob's, will have their share of evil days, of sorrow and struggle. We should not be surprised by this. This is life east of Eden.
But we are not just any sojourners. We are covenant sojourners. We carry the blessing of Abraham. And this means that our posture toward the world, even the powerful and intimidating parts of the world, should be that of Jacob before Pharaoh. We are here to bless. As the people of God, filled with the Spirit of God, we are the conduits of God's common grace to the world. Our presence in a community, in a nation, is a blessing, whether they recognize it or not. We are not there to be validated by them, but to bless them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Like Joseph's family, our vocations may be an "abomination" to the world. Our commitment to biblical morality, our worship of the one true God, our refusal to bow the knee to the idols of the age, will often make us strange, contemptible, and unwelcome. But we must be faithful in our callings. We must be honest about who we are. For it is often in that very distinctiveness that God provides for and protects His people. He will use the world's disdain to keep us from the world's corruption.
And finally, we must rest in the provision of our Joseph. Jesus has gone before us. He has secured our place. He is our provider and protector. He will nourish us and our little ones. The famines of this life are severe, but His grace is sufficient. Therefore, let us live as what we are: a peculiar people, a nation of shepherd-kings, sojourning in a foreign land, speaking the truth, and blessing the world in the name of the One who is both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God.