Genesis 47:7–12 (ESV)
Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen
7 Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the
days of the years of your life?” 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained
to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.” 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11 Then
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. 12 And Joseph provided his father, his
brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents.
Jacob gets to meet Pharaoh. I think of this
as like getting to meet the President in the White House. This would be a big event. What it interesting and ironic is that Jacob (the lowly shepherd) blesses Pharaoh. Egypt would have seen this as the lesser blessing the greater…
but as a Christian, we see it the other way around. Jacob is a man of God. We today may be caught off guard when we read that Jacob was 130 years old. We quickly shift into thinking that a year was shorter back then. No… that’s
not the case. The life spans are getting shorter in the bible compared to Moses, Methuselah, and many others. Today, we just don’t live as long. Pharaoh also gives Jacob and his family choice land and Joseph provides food for them.
This is an interesting twist of events.
I pray: O Lord, help me to trust and to walk in your ways. Thank you for everything you have done for me.
Amen.