Verses 25-28
"And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father. And they told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt. And his heart fainted, for he believed them not. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: and Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go see him before I die."
It is notable that Jacob did not seem to be impressed with the fact of Joseph's being a ruler of Egypt, but only with the fact that he was still alive. His unbelief of the brothers at the outset of their glorying report is understandable enough. Apparently, the sight of the wagons proved to be the factor that convinced him of the truth of their messages.
Right here, the die is cast. Jacob and all the children of Israel would go down into Egypt, where the long sojourn God had foretold to Abraham would begin. Note also, that Jacob is pointedly referred to here as "Israel." It is the covenant relationship of God to this whole people that dominates every word of the Book of Genesis.
What a wonder is this record of HOW it happened! God over-ruled the hatreds, jealousies, and envious wickedness of men to place one of Jacob's sons on the throne of the land of Egypt, who, in time, brought the whole posterity of Israel to live there. The Egyptians detested foreigners, especially shepherds; and, thus there would be no easy possibility of Jacob's posterity forming marriages with pagans, as had already begun to happen in the case of Judah. Not only that, in Egypt, they would have the protective arm of a powerful central government which would secure them against hostile attack. The people would be pressured from outside by the culture where they were, by the prejudices of the people, absolutely rejected. Under those divinely appointed conditions, they would indeed grow into a mighty nation! How marvelous are the ways of God.
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