Do Not Be Afraid to Go

Key Points

• As Joseph invites Jacob to move the family to Egypt, Jacob has clarity about obedience but no clarity about what that will mean for his family and his future.

• Jacob stops at Beersheba and offers sacrifices. Beersheba marks the edge of the Promised Land and is a place where God did significant things in Abraham’s and Isaac’s lives.

• Jacob demonstrates obedience by going, remembrance by stopping in Beersheba, and worship by offering God a sacrifice. God responds by reassuring Jacob about his journey to Egypt. God promises a good future and His presence, with very few details.

• The genealogy and the number 70 signify the completion of a phase and progress in God’s plan to make Abraham’s descendants a great nation.

Application

• To longtime believers: if you have a story about how you obeyed and God worked through that obedience, would you share it to encourage others?

• What brought God’s people to this moment was slavery (Joseph's). Slavery will also be an integral part of their exodus from Egypt. God uses adversity to form His people.

• In human terms, all of this is possible because Jacob said “yes” to God’s call through Joseph. Where is God calling you to go—requiring faith, risk, and action? What does it mean for us to stop and make an offering along the way (Romans 12:1-2)?

• The command “do not be afraid” remains a command for us today. “God has not given us a spirit of fear” (2 Timothy 1:7). Fear is natural, but it should not win out over faith in our decision-making.