Genesis 46:1-4 "And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes."
Israel, his sons, their families, flocks, and servants, and as much of their stuff as they could carry was loaded onto the wagons that Joseph had sent at Pharaoh’s command. They started on their journey to Egypt. It would appear that they made camp at Beersheba. There he offered sacrifices unto God.
Beersheba means “well of an oath.” It was in this place that Abraham (Israel’s grandfather) and Abimelech (then king of the Philistines) made an agreement concerning ownership of the well that was there. This was a well that Abraham had dug and some of Abimelech’s men had taken it by force. Abraham swore to deal honestly with Abimelech, and Abimelech swore that Abraham dug the well. Afterward, Abraham planted a grove at the well and there he called upon “the name of the LORD, the everlasting God (Genesis 21:22-34).”
Here in this place where oaths had been made and God had been worshipped many years before, God appeared unto Israel (Jacob). God called him by name, and he answered God. God then affirmed to Israel that He was indeed God. He further assured Israel that He was the same God that Isaac had relied on. Since He was the same God that Isaac had relied on, He was also the God of Abraham and witness to the oath that was made at the well.
God instructed Israel to go down into Egypt without fear. He was to go without fear because God was with him. It had nothing to do with who Israel was as a man or anything that he had ever done or said. This was about the will and purpose of God.
In keeping with the promise God had made to Abraham, He told Israel to go down into Egypt, and He would bring a great nation out of Israel. This was not something God was going to do from afar. He promised Israel that he would go with him into Egypt. He assured him that he would see Joseph, and that Joseph would be alive to close Israel’s eyes in death.
All of this assurance from God must have been a great comfort to Israel. But the most glorious part was that He told Israel that He would not only go down into Egypt with him, but that He would surely bring him out again even though he would die in that land. Beloved, do not fear to undertake any journey that the Lord of glory sets before you. Know that His promises are still sure today. He will go with us, even into a land of bondage, and He will SURELY bring us up again, even from death!