Genesis 46:27-34 "And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten. And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive. And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father's house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians."
Genesis 46:7-26 tells us that Israel brought his household, his flocks, and his goods and went down into Egypt. The further list the names of his children and their children. The whole of the family of Israel at that time numbered seventy people. When God brought them up out of Egypt some four hundred years later there was a great host, just as God had promised Abraham.
Israel sent his son, Judah, to meet with Joseph and to give them directions to the land of Goshen. Joseph himself rode out to meet his father and his family and guide them to the land where they would dwell. Joseph and Israel had not seen each other for over 20 years. For most of that time, Israel thought Joseph was dead and Jospeh had no idea if his father were still alive, much less that he would ever see him again.
There was obviously great joy in their hearts at this reunion. They embraced each other, and Joseph wept in his father’s embrace for some time. Israel was deeply moved and at the same time at peace. When Israel said, “Now let me die…,” he was simply stating that he could go to his grave in peace now because he knew that Joseph was alive and well.
Joseph knew that, even though Pharaoh had sent for them to come to Egypt, the Egyptians were not going to be very welcoming. The Egyptians despised foreign shepherds. However, Joseph made sure to tell Pharaoh that they were shepherds, and they were to confess the same. While this would not endear them to the Egyptians, it would set them apart in a good land for them and their flocks.
As a sign of things to come, Judah was the one to go before Joseph’s face. Our great high priest, Jesus, would come from the tribe of Judah. Further, after years of despair, all it took for Israel to find peace was to see Joseph’s face. For us, there is no greater peace than to be blessed to see the face of Jesus at the end of a trial. Rest assured that the world is going to consider us abominations for our faith in Jesus Christ. But our Lord has a land (the kingdom of God here) for us to dwell in where we can apply ourselves daily to His service.