“⁵Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts [or: “wagons”] which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ⁶So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. ⁷His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.”

– Genesis 46:5-7 (NKJV)

“Then Jacob arose (newly encouraged, grateful, resolute, determined, obedient) from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, (we see here not only a picture of the twelve humbled sons carrying their  biological father, but the nation of Israel, the very “sons of Israel“, exalting and honouring the patriarch of their Faith, Israel himself, in what can only be described as a deeply prophetic act; a manifestation in the natural if you will of what God has now released in the spiritual realm as ordained according to His Glorious Masterplan of Covenant and Promise for generations to come) their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. (What a precious piece of practical instruction from our Lord we find here ☺ where the woman is clearly acknowledged to be the weaker vessel [1 Peter 3:7], worthy of being loved and honoured in the physical strength volunteered by the stronger vessel, the man, together with her precious offspring: the future of Israel, who are yet being trained up “in the ways of the Lord” [Proverbs 22:6] to become worthy representations of what it means to be a woman or a man in their own right, as pre-ordained by The Lord in His Wisdom. It is my honour and great privilege to acknowledge these examples from The Scriptures so clearly set out for us as believers in a day and age where “patriarchy” has become a curse word and feminism has become one of the most persistent “arguments and . . . lofty opinion[s] raised against the knowledge of God“ [2 Corinthians 10:5]. On a different note, it is also worth noting the exaltation of the nation of Israel in the earth symbolised in their literally being raised above the earth in the carts sent by Pharaoh. They are about to enter into a season of Divine Favour, restitution, blessing, prosperity and honour, as Joseph who “went before” them, has already enjoyed. This is to be a season of plenty – despite the global famine ravaging the earth during the first seven years – for God’s people for several generations to come preceding the four centuries of their enslavement in Egypt. As very tangibly and concretely real as every one of these moments in every individual life of every Israelite here is, we must always keep the larger symbolism at play in view where themes spanning even across millennia can be applied in the life of even a single believer today as we look upon our own seasons of plenty, poverty, enslavement to sin, deliverance, redemption, salvation and sanctification, in no particular order, as King Solomon so eloquently extrapolated upon in Ecclesiastes 3 ⏳️🔄⏳️.) So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. (This is a very big, very specific, God-ordained and God-willed move of the Nation of Israel from one place of habitation in the earth to another, for very specific Divine reasons, many of which have not yet been revealed to us [or them]. They must move in obedience as One Man – perhaps our earliest illustration of the very Body of Christ – and not a single man, woman or child is to remain in the old season in the old place, lest they perish outside of The Will of The LORD.) His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, (recognise that despite the distinct differences and symbolism inherent in man- and womanhood that the Lord expects us to honour – even revere, especially in its illustrating the blessed and glorious mystery of Christ and His Bride – the women are here acknowledged with equal and special care for out of them the Nation of Israel will be born) and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.” (Again, for a second time The Scripture reiterates that as a Patriarch of our Faith, at this point in time every last descendant of Jacob is included in The Promise and Covenant and is a true Israelite indeed; let no man, woman or child be left behind, for this IS The People of God.)