“¹Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.” ²And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. ³Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?”

And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.”

– Genesis 47:1-3 (NKJV)

“Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said , (bravely acting upon conviction, as he has decided in his heart, irrespective of his knowing full well how badly this might play out in light of the Egyptians’ irrational, persecutory hatred of shepherdfolk * ) “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan (notice how forcefully God’s intention that Heaven [symbolic Canaan, The Promised Land, The Kingdom of God] will invade earth [symbolic Egypt, enemy territory] is announced here, most probably even unbeknownst to Joseph through whom this history-altering, covenantally prophetic message comes); and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.” And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh (oh how I would love to know from a relational point of view who amongst his brothers Joseph discerned-, in the most sanctified, Holy Spirit sensitive, mature, wise condition he finds himself in at this point in time and during the time he has spent with them these past few weeks / months-, to be the most humble and representative of “those who come in Peace”, humbly before Pharaoh; how peculiar even distressing an experience it must be to have to Trust in God’s granting one’s enemy repentance so fully [2 Tim 2:25], that one can now present said enemies with confidence as those representing The Kingdom and as those now having a nature so wholly contradictory to the nature that rendered them enemies in the first place: a very literal Trust in God’s ability to transfer someone from the kingdom of darkness into The Kingdom of His Glorious Light). Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” (That fateful, pivotal question, not coincidentally the very first question Pharaoh asks, precisely as Joseph has prophesied.) And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers **.” (These five brothers chosen by Joseph’s hand answer exactly as Joseph had instructed them with the humility, reverence and wisdom of those who have learnt their lesson, beautifully obeying and glorifying The Truth, the very one whom they once sought to kill in this beautiful expression of faithfulness; therein not only once again confirming Joseph’s prophetic childhood dream that so clearly defined how the family hierarchy would be re-established with Joseph as Head, but fully affirming that truly, truly the transfer spoken of in the previous note has been fully accomplished by The Only One Who Is Able To Save To The Uttermost! )

* Let us ponder a moment upon this re-occurring theme where A Child of God is at the mercy of a higher authority but must persevere in Faith and Obedience despite fully understanding the detrimental consequences this might have. It is not timidity nor ungodly fear that comes into play when said Child ponders upon such potentially negative outcomes, but merely a humble acknowledgment of what is absolutely true and logical in the natural and thereby, when proceeding to continue nevertheless, showing by their actions that they Trust God alone: for literally nothing else is in their favour and so Divine Help is the only thing they can rely upon. This sequence of events ultimately leads to the maximum amount of Glory earned for God and is ultimately its purpose. We recognise the exact same theme in Esther going before King Ahasveros unsummoned, juxtaposed against Vashti’s bold, insolent faithless disobedience which ended up getting her killed – a possibility she never even considered in her pride, whereas Esther was all too humbly aware that she might perish for an act outwardly also esteemed as abject disobedience, yet with such a drastically, drastically different heart posture! We as the reader who know how these stories ultimately play out and are exceedingly aware of just how much Pharoah loves Joseph or King Ashaveros loves Esther, and that they have nothing to worry about even in the natural, need to understand what this process of humility, submission and fear of God and the hierarchies He has set in place communicate to us about the Christlike nature and character of these Children.


** aka “Lest there be any misunderstanding: we are not only shepherds, but the children of shepherds, multi-generational shepherds, there can be no doubt as to just how shepherdy shepherds we are” : if ever the stage was set for the full measure of persecution to fall on them and God’s Glory as “A Very Present Help In Time Of Need” to be established, then this was it .”