Be Bold in Your Occupation

Reading:   Genesis 46:11-34

In the following verses, we discover that the Egyptians despised shepherds, no one can say for sure why (probably had something to do with cleanliness - my guess), but they did.  So, since the primary occupation of Israel and his brood is, and always has been, shepherds, there is some concern there...

GENESIS 46:33-34

33 And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?  

34 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. 

Joseph, in his wisdom, and knowing somewhat of Pharaoh's personality, advises his brethren not to be ashamed of their occupation but to stand up tall and claim it as their own.  He believes by doing so that his brethren will be allotted lands in Goshen where they can raise their herds in relative peace, free of the scorn that might befall them from the Egyptian people.  I'm sure he also hoped that this action would keep them grounded in the beliefs of their father and less prone to submit to the idol worship of the Egyptians (clever guy that Joseph).

Here is a great quote from Matthew Henry (an English commentator on the Bible c. 1720):

Whatever employment or condition God, in his providence, has allotted for us, let us accommodate ourselves to it, and satisfy ourselves with it, and not mind high things. It is better to be the credit of a mean post than the shame of a high one.

Well said Brother Henry!

~Kipling