Detested?

by Ruth Olsen

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You should answer, ‘Your servants have tended livestock … all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians’ (Genesis 46:34).

Read Genesis 46:1–7,28–34

Joseph’s brothers had been tending livestock since their boyhood (Genesis 37:16; 46:6). Israel (Jacob) now tells them what he will say to Pharaoh about their occupations. Goshen is a region east of the River Nile delta, very fertile and ideal for raising livestock. Along the way to Egypt, the entourage stopped at Beersheba, where Israel, like his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham, had worshipped the Lord (Genesis 21:33; 26:23–25). There, the Lord had appeared to them, giving reassurance and promise of blessing.

Earlier, in Genesis 43:31,32, when Joseph had a meal served to his brothers, we are told: ‘They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with them by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews for that is detestable to Egyptians.’

The taboo was probably based on ritual or religious reasons (Exodus 8:26); however, the Egyptian refusal to associate with shepherds was likely based on social custom.

Do you stop to think about what you do, when you do it, why you do it that way and its purpose? Sometimes, our customs are full of rich meaning. Other times, they may be hollow and empty. Perhaps the Lord is calling us to change our thinking, desiring to lead us to rest beside still waters for a time. Others may not understand and even ridicule us. But, here, being detested became a huge blessing of abundance from God’s provision for the Hebrews, where they could flourish and thrive.

Something may be happening in your current circumstances, causing people to turn away from you. That happens. Yet, do you ask the Lord to enable you to see that situation from his perspective? Perhaps he is trying to prepare you to work with him to bring his love, life and forgiveness into that very situation. Talking with him over time, listening to the Spirit’s leading and holding onto his word as our anchor will likewise enable us to grow where he has planted us for now.

Lord Jesus, you didn’t do your own thing, neither does your Spirit. Teach us to walk with you in the Father’s ways, by your Spirit’s power, even if it means we are detestable to some people. Amen.

Tough things happen in life for each of us at some stage. Currently, Ruth is on a health-issue journey with Jesus in a ‘winter season’. For helpful insights into seasons, she recommends Pastor Rolly Stahl’s teaching series, ‘Seasons of the Soul’, available on YouTube.

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