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From 1915 to 1970, 6 million African Americans left the south. They left to escape the cruel segregation and to find jobs. The migration peaked when Dr. King was protesting injustice. Like African Americans, Jacob left Canaan 3,800 years ago. He left to escape a famine and to see his son who was prime minister in Egypt. But as he left, he paused at Beersheba to pray. He wanted to be sure that God approved his leaving. He was about to leave the land God promised to give him and his ancestors. Since God told Abraham that his people would be slaves for 400 years, he might have feared for their fate in Egypt. So we read in Genesis 46 how God put him at ease. God told him, “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation. I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring you back again.” God affirmed the promise he had made to his ancestors. Short term, Egypt was a place of blessing; but long-term, it was a place of pain. In both, God fulfilled His plan for them, as well as His plan to one day bring His Son into the world through them. God has a purpose for each of us. If we long to do God’s will, He will guide us to know it and do it, just as he helped Jacob; and just as he helped those God-fearing African Americans who left the south.
