Genesis 47:3

Joseph tells Pharaoh that his father and his brothers have come. First he introduces five of his brothers. We are not told which ones, but they were likely those who could speak on behalf of their other brothers. They answer Pharaoh's question about their occupation by confirming Joseph's word. They were shepherds as their fathers were, and they wanted to live in Egypt for a time, because the famine had left no pasture in Canaan.

On every point of view Goshen was the land most appropriate for his father and his brothers. The land lay nearest for those who were only staying in Egypt for a time. God had destined them to enter Canaan, the land He had promised long before, when their father had not even one son. Again, it was near Joseph, and the king also; and further, it was the least frequented by the people of the land, to whom herdsmen, shepherds and the like were detestable, as Joseph let them know. … But it mattered that the king should come to the same conclusion as his minister of state, and decree freely without any pressure from one so near to the sons of Israel. Bringing in enough of his brothers was a wise arrangement. They stated their occupation plainly, as handed down from their fathers. The king not only agreed that Goshen was the best place for them to live; he gave them a hearty welcome.

The last verse of the next chapter tells us that "every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians." This might have surprised us, if we did not know, as we said before, that at that time the ruling powers in Egypt were not true Egyptians. They were a foreign race, closely connected with the wandering, shepherd people that Jacob and his sons belonged to. The Pharaoh of those days may well have seen it as a stroke of good business to receive Jacob and his descendants. It would bring under his protection those who would be his natural allies.

The Lord, without doubt, directed this move to Egypt. It guarded the family from being scattered, and from mixing with strangers, during the important period that had now arrived, when the family was appointed to grow into a nation. In Canaan both of those bad results would have been unavoidable. Neither could follow in Egypt. Goshen gave ample room for their growing numbers, while the Egyptians' dislike of shepherds kept the two peoples from marrying into each other.

They were only shepherds, it is true, and such men were detestable to the Egyptians. But Joseph "is not ashamed to call them brothers." Strangers they were, and dependents. But the man of that day, the lord of Egypt, again I say, was "not ashamed to call them brothers." He owns them in the presence of the king, of the palace, and of the nation. And the king proves to be of the same mind. That they were Joseph's brothers was enough for Pharaoh.

God expects His own people to have hearts as shepherds, to care for the needs of souls. The world (Egypt) not only ignores such shepherd care, but resents others who engage in it. In fact, even believers too often do not value the care and concern a godly person tries to show them. For this reason we sadly neglect to do true shepherd work.