Jacob believed the word his sons brought back to him concerning Joseph being alive and wanting Jacob to bring his family to Egypt, and so he gathered all he had and began the move. On the way he stopped in Beersheba (46:1) and offered sacrifices to God. That night, God gave him a vision that reaffirmed His promises to Abraham with the addition of  “I will go down with you to Egypt and I will surely bring you up again,” (46:3).

Sometimes we have faith to begin something, but need reassurance that God is constantly with us. It would be several hundred years before the promise would be fulfilled, but Israel lived, holding on to that promise. They went down to Egypt with 70 people, but came out a powerful nation. It is wonderful when we see the hand of God, but lack of sight does not mean lack of presence.