Why did God tell Jacob to go down to Egypt when He had told Abraham and Isaac not to go there?
God directed Jacob to Egypt because He sovereignly purposed to bring the whole family of Israel there, using Joseph, the famine, and Egypt as the place to multiply them into a great nation. Though He had told Abraham and Isaac not to go into Egypt, this was a specific change for Jacob.
Les explains that the sovereign God had already arranged events so Joseph would end up in Egypt. He sent seven good years to prepare for seven years of famine, and that famine was set up to bring the whole tribe of Jacob down into Egypt. At Beersheba, Jacob offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, saying, 'Jacob, Jacob,' and Jacob answered, 'Here I am.' Then God said, 'I am God, the God of thy father, fear not to go down into Egypt.' Les points out this was a change: God had told Abraham and Isaac, 'Don't go into Egypt,' and when they tried it they got in trouble until they returned to Canaan. But now God told Jacob not to be afraid to go down, for there in Egypt He would make of him a great nation. That is exactly what happened: after some 215 years in Egypt, Moses led the children of Israel out, a company of anywhere from 5-7 million people, for that time the biggest nation in the then-known world.
And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:
More Questions
Why did God forbid Isaac from going to Egypt but tell Jacob to go there?
God had told Isaac not to go down into Egypt but to sojourn in the land of promise, yet He now tells Jacob to go down into Egypt, which is a change.
Did God change His instruction about going to Egypt when He spoke to Jacob instead of Isaac?
God had told Isaac not to go down to Egypt, but later told Jacob not to fear going down to Egypt, and Les calls this a change in God's direction.
Did God change His command about going down to Egypt between Isaac and Jacob?
There was a change in what God commanded, because God had told Isaac not to go down into Egypt, but He now tells Jacob to go down into Egypt.