Why did the sons of Jacob lose their fellowship with God?
The sons of Jacob lost fellowship with Abraham's God when they were in Egypt, that pagan, godless land, after famine drove them there. They became mortgaged to the pagan, heathen Egyptians and were in bondage, requiring God to buy them back and redeem them.
Les explains that God had called Abraham and promised a nation through Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's twelve sons, and God was in full fellowship with that line. But the brothers hated Joseph, the favored son, and for all practical purposes killed him, though God spared his life. Joseph ended up in Egypt and became second in command, controlling grain for the seven years of famine. When famine hit Canaan, the brothers had to go down to Egypt. As Abraham's offspring, the sons of Jacob were now in Egypt, a pagan, godless land, and they lost their fellowship with Abraham's God. They became mortgaged to the pagan, heathen Egyptians and were in bondage. Therefore God would have to buy them back and redeem them, which is the picture of the book of Exodus: redemption by the Passover blood and God's power at the Red Sea.