1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,880 Thank you, Jenny. 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:10,160 Let's open our Bibles together, please, to the book of Genesis once more as we turn to 3 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:13,920 chapter 46 this morning. 4 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,120 How many of you have been to a family reunion this summer? 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,680 Would you lift your hand? 6 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:23,440 Pray for all these folks as they lift their hands. 7 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,980 Our family reunion is interesting. 8 00:00:26,980 --> 00:00:30,880 When families meet, there are a lot of dynamics that are at work, aren't there, on a lot 9 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:31,880 of different levels. 10 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:38,240 On the one hand, there may be excitement about seeing a relative for the first time in years, 11 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:43,360 on another level there may be sorrow over the absence of some loved one who was there 12 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:48,000 the last time and is now gone. 13 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:54,960 There's happiness perhaps over holding a newborn infant in your arms, or perhaps you've been 14 00:00:54,960 --> 00:01:00,520 introduced to a fiancé of that niece and you're excited about that. 15 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:05,760 Sometimes there's the feeling of jealousy among family members because of someone's 16 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:12,400 success or there's worry because of someone else's illness. 17 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,120 At family reunions, a lot of things happen. 18 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:23,480 Today as we look at Genesis chapters 46 and 47 and see the family reunion of Jacob, we're 19 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:28,040 going to see a lot of things at work. 20 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:34,680 Joseph had been separated from his family for more than 20 years at this time. 21 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:41,700 During most of that time, he did not know whether his father was alive or dead. 22 00:01:41,700 --> 00:01:47,080 He had no idea about his brothers, how they were doing. 23 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:54,280 So you can imagine the emotion that was present as he revealed himself to them and then sent 24 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:59,680 for his father to come to Egypt for this family reunion. 25 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:07,080 What we're going to see today in this family reunion of Jacob's family is God at work in 26 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,920 his family on several levels. 27 00:02:10,920 --> 00:02:19,320 And in each case, we'll gain at least one insight into God's work in our lives too. 28 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:25,040 You'll notice as we look at these insights from the family reunion that what God really 29 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:32,920 does here is to wrap together five of the major themes that we have studied from Joseph's 30 00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:35,360 life. 31 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:40,760 These are themes that also embrace the entire book of Genesis, but especially the life of 32 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,760 Joseph as we have studied it. 33 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:48,000 So track along with me and as we notice the insights, think back in your own mind and 34 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:55,780 heart about how we saw this theme developed in Joseph's life earlier. 35 00:02:55,780 --> 00:03:02,640 The first thing that happens as we begin chapter 46 is a revelation of Jacob's God. 36 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:07,320 So here's something happening in conjunction with this family reunion. 37 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:11,840 Jacob got the word that Joseph wanted him to come to Egypt. 38 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:18,920 And so in verse 1 it says, Israel, which was his new name, set out with all that he had 39 00:03:18,920 --> 00:03:28,760 and came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. 40 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:37,400 He left where he was living, near Hebron, and as he traveled west and slightly south 41 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:42,720 along the caravan route, he came to the city of Beersheba. 42 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:47,880 Beersheba was a very important place to Jacob's family. 43 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:49,560 It was a place of significance. 44 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:59,120 Abraham dug a well in Beersheba and then lived there after the offering up of Isaac. 45 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:04,720 Isaac, Jacob's father, also lived in Beersheba. 46 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:13,120 Jacob himself had lived there until the time that he departed when fleeing to Heron. 47 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:26,960 God appeared at Beersheba both to Isaac and to Abraham's handmaiden by Sarah, Hagar. 48 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:32,360 And so a lot has happened in this vicinity in Jacob's family. 49 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:38,180 And so he stops there and he offers sacrifices to God. 50 00:04:38,180 --> 00:04:40,720 And God does something very special. 51 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:44,480 God appears to Jacob too. 52 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:50,440 He spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob. 53 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:53,700 And he said, here I am. 54 00:04:53,700 --> 00:04:57,120 And he said, I am God. 55 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:07,600 He says, I am El, E-L. I am the mighty one, the God of your father. 56 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:11,120 Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt. 57 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,320 Now that's interesting, isn't it? 58 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:16,920 Do not be afraid to go to Egypt. 59 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,240 Why would he say that to Jacob? 60 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:27,920 You need to keep in mind that Jacob knew that Abraham had gone down to Egypt in a time of 61 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:30,280 famine. 62 00:05:30,280 --> 00:05:36,720 And though his stay there was not long, he returned from Egypt with baggage. 63 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:42,080 In this handmaiden that I mentioned earlier to Sarah, whose name was Hagar. 64 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:46,960 And already there was friction between the descendants of Ishmael, Hagar's son through 65 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:52,400 Abraham, and the children of Isaac. 66 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:59,720 Indeed, the history of the world was changed because of Abraham's trip down to Egypt on 67 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:01,000 that occasion. 68 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:06,240 Because from Ishmael, many of the enemies of Israel came in later generations even to 69 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:09,000 this day. 70 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:19,400 Furthermore, God had said to Isaac, Jacob's father, do not go down to Egypt. 71 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:23,960 Do not go down to Egypt. 72 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:28,440 And so, Joseph, or rather Jacob, is in a bit of a quandary because Joseph has sent a message 73 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:29,440 to him. 74 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:34,640 He longs to see Joseph, and Joseph has said, come down to Egypt. 75 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:37,960 And so he wondered, should he go? 76 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:41,160 God appears to him in Beersheba and says, go. 77 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:43,980 I will be with you. 78 00:06:43,980 --> 00:06:48,360 He reassures Jacob that this is the right move at the right time. 79 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:52,680 He says, I will make you a great nation there. 80 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:55,720 I will go down with you to Egypt. 81 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,760 And I will also surely bring you up again. 82 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:04,280 And Joseph will close your eyes. 83 00:07:04,280 --> 00:07:09,720 Speaking about Jacob's death, so he tells Jacob that Jacob is going to die while he 84 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:11,320 is in Egypt. 85 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:15,120 Joseph will close his eyes. 86 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:23,400 God's promise to make Jacob's descendants a great nation there in Egypt is a partial 87 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:30,720 fulfillment of what God had promised in Genesis chapter 12 to Abraham, grandfather Abraham, 88 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:34,100 that he would make him a great nation. 89 00:07:34,100 --> 00:07:41,000 God now explains that that promise is going to be fulfilled not in Canaan, but in Egypt, 90 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:47,400 and that in time, God would bring Jacob and his descendants out of Egypt. 91 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:53,880 And so we begin this family reunion with a revelation of Jacob's God. 92 00:07:53,880 --> 00:08:00,520 And the insight that I see here is this, that God will follow his plan. 93 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:04,480 We've seen that before in Joseph's life. 94 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:07,280 It has twists and turns that we would never expect. 95 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:13,880 And for Joseph, this young man of character, it involved being in prison for several years. 96 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:15,200 But that was God's plan. 97 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:21,840 God sent him ahead, as we see again today, to prepare the way for his family. 98 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,800 God will follow his plan. 99 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,920 And although this seems to be a contradiction to what God has said earlier, God says, now 100 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:31,240 go down to Egypt, I will be with you. 101 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:32,240 Why? 102 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:34,240 Because that's his plan. 103 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:39,440 And I hope that you can see that in your own life. 104 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:43,560 God will follow his plan. 105 00:08:43,560 --> 00:08:47,700 There may be some corners that you had not anticipated. 106 00:08:47,700 --> 00:08:53,240 There may be some disappointments or successes that you had never dreamed of. 107 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:59,760 But God will follow his plan in your life and mine as well. 108 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:08,540 He will take our mistakes and blend them into his plan so that his plan is never foiled. 109 00:09:08,540 --> 00:09:15,120 He will take what breaks our hearts, and he will bring it out for good in the end. 110 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:23,360 This is an Old Testament statement regarding Romans 8.28, that God is at work in you, and 111 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:27,320 he will work his plan. 112 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:32,960 Now we notice as the text goes on in Genesis chapter 46, verses 8 through 27, there is 113 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:36,520 a record of Jacob's family. 114 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:40,840 Have you ever gotten the genealogy out of the family reunion? 115 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:45,120 I talked to one couple who were in a family reunion this weekend on the West Coast, and 116 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:51,200 they're there because someone had done a genealogy of the family and they discovered a cousin 117 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:55,740 they had never met before in the state of Washington. 118 00:09:55,740 --> 00:09:59,320 And when they contacted the cousin, he said, come on out for a family reunion. 119 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:02,680 So they're there this weekend. 120 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:08,460 Genealogies are thought of often in conjunction with family reunions, and it's true here too. 121 00:10:08,460 --> 00:10:16,040 Most likely this is a selective list of Jacob's descendants that went with him. 122 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:21,720 You will notice it says in verse 8, these are the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob, 123 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:25,200 and his sons who went to Egypt. 124 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:26,520 And then it begins to list them. 125 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:30,880 At the end of the list, verse 26, it says, all the persons belonging to Jacob who came 126 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:36,480 to Egypt, his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob's sons, were sixty-six 127 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:42,680 persons in all, and the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two. 128 00:10:42,680 --> 00:10:49,160 All the persons of the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy. 129 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:56,520 Now the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, says seventy-five 130 00:10:56,520 --> 00:11:01,880 here, and it adds some other names to the list, who are said to be the grandsons of 131 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:02,880 Joseph. 132 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:09,720 But here the English translation of the Hebrew text says seventy. 133 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:10,720 Seventy persons. 134 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:13,720 Why seventy? 135 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:18,560 Not counted here, it says, are the wives of his sons and grandsons. 136 00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:25,480 And if Jacob had daughters beyond Dinah, and the text is silent about that, although some 137 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:31,200 say he may well have had, the husbands of his daughters and his granddaughters are not 138 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:34,000 listed here, but there are seventy. 139 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:36,640 Why seventy? 140 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:40,760 Moses is the one who is writing this by the inspiration of the Spirit, and he seems to 141 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:45,040 choose seventy for a literary effect. 142 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:50,920 Now remember that Joseph, though he was a shepherd for forty years, was a very intelligent 143 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:55,520 and well-educated man. 144 00:11:55,520 --> 00:12:01,560 He was not a country bumpkin, although God called him on the backside of the wilderness. 145 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:06,520 He was a man who was a skilled writer, and as he writes the book of Genesis, you see 146 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:09,960 the careful thought that he put into this. 147 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:14,400 The Spirit of God, of course, directing and superintending his work so that what we have 148 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:19,980 is the inerrant word of the living God. 149 00:12:19,980 --> 00:12:26,480 But Moses' mind is seen in this book, and in the Pentateuch, which he wrote. 150 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:30,320 He chooses seventy here for a literary effect. 151 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:31,320 You say, well why seventy? 152 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:38,400 Well it may well be because in Genesis chapter ten, in the listing of the nations of the 153 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:45,900 earth after the flood, they are counted as seventy. 154 00:12:45,900 --> 00:12:48,680 Now is every people group represented there? 155 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:55,880 Well in one sense, yes, because the number seventy is the number of completion. 156 00:12:55,880 --> 00:13:03,680 And so the seventy that are listed represent the complete list of the nations of the earth, 157 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:06,160 the whole. 158 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:10,440 But there were probably some people groups not listed specifically in Genesis chapter 159 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:14,000 ten, but seventy to represent everybody. 160 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:23,560 And again here, seventy names are on the list to represent everybody in Jacob's family. 161 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:28,200 There may be something more intended here too in Moses' mind. 162 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:37,480 God had begun the seventy nations from one man whose name was Adam. 163 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:46,440 Now God is going to create a new humanity, a redeemed humanity through one man, and that 164 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,400 is Abraham. 165 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:53,440 So God is doing something new here, and as there were the numbering of the nations from 166 00:13:53,440 --> 00:14:01,800 Adam, so we have here the numbering of the descendants from Jacob and from Abraham. 167 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:03,480 What is the insight that we gain here? 168 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:06,960 Well it's one that we've seen time and time again in our study of Genesis. 169 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:12,600 It's this, that God will bless the nations. 170 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:22,600 These sons of Israel, these twelve tribes of Jacob are God's chosen instruments to 171 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:27,040 bring blessing to the earth. 172 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:32,080 God promises to bless all the peoples of the earth through them. 173 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:40,800 And we know that the core of that promise is found in the Messiah who came from Israel, 174 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:44,680 Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. 175 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:50,240 He is the very heart of the promise, but the promise I think goes beyond that, in the blessings 176 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:56,720 that come to the nations of the earth through Israel. 177 00:14:56,720 --> 00:15:01,660 God wants to bless the nations of the earth through you too. 178 00:15:01,660 --> 00:15:09,820 He wants to bless the nations of the earth through your life as you share your faith, 179 00:15:09,820 --> 00:15:15,960 as you serve him in the church, as you give of the increase that God gives to you for 180 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:18,800 missionaries to go throughout the earth. 181 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:26,600 God wants us today to be the ones that he would use to bless the nations of the earth 182 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:34,000 through Jesus Christ and their coming to him in faith. 183 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:39,080 So we have the record of Jacob's family and what that represents. 184 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,840 We come now to verse 28 of chapter 46. 185 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:48,640 And we come to a third way in which God is at work here in this family reunion. 186 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:51,440 It is a reason for Jacob's journey. 187 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:58,120 It begins here in verse 28 and it goes through chapter 47 verse 12. 188 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:01,920 We begin with the continuation of the trip. 189 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:09,160 It says that Jacob sent Judah before him to Joseph to point out the way before him to 190 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:10,160 Goshen. 191 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:18,080 That was that northernmost part of the land of Egypt where Pharaoh had said Joseph's 192 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:21,300 family could reside. 193 00:16:21,300 --> 00:16:26,080 And so he gets directions to Goshen and they came into the land of Goshen. 194 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:32,480 Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. 195 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:42,680 As soon as he appeared before him, he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time. 196 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:47,200 Boy, the emotion in that. 197 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:53,880 Is this young man who is about 40 years of age now sees his father for the first time 198 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:58,120 since he was a teenager. 199 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:00,680 So much has happened in his life. 200 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:04,040 So much to catch up on. 201 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:06,560 So much to review. 202 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:10,840 So many emotions held in for all those years. 203 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:17,480 And now they are released as there is this wonderful reunion of father and son and Joseph 204 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:21,240 weeps on his father's neck. 205 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:28,200 And Israel said to Joseph, now let me die since I have seen your face, that you are 206 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,720 alive, still alive. 207 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:33,600 Jacob says, I am ready to die. 208 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:34,600 I am so happy. 209 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,240 My life is complete. 210 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:42,080 Now that I know that you are alive and I have embraced you again. 211 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,680 You can identify with his heart there, can't you? 212 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:50,520 And Joseph said to his brothers, to his father's household, I will go up and tell Pharaoh and 213 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:56,480 will say to him, my brothers and my father's household have come to me. 214 00:17:56,480 --> 00:18:03,920 And so he goes over the plan here in these last verses of chapter 46 and verse 1 of chapter 215 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:06,520 47, the plan is instituted. 216 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:12,680 Joseph went in and told Pharaoh and said, my father and my brothers and their flocks 217 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,840 and their herds and all that they have have come out of the land of Canaan. 218 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:20,640 And behold, they are in the land of Goshen. 219 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:26,480 And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 220 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:31,160 These are probably the five who would get cleaned up the fastest. 221 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:34,920 And Pharaoh said to his brothers, what is your occupation? 222 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:39,480 And they said to Pharaoh, your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers. 223 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:44,320 And they said to Pharaoh, we have come to sojourn in the land. 224 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:50,640 See, they wanted Pharaoh to understand that they weren't moving there as permanent residents. 225 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:52,600 That might have raised some red flags. 226 00:18:52,600 --> 00:19:00,200 They said, we have come to sojourn here just to be here for a while, for there is no pasture 227 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:01,200 for your servants. 228 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:03,640 Flocks for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. 229 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:07,480 Therefore, please, let your servants live in the land of Goshen. 230 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:13,000 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, your father and your brothers have come to you. 231 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:16,200 The land of Egypt is at your disposal. 232 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:19,360 Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. 233 00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:20,920 Let them live in the land of Goshen. 234 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:27,200 If you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock. 235 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:33,440 He says, if they want to earn their keep and help me out, they can take care of my livestock, 236 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:38,160 because he knew that God's blessing was on this family. 237 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:45,480 And Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh. 238 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,680 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 239 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:50,240 What a scene. 240 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:59,720 This old, old man who is now 130 years old enters into the presence of this great leader 241 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:03,400 of the nation of Egypt and blesses him. 242 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:06,680 And Pharaoh said to him, how old are you? 243 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:13,760 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, the years of my sojourning are 130. 244 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:20,080 Few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years 245 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:23,400 that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning. 246 00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:25,880 He was right. 247 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:36,120 His father lived what was 180 years, and his grandfather 175 years, and Jacob is 130. 248 00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:40,680 So he's simply saying, I haven't lived as long as my predecessors. 249 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:47,600 And he says, my years have been few in comparison to them, and they've been unpleasant. 250 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:53,280 I don't know that Jacob here is complaining so much as he's simply telling the truth. 251 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:57,920 His life has not been easy. 252 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:01,880 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence. 253 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:05,660 I'm sure the conversation was longer than this, but this is what the Spirit of God chooses 254 00:21:05,660 --> 00:21:07,840 for us to know. 255 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:12,200 And then notice again that he blesses Pharaoh as he leaves. 256 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:17,040 And so Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of 257 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:25,280 Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Ramses, as Pharaoh had ordered. 258 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:29,320 And Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food 259 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:32,760 according to their little ones. 260 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:37,900 What we have here is a reason for Jacob's journey. 261 00:21:37,900 --> 00:21:42,540 The reuniting with Joseph, as emotional as it was, was only a sidebar really in this 262 00:21:42,540 --> 00:21:43,920 whole text. 263 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:48,240 Notice how much is given to that one incident and how much is said regarding what happens 264 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:52,040 in Pharaoh's presence. 265 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:58,920 Now the reason for his journey can be explained first in the immediate sense. 266 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:04,680 It was obviously to provide food for Jacob and his family. 267 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:07,880 They were there for a sojourn so that they could be taken care of. 268 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:15,580 And Pharaoh gives to them the very best of the land of Egypt. 269 00:22:15,580 --> 00:22:28,920 Notice here that although Pharaoh was an idolater, let's put it that way, God still used him. 270 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:35,280 God used him to provide for Jacob and his family. 271 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:40,160 Sometimes we think that only people who are Christians can be used of God to bless us 272 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:44,480 in political office. 273 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:46,880 That isn't the case. 274 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:57,360 God is able to use a Pharaoh or a Nebuchadnezzar or any leader he wishes to bless us. 275 00:22:57,360 --> 00:23:03,700 And he does use an idolater here to care for his people. 276 00:23:03,700 --> 00:23:08,240 God uses people other than believers to accomplish his ends. 277 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:12,640 There's the immediate sense in which the reason for his journey is to care for the family. 278 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:17,480 But there is a historic sense here in which I want to answer the question too, the reason 279 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:19,280 for Jacob's journey. 280 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:22,880 A historic sense. 281 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:29,280 Because you see it was to position the descendants of Abraham for the prophecy that is given 282 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:30,280 in chapter 15. 283 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:39,240 And I want you to turn back there with me to Genesis chapter 15. 284 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:43,840 God is in this text speaking with Abraham. 285 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:49,760 You may remember that God appeared to him and then there was this deep darkness that 286 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:53,400 came upon Abraham. 287 00:23:53,400 --> 00:24:00,360 In verse 13, God said to Abraham, know for certain that your descendants will be strangers 288 00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:10,340 in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for hundred years. 289 00:24:10,340 --> 00:24:15,200 But I will also judge the nation whom they serve. 290 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:20,980 And afterward they will come out with many possessions. 291 00:24:20,980 --> 00:24:28,400 And in verse 16 he says, in the fourth generation they shall return here, that is to Canaan. 292 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:34,000 God had given that word to Abram, Jacob's grandfather. 293 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:39,960 So what God is doing here, the greater reason for Jacob's journey beyond the immediate sense 294 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:41,840 is this historic sense. 295 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:50,540 God is positioning the family, the descendants of Abraham for the fulfillment of that prophecy. 296 00:24:50,540 --> 00:24:58,040 And through the years of suffering and enslavement that were ahead of them, God would unite them 297 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:00,000 as a people. 298 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:07,320 They would not be these various family groupings, the descendants of Abraham, but they would 299 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:14,100 come together as a people, as a nation, and God would multiply them. 300 00:25:14,100 --> 00:25:18,880 Over that period of time the 70 people or so that went into Egypt became two million 301 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:25,760 people strong to be led out as a nation under Moses. 302 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:27,800 What is the insight that we gain here? 303 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:33,760 It is this, that God will provide for His own. 304 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:39,160 We've seen this before in Joseph's life and in the book of Genesis, how the God faithfully 305 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:40,700 provides for His own. 306 00:25:40,700 --> 00:25:43,320 He does it here. 307 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:49,840 God provides through prosperity sometimes, as He does here as they come to Egypt and 308 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:51,920 they're cared for. 309 00:25:51,920 --> 00:26:00,000 God also provides for His own through problems sometimes. 310 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:07,440 Because you see the problems that were ahead were also God's plan. 311 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:10,060 The enslavement was what God was doing. 312 00:26:10,060 --> 00:26:12,000 He was providing for His people. 313 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,360 Now it was a strange way to provide, wasn't it? 314 00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:18,880 But you see God was providing in that way for them to come together as a people, as 315 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:25,920 a nation, so that they could then go back to Canaan and establish the theocracy that 316 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:28,080 God had in mind. 317 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:34,280 I recall the promises that God gave to Jacob when he was praying at Beersheba. 318 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:36,480 Three times God said, I will do this. 319 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:38,880 I will go down with you. 320 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:39,880 I will come up with you. 321 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:41,120 I will care for you. 322 00:26:41,120 --> 00:26:43,160 I will. 323 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:46,280 God always provides for His own. 324 00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:50,440 God will always provide for you if you're His child. 325 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,840 It won't always be God's provision of prosperity. 326 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:58,160 Sometimes it will be God's provision of problems because God knows that at the moment that's 327 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:02,480 what you need. 328 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:08,140 God is not nearly as concerned with our comfort as He is with our character. 329 00:27:08,140 --> 00:27:13,800 So God provides for what we need at the moment. 330 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:20,200 Let's move ahead into the family reunion text and deal with verses 13 through 26 now 331 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:26,920 of chapter 47 where we have a recognition of Jacob's son. 332 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:33,200 Moses leaves behind, at least for the moment, the narrative about the family of Jacob. 333 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:39,760 And he inserts information here in these verses about Joseph's rise in authority and how he 334 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:44,760 extended the rule of Pharaoh over the Egyptian people. 335 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:47,120 Remember there have been seven years of prosperity. 336 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:49,720 There are now to be seven years of famine. 337 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:55,120 Two of those years have passed when Jacob and his family come to Egypt. 338 00:27:55,120 --> 00:28:02,000 So there are five years yet of famine throughout that part of the world. 339 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:09,240 And so these verses basically tell what happens during those last five years and how that 340 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:16,960 through his wise leadership Joseph cares for the people. 341 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:25,560 Now in doing this, he also brings the people into servitude to Pharaoh. 342 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:31,960 And so there are people who criticize Joseph because he really builds the power of Pharaoh. 343 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:38,600 Eventually Pharaoh owns everything and the people have to sell all that they have in 344 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,760 order to have food. 345 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:47,400 And that doesn't read well in our 20th century democracy. 346 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:54,080 But you see it was right for Egypt then. 347 00:28:54,080 --> 00:29:00,320 We make a mistake when we take our values and we try to force them into scripture, into 348 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:06,720 the historical and cultural context of that day. 349 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:11,760 What Joseph did was the right thing to do and it actually built the power of Egypt. 350 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:18,600 It brought the people of Egypt together under Pharaoh's leadership. 351 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:20,860 And Joseph rose in power. 352 00:29:20,860 --> 00:29:27,640 He was widely recognized and he cared for his own family in Goshen. 353 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:31,240 Why does Moses insert this? 354 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:34,020 I asked myself that question. 355 00:29:34,020 --> 00:29:41,200 It seems to be a strange piece of information to put just where he does in the flow of material. 356 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:48,800 It seems to me that what Moses wants to do here is to show us that Joseph acted not only 357 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:58,320 as the Savior of his family in being sent by God into Egypt before them, but that he 358 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:06,480 acts here also as the Savior of the entire nation of Egypt. 359 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:14,800 Because you see he is weaving into the story of Joseph how he is like our Savior, the Lord 360 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:17,960 Jesus Christ. 361 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:22,400 He is the Savior of his family and of a nation, the Savior of their lives. 362 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:29,000 Of course, our Savior is one who gives to us eternal life and provides eternal blessing. 363 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:35,160 But there are some parallelisms between Christ and what we have seen in Joseph. 364 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:43,400 He was rejected by his brethren too, Jesus was, and he suffered at their hands. 365 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:56,000 Like Joseph, he, Jesus, was unrecognized by his brethren in his first coming. 366 00:30:56,000 --> 00:31:03,000 Like Joseph, he will reveal himself to his brothers at his return, his second coming. 367 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:10,920 And his brethren, Israel, will bow before him. 368 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:15,220 And one final parallel that really fits what I am talking about here is this, that his 369 00:31:15,220 --> 00:31:21,680 saving rule and blessing will extend beyond the sons of Israel to embrace the nations 370 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:22,680 of the earth. 371 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:27,880 And I think that is at the heart of why Moses puts this here. 372 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:33,320 Again, he wants us to see that Joseph is not only the Savior of Israel and his family, 373 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:36,140 he is the Savior of Egypt. 374 00:31:36,140 --> 00:31:42,040 Just as the Lord Jesus Christ is not only the Messiah and Savior of Israel, who rejected 375 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:47,800 him the first time, but will receive him the second time, he is the Savior and the Messiah 376 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:53,580 for the whole world, which Egypt here represents. 377 00:31:53,580 --> 00:31:56,600 So what is the insight that we gain here? 378 00:31:56,600 --> 00:32:04,820 It's one that we saw two or three weeks ago, and it's this, that God will bless character. 379 00:32:04,820 --> 00:32:08,360 God will bless character. 380 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:10,240 Joseph was a man of character. 381 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:14,440 God blessed him and used him. 382 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:18,960 We can't even compare human character to that of the Lord Jesus Christ in His perfect 383 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:22,680 humanness and His deity. 384 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:30,480 But His character as the eternal God-man qualifies Him to be used by God to save all of those 385 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:33,320 that come to Him. 386 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:35,540 God blesses character. 387 00:32:35,540 --> 00:32:40,200 God blesses your character too. 388 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:45,640 And even though there are times when, because you have values and personal standards that 389 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:54,420 get you disfavored in your neighborhood or in your relationships or at work, never lay 390 00:32:54,420 --> 00:33:02,020 aside your character and your values for temporary gain. 391 00:33:02,020 --> 00:33:08,680 God will always in the long run bless the man or the woman of character. 392 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:13,480 An important insight. 393 00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:20,040 Finally, verses 27 to 31, we see a request for Jacob's burial. 394 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:25,200 I want to read some of that. 395 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:29,160 Israel had lived in that land of Goshen and had acquired property. 396 00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:31,080 They were fruitful, very numerous. 397 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:36,640 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt, verse 28, 17 years. 398 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:41,800 And so the length of Jacob's life was 147 years. 399 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:45,840 And the time for Israel to die drew near. 400 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:51,120 He called his son Joseph and said to him, please, if I have found favor in your sight, 401 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:56,640 place now your hand under my thigh and deal with me in kindness and faithfulness. 402 00:33:56,640 --> 00:34:05,000 This was a way, a Semitic way of making an oath, of swearing something, promising. 403 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:09,640 He says, please, do not bury me in Egypt. 404 00:34:09,640 --> 00:34:17,480 But when I lie down with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their 405 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:19,060 burial place. 406 00:34:19,060 --> 00:34:22,540 Talking about his ancestors. 407 00:34:22,540 --> 00:34:25,880 And he, Joseph said, I will do as you have said. 408 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:28,880 And he said, swear to me. 409 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,360 And so he swore to him. 410 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:35,880 Then Israel bowed and worshiped the head of the bed. 411 00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:42,840 Here Moses returns now to the story of Jacob to summarize the final years of his life. 412 00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:47,880 Warren Wiersbe has an interesting paragraph regarding this. 413 00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:53,760 He says, the Jewish proverb says, for the ignorant, old age is winter. 414 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:58,240 But for the learned, it is a harvest. 415 00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:01,760 Jacob was now 130 years old, soon to be 147. 416 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:06,680 And during those years, he had learned many important lessons about God, himself and other 417 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:10,760 people, especially his sons. 418 00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:15,400 Some of those lessons in the school of life had been difficult to learn and Jacob hadn't 419 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:18,000 always passed every test successfully. 420 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:26,280 But now, thanks to God, thanks to God's goodness and Joseph's faithfulness, Jacob would reap 421 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:30,720 a rich harvest in Egypt during the next 17 years. 422 00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:35,720 His closing years wouldn't bring winter with its cold and storms. 423 00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:41,880 Jacob's sunset years would be as the autumn, with the warm golden sunshine of peace and 424 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:44,200 the bounties of God's gracious harvest. 425 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:49,160 And that's what we see here. 426 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:50,160 Jacob is now 147. 427 00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:56,840 It's time to die and he has a funeral arrangement to make with Joseph. 428 00:35:56,840 --> 00:36:01,840 I notice that he did not approach death looking backward. 429 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:07,280 He approached death looking forward, looking ahead, believing that God would keep his promises 430 00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:10,360 to his family. 431 00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:16,420 He made his funeral arrangements to symbolize that. 432 00:36:16,420 --> 00:36:22,760 He said, Joseph, swear to me that you will bury me in Canaan. 433 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:28,760 Why was that important, where he was going to be buried? 434 00:36:28,760 --> 00:36:34,120 Because he believed in the resurrection and he wanted to be resurrected in the place of 435 00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:37,120 blessing. 436 00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:40,880 Canaan. 437 00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:48,280 He wanted to be resurrected to share in the fulfillment of the promises that were yet 438 00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:50,400 to be fulfilled. 439 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:57,800 It is a powerful statement of his faith. 440 00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:05,800 Most of us, hopefully all of us, make a last will and testament and we decide who's going 441 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:12,000 to get what if we don't spend it all before. 442 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:17,600 There's one step that most people don't take that Jacob does here that I want to exhort 443 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:23,520 you to take and that is to prepare your own funeral. 444 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:28,800 You say, well that sounds like it's macabre. 445 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:31,480 It sounds bizarre. 446 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:37,840 I might hasten it if I do that. 447 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:48,840 Let somebody know what you would like to have said, what you would like to have sung at 448 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:52,680 your funeral service. 449 00:37:52,680 --> 00:38:00,040 Because that is your last opportunity to make a statement of faith in Jesus Christ. 450 00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:03,600 And it's possible that that can be blown. 451 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:12,200 I've seen it blown big time with family members who didn't appreciate dad or mom's faith. 452 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:18,480 Consequently, the funeral service did not say much about Jesus Christ or about God's 453 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:23,140 faithfulness to the parent. 454 00:38:23,140 --> 00:38:24,520 Make your plans. 455 00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:30,320 Let people know what you want to be a part of that last opportunity for testimony. 456 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:32,400 It's a good thing to do. 457 00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:37,080 Now the insight that I see here finally is this, that God will keep His promises. 458 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:45,120 Haven't we seen that all the way through our study of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, that 459 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:46,720 God will keep His promises. 460 00:38:46,720 --> 00:38:50,440 And Jacob dies. 461 00:38:50,440 --> 00:38:58,480 He's going to bless his children first before we get there, but he dies believing, trusting, 462 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,280 knowing that God will keep His promises. 463 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:02,920 What a great way to die. 464 00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:08,080 What a great testimony to go with. 465 00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:14,280 Well let me just say in closing that God did a lot in this family. 466 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:19,720 And at this family reunion we see God bringing together the themes that He's been trying 467 00:39:19,720 --> 00:39:24,120 to teach them and us. 468 00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:25,120 God is at work in them. 469 00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:28,800 But I have a question for you. 470 00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:38,240 Because you see, God not only saves us personally, but He works in family units. 471 00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:39,240 God works in families. 472 00:39:39,240 --> 00:39:40,540 And I have a question for you. 473 00:39:40,540 --> 00:39:49,440 What is God teaching you and your family in your present experiences? 474 00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:53,940 What is God teaching you in what you're passing through? 475 00:39:53,940 --> 00:39:57,440 Are you listening to God? 476 00:39:57,440 --> 00:39:59,040 Are you trusting God? 477 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:05,600 Are you obeying God? 478 00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:08,940 God bless the family of Jacob. 479 00:40:08,940 --> 00:40:12,480 God wants to bless you and your family. 480 00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:16,200 For Him to bless us, we need to listen. 481 00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:17,940 We need to trust. 482 00:40:17,940 --> 00:40:20,200 We need to obey. 483 00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:21,840 God help us to do that. 484 00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:26,600 Let's pray together. 485 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:32,680 As we have attended this family reunion with Jacob, and we've been reminded of what God 486 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:38,840 has been trying to teach this family through the insights that we've looked at, maybe 487 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:43,580 God has said something fresh to you this morning. 488 00:40:43,580 --> 00:40:49,440 What is God trying to teach you in your experiences? 489 00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:54,400 What is God saying to your family? 490 00:40:54,400 --> 00:41:00,560 Will you say to Him this morning, as Jacob did, here am I, Lord? 491 00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:02,680 God said, Jacob, Jacob. 492 00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:04,880 God's calling you to... 493 00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:06,640 Will you say, here am I? 494 00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:08,900 Are you listening? 495 00:41:08,900 --> 00:41:11,900 Are you trusting? 496 00:41:11,900 --> 00:41:19,360 Are you obeying and doing what God told you to do? 497 00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:23,320 Will you make that your commitment this morning? 498 00:41:23,320 --> 00:41:30,280 Let's stand together, please, with our heads bowed. 499 00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:40,880 Father, we stand at the close of this service in recognition that You are the Mighty One. 500 00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:45,440 You are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 501 00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:53,320 You have grafted us into that family because of our faith in Jesus Christ. 502 00:41:53,320 --> 00:42:00,400 We too are the children of Abraham who have trusted in Jesus. 503 00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:12,880 Father, I pray that as Father Abraham learned to trust and obey, so will we. 504 00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:16,920 Whatever it is you are trying to write into our lives and write into the lives of our 505 00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:23,280 family members, we open ourselves to that work. 506 00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:26,320 Teach us. 507 00:42:26,320 --> 00:42:27,320 Strengthen us. 508 00:42:27,320 --> 00:42:28,840 Lead us. 509 00:42:28,840 --> 00:42:31,160 We will trust. 510 00:42:31,160 --> 00:42:39,360 By Your grace, we will obey because we want to walk in the place of blessing. 511 00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:59,760 Amen.