For those of you who don't know, I am Pastor
Nathan, and we're going to be looking at Genesis
chapter 46 today, talking about the tension of
the unknown, right? A lot of us that are going
to be watching the Super Bowl today are going
to be dealing with that tension. Will my team
win? Will they not win? Right? God loves me.
I'm praying for my team, but God also loves the
other guy praying for the other team. So what's
he going to do in all those things, right? And
then, of course, we're all representing our own
teams that we're fans of and stuff. And so we
all know tension. But the kind of tension I'm
talking about is kind of like, have you ever
been in that moment where the next step, you're
making a decision, and the next step looks very
obvious, right? It's all working out on paper.
You've done pros and cons, whatever. And you're
like, of course. It's obviously the right decision.
but you still are unsettled inside. There's still
something that is causing you to hesitate. I'm
not just talking about crisis moments or moral
dilemmas. I'm just talking about everyday decisions.
You know, decisions we all face like, should
we move or not move? Should we take a different
job? Or, you know, maybe there's a relationship
shift that God is putting on your heart. And,
you know, but those things where it's just a
season seems to be ending and a new season seems
to be opening up. And, you know, you're trying
to evaluate, should I make this decision or that
decision? Like I said, it all makes sense on
paper. You've gotten counsel even, and the people
around you are like, oh yeah, of course, you
know, the decision that you want to make is the
right one. And yet still, in the quiet moments,
you're still unsettled. There's still something
there. And it's not that you're afraid of the
opportunity. I think that still unsettled moment
is simply because there's a question that lingers
is, is this what God wants me to do? Is this
the direction that God wants me to go? And some
of us know that feeling very well. You know,
we could be very eager but cautious. We could
be hopeful but uneasy. We could be ready to jump
into something, but that uneasiness, I think,
is, I believe, is really spawned from an unwillingness
for the believer to step into things without
knowing God is in it, right? You know, God, I
just want to know it's you. I want to make the
decision you want me to make. And this is where
Jacob finds himself in Genesis chapter 46 this
morning. You know, the wagons are packed. The
family is loaded up. He is ready to go back to
Egypt to be reunited with his son Joseph. Of
course it's a good decision, right? Of course
I want to go see my son. Jacob might be thinking,
but... He does something very unexpected in the
beginning of the story. He stops at the very
beginning of the journey, and it's not because
he's doubting his son Joseph in Egypt. It's not
even because he's unsure of the truth of what
the brothers have told him. It's not because
he's indecisive, but it's because Jacob knows
something about himself, that if he moves without
God, even good things can become very costly
things. And Jacob has learned this over and over
in his life. And over the last 22 years of his
life, grieving the loss of his son Joseph, thinking
he was dead, everything is pointing to obviously
get up and go. But this decision for Jacob was
leaving the promised land to go to Egypt. And
even though everything made sense, everything
looked great, there was still that moment where
he knew he needed to inquire of the Lord first.
And some of us need to hear that this morning,
right? We can make moves in our lives that make
absolute sense, whether it's to be reunited with
somebody, whether it's a financial sense, whether
it's a move, right? So many people are moving
out of California, and I get it, right? This
state is difficult. This state is the mission
field now. That's what California has become
for us, the church. But some people will make
decisions and just go, oh, it all makes sense
on paper, but they never talk to the Lord about
it. They never inquire of the Lord, and then
they might move and chase provision and lose
peace. You know, we can arrive in Egypt, so to
speak, and wonder why God feels farther away
than ever before. And so what we're going to
see in the word today is just a great encouragement
that, you know, before we as God's people just
rush into things, especially those things that
make sense on paper, we should pause long enough
to seek him. We should pause long enough to say,
God, is this what you want? We should pause long
enough to hear him say to us, as he's gonna say
to Jacob today, do not be afraid. I'm going with
you. And I'm gonna be there with you, and I'm
gonna bring you back. You see, doing what makes
sense to us on paper is great. We're called to
use our brains. We're called to evaluate and
all this stuff. But at the same time, we can
rush into things based upon our own wisdom and
forget to inquire about the Lord. James says
in chapter four, verse 13, he says, come now
you who say today or tomorrow, we will travel
to such and such a city and spend a year there
and do business and make a profit. Yet you do
not know what tomorrow will bring. what your
life will be. For you are like a vapor that appears
for a little while and then vanishes. Instead,
you should say, if the Lord wills, we will live
and do this or that. So today, let us learn from
Jacob to pause in our living, in our planning,
to take a beat, no matter how obvious certain
decisions may seem, to stop and inquire of the
Lord. And to take that moment to say, hey, God,
this all makes sense to me, but I want your will
above everything. I want to know what you want
me to do above everything. And to seek him as
a habit. To make that a part of our habit as
Christians. To seek him in every decision because,
you know, his will is the most important thing
to follow. And there are times in our lives where
it might make perfect sense on paper, but that's
not God's will for us. And he might say, I want
you to do this instead, even though it doesn't
make sense to you. And we've learned over and
over and over through the Bible that God's will
is always the perfect will. Amen? So that's what
we're going to be looking at today. But before
we get into the word, we're going to spend some
time in worship. And I encourage you guys today,
before you go worship the football, let's worship
the Lord. All right? He is the one that deserves
our first and full focus. And we are here today
to hear from him, to worship together, to celebrate
together what he has done in our lives. And he
deserves that focus. He deserves that adoration.
And so that's what we're going to do. Let's pray.
Father, we love you so much. And we're so thankful,
God, for your presence in our lives. And Lord,
we've learned over and over and we've seen in
your word, God, that Your desire is to guide
us and to direct us and your presence is with
us always. That you are walking beside us, Lord,
the Holy Spirit, you dwell within us. And yet
we can find ourselves going through life leaving
you out of our decisions. And sometimes we find
ourselves only including you in the decisions
that we feel are big decisions or difficult decisions.
But God, when it's a decision that we feel like
we have it figured out already, sometimes we
don't inquire. And Lord, I think that's a potentially
dangerous habit for us, God, because Lord, you
know all things we don't. That God, as we may
make plans to travel here and there, to go here,
to move here, to take this job, to whatever it
may be, Lord, the reality, God, according to
your word, is that we don't know what tomorrow
will bring. And so God, instead, help us to be
people that start every decision where if the
Lord wills, then we will do this or that. So
speak to us today, God, and encourage us from
this story here in Jacob's life as he's taking
his family back to Egypt for what is going to
be a glorious reunion with his long -lost son,
Lord. but that we would learn the lesson that
even when our emotions are high and we're excited
and our desire is high, and it's just everything
is pointing to the decision being the right thing,
Lord, that we would learn to take a beat, to
worship, to seek you, to know your will, that
we would step in every direction through this
life in utter confidence, God, that we're doing
what you want us to do. We love you. We thank
you. We praise you, Lord. We ask that you would
be blessed by us, your people, as we worship
you today. And we ask you to bless us as well.
It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Today we are
in Genesis 46. You know, the story in Genesis
has been building towards a climax, a big moment
here. We started with Joseph, the favored son,
who was betrayed by his brothers, sold for silver.
presumed dead for 20 plus years by his father.
And all the while, Jacob, his father, has just
been grieving and grieving. He's given up hope.
He's let go of the thought that things would
ever be better because he lost his favorite son.
But through all of this, we've seen that God
has been working. God has been building a foundation.
God has been moving the pieces on the chessboard,
if you will, to accomplish his will in people's
lives. And so Joseph, you know, we had been studying
that after he was sold into slavery, he ended
up in Potiphar's house. Then he was falsely accused
and went to the... went to prison, and then he
went from prison to Pharaoh's palace and became
number two in all of Egypt. And what has been
happening is just through all the famines and
dreams and divine timing, God has been positioning
Joseph to preserve life. on a massive, massive
scale, right? This famine hit the land and it
spread across the world. And it was this famine
that drove Joseph's brothers to Egypt in the
first place to seek out food because God had
used Joseph to plan ahead and to store up grain
for this famine. And so they got food and then
they went back home and ran out and had to go
back to Egypt where they were tested and transformed
and finally faced their sin, Joseph finally revealed
himself to his brothers. It's me, Joseph, right?
Your long lost brother. And then Joseph said
something very important where Joseph had come
to learn that despite all the difficulty and
the challenge and all the disappointing circumstances
that he said to them, God sent me before you
to preserve life. That Joseph in his life had
learned that God's providence is always at work.
That behind the things that we might think are
just, oh, they're just things happening in life,
it was actually God's hand moving for a purpose.
And so the brothers then return home with wagons
and grain and news that Jacob never thought he
would hear. Joseph is alive. Wow. And so now
at 130 years old, Jacob is facing a huge decision.
The decision to leave the promised land to go
see the son that he so loves. The son that he
thought was gone forever. The son he's now just
learned is alive, whom he could see again. But
not only that, to save his family from starvation
here in the land of Canaan from this famine.
Jacob's perspective, it possibly looked too good
to be true, right? Have we ever been in those
types of situations where things seem to come
together in a way and we're like, oh my gosh,
you know, this is great. This is obviously the
right decision. This is the thing we should do.
And this decision for Jacob was a huge one because
it meant leaving the promised land. which was
counterintuitive because that was exactly the
place God said, I'm giving you this land and
your descendants are gonna populate this land
and this is the land of my promises. And yet
for years at this point, they had been living
in this famine, driven to the point of starvation.
And now before him is this decision. My son is
over there in Egypt and I so wanna see him, but
it means nothing. Leaving the promised land.
It means stepping away from this place that I've
been told and my father was told and my grandfather
was told is God's place, where God wants us.
God, is this a move you want me to make? I mean,
obviously, my son and being reunited with him,
like, yeah, who would say anything's wrong with
that? Lord, are you in this? Is this what you
want from me? And that's the decision that brings
us to Genesis 46, which is a pause in the journey,
an altar, and a question. Is this move truly
from you, Lord? So Genesis 46, verse one. It
says, Israel set out with all that he had and
came to Beersheba, and he offered sacrifices
to the God of his father, Isaac. Now Beersheba,
if you remember, is kind of the southern border
of the promised land. This is not just a pit
stop, right? Beersheba is not the, all right,
we're at the beginning of the road trip. Let's
get some beef jerky and Funyuns and stuff, you
know, because Egypt's a long way away. This is
not a random stop. Beersheba was sacred ground
to the people of Israel. This was a place where
Abraham had planted a tree and called on the
name of the Lord here in this land. This is the
place where Isaac had built an altar and received
divine assurance that I'm with you and I've given
you this land and all of that. This was also
the place, incidentally, that Jacob himself had
fled from earlier in his life when he stole the
blessing and the birthright from his brother
Esau. and his brother was so mad he wanted to
kill him, where Jacob fled this, really just
running from consequences of his own actions,
and this place matters. This place had so much
history with Jacob and his family, and Jacob
knew the family history, right? Jacob knew that
his grandfather Abraham once went down to Egypt
during a famine, and it wasn't a good thing.
He almost lost his wife. He almost lost everything
when he went down to Egypt, left the promised
land. That was in Jacob's head. Getting to Beersheba
was a reminder of that. Jacob also knew that
his dad Isaac was explicitly forbidden by God
from leaving the promised land. Don't ever leave
the promised land. Don't ever go down to Egypt
like Abraham did. And for Jacob, put yourself
in Jacob's shoes, hmm, that's exactly what we're
about to do. We're about to leave the promised
land and go to Egypt. Now, on the other side
of that equation, my son, right? How could this
be a bad decision? But all this family history
was coming back, and it was not a secret that
Egypt was a very powerful, prosperous place.
but it was also radically pagan. And so, on top
of all this information that Jacob knew about
his family history, he also knew the prophecy
that God had given his father Abraham. The prophecy
that said, hey, Abraham's descendants will one
day be foreigners in a foreign land and be enslaved
for 400 years. Can you imagine all these details
piling up in Jacob's head where he's like, My
son. Oh, man. Abraham went there and it was a
bad thing. I mean, God told my dad, don't you
dare go there. And now I'm going to willingly
pack up my whole family and go? Is this where
we're going to be enslaved? Big decision. But
he does something very, very wise. He does something
that I think is unfortunately not as common as
it should be within the body of Christ with God's
people. He puts the brakes on his excitement.
He puts the brakes on his desire to see his son
again. He puts his brakes on all the emotions
to seek the Lord. And this is what it says here
that when he stopped there, it says he offered
sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. I
think that's a nod to the fact that God had told
his father Isaac, never leave the land. And he's
like, okay, God who told my dad never leave the
land, I'm about to leave the land. And offering
sacrifices, this was... This is the picture of
seeking the Lord, of inquiring of the Lord. This
is the picture of coming to God in worship and
saying, okay, Lord, I need to know what you want
me to do here. I need to know if this is your
will. And God answers, verse two. That night,
God spoke to Israel in a vision. Jacob, Jacob,
he said. And Jacob replied, here I am. God said,
I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid
to go down to Egypt for I will make you into
a great nation there. I will go down with you
to Egypt and I will also bring you back. Joseph
will close your eyes when you die. Now when the
Bible repeats things, it's often a picture that
God is saying pay attention, right? You know,
like when Jesus would say, you know, in some
of the older translations. Verily, verily, I
say to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, right?
When you see those types of repetitions, it means,
hey, what's about to follow is important. Pay
attention. And then when he goes, Jacob, Jacob,
that's not only pay attention, but I'm speaking
to you personally. You've inquired of me. I'm
answering you. Now, he starts with the reminder
that we all need to hear so very often. The answer
starts with, I am God. In a sense, what he is
saying, as Jacob is making sacrifice and offering
to the Lord and seeking the Lord, he's going,
good job, Jacob. You're coming to the right place.
I'm God. You're acknowledging that. I'm acknowledging
that. Yes, I am the God who told your dad never
leave this place. I am the God who told your
dad do not go down to Egypt under any circumstances.
I am him, but I am God. And that is the right
place to start when we inquire of the Lord. It's
the right place to start in prayer. God, you're
awesome. You're so almighty. You're amazing.
You're infinite. You are God. And I start there
with that acknowledgement. And so God is coming
back and going to Jacob, yes, I'm God. I am the
one here. I'm reminding you of that. And then
he says right after that, he says, don't be afraid.
And that tells us that Jacob had fears, right?
That's why we could surmise there was these things
he was worried about that he was afraid of, and
he had these worries about this trip. But then
God gives him four assurances that address those
fears that he has. And so the first thing he
says to him is, I will make you a great nation
there. I will make you a great nation. The whole
thought for the family was, God's gonna make
us a great nation here in the promised land.
He's gonna make us a great nation here where
he's brought us and where our family is and the
land he's given to us. But God's going, don't
be afraid to go down there, because that's where
I'm going to make you a great nation. Kind of
shocking, I imagine, to Jacob. That God is saying,
you're going to become a great nation, just like
the prophecy. Like the fear, I believe, was,
the prophecy said we're going to be enslaved
for 400 years, and God is going, don't forget
the rest of the prophecy. The rest of the prophecy
is I'm going to make you into a great nation,
but I'm going to do it over there. I'm not going
to do it here in the promised land. I'm going
to do it in Egypt. That's kind of interesting,
right? That they would become the people that
God had called them to be in the place of incubation,
not in the destination. But that's what happens
here with us in this world, right? Egypt being
a type of the world, we are here in this world.
We live here, and God is molding us and shaping
us here. We're one day gonna go to the promised
land, we're gonna be in heaven, but here is where
he's shaping us. Here is where he's molding us.
Here is where he's teaching us to obey him and
to hear his voice. It's here in this place. Now,
yeah, when we get there, all things are gonna
be complete and fulfilled, but sometimes as Christians,
we could get caught up in the, well, I'll be
godly when I get to heaven. You might not get
to heaven if that's your attitude. I'll get right
when. It's like, no, no, no, just here and now.
God's telling him, what I've told you I'm going
to do is gonna happen. And then he says, I will
go down with you. See, again, Jacob was leaving
the land. Jacob was worried. Am I not supposed
to leave the land? Is that demonstrating a lack
of faith? My son is there, and of course I want
to go see him, and nothing else matters with
that, but hold on, Lord. Is this your will? And
God says, I'm going to go with you there. That
Jacob, I'm reminding you again that you may be
leaving the land, but you're not leaving the
God of the land. Like Jacob had learned that
many times. Remember Bethel? The angel freighted
ladder? God's like, there's nowhere you can go
that I'm not. So don't worry, I'm with you. God
is not geographically limited. You can go anywhere
and God will be with you. When we're making decisions
in life and we take that beat and pause and say,
God, everything looks great. It's what I want.
It's what I desire. But I still have this hesitation.
Are you in it? Is this what you want with me?
Is this where you want me to go? The question
is not, God, if I go do that, will you even be
there? The question is, God, is that where you
want me to go? That's the inquiry here. And so
God is reminding Jacob, yeah, I'm going to. going
to go with you. You're not going to be abandoned.
I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to
forsake you, okay? But then he says, I will also
bring you back. Like the reminder to Jacob, as
Jacob's like, I've got fears, right? If we leave
the promised land, are we ever going to come
back? God, if I go this direction and you're
not in it, I'm worried that that'll be the end
of us and end of the people. And God says, I'm
going to bring you back. Egypt was not the final
destination. Egypt was not home. Now, for Jacob
specifically, yeah, that's going to be where
he dies. But it was a temporary replacement that
had an expiration date for God's people. And
God's promises always include return and restoration
and redemption. But then the fourth fear that
I believe Jacob had, he says, Joseph will close
your eyes when you die. I personally feel like
Jacob's deepest personal fear was dying alone
without those that he loved the most. And what
I mean by that is Jacob had a problem with favoritism.
And so he had these multiple wives, but he had
already lost the one that he really loved. And
then he had all these sons. But he had already
lost Joseph, who was the son of the wife he really
loved, so he was the favorite son. And so I believe
Jacob had this fear that he was gonna die alone,
even though he wasn't physically alone, he was
gonna die without those that he loved the most.
Could be a selfish fear or whatnot, but I just
see here God going, hey, you're gonna be reunited
with your favorite son. And you're gonna be with
him until the time you leave this earth. You
will not die alone. And I just think that's a
beautiful little nod to Jacob's need. That there
was just like this earthly concern that he had
and God's like, I get it. I get it. You know,
sometimes we as Christians, you know, we can
find ourselves I'm not excited to go where God
is calling us to go because, well, there's things
I want to do first, right? Have you ever heard
someone say that? I'm excited to go be with the
Lord in heaven, but I want to, I hope he doesn't
take me before I get married. I hope he doesn't
take me before I have a kid. I hope he doesn't
take me before I get to accomplish this or that
or the other, right? And I think God knows those
things, right? There's a little detail in verse
one where Moses is writing, you know, here where
he says, Israel set out with all he had, right?
Moses has given this honor to Jacob. He's Israel,
he's God's man. But then when he prayed there,
God says, it says God spoke to Israel in a vision
and said, Jacob, Jacob. It's like Moses. I'm
giving him honor. He is Israel, the man of God.
And yet in the recording, God still recognizes
that Jacob's human. Still recognizes he's a little
weak. Still recognizes that he's struggling with
fears that maybe he shouldn't struggle with.
And Jacob has this earthly desire. Like, okay,
God promised land. We're leaving. You're telling
me it's okay. You're telling me you're going
to bring her back. I'm going to ultimately be
with you one day, but can you not take me until...
I see my son again. And God honors that. He just
honored that with him. God needs to be our first
priority. Seeing him needs to be our first priority.
Looking forward to being with him needs to be
our first priority. But God knows the desires
on our hearts. And in God's will and God's timing,
he will address those things as he needs to.
But we also need to understand that Our earthly
desires are nothing compared to when we stand
before the Lord. It's going to be great when
we stand before the Lord. You're going to think
of nothing else. You're going to not be like,
oh man, I wish I got married. This is great,
Lord. Eternity, perfection, peace, joy, glory.
Yeah, but I really wanted a Corvette. I never
got to have a Corvette, you know. I like Corvettes.
That's my favorite car. I don't know if I'll
ever get one. But I'll make, hey Lord, you know,
it'd be cool if you gave me a Corvette one day.
Maybe I'll have one in heaven, I don't know.
But that's not a bigger priority than God, I
can't wait to see you. You know, and so he acknowledges
this earthly desire that Joseph had, or Jacob
had, and he honors it there. You're gonna see
your son and you're not gonna die alone. And
you know, while all this is taking place and
Jacob's had these 22 years of worrying about,
you know, my son is dead and all hope is lost
and everything's done. His son Joseph, on the
other side of the equation, had been living a
life that is an example to us of how to live,
right? He was sold as a slave at 17. He was falsely
accused. He was forgotten in prison. But throughout
Joseph's story, what we've seen is these things
are happening to Joseph, and he's going, okay,
I don't have all the information yet, but I trust
in God's providence. this feels unfair, but I'm
not going to give up on my Christianity. I'm
not going to give up on my faith and my hope.
You know, he's been in this place where he trusted
God and walked with God, even though he didn't
have all the answers. He was just kind of always
waiting for information. And then years later,
one day standing before Pharaoh, he finally understood
it. Oh. God sent me here to preserve life. That's
what this has all been about. Jacob, on the other
side, never learned that lesson, right? He was
the one who got to the point where he's like,
I'm done. It's over. I have no hope. I'm sad.
I'm despondent. And he just simply replayed pain
over and over and over instead of trusting in
God's providence. But here, in this chapter at
Beersheba, we finally see that Jacob is accepting
what his son Joseph had learned over and over
again, that God is always moving supernaturally,
even through mundane circumstances. And so he
takes a beat to say, okay, before I move forward,
before I jump in, before I go after what I think
is right or whatever, God, I'm just gonna stop
and say, is this where you want me to go? Is
this the decision you want me to make? Because
he's finally understanding. If I look back through
all these circumstances, wow, God, I could see
your hand moving. And some of us need to file
that truth away in our minds today. Again, God
is working. Don't be Jacob and give up hope,
but be in the place where you'll say, okay, I
don't understand, but I'll come to you and ask
God. I'll inquire. Or God, I have this decision
that makes sense to me, but I'll... I'm going
to come and ask you first to just be in this
place of regular turning to the Lord in faith,
not expecting every answer or every explanation,
but just the patience to say, God, I trust you.
So, verse 5, God speaks to Jacob. Jacob's like,
okay, we're good to go. And then it says, Jacob
left Beersheba. The sons of Israel took their
father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to
carry him along with their dependents and their
wives. They also took their cattle and possessions
they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Then
Jacob and all his offspring with him came to
Egypt, his sons and grandsons, his daughters
and granddaughters. Indeed, all his offspring
he brought with him to Egypt. Jacob brings everyone.
He doesn't leave anybody behind just in case.
We should always inquire of the Lord in our decision
making. And when God answers, obey. It was clear.
God answered him. He spoke to him, right? So
Jacob's like, okay, let's go. He's not going,
well, I'm going to leave some of the family behind
just in case this doesn't work out. That's not
faith, right? We can't stand in obedience with
God with one foot in and go, God, I'm all in
with one foot while the other one is still over
here just in case, right? And so we should inquire.
We should take our plans like Jacob. Okay, I've
got to go to Egypt. I'm not sure if this is the
right one. Or in Joseph's case where he was like,
these things are happening and I'm not sure what
they mean. But we take all that to the Lord and
inquire and say, God, is this what you want?
What are you doing? Where do you want me to go?
How do you want me to do it? But when he speaks,
listen. That's what faith is. And it makes it
very clear because in the next like 19 verses,
it's gonna make us very clear or make it very
clear that he took everybody. Moses goes on to
list every name, every son of every son of Jacob
who left the promised land to go to Egypt as
a part of the family. And this isn't included
here because God's like, man, I know my people
love reading genealogies, right? That's not why
it's here. But like every genealogy, it's here
because God wants us to know that people are
very important to him. People are important to
God. You are important to God. And so the names
that we're going to read through here, they represent
the covenant community. They represent the people
of God. That so far as God has been working through
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, it's all been focused
on family. right? The family that the line is
going to come from. But as we're going to see
here, the family is now transitioning from just
being a family to being the foundation of a nation.
And so verse 8, read with me here. It says, these
are the names of the sons of Israel who came
to Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Jacob's firstborn,
Reuben. Reuben's sons, Hanak, Palu, Hezron, and
Carmi. Simeon's sons, Jemuel. Jamin, Ohad, Jachin,
Zohar, and Shal, the son of a Canaanite woman.
Levi's sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Judah's
sons, Ur, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. But
Ur and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons
of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. Issachar's sons,
Tola, Puva, Jashub, and Shimron. Zebulun's sons,
Sered, Elon, and Jalil. These were Leah's sons
born to Jacob in Paddan Aram as well as his daughter
Dinah. The total number of persons was 33. Gad's
sons, Ziphion, Haggai, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi,
and Areli. Asher's sons, Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi,
Beriah, and their sister Sarah. Beriah's sons
were Heber and Malkiel. These were the sons of
Zilpah, who Laban gave to his daughter Leah as
she bore to Jacob, 16 persons. The sons of Jacob's
wife Rachel, Joseph, and Benjamin. Manasseh and
Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt.
They were born to him by Asenath, daughter of
Potipharah, a priest at On. Benjamin's sons were
Bela, Betcher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh,
Mupim, Hupim, and Ard. These were Rachel's sons
who were born to Jacob, 14 persons. Dan's son
was Hushim. Naphtali's sons was Jaziel, Guni,
Jezer, and Shillam. These were the sons of Bilhah
whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She bore
to Jacob seven persons. The total number of persons
belonging to Jacob, his direct descendants, not
including the wives of his sons, who came to
Egypt was 66. And Joseph's sons who were born
to him in Egypt was two persons. So all those
of Jacob's household who came to Egypt was 70
persons. So I don't know why they named their
kids these things, okay? I don't know who Mupim
and Hupim was, and like were they twins or, you
know, something. I don't know. But they're names
in the language, right? And these are the list
of all the offspring of the family that goes
down to them. But, you know, every detail in
the Bible is important. Every dot, right? Every
jot and tittle, as they say. And so we read through
this and we see, obviously, the development of
the families. But the numbers are what I want
to focus on because it's very specific to let
us know that there were 70 persons that went
down to Egypt. And 70 is not just math. I believe
it's theology. If you go through Scripture and
you look up 70, right? It's connected to a lot
of things throughout Scripture. The people of
Israel were exiled in Babylon for 70 years. Daniel,
when he gave his prophecy of the end times, it's
called the 70 weeks prophecy. In Genesis chapter
10, it lists 70 nations that came after the flood.
And there's more, but this idea of 70 is often
seen as symbolizing the fullness or the completeness
of divine order. It's a picture of saying this
is all of what God is doing and it's complete
and total. But it also happens to always mark
significant transitions in the salvation story.
Here, what this represents is Jacob and his family,
which is a part of Isaac and the family and a
part of Abraham and the family. This is where
they are transitioning from being a family into
a people, a nation. a covenant community. This
is where the story is transitioning from the
one man Abraham to what is gonna result in millions
and millions of people becoming the nation of
Israel. And so verse 28, it says, now Jacob had
sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to prepare
for his arrival of Goshen. And when they came
to the land of Goshen, Joseph hitched the horses
to his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet
with his father Israel. Joseph presented himself
to him, threw his arms around him, and wept for
a long time. Of course, right? The reunion. He's
alive. You could imagine, I could almost feel,
you know, Jacob's heart quickening when he finally
sees Joseph, you know, and is like, what's up
with the eye makeup, bro? Where's your beard?
Right? No, it doesn't say any of that, right?
But that's him. That's my long -lost son. Oh
my gosh, 20 plus years I've grieved his death.
And I hoped, had a little bit of hope, enough
to get up and go, but now it's, oh my gosh, it's
fulfilled. How glorious, right? Now it tells
us there that Judah was sent ahead of him. Why
Judah? Well, because Judah was now the brother,
even though he was the fourth brother, he was
the one who kind of was like the leader among
the brothers. Reuben had disqualified himself
even though he was the firstborn because he tried
to sleep with one of his dad's wives to take
authority in the family. Simeon and Levi had
disqualified themselves because they were bloodthirsty
murderers and they're the ones that wiped out
all the people at Shechem. Judah here, on the
other hand, is the one who stepped forward and
confessed for all the brothers in Egypt. He's
the one who offered himself in Benjamin's place.
He's the one who is stepping into the place of
doing what is right. And so he is the one sent
ahead as the emissary for the family as they
get to Egypt. And so he meets with Joseph. We're
here. The whole family's here. Joseph hitches
up the horses and chariots. And all of that was
just a picture of the power and the authority,
right? Chariots and the horses. They weren't
gimpy horses. They were nice horses, right? Because
he was power and authority. And so there's this
idea of coming out to display who he is to his
family. But this wasn't about intimidating them
or anything. Because what he's about to tell
them is, I have authority to protect you here.
But they get there, there's no speeches, there's
no explanation, there's just tears. Tears for
a long time. Why? We need to understand something
about God and Christianity. Relationship matters.
Relationship matters most. This whole thing.
This whole Bible, this whole story is about God
saying, my relationship with you is broken and
I want to fix it. You see, being a Christian
in this world is not about God going, hey, let
me bless you with riches and everything so you
guys can walk around to the rest of the world
and say, look, our daddy's richer than your daddy,
you know, and ha, ha, ha. God's like, I don't
care about any of that stuff. He's like, it's
relationship. Relationship is what matters. That's
why throughout the whole Bible, we're taught
how to interact with each other and how to love
one another and bear one another's burdens and
all these things because it's about relationship.
Relationship is where true life is. Relationship
is what matters. You see, this is the joy of
reunion, the healing of loss, the redemption
of decades. But it's about relationship being
restored, and that's what we're seeing here in
these long tears. And God still writes these
stories. God is still in that business of restoring
relationships. The same God who reunited Jacob
and Joseph here is still restoring prodigals.
He's still healing broken families. He's still
promising eternal reunions. He's still in that
business. That video we saw earlier from Olive
Crest, it's about healing and restoring and keeping
families together and seeing God come in and
through these things. We're all a part of this
as a church. But then in verse 30, he says to
Joseph, I'm ready to die now because I've seen
your face and you are still alive. That's it.
I'm ready to go. I've seen you. I can leave this
earth now. See, previously he saw wagons and
it gave him the strength to hope where there
was no hope for years. And now his greatest earthly
hope is fulfilled. Joseph is alive. I've seen
it with my own eyes. Again, relationship is the
most important thing in life. So many stories,
you know, nobody says on their deathbed, I wish
I made another dollar. They might say that in
life. Even those who are pagans and hate God,
there are so many testimonies of those people
on their deathbed realizing, what have I done?
Nobody's there is like, oh, I wish I had another
car, another house. You know what people say
on their deathbed? I wish I spent more time with
my family. I wish I spent more time with my kids.
I wish I spent more time with my loved ones.
I wish I didn't work so much. I wish I didn't,
you know. put status and material things and
all this in a greater priority than to the relationship,
greater priority than the relationships that
I had with people. I wish I could hold them one
more time. I wish I could tell them I love them
one more time. And yet, we'll push off relationships
so often. And yeah, we gotta go to work and we
gotta pay the bills and we gotta handle our business,
but... What are you sacrificing for the stuff
that's going to burn? What are you sacrificing
for the stuff that ultimately, guess what, when
you die, doesn't matter? Relationship matters.
That's what matters to God. God's like, yeah,
stuff and money and nothing wrong with that,
but relationship matters. And so they're reunited
and there's long tears. They cry for a long time.
In verse 31, Joseph said to his brothers and
to his father's family, I will go up and inform
Pharaoh, telling him my brothers and my father's
family who are in the land of Canaan have come
to me. The men are shepherds. They also raise
livestock. They have brought their flocks and
herds and all that they have. When Pharaoh addresses
you and asks, what is your occupation? You are
to say, your servants, both we and our ancestors,
have raised livestock from our youth until now.
Then you will be allowed to settle in the land
of Goshen since all shepherds are detestable
to Egyptians. Wait, what? When Pharaoh shows
up, you want us to tell him we are the very thing
that's detestable to the Egyptians. What's going
on here? Joseph's instructing his brothers and
his family. Just be honest. Tell the truth. Just
tell them you're shepherds. I'm gonna go tell
him all about this ahead of time and when he
shows up, don't lie. Don't pretend you're something
you're not. Yes, you are here in the world and
yes, the world is going, who are you and what
do you stand for? And don't water it down. Don't
change it. Don't, just be honest. I know you
hate shepherds, but we're shepherds. Thanks for
letting us come over. I think the point of this
was because they're detestable. What do I mean
by that? You see, honesty can produce a separation
and God wanted a separation here. He didn't want
Israel to become Egyptian during their time in
Egypt. He wanted them to remain Israel while
they were in Egypt. He wanted to preserve their
identity. Because he was doing a work and he
was going to mold them and shape them and make
them this great nation. And they weren't meant
to stay in Egypt. They were meant to come back
to the promised land. They were meant to be the
people God had called them to be. And so he's
like, just be honest. And we have that same challenge
today in our world as Christians. We go into
our workplace and we're like, oh, let's kind
of water down our faith a little bit. We already
know they're going to hate us. Jesus said so.
They're going to hate you and persecute you and
treat you vile because they hate what you stand
for. So you're not saving anything by lying about
your faith or watering it down. Just be honest.
It's not saying be a belligerent jerk about it,
but I'm a Christian. Oh, okay. Now Joseph was
going ahead because he's like, look, don't try
and lie. Just be honest with who you are. I'm
going to talk to Pharaoh. God's given me a place
and a position to smooth this over. But if you
try and pretend that you're somebody you're not,
if you try and water down who you are, if you
try to water down your identity, that's going
to create more problems. And that's exactly what
happens in our lives when we water down our faith.
Have you ever said, I'm a Christian, but not
one of... Those Christians? Ever said that before?
What do you mean when you say that? Well, I'm
a Christian, but not one of those who stand up
for righteousness and defend God's word and not
back down from truth, right? What are you saying
when you say that? No, I'm a Christian. Just
be honest. Be honest. The world's going to ask.
I think the most effective thing we could say
is, The truth. The truth is what sets us free.
The truth is what's going to set the world free.
They're going to hate you anyways. You already
know it, so don't try and avoid these things.
And so he's like, just be honest. Tell them.
Goshen then becomes this prosperous place, but
Israel is isolated in the world there. Israel
was in Egypt, but not of Egypt. Does that sound
like scripture? We are in the world, but not
of the world. Just like believers here. We're
in this world. We're in this Egypt, but we're
preserved by our Lord. We're supposed to be separated
to a degree. We're in it. We're to be a light
and to be a witness, but we're not to be assimilated
by the world. We're not to become like them.
We're to be different because we are a light.
And this separation was God's divine strategy
for Israel. that Egypt was simply a vessel of
preservation. It wasn't salvation. The promised
land they would return to. Protection was there
until redemption came. And it's the same in our
lives. And so some of us here in this room this
morning, you're standing at Beersheba right now,
right? You're at the altar. You're at the place
of worship. And maybe there's this decision and
you're like, everything makes sense on paper.
And yeah, of course. And why wouldn't I do that?
And I've gotten counsel and everything's great.
But what you haven't done yet is talk to God
about it. And that maybe that thing is like,
so why am I unsettled? Because God's going to
talk to me about it. Because you don't know what
tomorrow holds. And so inquire of the Lord. Should
I move? Should I not move? Should I take this
job, not take this job? Should I get out of this
relationship? Should I, what, Lord. God wants
us to have the habit on every decision, not just
the big, giant things, but every decision. God,
what do you want me to do? To wake up in the
morning and say, okay, God, I got this on my
schedule, I'm going to work and everything, but
hey, what do you want me to do today? Now, I'm
not suggesting you call your boss and say, God
told me not to come to work today. That's probably
not going to work real well. But God, who do
you want me to talk to? Where do you want me
to go? God, I have this big decision in front
of me. Everything looks perfect. It is the most
obvious yes I've ever seen, but God, what is
your will? What do you want from me? I'm excited
about these plans, but are you in it? Because
sometimes God will say, yeah, that makes perfect
sense to you, but I have something else. And
so sometimes you may be in that place where you're
like, oh yeah, moving makes the perfect sense.
Perfect sense, financially and for the family
and spiritually and emotionally and everything.
And God goes, yeah, but that's not my will for
you. I want you to stay here. Are you going to
obey? Sometimes God's like, you're looking at
everything. You're like, staying is the most
perfect plan. It makes the most sense. And God's
going, yeah, but I want you to move. Right? That's
why we inquire of the Lord to seek his will in
everything. So let God's word guide you. That's
what it's all about. So what do we learn here?
What do we see in these things? A few things.
One, when it comes to decisions, especially those
that look great on paper, put the brakes on your
excitement. Put the brakes on your emotion for
just a beat. And go talk to the Lord about it.
Ask the Lord to confirm or to redirect or whatever
it may be. You know, because just because you're
excited and it makes sense, just because it lines
up with your desire, that doesn't mean that's
what the Lord wants. Seek the Lord before you
take a step, right? Okay, God. Sounds great.
But what do you want me to do? The other one
is to think corporately. You see, Jacob was facing
a decision that was going to affect his whole
family. His whole family. And it wasn't just
him individually. And those are big decisions.
I mentioned earlier, it's like everybody wants
to move out of California, and if God's calling
you to move out of California, please move out
of California, okay? If God's calling you to
stay in California, stay in California. But the
point is here is sometimes people can make decisions
and they're only thinking of themselves and they're
forgetting about the corporate effect, right?
You know, to... to leave your church family,
to leave your community, that's a big deal. It
is a big deal. It doesn't mean that you're all
trapped here, but it does mean that it's a part
of the decision making. You know, God works through
families and churches and covenant communities
and this family in your life, it has a major
impact spiritually on who you are and who your
kids are. It's a big impact and so consider The
corporate effect of your decisions that might
cause you to leave a place or break a relationship
or whatever. It wasn't just Jacob going, of course
I want to see my son. It was his whole family.
If I make this decision, my whole family is affected.
And your absence or lack of absence, whether
it's in this church or any other church, is going
to affect the family. So consider it in your
decision making. Seek the Lord. And then really
the big one is trusting God's long game, right?
God's purposes are gonna outlast our lifetime.
God, do you want me to go to Egypt? Is this the
plan for you? He's like, Jacob, I'm gonna bring
you back. Jacob didn't come back. Jacob died
in Egypt. But the long plan, the big plan, God's
plan is... what we should want and what we're
guiding. And so if God says move and you don't
want to, move because God's taking you somewhere
because it's a part of his long game. If he's
saying stay and you're like, I don't want to
stay, stay because it's a part of God's long
game. If he's saying take this job or don't take
this job, whatever it is, God's purposes are
being fulfilled through our lives. And so don't
just think, oh, how it affects me now. Think,
What effect is this decision going to have on
me, my family, my extended family, the church
community, God's kingdom, God's work? God, what
do you want me to do? That's the idea of coming
to him in inquiry. When Jacob got to the border,
I believe he was able to cross, not because he
had all the answers, but he had come to the place
of saying, I trust the God who has all the answers.
And so before we fully get into this decision,
I'm going to inquire of him. And some of us here
today, I mean, we might find ourselves on that
side of the equation, right? We're at the border.
And maybe some of us are standing at the border
and God has already spoken and you're hesitating.
Stop. Go. Maybe some of you are just like, you
know, full speed towards the border. You're like
not even going to stop at Beersheba. We don't
need beef jerky on this journey, right? Yeah,
this is great. And God's going, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa. You're about to charge headlong into something
and that's not my will for you. So like Jacob,
even when it all makes sense and you're excited
about the possibility, take a beat. Seek the
Lord. Talk to him first. Like Joseph, who's kind
of the side quest in this story. You know, as
he went through his life, he didn't understand
everything, but he was still able to say, God's
hand is on it, so I'll just wait until God gives
me clarity on things. And the reason we should
do that is because the same God who guided Jacob,
the same God who exalted Joseph, the same God
who preserved Israel in the land of Egypt, the
same God who delivered them in glory, the same
God is guiding you. The same God is guiding me.
The same God is guiding this church. So trust
him. Worship him. Let him speak to you in every
decision, no matter how obvious that decision
feels. Make that a habit of your life, and I
guarantee you, you're going to have more peace.
Because you'll know confidently that you're in
the place that God has called you to be. Amen?
All right, let's pray. Father, we love you. And
we thank you, God, for your presence. We thank
you, God, for your will. We thank you, God, for
your word. Lord, help us to just not forget.
We see through a glass darkly, God, that we don't
know everything, Lord. And your word says, hey,
you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.
So that doesn't mean we don't plan. That doesn't
mean we don't put things together. But God, we
submit all of that to you. That, Lord, as we
plan and Things make sense to us. Lord, help
us to just stop and say, God, above all, are
you in this? Is this what you want? Is this where
you want me to go? God, all the details make
sense for my life and my career and my family.
Lord, all the details are so clear, but God,
if it's not your will, I don't care how clear
the details are, Lord. I want to follow you.
Help us to do that. Help us to be that, God,
no matter what that is. To be submitted to your
will and then when you speak, we move, we follow,
we act. God, you made Israel into a nation in
Egypt. Lord, you're creating us, making us into
your people, your church, your body here in the
world. Help us to live and breathe and act. according
to your Holy Spirit. We trust you. We love you.
Help us to trust more. Increase our faith. Speak
to us, Lord, through your word, through counsel,
through worship, through prayer, that we would
follow you in every step and that praying and
seeking you would no longer be an afterthought
of our decision -making, but it would just be
a habit. We love you. We thank you. It's in Jesus'
name we pray. Amen.