Sunday Night, March 15, 2020 PM

Have been following a story thus far, Chapters 37 through 45, the story of Joseph and his brothers, how it was that they wronged him, what kind of suffering he endured, the different things that happened to him in his time in Egypt, and really detailing then how God used his suffering and his difficulty for good directly related to his brothers, in that his family began to be in want because of the famine and how the brothers came to Egypt and how God used all of this to reconcile them.

We've been told again and again in various details how it is that God is all-powerful and He is all-good, how He's using the evil of men to accomplish His special purposes, and that's a vital theme here in the latter portions of the book of Genesis.

And it's also giving clarity to a puzzling promise that has been in the family for years because God spoke to Abraham in Genesis chapter 15 verses 13 through 14, "'Know for certain that your descendants "'will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, "'where they will be enslaved and oppressed 400 years.

"'But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, "'and afterward they will come out with many possessions.'". And that's what God told Abraham very early on in God's dealings with him. And this has been handed down, this has been one of those promises that they knew about, and now it's becoming a little bit more clear about how this is going to be worked out.

Remembering that Moses is telling the story of Israel, telling the story of Jacob and his sons to those whom he is leading towards the promised land, leading them, having led them out of Egypt. They're on their way back to Canaan, back to the promised land, and putting their entire story into the context of God's sovereign providence.

So with that in mind, let me pray for us, and we'll read part of our passage tonight. Father, I thank you so much for the truth of your word. I thank you for the stories that we have here in Genesis, about the way in which you sovereignly preserved the genealogy of Messiah, how you keep your promises to your people, showing how gracious among suffering you are, approving what a good shepherd you are.

And I pray that you would increase our confidence in you, and that you would give us many reasons to glorify you and praise you tonight. We pray these things for Christ's sake. Okay, so let's start reading in, I'll start reading for a little bit of context back in chapter 45, and we'll start at verse 24, as Joseph is sending his brothers back home.

So he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, do not quarrel on the journey. Then they went up from Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. They told him saying, Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.

But he was stunned for he did not believe them. When they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

Then Israel said, it is enough. My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die. When, and you may imagine that Joseph said, don't quarrel on the way home. Hmm, they had a lot to talk about on the way home, Joseph having revealed himself to them.

But even more, what would really cause the pressure, which is why we quarrel, right? Why we get into arguments. What was the pressure on them? They're gonna have to tell dad. Every step north as they go back home, a step closer to having to go back and tell dad, so Joseph's still alive and he's in Egypt.

How did that happen?

So something that they did 22 years ago and been lying about for over two decades, they're going to have to own up to and confess their sins to their father. And it's not only the confessing to their father what they had done to Joseph, but coming to grips with what they did to him.

And the fact that he spent, he refused to be comforted. We remember, he refused to be comforted. He's been in mourning for 22 years. He's been living this way for 22 years. Later on, when he meets Pharaoh, which I think is a stunning meeting, when Jacob walks in and blesses Pharaoh, and Pharaoh's like, how old are you?

It's obvious this guy's ancient. How old are you? And he tells him that his years were, I've been few and in great misery and sorrow compared to his ancestors. But part of that misery was the fact that for 22 years, he lived in mourning for his son.

That he believed to be dead.

Because of the treachery of his other sons. And so they go back and they tell him, it says that his heart was stunned.

His heart grew numb.

I don't know if I understand that feeling, but if you've ever been delivered a great shock, completely almost impossible to believe, you may understand something of what Jacob is going through. But they have to do what they can to convince him.

This is the case.

This is true.

Look at all the proof. Look at these wagons come all the way from Egypt. Look at this proof. Not only is he alive, but he is the Prince of Egypt. He's second in command of all of Egypt. And he's the one that God has been using to make sure that Egypt does have grain.

Why does Egypt have grain and no other nation has it? Well, because God is using Joseph to do that. And he wants us to come down there. And finally, Jacob comes around and says, yes. And he travels with them down to Egypt, which is what we have here in chapter 46.

God’s Promise to Jacob at Beersheba

And as we think about what happens here in chapter 46 and the movement of Israel from Canaan to Egypt, I think it's good to remember that in this move, God is being the shepherd of his people. He is a good shepherd and he is providing for them and he is leading them in his sovereignty in this way.

So verse one of chapter 46. So Israel set out with all that he had and he came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob, and he said, here I am.

He said, I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt for I will make you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt and I will also surely bring you up again. And Joseph will close your eyes.

Wow.

Israel is old, he's more than old, he's more than elderly. Jacob is ancient. He makes even the oldest of us here look spry, how old Jacob is. And he trades his bitter sorrow for a burgeoning hope. He rises in obedience to the word of God.

He sets his face to the south and he moves all his family, all his possessions that direction. He's going to go and meet his beloved son that he thought was dead. And he also goes because his way is hedged in.

There's no other alternative. He cannot stay. To stay means to face starvation. He's got no other alternative. His way is hedged about with thorns. He can only go in this direction. Only Egypt has food and only Joseph has the bread to keep them alive.

And so Israel goes. And now he comes out of the Valley of Hebron and he's moving south and he comes to Beersheba. And it's interesting that he comes to Beersheba and there it says that he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.

Now, why is it put in this way? Why is it put in this way that Jacob worships? Because of the significance of Beersheba. When he arrives at Beersheba, when Jacob comes to Beersheba, what will he see there?

He will see there the grove of Tamarisk trees that his forefather Abraham had planted. He's going to see there the trees that his grandfather planted, right? This is the land that was given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Abraham went all over that land, as God told him to, to walk the breadth and length and the width of it, to go and see all that God had given to him. And as he went, he left altars throughout the land.

He left wells in the land. He left trees he planted. He was taking ownership and possession of the land in his own way. And these Tamarisk trees were hearty and they would last any famine. And they would remain there in Canaan, a testament of the faith of Abraham who called upon the name of the Lord.

And it was also there where Jacob has come. He comes there to sacrifice to God, but where does it says that he offered sacrifices to the God of his father? It does not say that he built an altar. It does not say that he built an altar.

Why not? Because there was an altar already there that was built by his father, Isaac. His father, Isaac had built an altar at Beersheba. And so Jacob comes down to Beersheba and there he comes to his father's altar.

And upon that altar, he's offering sacrifices to the Lord. So this is a very significant place for the family, for the patriarchs, a very significant place where they come to remember the goodness of God, the faithfulness of God, the promises of God.

Isaac had built this particular altar and they called upon the name of the Lord after a vision. Genesis chapter 26, verse 24, the Lord appeared to Isaac that same night and said, I am the God of your father, Abraham.

Do not fear for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant, Abraham. Now compare that with what God says to Jacob. In this passage, he says, I am God, the God of your father.

Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt for I will make you a great nation.

I will multiply you there.

You see that God says the same to Jacob as he said to Isaac. Now it's interesting, isn't it, after what we looked at this morning out of Jeremiah about the people wanting to go down to Egypt,.

But that was the wrong thing to do.

Here, God is saying, go down to Egypt. You see, it depends on what God wants. If God says, go to Egypt, we go to Egypt.

If he says, don't go to Egypt, we don't go to Egypt.

It's not always an everlasting principle going to Egypt is bad, right? It's depending on what the Lord wants his people to do. And in this, it's time to go to Egypt. And look at the comfort that God provides his servant, Jacob.

Joseph will close your eyes. You're going to see Joseph with your eyes, but the son that you thought was lost, he will be the one with you in your death. And he's going to be there to comfort you and provide for you at the end.

This is important for us to remember the significant place of Beersheba. If anything, because God's special revelation is always rooted in his historical intervention. The things that he says are not just wise aphorisms that can transcend the ages.

He intervenes historically. He shows himself strong, particularly in redemptive history. God is a good shepherd, and he is bringing the people down to Egypt. And in a sense, he's, as a good shepherd, he's taking them to green pastures.

He's taking them to still waters. Verse five, then Jacob arose from Beersheba and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the wagons, which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

They took their livestock and their property, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him, his sons and his grandsons with him, his daughters and his granddaughters and all his descendants he brought with him down to Egypt.

So this is around 1875 BC, Israel is not going to leave until 1445.

It's gonna be there a long time.

And for all that time that they are there, the point of what Moses wants them to understand is that God brought us down, God brought us back up. This is all his doing. These are the circumstances in which God provided for us in the time of great need.

And once again, God is bringing us out of the land of Egypt. We find that Jacob is frail. He rides with the women and the little ones in the wagons that Pharaoh has sent down. You may imagine that what they have is not much because of the famine, but they do have their livestock, they do have their property.

It would be kind of a, it would be much a strain to come down from Canaan to Egypt through the wilderness. But imagine those listening to the story know exactly, like we are walking the very same ground that Jacob walked as he went down to Egypt.

We're walking the same ground, going back to the land of Canaan, really connecting with this story. Now, Abraham had migrated to Canaan from Ur and he had gone down to Egypt and came come back. He wandered through the area for 25 years until he had Isaac.

Isaac was a sojourner. He journeyed all over the place, even to Philistia and back. Jacob went to Heron and back and then settled in the Valley of Hebron. Now he's going down to Egypt, but all this time of this people wandering about God's flock is growing and they're going to end down in Egypt for a time where God is going to grow his flock even more.

This is the place where God wants them to be. It is not the place he has promised them yet, but it's the place he has for them right now. It is, they are there with their, they should be there with a hope of what he has promised them.

They don't have it yet, but they should be living in hope of it. And in the meantime, they're there. It's not where they're supposed to be ultimately, but they live there in anticipation of what God will do.

Confidence in God’s Providence and Willingness to Suffer

I think we're reminded of a couple of things. First of all, we should have confidence in God's skillful providence. I think one of the needs we always have as Christians is the relieving of our fear and the increasing of our confidence that God knows what he is doing, right?

We can easily fall into complaining. We can easily fall into discontent and dissatisfaction, but how do we know, where do we truly see God's skillful shepherding, God's skillful providence, how he brings all these matters together for our good.

Of course, we see that the grandest historical evidence we have of that is in the cross of Jesus Christ, where God works out the greatest good from the greatest evil. God knows what he is doing. As the disciples run away, as Jesus is arrested, as Peter even denies Christ when he is put under pressure, as they have barred the doors after Christ has died and they're living in fear.

We look at all of that. And of course, we know the outcome of the story. And we say, how could these disciples live in fear? Didn't they know what God was, and the point is that they weren't sure what was happening and they were afraid, but we see how God works it out.

And we find ourselves often in the same situation. When we look at what happens with Israel as Jacob, as he packs everything up and he goes down to Egypt. This is not an easy thing to do. It's not easy to leave the land where you had settled.

It's not easy to give up that kind of autonomy and move down to Egypt. But this is what God had provided. This is what God had provided. So there's the need to be willing to suffer. For what God has called us to do.

It may not be the easiest thing to do, but we need to be willing to suffer for what God has called us to do. Heath Fernando, who from Sri Lanka and lived through a lot of the suffering of the civil wars there, said that the happiest people in the world are not those who have no suffering, but those who are not afraid to suffer.

Happiest people in the world are not those who have no suffering, but those who are not afraid to suffer. And of course we have our hope in Christ. So notice the sheep that God brings down. And we have all these names beginning in verse eight.

Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons who went down to Egypt. Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, the sons of Reuben. Hanok and Palu and Hezron and Carmi, the sons of Simeon, Jebuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jacob and Zohar and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.

The sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath, Merorai, the sons of Judah, Ur and Onan and Shelah and Perez and Zerah, but Ur and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamel, sons of Issachar, Tola and Puvah and Iob and Shimron, the sons of Zebulun, Zered and Elona and Jahiel.

These are the sons of Leah whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram with his daughter Dinah, all his sons and his daughters numbered 33. So the sons of Gad, Ziphion and Haggai, Shunni and Esbon, Eri and Erodai and Erelai, the sons of Asher, Imnah and Ishva and Ishvi and Beriah, their sister Sarah, and the sons of Beriah, Heber and Machiel.

These are the sons of Zilpah whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah and she bore to Jacob these 16 persons. The sons of Jacob's wife, Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin. Not a Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim whom Asenoth, the daughter of Potiphar, the priest of On bore to him.

The sons of Benjamin, Bela and Behar and Ashevel, Gera and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh and Mupim and Hupim and Ard, which by the way, yeah, if I ever had triplets,.

Mupim and Hupim and Ard.

These are the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob. There are 14 sons in all. The sons of Dan, Hushim, the sons of Naphtali, Jahseel and Guni and Jezer and Shillam. These are the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel and she bore these to Jacob.

There were seven persons in all. All the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt, his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob's sons were 66 persons in all. And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two, all the persons of the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were 70.

Now he sent Judah before him to Joseph to point out the way before him to Goshen and they came to the land of Goshen. So how many people came down to Egypt? 70. They all get named, they all get named.

They all get listed as part of the parade that came down from the Valley of Hebron to Egypt. As we look through the list, I think we should be reminded of the history that we've been reading through in Genesis.

We see these names, Jacob and Leah and Rachel and the names of the sons that they had. And we remember two things about this list. We remember the stories and a lot of these stories were filled with sin and they were filled with sorrow.

I mean, just all the different names just remind us of, oh, this horrible thing happened and then that horrible thing happened. And then we think of the sorrow that they endured from one event to the next.

Sin and sorrow, sin and sorrow. And a great history is condensed here. Yet God led them through all of it. He did not abandon them. And he turned all the sorrows for good. And I think it's good to remember this, how God is revealed as powerful and righteous in the shepherding of the flock.

And the sum end of it all is that 70 persons go to Egypt, not only to survive the worst famine ever, but to thrive in the midst of it. While the other nations languished and while other families just out and out disappeared, this family, this infant nation of Israel would thrive with God as her shepherd.

So much would they be abundant through the course of the famine and the following generations that their numbers frightened the Egyptians. That was how abundantly God blessed this family. So from Abraham till this time, think about this, from Abraham to this time was 215 years.

From Abraham till this moment. And they've gone from two, Abraham and Sarah, to 70 in 215 years. In the following 430 years, they would go from 70 to 600 ,000 men, not counting the women and children.

You really couldn't even calculate less than 2 million, well over 2 million people. So they went from two to 70 in 215 years, double that time, 430 years, and they went from 70 to over 2 million before they left Egypt.

So we were fairly impressed with Jacob's shepherding skills as he hustled Laban, and came out on top with a bunch of flock. There's nothing compared to God's shepherding skills. Look what he did. He went from two to 70 and from 70 to millions.

Look at the way he provided for and in his providence expanded his people. And these were not amazing people. These were not great people. And God says in Deuteronomy, I did not choose you to accept my love on you because you are more in number than all the people.

You are the fewest.

But he says, but I loved you. I set my love on you because I love you, because I promised to be for you. And that's the grace of God. That's the grace of God. And as we identify ourselves, even as a people of sin and sorrow, we recognize that our hope is in the grace of God and in his shepherding of us and his care of us.

Okay, so there are problems. Okay, so there's sin, there's sorrow, there's stumbling, there's difficulties. But who is our shepherd? Who is the one who is guiding us? He is worthy of our trust. He is worthy of our praise.

Christ has come, according to Isaiah 61, to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.

So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified. As a final note, we have the reunion, finally, of Jacob with his son, Joseph. Verse 28, now he sent Judah before him to Joseph to point out the way before him to Goshen, and they came to the land of Goshen.

Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as he appeared before him, he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time. Then Israel said to Joseph, "'Now let me die, since I have seen your face, "'for you are still alive.'".

I think it'd be very difficult to adequately find some sort of analogy in my own life or perhaps any of our lives, but maybe there is one that is a legitimate analogy. But to think that someone was dead for 22 years, a beloved child, and then to be reunited with that child.

I can't imagine. But we know the joy of reunion. We know the joy of being restored to someone after a long time. We have had experiences like that. And I think that what this should remind us of, the joy of these kinds of reunions, whet our appetite, I believe, to our coming reunion with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I know Revelation 21 says there'll be no more crying, but there's gonna be something in being able to come home. Certainly there's going to be, it's not going to be some sort of a cold clinical matter when we finally get home.

We've been waiting for that.

As Christians, we wait for that all of our lives.

To get home. And we're looking forward to that. Two kinds of tears, joy and sorrow.

Well, let's close by singing the doxology.

Praise.