Sermon | God’s Not Done with You (Gen 45:16–46:27)
God’s Not Done with You (Gen 45:16–46:27)
God’s Not Done with You (Gen 45:16–46:27)
For Joseph and Jacob have been through so much, so much pain and heart ache, and as we near the end of their story, we see that God has been with them every step of the way, and we see that God was not Done with them, and neither is he done with you.
Tauren Wells has a song by this title and has really powerful lyrics that illustrates a main theme in our passage today in Genesis 45-46.
He writes,
He's got a plan, this is part of it
He's gonna finish what He started
He's not done
God's not done writing your story
No, He's not done
God's not done with you
Outline
2. Jacob’s Family (46:5–27)
1. God’s Loves and Care for You (Leah - Gen 46:8–15)
2. God Can Use Anyone in His Plan (Perez - Gen 46:12)
3. God Blesses the Nations through One (Seventy - Gen 46:26-27)
1. Do Not Fear (45:16- 46:4)
Genesis 45:16 When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace, “Joseph’s brothers have come,” Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. Genesis 45:17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go on back to the land of Canaan. Genesis 45:18 Get your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you can eat from the richness of the land.’
God is rescuing his people, and giving them so many blessings and grace.
Its amazing that Pharaoh, an Egyptian is providing so much blessing to Joseph and his family. Remember Egyptians would not even eat with Joseph’s brothers.
This kindness of Pharoah is starkly contrasted with how another pharoah will treat the jewish people in 400 years in the book of Exodus. But here they are receiving blessing.
Genesis 45:19 You are also commanded to tell them, ‘Do this: Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your dependents and your wives and bring your father here. Genesis 45:20 Do not be concerned about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”
Genesis 45:21 The sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them provisions for the journey.
Joseph gives extra blessing and grace towards his full-blooded brother Benjamin,
Genesis 45:22 He gave each of the brothers changes of clothes, but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes.
As we saw a few weeks ago, the brothers have been changed and transformed, while they were angry and Jealous of Joseph’s better treatment before,
Now they show love and grace to their brother Benjamin, even when he gets more silver and clothing than they do.
But realizing that this might be a temptation for them.[1] we see this in v.24
Genesis 45:24 So Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t argue on the way.”
People are still people, even though they have shown that they have changed, there is still the temptation to sin. As we all have to fight every day against temptations and sinful desires.
The brothers did well, and did not argue.
Genesis 45:25 So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. Genesis 45:26 They said, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them. Genesis 45:27 But when they told Jacob all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. Genesis 45:28 Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go to see him before I die.” Genesis 46:1 Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
In times of trouble, Jacob cried out to God for help. And in times of goodnews and blessing he cries out to God in praise, through offering these sacrifices to God.
An important lesson for us today. Because sometimes it can be easy to run to God and depend on him when there is no one and nothing to depend on.
But do you give thanks to God when things go right?
When you make do well in school, are you filled with pride and say look at me and good I am.
Or do you look to God and say thank you God for gifting me and helping me along the way.
In every area of life, whether in relationships, in your job, in church ministries and service. Are we quick to give God the credit and praise or are we quick to be prideful and drift into depending on our selves.
We must keep God at the center of our lives in dependence and thanksgiving when times are bad and when times are good.
While hearing that his son Joseph is alive and that they have enough food to eat is such great news to Jacob.
These blessings also come with a cost. They will have to live their land and move to the foreign land of Egypt.
It would be understandable if Jacob was little uneasy, nervous, and anxious about this move. For he is an older man at this point at he has to take his whole family to this new and possibly dangerous place.
And so God comes to Jacob to encourage him to make this journey.
Genesis 46:2 That night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” he said. And Jacob replied, “Here I am.” Genesis 46:3 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. Genesis 46:4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back. Joseph will close your eyes when you die.”
It truly is amazing that the God of the universe would care so much for Jacob, that he would speak to him, encourage and remind of him of his promises.
We are a people that are quick to forget the promises and faithfulness of God.
Now God doesn’t usually appear to us in a vision or a dream, he can and I’ve heard credible stories of such things happening. But more commonly God uses his Word, he uses the Scriptures to remind us of his promises and faithfulness.[2]
And most commonly God uses his people, to share his word with others,
and to remind each other of God’s word,
to Remind and encourage each other of God’s promises and faithfulness.
This is why we meet together on Sunday mornings, to remind and encourage one another through prayer, song, and the Scriptures.
To be reminded that we need not be afraid
look back in v.3
Genesis 46:3 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.
He tells him he does not need to be afraid. When going to a new place, when change is before you, there is often a temptation to fear the unknown, fear losing what you have always known and had.
But many times in the Scriptures God calls his people to get up and go, get up and change in order to receive the blessing God has for them.
So in the midst of change, whether that be at school, in your home, with new friends, new coworkers, a new job, new ministries at church, we must fight against fear and fight to trust in God, during seasons of change.
God will take care of Jacob and his family and grow them into great nation, it won’t be easy and it won’t be quick, but God has a plan and he is faithful to his people.
God also has a plan for you and through faith in Jesus as your God, Savior, and King, you are a part of his people, and he is faithful to you.
And one reason we don’t need to be afraid, is that God promises to be with us like he promises to be with Jacob in v.4
Genesis 46:4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back. Joseph will close your eyes when you die.”
Though in a foreign place, God is with him. As jesus promised his disciples in the great commission Matt 28:20 And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
And a key point here for Jacob and has been a key theme in the book of Genesis is the importance of being buried in the promised land. As God promises that Jacob will be brought back to the promise land after his death.
This was important because it symbolized their eternal rest with God, looking forward to the day of the eternal promise land.
And as followers of Jesus we look forward to this eternal rest and resurrection. And this can be symbolized in our burial. As one author has said, “In Christian burial, we’re not simply disposing of a corpse; we’re planting a seed. Just as we sow in hope of the harvest, we bury in hope of the resurrection.” - JUSTIN DILLEHAY[3]
And in this hope of eternal life, it allows to see our life here on earth in the right perspective, to live a life with out fear, to live a life sold out for God and the growth of his kingdom.
So fellow Christian, be encouraged today, the god of the universe is with you, he is faithful, and he has promised you great things. Do not fear.
Jacob trusts in the Lord and heads to Egypt with all of his family
Genesis 46:5 Jacob left Beer-sheba. The sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him, along with their dependents and their wives.
Then it lists all of his children and grandchildren and this list is a called a genealogy. And there are a lot of genealogies in the bible, the lists of people families, their kids and grandkids, and great grand kids.
And while lists of people names may not be as exciting to read as stories like Noah’s ark, or Joseph meeting his brothers, God wanted these lists of names in the Bible for a reason, and we must remember each name represents a life God used in his plan.
And so I want us to see four things that we can learn from this list of Jacob’s family.
1. God’s Loves and Care for You (as he cared for Leah Gen 46:8–15)
First let’s look at Jacob’s second favorite wife Leah and her 33 children and grandchildren, That’s a big family! Genesis 46:8 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt—Jacob and his sons: Jacob’s firstborn: Reuben. Genesis 46:9 Reuben’s sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. Genesis 46:10 Simeon’s sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. Genesis 46:11 Levi’s sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Genesis 46:12 Judah’s sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. Genesis 46:13 Issachar’s sons: Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron. Genesis 46:14 Zebulun’s sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. Genesis 46:15 These were Leah’s sons born to Jacob in Paddan-aram, as well as his daughter Dinah. The total number of persons: thirty-three.
From the blessing of so many children and Grandchildren to Leah, we can see and remember that God cares and loves those whom others may not love and care for.
God chose to Leah to bless even though she was not as highly valued by the world’s standards or even though her husband loved Rachel more than her,
God loved and Blessed Leah.
This is the result of God’s blessings on her over many years that started long ago in Gen 29:31 When the LORD saw that Leah was neglected, he opened her womb
Some of you may feel like Leah today not value and not loved, but know this God loves you more than you know.
God loves you so that he sent his son to die in your place, God loves you so that he has blessed you with eternal salvation, and every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
So when the world looks down on you or when people don’t love you, remember God sees you, God loves and his forever faithful to his promises to you in Christ.
2. God can use any one in his plan (Perez - Gen 46:12)
Look back at v.12 and notice Judah’s son Perez and his son Hezron.
Genesis 46:12 Judah’s sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
Do you remember who Perez’s mother was? Tamar.
We learned about Tamar and Judah in Genesis 38. And we learned about Judah’s sin of not taking care of Tamar, and his sexual sin, and Tamar’s trickery, but in the midst of all the heart ache and sin,
came the gift of their son Perez.
And so no matter the circumstances of one’s birth, no matter the sin of one’s parents, every one is born in the image of God, and God can and does use people with messed up families in his plan of salvation.
For Perez became the father of hezron, and we see their family tree at the end of the book of Ruth that leads to the Boaz, that leads to King David, that Leads to King Jesus.
Ruth 4:18 Now these are the family records of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, Ruth 4:19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, Ruth 4:20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Ruth 4:21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Ruth 4:22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.
God can use any one in his plan, and has shown that time and time again through out the scirptures, and continues to show that with people today.
It doesn’t matter where you came from, how you got here, who your parents are, God can use in his plan to build his kingdom, to share the message of his goodnews,
And if we are all made in the image of God, and God can use anyone,
far be it from us to look down on others and treat people like they are not worthy of respect, or not allow them to work with us in the kingdom of God because of their past or because of where they came from.
We value all life, from conception to natural death, and we want to include everyone in our church, beause who could be the next Perez?
3. Through One God Blesses the Nations (Seventy - Gen 46:26-27)
After listing the other children and grandchildren, Leah’s maidservant Zilpah had 16 descendants,[4] Rachel had 14[5]; and Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah had 7.[6]
And so in the end
Genesis 46:26 The total number of persons belonging to Jacob—his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob’s sons—who came to Egypt: sixty-six. Genesis 46:27 And Joseph’s sons who were born to him in Egypt: two persons. All those of Jacob’s household who came to Egypt: seventy persons.
70 symbolizing completion and fullness.
70 Nations Slide
As we saw in Genesis 10 with the Table of nations in which it lists the family records of Noah as having 70 descendent.
And so this connection between Jacob’s 70 descendants and the 70 nations
The reason these numbers are given is that it is meant to show us something, namely that Jacob’s Family Israel “is a representative nation of the world … whom the Lord will bless (e.g., 12:3; 18:18; 22:18).”[7]
As God promised to Gen 18:18 Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him
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And when I taught on Genesis 10 last year, I connected it to how Jesus sent out 70 disciples in Luke 10, to symbolize that Jesus was sending the goodnews to all the nations, 70 being a number of completion and fullness.
And we see the blessing of the nations occur in the book of Acts as the goodnews of Jesus goes out as they are empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
And so here is the be storyline of the Bible Slide
One man - Adam sins
Though Adam sin and people spread throughout the earth, with different nations and languages.
Out of all these nations, God chose Abraham to begin his chosen people. Which will be Jacob’s descendants’ Israel.
One of the descendants of Israel will live the perfect life, be the perfect priest, the perfect king, and savior, he will be like a new Adam, the true Israel, the son of God, who will bring blessing salvation to the whole world.
And God chose to do this with small and weak people like me and you.
God started with one man Abraham, that grew to the twelve sons of Jacob, that grew to 70, that grew into a whole nation.
Jesus started with the 12 apostles, that grew to the 70 disciples that he sent out, and the kingdom of God kept growing as the goodnews of Jesus spread through out the world.
So what we see here is that God works through small beginnings.
As Jesus taught in his parable Matt 13:31-32 Matthew 13:31 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. Matthew 13:32 It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”
God’s kingdom started from a mustard seed, a small group of people, but a people whom God was with, a people whom God promised great things, a people who had faith and trust in their great God,
though all their sins and faults - God worked through them to spread his kingdom of love, faith, justice, and holiness.
And God’s not stopped working through small groups of people – like the church at union chapel, or the church at Wakefield Central, or the church at Hopkins Chapel.
God’s not done with you, God’s not done with us.
Will we trust in the face of fears?
Will we step out in faith, we remember that God is with us,
Will remember that he can show his strength in our weakness, will we cry out to God in the in difficult times and sing praises in the good times.
God is true to his promises and is always faithful to his people.
Let’s be moved by the power of his spirit to be witness in Zebulon, in North Carolina, to the ends of the earth.
[1] Genesis 45:23 He sent his father the following: ten donkeys carrying the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys carrying grain, food, and provisions for his father on the journey
[2] 2 Tim 3:15-4:3 2Timothy 3:15 Jesus. 2Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 2Timothy 3:17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2Timothy 4:1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom: 2Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. 2Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear.
[3] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/cremation-burial-choice/
[4] Genesis 46:16 Gad’s sons: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. Genesis 46:17 Asher’s sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malchiel. Genesis 46:18 These were the sons of Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—that she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.
[5] Genesis 46:19 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. Genesis 46:20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. They were born to him by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, a priest at On. Genesis 46:21 Benjamin’s sons: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. Genesis 46:22 These were Rachel’s sons who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons.
[6] Genesis 46:23 Dan’s son: Hushim. Genesis 46:24 Naphtali’s sons: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. Genesis 46:25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She bore to Jacob: seven persons.
[7] K. A. Mathews, Genesis 11:27–50:26, vol. 1B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005), 836.
