Sermon Manuscript - Gen 46:28-47:27 | "Journeying with God: Restored, Loved, and Guided"

Who likes going on a journey, taking a trip to the mountains, to the beach.

Those trips can be a lot of fun, but sometimes getting there can be difficult sometimes though right? Drive through rain, have a flat tire, take a wrong turn, but all those hard things and risks are worth it because why?

Because the destination is worth it. Where you are going is worth it.

And today as we look at the story of Jacob and Joseph we will see that life is like a journey, as people who trust in Jesus our life’s destination is Heaven, to be with God.



And though life gets rough we need to remember that God has restored our life, he loves us, and he is with us every step of the way. We can trust in him and live for him, because we know are destination.

1.    God Restores Your Life for a Purpose (46:28-32)

2.    God’s Love for the Unclean Sheep (46:33-34)

3.    Just Traveling Through (47:1-9)

4.    A Godly Leader (47:10–27)

1.    God Restores Your Life for a Purpose (46:28-32)

Genesis 46:28   Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to prepare for his arrival at Goshen.

Remember Judah has the been the good leader of his family in the past few chapters, he was willing to put his life on the line to save his brother Benjamin.

And now he will be leading his family to Egypt.

And what we are about to see is something beautiful. Father and son who haven’t seen each other in over 20 years are about to be reunited.

Jacob thought his son joseph was dead all these years. And now he is about to see him alive.

 28 cont. When they came to the land of Goshen, Genesis 46:29 Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, threw his arms around him, and wept for a long time. Genesis 46:30 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I’m ready to die now because I have seen your face and you are still alive!”

This reunion between father and son, is a beautiful picture of how God can take things that were difficult, painful, and broken, and even caused by evil and sin.

God is a god of restoration.  

Joseph was thought to have been dead, but he is alive.

One day through the lineage of Judah, another son would be born, who many thought too was dead,

and in fact He was,

Jesus was dead and buried for three days, but he would be raised from the dead to live forever more.

As Jesus says in Rev 1:18 I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever,

Through the pain of torture and even death on cross, God was restoring humanity to himself.

As God was in the midst of Joseph’s life, bringing restoration, even though it took many years

God was also in the midst of Jesus’ life, bringing eternal restoration.

God is in the midst of your life, drawing you close to him, making you complete, making you full, giving you peace, which is made available through Jesus’s death and resurrection

And once you are right with God, God has adopted you into his family, he is your loving father.

And if you have experienced this salvation.

You may be feel like Jacob when he said in - Genesis 46:30 “I’m ready to die now because I have seen your face!”

Jacob was so happy to be reunited to his son.

Once you place your faith in jesus, you will be so happy to be reunited to God.

You are cleansed, forgiven, and you are looking to the hope of glory, you can’t wait to be in the presence of God, with no more pain, no more sin.

You no longer have to fear death, instead because of Jesus, death has been transformed. Death has lost its sting,

Paul felt this way in the NT Philippians 1:23 I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better—

Being with Jesus in Heaven is far better than anything here on earth. We must remember that. But Paul doesn’t stop there and neither should we.

He says

Philippians 1:24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

God was not done With Paul.

Just like last week, When we saw how God is not done with us.

If you’re still here God has you here for a reason.

And that reason isn’t to acquire wealth, security, comfort, entertainment, and pleasure.

You’re here for the sake of others.

You’re here to Glorify God. to make him among all people.

Yes were are looking towards heaven. We can rejoice for those that have died with faith, they are in the arms of Jesus.

But as long God has given us breath in our lungs, we press on for His Glory.

Though Jacob is ready to go, he will have one more service to perform. We will see that in a few weeks when he prophecies and blesses his sons in the next few chapters. 

So what do we make of this for all lives. WE have seen that God is restoring relationships, that he is working even in the midst of sin and brokenness.

So Christian don’t give up. Don’t lose faith in God,

Don’t give up on that friend or family member, who is far from God. God can work miracles,

And he can work them through you, you are here for a reason, you are here to bless others, and to pray for others, to share God’s love with other, to share truth of with others.

There may look like there is no hope, you may feel like joseph in the Jail cell, or Jacob hearing of his son’s death, but remember there is always hope with God.

God is a god of restoration and he is working to restore all things. God is even looking to restore the unclean sheep.

2. God’s Love for the Unclean Sheep (46:33-34)

And we see Joseph give his family  these instructions in v.33[1]

Genesis 46:33 When Pharaoh addresses you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ Genesis 46:34 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.”

We saw in earlier chapters that Egyptians would not even eat in the same room as Jacob’s family, because they thought they were detestable and unclean.

And now we see that the Egyptians think even their job as Shepherds is detestable, an abomination, so unclean and disgusting to them, so that they have to live in a separate area.

And its Interesting what Egyptians would find detestable, God would use the imagery of sheep and shepherds all throughout the bible to describe his people, the sheep, and himself as the shepherd.

Perhaps God is using the imagery to tell us something about himself.

For calling his people sheep makes sense, Like sheep we are dependent, we’re not too smart, prone to wander and get lost.

Isa 53:6 We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way;

We are sinful sheep, we are detestable, unclean, the Egyptians wouldn’t even associate with us.

And do you see it, that’s the point God is showing us.

We’re unclean, people wouldn’t touch us, even still God loves us.

God loved us so that he died in our place

Continuing reading

Isa 53:6 cont and the LORD has punished him for the iniquity of us all.

The shepherd laid his life down for the sheep. That is how much god loves us.

The shepherd actually went so far as to become a sheep.

Jesus was he Sacrificial lamb of God

Rev 7:17 For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them; he will guide them to springs of the waters of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Jesus is our sacrificial lamb by which we are forgiven and cleansed and he is our Good shepherd, who leads and guides and is with us.

Though the Egyptians thought sheep were detestable, God uses this imagery that he still cares and loves us, even when we don’t deserve it.[2]

We may be detestable sheep, but were God’s sheep, he made us in his image, he bought us with his life, he loves us despite our sin,

he is pleased with you because you are cleansed, he wants to hear your prayers, he wants to hear your praises, he wants you to live a life of joyful dependence on him.

So remember we were all once unclean sheep, but God has loved us and made us clean.

And one day he will wipe every tear from our eyes.

3. Just Traveling Through (47:1-9)

In chapter 47 we see that they family met with pharoah, and tell him that they are shepherds, and Pharoah agrees to let them live in the land of Goshen[3]

And then we read this in v.7

47:7 Joseph then brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Genesis 47:8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?” Genesis 47:9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “My pilgrimage has lasted 130 years. My years have been few and hard, and they have not reached the years of my ancestors during their pilgrimages.”

1.    Jacob refers to his life as a pilgrimage. Sojourning, he just traveling through,

Imagine you are going on a trip, you have your departure and your destination, everything in between where you have to stop, you are just passing through.

In the same way, we realize that this life is a pilgrimage.

this life is not all there is, there is a destination at the end of our lives. there is something after this life,

Jacob is looking forward to something, that’s why he can say he is ready to die.

He’s just traveling through and his destination is the eternal promise land, The earthly promise land was shadow and pointing to the greater eternal promise land of heaven.

The book of Hebrews would pick up on this OT theme: Hebrews 11:13   These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. Hebrews 11:14 Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

We have to realize and remind ourselves that this This is our temporary home.

Stop acting this is all you have to live for. There is more to your life than the here and now.

Your life has eternal significance. What you do here, what you believe in and trust here, will impact you for eternity.

Don’t’ miss this perspective.

Your life is a pilgrimage you are just traveling through.

This eternal perspective can give us hope, and fuel our hearts to live of God. Because we do have a destination as 1 Pet 1:17 you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during your time living as strangers.

Same word, sojourn, pilgrimage, passing through,

So with the short amount of time you have on earth don’t waste it, live for God ever second of the day, in reverent obedience, in aw and a life of worship of God.

Life is too short to complain, instead give thanks

Life is too short to live in fear of all the bad things that might happen, instead trust in the Lord.

Because notice even though Jacob lived for 130 years he still called his time here short – Gen 47:9 My pilgrimage has lasted 130 years. My years have been few and hard, and they have not reached the years of my ancestors during their pilgrimages.”

He can call his 130 years of life short for two reasons, one, some of his ancestors lived to like 900 years old, and two, even 900 years old would be short in comparison to eternity.

We get so distracted by things and the business of life, we forget this eternal perspective. Our lives here are so short in comparison to eternity.

Eternity is impossible to wrap our heads around, but let’s try to see our lives with an eternal perspective with an illustration.

I need two volunteers, one stand on the side of the stage and hold this. The part that you are touching, this half inch, represents a 100 years. And the rest of this roll represents the future 1000’s and millions of years.

Now imagine unraveling this whole thing, then imagine it just keep going and going, never stopping.

Remember this is your life in light of eternity.

When life get difficult and life gets busy, don’t forget what matters most. Remember that we are just traveling through, we a destination were headed to.

After we die, we will step into eternity.

That eternity will be 1 of 2 places, the eternal promise land.

Or the eternal punishment of hell.

We have the sure promise of eternal life for those who trust in Jesus as their God, Savior, and King.

We only have a short time to make this decision to trust Christ, no one is promised tmrw, so don’t wait to trust Christ.

For those who have trusted in Christ as the Lord and Savior. Live this life to the fullest in service to Jesus, out of your love and worship for Jesus.

And we turn to our last section here, as we see someone, who did live their life for God

4. A Godly Leader (47:10–27)

As Jacob’s family settled into Egypt the famine continued and people came from all around to buy food from Joseph.[4]

But at some point they ran out of silver to buy food.[5] Then they ran out of livestock to exchange for food,

So in order to survive they offered their land and themselves as servants to Pharaoh in exchange for seed so they could grow food[6]

Genesis 47:20 In this way, Joseph acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field since the famine was so severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, Genesis 47:21 and Joseph made the people servants from one end of Egypt to the other.

1.    What to make of all this? It seems to show that God is using Joseph to save the people from the famine, and continue to bless Pharoah through his administrative skills.

2.    This story of the Egyptians becoming slaves to pharoah is also an ironic contrast to what happened in Joseph’s earlier life. Remember at the beginning of the Joseph story, he was sold in to slavery, now Joseph is second in command and all the Egypt are now in service to him and the Pharoah.

3.    And this is further contrasted with the people of Israel which own their property and are prospering - Genesis 47:27 ¶ Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property in it and became fruitful and very numerous.

Son in this contrast, we see God blessing his people, he is true to his promises.

1.    It also highlights Joseph’s graciousness to the Egyptians, he did not rule over them like a tryant, which will be contrasted with the Pharaoh in the book of exodus. 400 years laters.

2.    But how is Joseph gracious and a good leader here?

a.    Because think about it, the people  had nothing and needed Joseph for everything. He could have taken all their land and made them slaves with out any payment. But he does not do that.

b.    First, look in .v22 (slide) he doesn’t acquire the land that belonged to the priests. A tyrant a greedy leader, with this kind of power would have taken as much land and money as he could, no matter priest or not.

c.    Second, Look in v. 24 (Slide) the people got to keep 80 percent of their proceeds, thus it was just a 20% tax.  A tax rate lower than many of the taxes and interest rates in the ancient middle east, and maybe even lower than many places today. [7]

d.    Third look in v.25 (Slide), the people were not forced into this decision, but were thankful for the agreement Joseph made with them.^[8] And remember the people suggested this idea, not Joseph. ^[9]

So what for today? We need wise and Godly leaders who do not act as tyrants, who listened to the people, who are generous and not hungry for money and power.

It is especially important for our leaders to have this Godly wisdom and gift of administration in difficult times such as a famine or disaster, or like or a pandemic.

We should pray for our leaders to make wise descions, pray that they would not be tempted by money or power.

Pray that we would raise up Godly leaders from our churches, raise our kids with the truths of the bible, and teach them how God has used godly leaders to bless people, Serving in the government can be a godly ambition, God could use someone setting here today to help make just and right government policies.

Whether your in government or not, everyone must act generously and not as tyrants whatever there sphere of life, whatever your job is, in our families, and in our church.

Serve God where ever he has you to make good decisions for his glory.

————

So I want to respond(slide) to God’s word today in this way.

We have cut little pieces here to remind us that our life here on earth is short in comparison to eternity and that we are just pilgrims passing through, living each day for the glory of God.

I would like everyone to come down during our time of response get one of these to keep as a reminder of this eternal perspective.

During this time you can also come down and ask for prayer or if you have made the decision to follow Jesus today, I would love to talk to you about next steps of baptism, and church membership, learning more about God and serving others.

Let us respond to God’s word in Worship, praise, and prayer, and come down to get this symbol of our eternal perspective.

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Footnotes
[1] Genesis 46:31 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 were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. Genesis 46:32 The men are shepherds; they also raise livestock. They have brought their flocks and herds and all that they have.’

[2] In 1910 The Times had run a series of articles by popular writers and thinkers of the day asking what was wrong with the world. In response, a Christian, theologian and scholar named G.K. Chesterton wrote to the newspaper as follows: “Dear Sirs, I am. [What's wrong with the world?] He recognized the sin in his own life, he recognized the sin in his own heart. There’s a big movement today, is what I would call the self-esteem movement, or the positivity movment. Where you don’t want to say anything negative about yourself. Never admit that you are wrong in any way to make yourself feel better. That may solve a symptom but that wont cure the disease. What must recognize that we are part of the problem. That we need a heart change, that we need forgiveness, that we need God’s grace and mercy. But theirs is also a movement amongst church folk that go to the other extreme, and think that God is always angry with them, that they can never get it right or do enough good for God to be pleased. That kind of thinking is right either.

[3] Genesis 47:1 So Joseph went and informed Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in the land of Goshen.” Genesis 47:2 He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. Genesis 47:3 And Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?” They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants, both we and our ancestors, are shepherds.” Genesis 47:4 And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to stay in the land for a while because there is no grazing land for your servants’ sheep, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.” Genesis 47:5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you, Genesis 47:6 the land of Egypt is open before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They can live in the land of Goshen.

[4] Genesis 47:10 So Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from Pharaoh’s presence. Genesis 47:11 Then Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. Genesis 47:12 And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s family with food for their dependents. Genesis 47:13 But there was no food in the entire region, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted by the famine.

[5] Genesis 47:14 Joseph collected all the silver to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were purchasing, and he brought the silver to Pharaoh’s palace. Genesis 47:15 When the silver from the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die here in front of you? The silver is gone!”

[6] Genesis 47:16 But Joseph said, “Give me your livestock. Since the silver is gone, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.” Genesis 47:17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks of sheep, the herds of cattle, and the donkeys. That year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock. Genesis 47:18 When that year was over, they came the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our lord that the silver is gone and that all our livestock belongs to our lord. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. Genesis 47:19 Why should we die here in front of you—both us and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. Then we with our land will become Pharaoh’s slaves. Give us seed so that we can live and not die, and so that the land won’t become desolate.”

[7] John E. Hartley, Genesis, ed. W. Ward Gasque, Robert L. Hubbard Jr., and Robert K. Johnston, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012), 347–348: First, Under this agreement, they paid twenty percent of their crop … to Pharaoh. As one commentator notes: Texts from the ancient Middle East attest that the interest rate for seed was often much higher, many times at forty percent. According to ancient standards, Joseph thus acted graciously toward the people. He stressed that the rest of the crop was theirs for seed and for food. The people gladly accepted the agreement, knowing that they had been spared from death.” - Hartley

^[8] K. A. Mathews, Genesis 11:27–50:26, vol. 1B of The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005), 851. third, “Although we cannot know from Genesis, there is reason to believe that the voluntary submission of the people assumes that the enslavement was not permanent.” Because they could buy back their land after their debt was paid

^[9] K. A. Mathews, Genesis 11:27–50:26, vol. 1B of The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005), 851–852. For all these reasons – I agree with one commentator that says - “This passage cannot be used as a justification for slavery or the charge that the Bible promotes slavery. It must be interpreted, as in the case of the slavery texts of the Pentateuch and New Testament (e.g., Exod 21:20–21, 32; Eph 6:5–8) in light of the cultural norms of the time. There is a trajectory within Scripture itself toward better treatment of slaves which, taken to its logical conclusion, ultimately provides the basis for the end of the practice.”