God’s Plan – part 3
Genesis 46:28 – 47:31
April 26, 2015
I do apologize that over the past few weeks
We’ve only been hitting Genesis every other week.
I know that can make it difficult to stay in the flow of what is happening.
But hopefully you will remember that
We have finally been able to see God’s Plan come into focus.
There was a time when we really wondered what God was up to.
• We saw Joseph hated
• We saw Joseph sold
• We saw Joseph falsely accused
• We saw Joseph imprisoned
• We saw Joseph forgotten
We saw all that and really wondered what God was doing.
However we have more recently seen
God to begin to reveal what He was up to all along.
He wasn’t afflicted Joseph just for the fun of it,
God was instead using Joseph to save Israel.
Genesis 45:4-11 “Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they came closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. “For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. “Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. “You shall live in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. “There I will also provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished.”‘
And so all of a sudden what seemed like the worst unimaginable suffering
Was now turned into the most remarkable good.
And that is what we call PROVIDENCE
We rarely know what God is up to, but we can trust that it will be good.
WHEN WE LEFT THE STORY LAST, WE SAW GOD WORKING.
• He softened Pharaoh’s heart to invite Israel to come to Egypt
• He even gave Jacob the desire to leave Canaan and come
Now we are about to see Israel arrive in Egypt and begin to settle in there.
And at this point we have to be VERY CAREFUL
That we don’t lose sight of what God is doing.
I tell you that, because by the time Moses will rise to power to lead Israel,
Israel will have totally lost sight of it.
What I need to do at the beginning of this sermon
Is to remind you again of the plan of God.
Don’t forget the whole plan.
1) THE PLAN STARTED WITH A PROMISE TO ABRAHAM
Do you remember that?
God gracious selected a man named Abram from a pagan nation
And revealed the plan to him.
Genesis 12:1-3 “Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
• There was a promise of land
• There was a promise of many descendants
• There was a promise of blessing
God would make a great nation out of Abraham,
And through Abraham’s descendants would come the Christ
Through whom every nation in the world could receive salvation.
That was (and is) the plan.
And we won’t read them all, but God reiterated that fact over and over.
Genesis 17:1-8 “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.” Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. “No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
God reiterated His plan over and over and over again.
And it all started with a promise to Abraham.
2) IT CONTINUTED WITH THE SANCTIFICATION OF JACOB
We studied all that God walked Jacob through.
God was in the process of transforming him from Jacob to Israel.
While God was preparing the land for Israel,
God was also preparing Israel for the land.
Jesus does the same for us.
He told us in John 14 that “I go to prepare a place for you”
And yet, while He is preparing the place for us,
He is also busy preparing us for the place.
3) THE PLAN WAS PROTECTED THROUGH THE SUFFERING OF JOSEPH
God had a plan to give Israel the land of promise,
But there were a couple of things that threatened that plan.
• Israel was too small
• Israel was prone to intermarry
• The sin curse (famine) threatened to destroy them
So God began to work to protect Israel from those threats.
The solution was to send Joseph to Egypt and to have Israel follow him.
And God would use Egypt as an incubator to grow Israel,
To preserve Israel, and to provide for Israel through the famine.
That is where we are in the plan, but you must realize that is not the end.
4) THE PLAN CULMINATES IN THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROMISE
This plan isn’t over until Israel possesses the land of promise
This plan isn’t over until the Messiah comes to give rest to Israel
And bless all the nations of the world
It is important that you remember that.
What we are seeing happen in Egypt today is indeed good,
But please don’t see the happy ending yet.
EGYPT IS NOT THE GOAL.
And if you will remember, this is where Israel got off track.
How many times do we find them under Moses, seeking to return to Egypt?
You will see in a minute that right now Egypt is a good place to be,
But Egypt is not the happy ending
Let me remind you:
Exodus 1:8-14 “Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. “Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.” So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel. The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously; and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.”
Arriving safely in Egypt is definitely part of the plan,
But it is not the finished plan.
And as we examine our test this morning I hope to show you what I mean.
Let’s divide this text into 5 points.
And the majority of the text is just to show you one thing
Egypt right now is good for Israel.
Let me show you some of what they received in Egypt
#1 THEY WERE UNITED AS A FAMILY
Genesis 46:28-30
This is really one of the best “feel good” moments you find in Scripture.
It has been at least 22 years since Jacob has seen Joseph.
This was his favorite son and for 22 years Jacob thought he was dead.
There just aren’t words to properly put the emotion here in perspective.
(29-30) “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, that you are still alive.”
That is a happy reunion!
And it isn’t just Joseph and Jacob, it is Joseph and all of his family.
He once again has his brothers
He has all of his nieces and nephews
This is a good day
And it reminds us that God’s plan isn’t all suffering and pain.
Since it is true that God’s plan for your life does include suffering,
Satan would have you believe that suffering is all God desires for you.
Satan would gladly whisper in your ear not to trust God, and not to submit to Him, for all God wants to do is make you suffer.
But we should all remember the words of Jesus.
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
It is not God who wishes to destroy your life, that is Satan’s desire.
God’s desire is for you to have life…real life…abundant life
While God does indeed carry us through times of discipline,
He also carries us into times of immeasurable joy and blessing.
Joseph has had his share of difficult days, but this is not one of them.
This is a good day.
Let me show you another good thing about Egypt.
#2 THEY WERE PRESERVED AS A NATION
Genesis 46:31-47:6
If you will remember, one of the reasons for sending Israel into Egypt
Was because they seemed to have a propensity
To intermarry with the surrounding Canaanites.
Esau did it, Judah did it.
Abraham specifically chose to guard Isaac from it, as did Isaac for Jacob.
Egypt would be a place where intermarriage would not be an issue.
WHY?
Because Hebrews and shepherds were detestable to the Egyptians.
And you will see God actually use that fact here to keep Israel separate.
When Joseph sees his brothers,
He has an important piece of advice for them.
Be sure and tell Pharaoh that you are shepherds and keepers of livestock.
In fact Joseph told Pharaoh the same.
WHY?
Because Joseph wanted to make sure
That Pharaoh would be willing to keep Israel separate
And not just try to integrate them in to the nation.
(33-34) “When Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘ What is your occupation?’ you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ that you may live in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is loathsome to the Egyptians.”
And that is exactly what Joseph’s brothers did.
They told Pharaoh they were shepherds
And Pharaoh gladly allowed them to live segregated from the Egyptians.
(47:6) “The land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock.”
So in Egypt, not only did the children of Israel all get reunited,
But they were also granted special privilege to be separate from the Egyptians and to live in the best of all the land of Egypt.
This was again a very good thing.
They left the land of Canaan to receive the best of the land of Egypt.
I don’t really desire to leave Texas,
But if I do have to leave, I want it to be to a cabin with a wood working shop and a private golf course in the mountains of Colorado.
And I want it to be in a community surrounded by Christian people where I don’t have to worry about an outside pagan influence.
You get the idea.
It might not be Canaan, but it sure isn’t bad.
What was happening in Egypt was a good thing.
They were united as a family
They were preserved as a nation
#3 THEY WERE SHELTERED FROM DISASTER
Genesis 47:11-12
We are all familiar with the circumstances
As to why Israel has come to Egypt in the first place.
There is a major famine.
A famine so intense that it has threatened to completely destroy Israel.
Because of this Israel has gone to Egypt
In search of provision and shelter.
And that is precisely what they found.
(11-12) “So Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered. Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to their little ones.”
How can you argue with that?
You’re living in your cabin in Colorado surrounded by Christians,
Playing golf every day
And now you find that someone is catering all of your meals.
It’s really hard to be too gloomy about that.
This is good.
God is pouring out His blessing upon His people.
United As a Family, Preserved As a Nation, Sheltered from Disaster
#4 THEY WERE FAVORED ABOVE THE WORLD
Genesis 47:13-27
And this is really remarkable.
First comes a long explanation of the suffering of Egypt.
God promised 7 years of famine so extreme
That the 7 years of prosperity would be totally forgotten.
That is what you read about here.
And the famine is so extreme that it caused every single Egyptian to give up all their money, sell all their livestock, surrender all their land, and becomes slaves of Pharaoh.
Do you see how hard it was in Egypt?
Now, before you get too hard on Joseph for presumably taking all that these people had, you must notice that in the end, he only made them pay 20% to Pharaoh as a means of preserving a surplus of grain.
And the people most certainly were not bitter.
(25) “So they said, “You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.”
But the point is that all of Egypt was suffering.
• They were not prospering
• They were not increasing
• They were struggling
They were going broke, losing their farms,
Losing their livestock and becoming slaves
It was hard in Egypt.
But you contrast what Egypt was going through
With what Israel was going through at the exact same time.
(27) “Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen, and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous.”
• While the Egyptians are surrendering their property, the Israelites are gaining it.
• While the Egyptians are barren, the Israelites are fruitful.
• While the Egyptians are suffering, the Israelites seem to be sitting in the lap of luxury.
So to follow our illustration,
While you are in your little patch of heaven in Colorado, everyone else around you has had to sell their home and move into government apartments.
I mean, it’s hard to feel sorry for Israel right now.
Everything is going really really good for them.
• They’re together
• They’re protected
• They’re provided for
• They’re blessed
• They aren’t struggling or suffering
Egypt has proven to be really good for Israel.
And the point is that things are definitely looking up.
If there was ever a time for Israel to feel like they had arrived
And the good plan of God was finished, this would be that time.
BUT DON’T LET YOUR MIND GO THERE
At this point, you must learn from Jacob.
It is the point Moses is making.
They were united as a family
They were preserved as a nation
They were sheltered from disaster
They were favored above the world
BUT…
#5 THEY WERE NOT HOME
Genesis 47:28-31
Please, please notice what Jacob said to Joseph.
• Was it good to be in Egypt? Yes
• Was it Jacob’s desire to come? Yes
But don’t ever assume that Egypt was the finish line, it was not.
Jacob knew it was only part of the journey.
And it didn’t matter if things were good or bad,
It was all simply part of God fulfilling a greater plan.
We skipped it a moment ago, but look back at verses 7-10
Genesis 47:7-10 “Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?” So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.” And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from his presence.”
Now we know that Jacob had his highs
• Receiving the birthright and the blessing
• Marrying Rachel
• Having 12 sons
• A favorable reunion with Esau
But in Jacob’s mind his life was more characterized
By his struggles than his blessings.
• He had also been estranged from his mother early on.
• He had worked tirelessly and been tricked by his uncle.
• He has feared his brother most of his life
• He had to bury his beloved wife
• He had been disappointed by his sons
• He had been deprived of his favorite son
Jacob told Pharaoh that life had been hard.
And we know that.
Life is hard.
We live in a cursed world.
We learned back in Gen. 3 that the curse promised toil, pain, and enmity.
We were going to work hard, suffer much, and battle continually.
All of those things were a reminder to Jacob
That God’s plan wasn’t finished.
But now, we find Jacob in a good place.
We find Jacob in the lap of luxury surrounded by those he loved.
AND YET, JACOB STILL NEW THAT THIS WAS NOT THE PROMISE.
He makes Joseph swear to take his body back to the land of promise.
And we must grasp what Moses is driving at.
When things are hard and we are suffering,
It is easy to long for our eternal home.
But it’s when things are easy that we need to maintain the focus of Jacob.
When the money is good and the plans are working and the comforts are plenteous we will actually tend to settle for this life.
We actually start to settle for this.
To put it in the context of the story:
We get so comfortable in Egypt that we quit striving for Canaan.
But even when things were going good Jacob knew he was not home.
And I have to remind you of that as well.
If you’re suffering right now, I don’t have to tell you to long for heaven,
That is a natural response.
But if you are presently living in your cabin in Colorado,
Playing golf with catered meals,
It is much easier to settle in and get comfortable
And grow attached to this place.
And if that is where you are, I am happy for you.
We all long for good things and happy moments in this life.
• Those are a blessing from God
• Those are good things
• Thank God for them and enjoy them
The writer of Ecclesiastes said:
Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 “Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.”
Ecclesiastes 9:7-9 “Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.”
I am in no way trying to tell you that if life is good, you shouldn’t enjoy it.
By all means, enjoy it.
JUST REMEMBER:
• That this is not the end.
• This is not the goal.
Both your day of adversity and your day of prosperity
Are simply part of God preparing you for the day of eternity.
All that God has done, is doing, and will do,
Is NOT about the betterment of this life,
It is about fulfilling His plan for eternity.
Jesus taught us:
Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Paul taught us:
Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
Philippians 3:17-21 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”
The call is whether things are bad here or good here,
Remember that either way we will not stay here.
Jacob never lost sight of the promise.
WHAT IS YOUR PROMISE?
1 Peter 1:3-9 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”
Revelation 21:1-4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
That is what we are shooting for
That is what we are focusing on
It is the call to always maintain an eternal perspective.
The Plan of God for your life is not just to make you suffer here, or to make you happy here. (Both of those will occur)
The Plan of God is to prepare you for eternity.
The Plan of God is take you to the land of promise.
Regardless of how good it gets in Egypt,
Don’t determine to settle for it over what God has in store.
• That was the flaw of Israel. Even while Moses was trying to lead them to the land of promise there were many who were content just to keep Egypt.
• When Jesus was offering eternal life to the rich young ruler, he was content to keep his piece of this life.
DON’T
As Martin Luther wrote in his hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”
“Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also
The body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still
His kingdom is forever”
Jacob didn’t want the present pleasures of Egypt,
He wanted what God had in store.
TURN TO: Hebrews 11:13-16
And friends that is what we are after.
That is the plan of God.
• Keep your focus on that
• Store up your treasure there
• Let your hope rest there
And even when this world is offered to you on a silver platter,
Make sure you don’t settle, God has something better in store.
Make sure you desire “a better country, that is, a heavenly one”
