Galen Call's Sermon Library
"The Family Reunion" - August 16, 1998
Thank you, Jenny. Let's open our Bibles together, please, to the book of Genesis once more as we turn to chapter 46 this morning. How many of you have been to a family reunion this summer? Would you lift your hand, pray for all these folks as they lift their hands? Our family reunion is interesting. When families meet, there are a lot of dynamics that are at work, aren't there, on a lot of different levels. The one hand, there may be excitement about seeing a relative for the first time in years of another level. There may be sorrow over the absence of some loved one who was there the last time and is now gone. There's happiness, perhaps, over holding a newborn infant in your arms, or perhaps you've been introduced to a fiancé of that niece, and you're excited about that. Sometimes there's the feeling of jealousy among family members because of someone's success or there's worry because of someone else's illness. Family reunions, a lot of things happen. Today as we look at Genesis chapters 46 and 47 and see the family reunion of Jacob, we're going to see a lot of things at work. Joseph had been separated from his family for more than 20 years at this time. During most of that time, he did not know whether his father was alive or dead. He had no idea about his brothers, how they were doing. So you can imagine the emotion that was present as he revealed himself to them and then sent for his father to come to Egypt for this family reunion. What we're going to see today in this family reunion of Jacob's family is God at work in his family on several levels. And in each case, we'll gain at least one insight into God's work in our lives too. And you'll notice as we look at these insights from the family reunion, what God really does here is to wrap together five of the major themes that we have studied from Joseph's life. These are themes that also embrace the entire book of Genesis, but especially the life of Joseph as we have studied it. So track along with me, and as we notice the insights, think back in your own mind and heart about how we saw this theme developed in Joseph's life earlier. The first thing that happens as we begin chapter 46 is a revelation of Jacob's God. So here's something happening in conjunction with this family reunion. Jacob got the word that Joseph wanted him to come to Egypt. And so in verse 1 it says Israel, which was his new name, set out with all that he had and came to bear Shiba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. Jacob left where he was living near Hebron, and as he traveled west and slightly south along the caravan route he came to the city of bear Shiba. A bear Shiba was a very important place to Jacob's family. It was a place of significance, Abraham dug a well in bear Shiba and then lived there after the offering up of Isaac. Isaac, Jacob's father, also lived in bear Shiba. Jacob himself had lived there until the time that he departed when fleeing to Huron. God appeared at bear Shiba both to Abraham, excuse me, to Isaac and to Abraham's hand maiden by Sarah Hagar. And so a lot has happened in this vicinity in Jacob's family. And so he stops there and he offers sacrifices to God. And God does something very special, God appears to Jacob too. He spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said Jacob, Jacob and he said here I am. And he said I am God, he says I am El, I am the mighty one, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt. Now that's interesting, isn't it? Do not be afraid to go to Egypt. Why would he say that to Jacob? You need to keep in mind that Jacob knew that Abraham had gone down to Egypt in a time of famine. And though his stay there was not long, he returned from Egypt with baggage. In this hand maiden that I mentioned earlier to Sarah whose name was Hagar. And already there was friction between the descendants of Ishmael Hagar's son through Abraham and the children of Isaac. Indeed, the history of the world was changed because of Abraham stripped down to Egypt on that occasion because from Ishmael many of the enemies of Israel came in later generations even to this day. Furthermore God had said to Isaac, Jacob's father, do not go down to Egypt. Do not go down to Egypt. And so Joseph, rather Jacob is in a bit of a quandary because Joseph has sent a message to him. He longs to see Joseph and Joseph has said come down to Egypt. And so he wondered, should he go? God appears to him in Beersheba and says go, I will be with you. He reassures Jacob that this is the right move at the right time. He says 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, speaking about Jacob's death. So he tells Jacob that Jacob is going to die while he is in Egypt. Joseph will close his eyes. God's promise to make Jacob's descendants a great nation there in Egypt is a partial fulfillment of what God had promised in Genesis chapter 12 to Abraham, grandfather Abraham, that he would make him a great nation. God now explains that that promise is going to be fulfilled, not in Canaan, but in Egypt. And that in time God would bring Jacob and his descendants out of Egypt. And so we begin this family reunion with a revelation of Jacob's God. And the insight that I see here is this, that God will follow his plan. We've seen that before in Joseph's life. It has twists and turns that we would never expect and for Joseph this young man of character it involved King in prison for several years. But that was God's plan. God sent him ahead, as we see again today, to prepare the Wapers family. God will follow his plan. And although this seems to be a contradiction of what God has said earlier, God says now go down to Egypt, I will be with you. Why? Because that's his plan. I hope that you can see that in your own life. God will follow his plan. There may be some corners that you had not anticipated. There may be some disappointments or successes that you had never dreamed of. But God will follow his plan in your life and mine as well. He will take our mistakes and blend them into his plan so that his plan is never foiled. He will take what breaks our hearts and he will bring it out for good in the end. This is an Old Testament statement regarding Romans 8, 28, that God is at work in you and he will work his plan. Now we notice as the text goes on in Genesis chapter 46 verses 8 through 27 there is a record of Jacob's family. Have you ever gotten the genealogy out of the family reunion? I talked to one couple who are in a family reunion this weekend on the west coast and they are there because someone had done a genealogy of the family and they discovered a cousin they had never met before in the state of Washington. And when they contacted the cousin he said come on out for a family reunion so they are there this weekend. Genealogies are thought of often in conjunction with family reunions and it's true here too. Just like this is a selective list of Jacob's descendants that went with him. You will notice this says in verse 8, "These are the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons who went to Egypt." And then it begins to list them and at the end of the list verse 26 it says, "All the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt, his direct descendants, not including the wise 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 the Septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament says 75 here and it adds some other names to the list who are said to be the grand sons of Joseph. And here the English translation of the Hebrew text says 70, 70 persons, why 70? Not counted here it says or the wives of his sons and grand sons. And if Jacob had daughters beyond Dinah and the text is silent about that although some say he may well have had, the husbands of his daughters and his grand daughters are not listed here. But there are 70, why 70? Moses is the one who is writing this by the inspiration of the Spirit and he seems to choose 70 for a literary effect. Now remember that Joseph, though he was a shepherd for 40 years, was a very intelligent and well educated man. He was not a country bum come, although God called him on the backside of the wilderness. He was a man who was a skilled writer and as he writes the book of Genesis you see the careful thought that he put into this, the Spirit of God of course directing and superintending his work so that what we have is the inerrant word of the living God. But Moses' mind is seen in this book and in the Pentateuch which he wrote. He choose a 70 here for literary effect, you say well why 70? Well it may well be because in Genesis chapter 10 in the listing of the nations of the earth after the flood they are counted as 70. Now is every people group represented there? Well the one sense yes because the number of 70 is the number of completion. And so the 70 that are listed represent the complete list of the nations of the earth, the whole. But there were probably some people groups not listed specifically in Genesis chapter 10 but 70 to represent everybody. And again here 70 names are on the list to represent everybody in Jacob's family. There may be something more intended here too in Moses' mind. God had begun the 70 nations from one man whose name was Adam. Now God is going to create a new humanity, a redeemed humanity through one man. And that is Abraham. So God is doing something new here and as there were the numbering of the nations from Adam so we have here the numbering of the descendants from Jacob and from Abraham. What is the insight that we gain here? Well it's one that we've seen time and time again in our study of Genesis. It's this, the God will bless the nations. These sons of Israel, these twelve tribes of Jacob are God's chosen instruments to bring blessing to the earth. God promises to bless all the peoples of the earth through them. And we know that the core of that promise is found in the Messiah who came from Israel. Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. He is the very heart of the promise but the promise I think goes beyond that in the blessings that come to the nations of the earth through Israel. God wants to bless the nations of the earth through you too. He wants to bless the nations of the earth through your life as you share your faith. As you serve Him in the church, as you give of the increase that God gives to you for missionaries to go throughout the earth, God wants us today to be the ones that He would use to bless the nations of the earth through Jesus Christ and they're coming to Him in faith. And so we have the record of Jacob's family and what that represents. We come now to verse 28 of chapter 46 and we come to a third way in which God is at work here in this family reunion. It is a reason for Jacob's journey. It begins here in verse 28 and it goes through chapter 47 verse 12. We begin with the continuation of the trip that says that Jacob sent Judah before him and to Joseph to point out the way before him to Goshen. That was that northern most part of the land of Egypt where Pharaoh had said Joseph's family could reside. And so he gets directions to Goshen and they came into the land of Goshen and 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. Boy, the emotion in that. As this young man who is about 40 years of age now sees his father for the first time since he was a teenager. So much has happened in his life, so much to catch up on, so much to review. So many emotions held in for all those years and now they are released as there is this wonderful reunion of father and son and Joseph sweeps on his father's neck. And Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face that you are alive, still alive." Jacob says, "I am ready to die. I am so happy. My life is complete. Now that I know that you are alive and I have embraced you again, you can identify with his heart there, can't you?" And Joseph said to his brothers, to his father's household, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh and we'll say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household have come to me.'" And so he goes over the plan here in these last verses of chapter 46 and verse 1 of chapter 47, "The plan is instituted." Joseph went in and told Pharaoh and said, "My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have have come out of the land of Canaan, and behold they are in the land of Goshen." And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. He's probably the five who would get cleaned up the fastest. And Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" They said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers." And they said to Pharaoh, "We've come to sojourn in the land." They wanted Pharaoh to understand that they weren't moving there as permanent residents. That might have raised some red flags. They said, "We've come to sojourn here, just to be here for a while, for there's no pasture for your servants, flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan, now therefore please let your servants live in the land of Goshen." And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you. 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." If you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock. He says, "If they want to earn their keep and help me out, they can take care of my livestock because he knew that God's blessing was on this family." And Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. What a scene. This old, old man who's now 130 years old enters into the presence of this great leader of the nation of Egypt and blesses him. And Pharaoh said to him, "How old are you?" And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning are 130. 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." He was right. His father had lived what was 180 years, his grandfather, 175 years, and Joseph's brother Jacob is 130, and so he's simply saying, "I haven't lived as long as my predecessors." And he says, "My years have been few in comparison to them, and they've been unpleasant." Well, I don't know that Jacob here is complaining so much as he's simply telling the truth. His life has not been easy. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence. I'm sure the conversation was longer than this, but this is what the spirit of God chooses for us to know. And then notice again that he blesses Pharaoh as he leaves. And 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 Ramses as Pharaoh had ordered. And Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food according to their little ones. What we have here is a reason for Jacob's journey. The reuniting with Joseph, as emotional as it was, was only a sidebar really in this whole text. Notice how much is given to that one incident and how much is said regarding what happens in Pharaoh's presence. Now the reason for his journey can be explained first in the immediate sense. It was obviously to provide food for Jacob and his family. They were there for a sojourn so that they could be taken care of and Pharaoh gives to them the very best of the land of Egypt. Notice here that although Pharaoh, who was an idolatr, although Pharaoh was an idolatr so let's put it that way, God still used him. God used him to provide for Jacob and his family. Sometimes we think that only people who are Christians can be used of God to bless us in political office. That isn't the case. God is able to use a Pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar or any leader he wishes to bless us, and he does use an idolatr here to care for his people. God uses people other than believers to accomplish his ends. There's the immediate sense in which the reason for his journey is to care for the family, but there is a historic sense here in which I want to answer the question to the reason for Jacob's journey, a historic sense. Because you see it was to position the descendants of Abraham for the prophecy that is given in chapter 15, and I want you to turn back there with me to Genesis chapter 15. God is in this text speaking with Abram. You may remember that God appeared to him, and then there was this deep darkness that came upon Abram. In verse 13, God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions." And in verse 16 he says, "In the fourth generation they shall return here," that is to Canaan, "that God had given that word to Abram, Jacob's grandfather." So what God is doing here, the greater reason for Jacob's journey beyond the immediate sense is this historic sense. The God is positioning the family, the descendants of Abraham for the fulfillment of that prophecy. And through the years of suffering and enslavement that were ahead of them, God would unite them as a people. They would not be these various family groupings, the descendants of Abraham, but they would come together as a people, as a nation, and God would multiply them. Over that period of time the seventy people or so that went into Egypt became two million people strong to be led out as a nation under Moses. What is the insight that we gain here? It is this, that God will provide for his own. We've seen this before in Joseph's life and in the book of Genesis, how the God faithfully provides for his own. He does it here. God provides through prosperity sometimes, as he does here, as they come to Egypt and they're cared for. God also provides for his own through problems sometimes. Because you see the problems that were ahead were also God's plan. The enslavement was what God was doing. He was providing for his people, now it was a strange way to provide, wasn't it? You see God was providing in that way for them to come together as a people, as a nation, so that they could then go back to Canaan and establish the theocracy that God had in mind. And I recall the promises that God gave to Jacob when he was praying at Beersheba three times God said, "I will do this. I will go down with you. I will come up with you. I will care for you. I will." God always provides for his own. God will always provide for you if you're his child. It won't always be God's provision of prosperity. Sometimes it will be God's provision of problems because God knows that at the moment that's what you need. God is not nearly as concerned with our comfort as he is with our character. So God provides for what we need at the moment. Well, let's move ahead into the family reunion text and deal with verses 13 through 26 now of chapter 47, where we have a recognition of Jacob's son. Moses leaves behind, at least for the moment, the narrative about the family of Jacob. And he inserts information here in these verses about Joseph's rise in authority. And how he extended the rule of Pharaoh over the Egyptian people. Remember, there have been seven years of prosperity. There are now to be seven years of famine. Two of those years have passed when Jacob and his family come to Egypt. So there are five years yet of famine throughout that part of the world. And so these verses basically tell what happens during those last five years. And how that through his wise leadership, Joseph cares for the people. Now in doing this, he also brings the people into servitude to Pharaoh. And so there are people who criticize Joseph because he really builds the power of Pharaoh. Eventually Pharaoh owns everything. And the people have to sell all that they have in order to have food. And that doesn't read well in our 20th century democracy. But you see, it was right for Egypt then. We make a mistake when we take our values and we try to force them into Scripture, into the historical and cultural context of that day. What Joseph did was the right thing to do and it actually built the power of Egypt. It brought the people of Egypt together under Pharaoh's leadership. And Joseph rose in power. He was widely recognized and he cared for his own family in Goshen. Now why does Moses insert this? I asked myself that question. It seems to be a strange piece of information to put just where he does in the flow of material. And it seems to me that what Moses wants to do here is to show us that Joseph acted not only as the Savior of his family in being sent by God into Egypt before them, but that he acts here also as the Savior of the entire nation of Egypt. Because you see, he is weaving into the story of Joseph how he is like our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Savior of his family and of a nation, the Savior of their lives. Of course, our Savior is one who gives to us eternal life and provides eternal blessing. But there are some parallelisms between Christ and what we've seen in Joseph. He was rejected by his brethren too, Jesus was, and he suffered at their hands. Like Joseph, he, Jesus, was unrecognized by his brethren in his first coming. Like Joseph, he will reveal himself to his brothers at his return, his second coming. And his brethren, Israel, will bow before him. And one final parallel that really fits what I'm talking about here is this, that his saving rule and blessing will extend beyond the sons of Israel to embrace the nations of the earth. And I think that's at the heart of why Moses puts this here. Again, he wants us to see that Joseph is not with the Savior of Israel and his family. He is the Savior of Egypt. Just as the Lord Jesus Christ is not only the Messiah and Savior of Israel, who rejected in the first time, but will receive in the second time, he is the Savior and the Messiah for the whole world, which Egypt here represents. So what is the insight that we gain here? It's one that we saw two or three weeks ago and it's this, but God will bless character. God will bless character. Joseph was a man of character. God blessed him and used him. We can't even compare human character to that of the Lord Jesus Christ in his perfect humanness and his deity. But his character as the eternal God-man qualifies him to be used by God to save all of those that come to him. God blesses character. God blesses your character too. And even though there are times when because you have values and personal standards that get you disfavored in your neighborhood or in your relationships or at work, never lay aside your character and your values for temporary gain. God will always in the long run bless the man or the woman of character. An important insight. Finally, verses 27 to 31 we see a request for Jacob's burial. And I want to read some of that. Israel had lived in that land of Goshen and had required property. They were fruitful, very numerous, and Jacob lived in the land of Egypt verse 28, 17 years. And so the length of Jacob's life was 147 years. And the time for Israel to die drew near. He called his son Joseph and said to him, "Please, if I have found favor in your sight, place now your hand under my thigh and deal with me in kindness and faithfulness." This was a way, a somatic way of making an oath, of swearing something, promising. He says, "Please, do not bury me in Egypt, but when I lie down with my fathers you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place," talking about his ancestors. And he, Joseph, said, "I will do as you have said," and he said, "Sware to me." And so he swore to him, then Israel bowed in worship, the head of the bed. Here Moses returns now to the story of Jacob to summarize the final years of his life. Warren Wiersby has an interesting paragraph regarding this. He says, the Jewish proverb says, "For the ignorant old age is winter, but for the learned it is a harvest." Jacob was now 130 years old, soon to be 147, and during those years he had learned many important lessons about God, himself and other people, especially his sons. Some of those lessons in the school of life had been difficult to learn, and Jacob hadn't always passed every test successfully. But now, thanks to God, thanks to God's goodness and Joseph's faithfulness, Jacob would reap a rich harvest in Egypt during the next 17 years. His closing years wouldn't bring winter with its cold and storms. Jacob's sunset years would be as the autumn with the warm golden sunshine of peace and the bounties of God's gracious harvest, and that's what we see here. Jacob is now 147, it's time to die, and he has a funeral arrangement to make with Joseph. I notice that he did not approach death looking backward. He approached death looking forward, looking ahead, believing that God would keep his promises to his family. He made his funeral arrangements to symbolize that. He said, "Joseph, swear to me that you will bury me in Canaan. Why was that important where he was going to be buried?" Because he believed in the resurrection, and he wanted to be resurrected in the place of blessing, Canaan. He wanted to be resurrected to share in the fulfillment of the promises that were yet to be fulfilled. It is a powerful statement of his faith. Most of us, hopefully all of us, make a last will and testament, and we decide who is going to get what if we don't spend it all before. There's one step that most people don't take that Jacob does here that I want to exhort you to take, and that is to prepare your own funeral. See what it sounds like, it's macabre, it sounds bizarre. I might hasten if I do that. Let somebody know what you would like to have said, what you would like to have sung at your funeral service. Because that is your last opportunity to make a statement of faith in Jesus Christ. And it's possible that that can be blown. I've seen it blown big time with family members who didn't appreciate dad or mom's faith. Consequently, the funeral service did not say much about Jesus Christ or about God's faith for us to the parent. Make your plans, let people know what you want to be a part of that last opportunity for testimony. It's a good thing to do. Now, the insight that I see here finally is this, that God will keep his promises. Haven't we seen that all the way through our study of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph? That God will keep his promises, and Jacob dies, he's going to bless his children first before we get there, but he dies believing, trusting, knowing that God will keep his promises. What a great way to die. What a great testimony to go with. Well, let me just say in closing, that God did a lot in this family. And at this family reunion, we see God bringing together the themes that he's been trying to teach them and us. God is at work in them, but I have a question for you, because you see, God not only saves us personally, but he works in family units. God works in families, and I have a question for you, what is God teaching you and your family in your present experiences? What is God teaching you in what you're passing through? Are you listening to God? Are you trusting God? Are you obeying God? God bless the family of Jacob. God wants to bless you and your family. For him to bless us, we need to listen, we need to trust, we need to obey. God help us to do that. Let's pray together. As we have attended this family reunion with Jacob, and we've been reminded of what God has been trying to teach this family through the insights that we've looked at. Maybe God has said something fresh to you this morning. What is God trying to teach you in your experiences? What is God saying to your family? Will you say to him this morning, as Jacob did, "Here am I, Lord." God said, "Jacob, Jacob." God's calling you to, will you say, "Here am I, are you listening? Are you trusting? Are you obeying and doing what God told you to do?" Will you make that your commitment this morning? Let's stand together, please, with our heads bowed. Father, we stand at the close of this service in recognition that you are the mighty one. You are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You have grafted us into that family because of our faith in Jesus Christ. We too are the children of Abraham who have trusted in Jesus. And Father, I pray that as Father Abraham learned to trust and obey, so will we. And whatever it is you're trying to write into our lives and write into the lives of our family members, we open ourselves to that work. Teach us, strengthen us, lead us. We will trust. By your grace, we will obey because we want to walk in the place of blessing, amen. [BLANK_AUDIO]