Interlocked Lesson 11

God’s Sovereignty

Have you ever had a moment where someone is telling you a story?

However, about 10 seconds into the story you realize this is going to be a long story…

And even worse, the story isn’t going anywhere…

That’s tough.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about… JUst listen to this story.

God’s stories aren’t like that.

We may not see what God is doing today.

But when we look at the big picture, we see there’s nothing God can’t do.

We will see a little more today how God’s story is connected to the end of Genesis.

God promised Abraham a family.

He promised His family would be a blessing to others.

Abraham has Isaac

Isaac has Jacob and Esau

Jacob has 12 sons and God would continue the promise through Jacob’s family.

God protected Abraham’s Family through:

A. Famine - Physical death.

B. Idol Worship - Cultural death.

Some of Jacob’s sons began marrying and having relationship with women who didn’t love God.

They worshipped idols.

This led to conflict, idol worship in Jacob’s family, and even death.

God intervened by moving Jacob’s family to Egypt to provide:

Food

prevent them from marrying Canaanites - losing their identity and mission.

What awesome is that God predicted this would happen when he made his covenant with Abraham.

Genesis 15:12–16 “12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.””

Why did God send Abraham’s descendents to Egypt?

I don’t know all the reasons and I don’t think anyone does, but I think there are 3 reasons we can see today:

Food

Discrimination

Jesus

1. FOOD

Jacob’s family was super dysfunctional.

Jacob had 2 wives and had 12 sons and one daughter.

However, Jacob loved one of his wives, Rachel more than his other wife Leah.

Because of this, Jacob showed favoritism to Rachel’s son’s more than to Leah’s.

Leah’s sons saw this, felt this, and hated Joseph because of this.

They end up selling him into slavery and through a lot of God-ordained events, Joseph goes from jail in Egypt to second in command of all Egypt answering only to Pharaoh.

It’s clear when you get to the end of Joseph’s story, God had used his going to Egypt to bring his family there.

He says it like this in Genesis 45.

Genesis 45:4–8 NIV

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

After this Joseph brings his entire family to live in Egypt so that they would have plenty of food and not suffer form the famine in the world.

That is how all of Abraham’s descendents left the land God gave to Abraham and ended up in Egypt.

2. Discrimination

Egyptians, while they welcomed Joseph’s family… that doesn’t mean that they thought well of them.

Egyptians looked down on people who weren’t Egyptians.

Remember, The issue in Canaan was Israel becoming idol worshipers due to their marrying with women who worshiped false gods and were living in pagan cultures.

Now, they lived in Egypt, but the Jews were discriminated against.

Genesis 43:32 “32 They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians.”

Egyptians also didn’t think kindly of Shepherds…

Btw… most of Joseph’s family were shepherds!

So Egypt separated themselves from Joseph’s family once his family began growing in number.

Genesis 47:5–6 “5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.””

*SHOW GRAPHIC ON PAGE 5*

3. JESUS - Matthew 2:13-23.

Shortly after Mary and Joseph had Jesus, they had to flee and live in Egypt for a time.

The reason was because Herod was killing young children because he heard about the “king” that had been born.

It was no accident that Jesus lived in Egypt for a time, just like the Israelites did.

We might question Jesus when we are in the middle of the story, but wow aren’t God’s stories beautiful as we look back?

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Having said all of that this morning, let’s pause this conversation in the narrative and ask a difficult question.

Is God really in control of History? Or does God decide? Or is it a combination of both?

ASK: IS God all-knowing?

- Yes… He knows what’s going to happen.

But he also knows all the “What-ifs”

What if Joseph’s brothers had not sold him into slavery?

What if Abraham had not left what was familiar and gone to Canaan?

What if Joseph’s family had not come to Egypt?

Well, that’s when we get to another attribute of God.

God is also All-Powerful.

So there are two things that are true at the same time.

We talked a little bit about this on Wednesday night as well.

1. God is Sovereign

2. Man has free will to choose.

So let’s look at Joseph’s life again for a moment.

Did His brother’s choose to sell him into slavery?

- YES!

They had a few options they discussed.

- Kill him, sell him, spare him?

They chose to sell.

Joseph, did he have a choice on how to live in Egypt?

YES!

- He could live honorably or dishonorably.

He chose to live honorably.

So through all of the good and the bad in the story of Joseph, Joseph says one thing about God that sums this up.

Genesis 50:20 “20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Joseph’s brothers acted upon the evil choice by selling their brother.

God acted sovereignly by turning their evil actions into good things for their family.

Knowing History and telling the future is something only God can do.

Even if it looks like everything is crumbling and failing around us, we need to remember that God is still soverign.

Isaiah 46:9–10 “9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. 10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’”

The same God who told Abraham what would happen to his family, also used Joseph’s brother’s evil actions to make good things happen.

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Lastly today, I want us to see how God grew Abraham’s family in Egypt.

What were the main parts of the blessing to Abraham?

People (descendents)

Land

Blessing (all people would be blessed through his family.)

Well over 430 years in Egypt, Abraham’s family grew from about 70 people to about 2 million people.

We estimate this from the census God took of the people in Numbers 1.

God told Jacob (Isaac’s son) about this.

Genesis 46:1–3 “1 So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he replied. 3 “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.”

However, just because Israel became great, that didn’t mean Egypt liked what was happening.

Exodus 1:8–14 “8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.” 11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.”

Man…

This is tough stuff!

What is God doing allowing Israel to now become slaves in Egypt?

***Show graphic Page 9***

In Exodus 2:24–25 “24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.”

God remembers His promises.

Not one promise of God will fail.

So in his Sovereignty, God has been working, and now He will continue to work.

APPLICATION:

Have you ever questioned what God is doing in your life?

I have.

I know you have too.

In Psalm 6:3 “3 My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?”

David himself questioned God.

Nobody wants to go through the hard stuff today.

And yet, I’d bet most people when they look back at their life, wouldn’t change the suffering they’ve had.

Why?

Because it is part of what makes you who you are.

And for the sake of today, It’s all part of God’s story.

God is Sovereign.

Maybe when life is tough you can ask yourself this question.

Do you want to have control of your life,

Or

Do you trust God to be in control?

Would you rather think things randomly happen, or that God has a plan for all things?

There is much more comfort in joy in trusting God to work in all situations.

Romans 8:28 “28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

That’s a controversial verse, but for the sake of today just notice that middle phrase.

in all things, God works…

God is always working.

Let’s be sure not to get ahead of ourselves thinking that God needs us.

He doesn’t.

He’s been working His plan before you, and His plans will continue long after you.

But again, the beautiful thing is that God wants you.

What a joy it is to be desired by the God of the universe.

Maybe, we should lean into that joy and truly live trusting God.

Our plans will fail, but God’s plans will never fail.

May we always look to Christ in all things.

In all situations. Amen.