Genesis 46:1-47:31
Aaron Kaufman
Genesis • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Genesis 46-47:31
Genesis 46-47:31
The last 2 weeks, we were talking about resurrection stories. Last week, it was about us and our relationship with Jesus. Two weeks ago, it was Joshua’s brothers and father hearing that their son who was once thought dead is alive again. Let’s journey back to Genesis again and set the scene: Jacob, otherwise known as Israel, has 12 sons and 1 daughter. His 11th son was his favorite. He was given special position of authority over his brothers by way of the fact that he was given a special coat. What was special about the coat? Our NKJV says it was colorful. The Hebrew word translated though can not only mean colorful or striped, but also that it was long, and long sleeved. Who wore long robes? Workers, or managers? Managers did.
This boy Joseph kept tabs on his brothers and reported back home on all of their shenanigans. How many of you like a tattle tale? None of you, right? Well, if you don’t like that...what if that tattle tale told you they had dreams about you bowing down to him? Not just you, though, but your whole family AND YOUR PARENTS? You’d hate that kid.
Well, his brothers hated him, so much, that they went on a 90 mile hike with the sheep knowing dad would send junior out to spy on them and report back. When ol’ Joe came closer, they saw him coming way off and plotted to kill him. Reuben, the oldest, felt like he could make himself out to be superman and rescue his brother, convinced his brothers to just throw him into a pit and he’d unwittingly come scoop him up when he got back and parade him back home.
While he was gone, the brothers took Reuben’s advice and threw him in the pit and cooked a meal while Joseph was crying out for mercy. Far off they see traders coming and going, so they sell him to some traders for 30 peices of silver, dip his coat in blood and tear it and send it home, then go home and mourn with their dad that their brother is now dead.
Joseph, in the mean time, gets sold to Potiphar, and gains favor with him to be 2nd in command over his house. He was the captain of the Guard, we would call it a warden these days. Over 11 years, Joseph built a reputation, until one day, Potiphar’s wife burned with lust for him, because he was handsome. She took it upon herself while her husband was out to try to lay with him. As she grabbed him, he took off his tunic and left it there with her and ran, which is good advice, right? When you’re tempted, we’re to FLEE sin. It’s the easiest way out. She told everyone that it was him, and being the word of an Egyptian vs a Hebrew slave, he was sentenced to prison for an undeterminate amount of time.
While in prison, actually the Bible says in the dungeon or the pit, he gained special privelage again. See, Potiphar probably gave him a good job. I don’t think Potiphar believed his wife, but he HAD to do something, and this was the best he could come up with. Joseph had 2 men who must have been in some kind of assassination plot against Pharaoh because the head baker, and the head cup bearer were put in prison with him. They both had a dream the same night and wanted to know what it meant. They called everyone, but finally Joseph gave an interpretation. He said that the cup bearer would be restored to his position, and the baker would be hanged, in 3 days. So, 3 days come, and the dream comes true. Pharaoh calls them up for trial, restores the cup bearer, and hangs the baker. Joseph told the cup bearer: when you get outta here, remember me!
Two years go by, and now Pharaoh has a dream, about skinny cows coming up out of the nile and eating fat cows, and then withered grain eating good heads of grain...and it troubled him, because these were important symbols in Egyptian culture. Something was going to happen, and Pharaoh was terrified. So he called all the king’s horses, and all the kings men...I mean all of his wise guys and magicians to try to interpret the dream...but this is a bad dream. What happens when you bring the king bad news? Bad things, right? But the cup bearer was finally reminded that there was this guy in prison that interpreted his dream, and he’s like “He’s probably still there, you should send for him.”
So Pharaoh does, and he’s still in the pit. They give him a cut and a shave and bring him before Pharoah. He says:
16 So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
He doesn’t say “Yeah, I got this.” He says “God...MY God will give Pharoah an answer.” One that will bring him peace. What is the interpretation? Both dreams are 1. There will be 7 years of plenty, eaten up by 7 years of famine. You need to act now. Then Joseph gives great advice to Pharaoh on how to handle the situation...and Pharoah finds he’s the right man for the job to monitor the grain and dole it back out to the people.
Pharaoh made him number 2 in the whole of Egypt. In the back of Joseph’s mind, he knows, when the famine hits...some special visitors coming to visit him at some point. So he waited. Lo and behold, after 8 years...they came. 10 brothers. They didn’t recognize their brother...but he recognized them. And his heart was greived, because HE LOVES THEM. He had to know, though, had they changed? Had they learned any lessons in these 20+ years? So he called them spies, seeing them as an enemy recon team. They told him they were “honest men” the sons of one man, 12 sons in all.
13 And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”
One is NO MORE, vanished, POOF, gone. There is the hope, his brother Benjamin is alive. So he sends them home to fetch Benjamin, but keeps Simeon and puts him in prison until they return with him. AND, he puts their money back into their sacks with their grain, applying further pressure on the brothers to be honest men, as they have described themselves.
They get home, tell Jacob what has happened, on the way, they discovered some of the money too and were afraid. They then find ALL of the money they brought is back with them...this is thousands of dollars, because it’s enough grain to get them at least a year down the road. Reuben pleas with Jacob to let them bring Benjamin to get Simeon back, but Jacob refuses.
Fast forward a year, and the grain is gone again, and they must go to Egypt. Knowing Joseph told them not to come back unless they brought Benjamin, Judah, the brother who had the idea to sell Joseph into slavery, spoke up and challenged Jacob saying:
8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9 I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10 For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”
Had they not dallied around, they’d have been back with Simeon AND Benjamin. So Jacob sent Benjamin, and the boys came into town and were met by the servant of Joseph, they confessed they brought back the money that they found last time and were assured it was not a problem, and they were brought to Joseph’s palace, and fed a meal. They were sat by the host OLDEST TO YOUNGEST, and that amazed them because, how did he know? And, somehow, Benjamin got 5x the amount of food as the other brothers.
After this weird meal, they’re sent home again, and AGAIN, they were sent home with the money in their sacks, but a trap was laid for them this time. In Benjamin’s bag, was Joseph’s silver cup. So Joseph sent his servant to overtake the brothers and find the cup, and ordered him to bring back the one who had it. When it was revealed that it was in Benjamin’s bag, the brothers came back TOGETHER because they weren’t going to leave their brother behind. Joseph tried to shoo them off, saying he’d take care of Benjamin now, but they refused, because they saw what it did to them when Joseph was “no more.”
That was enough for Joseph, and he broke and revealed himself to his brothers and they wept. He told them to go home and bring Jacob to see him in Egypt. Pharaoh did him one better, he said:
17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan. 18 Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.
Pharaoh was willing to share the land with Hebrews, something that was rarely done in that time, but they brought word to Jacob that his son was alive again, and in great power, and that he wanted to see Joseph...which brings us to where we are today, 9 chapters from the beginning of this message to now. Let’s get started.
1 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Ok, long intro, 2 chapters today...and you’re going to stop after 1 verse? Yes, I am. It’s important to set the stage for today’s message right here. Where was Israel and his family living? Canaan, which is in the northern part of Israel. So, they head out, and stop at this town Beersheba. Is there something significant about it? This is where Abraham set up an altar and planted a Terebinth tree and worshipped the Lord. This is also where Isaac sacrificed and lived for a time. This place had major spiritual influence in the family.
With that said, Israel was NOT a very spiritual person. He WANTED to be used by the Lord, but he didn’t have the want to put the work into his spiritual growth. He was a hard worker, very good at that...but when it came to exercising his faith, he did not have the stamina or patience for it.
That aside, what is Israel doing here? What did God tell Abraham when there was a famine in his land? Don’t go to Egypt...and he went. How about Isaac? Isaac never left the promised land, but HE was told, don’t go to Egypt. Now, he’s leaving for Egypt. I think Israel wants to inquire of the Lord, should we go on this quest? The Lord didn’t want dad or grandpa to go there, he wanted to make sure this was the will of God.
How many of us do this on a weekly basis? Let alone daily? How many of us pray about little things? How many of us pray when things are going well? How many of us pray in relief, when you have no reason to be anxious or worrisome? Israel is showing us all that we should inquire of the Lord before we make decisions of any type. He sacrifices wanting to find the right path from the Lord. Does the Lord respond to you every time you pray? Me neither...My dad always used to say “Pray, then believe.” God will move that mountain, divert you on another path, or teach you how to climb. It’s OK to have trust issues with humans. There’s no reason to have those issues with God. He knows what He’s doing. It’s our job to follow.
This time, though, the Lord speaks, and this is what He says:
2 Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.”
God assures Jacob that this is a good idea, and the the Lord will make a great nation for them there. What He doesn’t say, is this is the start of the 400 years that the family of Israel spend in Egypt. When they leave in Exodus, some scholars say 2m people would leave Egypt.
Is that a great nation? Yes it is! Has anyone thought about how long 400 years? Can we put into perspective? How many years has the USA been a country? Next year will be our 250th anniversary. That’s a LONG TIME!
He’s also saying that his son Joseph will be with him when he dies, which brings him great comfort too, so Jacob is now he’s ready to go
5 Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. 7 His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.
Who are these people? How many started this 2M nation? Are you ready to hear me attempt some strange names and laugh at or with me? Let’s go:
5 SLIDES
8 Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn. 9 The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron. 14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daughters, were thirty-three.
16 The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 17 The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. 18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.
19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. 20 And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 21 The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22 These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all.
23 The son of Dan was Hushim. 24 The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all.
26 All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all. 27 And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.
70 people entered Egypt, 2M would Exodus. There is the numeration of that great nation.
As you can see, these families were filed out by their matronage. Many of these names sound familiar to you. For the sake of time, we’ll explore some of those names when they come up in the future as we go thru the Bible.
28 Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. 29 So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30 And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.”
Israel sends Judah out first, why? Judah is the one who has changed the most of all of the brothers. He went from the goat, to the leader of the household. Even leading his father. Just a reminder to us, God will accomplish his works, with or without us. He wants to do it with us...but if we’re not willing to change, he’ll use someone else. That normally comes at a cost for us, right? Emberrassment? Worse?
By God’s grace, he allowed Judah to have that influence, and eventually lead to Jesus Christ from his line. We need to look back, though, at what it cost Judah to learn his lesson. If you missed it, it was Gen 38, and you can pull it up in our YouTube feed or read it on your own. It’s pretty self explanatory..
Jacob is so relieved to see his son again, that he can now rest in peace. Joseph doesn’t want that to happen yet, though. He wants some time with his dad.
31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’ 33 So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 that you shall say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”
This is representative of the fact that Jesus will go before us and plead a case for us before the Lord. Jesus will lead us before the Lord and be our representative to our blessings. He will stand before us, and we must respond in-kind to him.
It’s a mirror of Matt 10:32
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
Another way Joseph is the representative of Jesus to help prove the Jews when Jesus came that they would be able to recognize him. We still have one more chapter here to work on.
2 SLIDES
1 Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.” 2 And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.”
4 And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”
What a gracious Pharaoh, right? Many generations down the road, this interaction will be forgotten, and the land of Goshen will become another city altogether. Goshen is the land of the Nile Delta, some of the most lush land in all of Egypt. Cairo, in modern day times, is at the top of the delta. I say the top, because it flows from south to north. On a map, it looks like the bottom.
The area, though, where Israel would settle, is on the Eastern portion of the delta. There, a town would be founded called Ramses, where the Pharoah of Exodus would be living, named after himself. How would Pharoah acquire this land? I’m glad you asked, because the Bible will explain it in a few verses, in the mean time, Pharaoh becomes enamored with Jacob and wishes to speak with him.
7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?” 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” 10 So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
Who brings blessings? God does, right? Who was Pharoah to the Egyptian people? Ra, the sun god incarnate. Pharoah should be blessing Jacob, right? But it’s the other way around, and Pharaoh allows it.
So Pharaoh asks how old Jacob is, and Jacob says 130, and they are what kind of years? Evil, right? Why would he say that? Has Jacob, the deceiver, lived the life he should have? No, most of his life has been as a con man. He always worked hard, but banked on his shrewdness to get him out of trouble.
It’s good to reflect on the years that have passed prior to you knowing Christ. Like I said a few weeks ago, they’re not the good ‘ol days. You’re supposed to look back and see how patient the Lord was with you, and now He’s got a lot of work to do on you to get you to where you need to be. Allow the Lord to do His work in you and don’t look back.
Did Pharaoh deserve the blessing from the Lord thru Jacob? Yes he did. He’s been more than generous and understanding. He owes his reputation to Joseph, he’s just returning the favor to his best servant.
So the families go out and settle in their new land.
11 And Joseph situated 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 commanded. 12 Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread, according to the number in their families.
Provision was made, but there were still years left of this famine:
13 Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 15 So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.” 16 Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.
All of the people were now broke, so they offered what they had for collateral to keep their family’s alive. The Carnivore diet wasn’t invented back then, but you can’t live without the bread of life.
The famine was again, still far from being over.
18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.” 20 Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.
Have you ever seen Bruce Almighty? When Bruce is getting all of the prayer requests, and they keep increasing exponentially? What does he say? What a bunch of Whiners! I’m sure this is how Jacob felt! BUT, he came up with a great plan...a 20% tax on the land. Wouldn’t that be nice if all of our taxes just summed up 20%? It’d be nice to just have one tax to pay overall. The people still had to do the work, but they could keep 80% of the profit from their labor!
This is how Pharaoh gained the land of Egypt to encompass the Hebrews, the people who were despised by the Egyptians.
23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” 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 servants.” 26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.
27 So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years. 29 When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” 31 Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.
Jacob lived another 17 years, to 147 years. God’s symmetry is amazing also...do you remember how old Joseph was when he was sold into slavery? 17. Numerology? 10 - Complete in the world. 7 - Complete to God.
At his death, Jacob wanted to return home. Obviously, it was advantagous for them to stay in Egypt after the famine ended, Joseph kept his job, and they wanted to say close. Jacob, however, wanted to be returned home, laid to rest with his father, Isaac, and his grandfather, Abraham. That was important to him, but he’s not dead yet.
It was only a matter of time when people hate you that they’ll take advantage of you. For 400 years, the Hebrew people would be driven out of the land of Goshen, and into slavery.
Here we see another mirror of Jesus going before us as an advocate before “THE KING” of the universe. Thru the encouragement of Paul, that we should work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. it’s between us, and the Lord, and we can’t take care of anyone else when it comes to salvation.
We can set up people around us for good things, right? That’s the work of a good disciple.
Speaking of being a good disciple, the last Sunday of the month is our Communion Sunday. I know some of you are new here, so I wanted to go thru quickly what it means to take Communion, Biblically.
17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
