Grace in the Genealogy

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This morning we get to continue on with our Joseph series and see what happens after Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. Remember there has been all sorts of stuff going on. Remember Joseph was sold into slavery and left for dead, but God wasn’t finished with him. Then Joseph went through all sorts of stuff that was hard, including being jailed, but God wasn’t finished with him yet. Finally Joseph became the 2nd most important person in Egypt and his brothers had come to him to get food, but they didn’t recognize him. Well, last time we talked about Joseph, we saw that Joseph sent back for Jacob his father to come and live in Egypt with him. Of course, later, as Joseph continues to talk to his brothers, eventually he tells them…”As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose." —(Joseph) . In other words. What man means for evil…God means for good!

So I spent some time this week tryin got decide how to approach this passage. I mean, the various genealogies can sometimes feel tiresome if we’re honest. But if they weren’t good then they wouldn’t be in the Scripture. I mean, we read in 1 Timothy that all Scripture is profitable, so that means that even these lists of names are beneficial. Then I remembered a conversation that I had with Beth earlier this week. I told her that I had been recently discovering some names of my ancestors and that was neat, but I am left wondering who those people are? What is there story…what kind of history is in my family…That’s when it hit me…who are these people in this genealogies? I mean, we see a list of names, but what is their story…is there anything special here, or is it really just a list of empty names? So…I started thinking about some these names. Some of these were easy to think about, and others required a bit of research to fully understand. So, this morning I’d like to share with you what I learned, and also see what God may be telling us about his family in the midst of this genealogy.

Specifically today, as we read this whole genealogy we are going to zoom in on five names—five stories that show how God builds His people. Four of these will give hope. One will warn us…so let’s dig in and read this together.

Genesis 46:8–27 ESV

Now these are the names of the descendants of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan); and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Yob, and Shimron. The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah; altogether his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three. The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, with Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons. The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin. And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On, bore to him. And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob—fourteen persons in all. The son of Dan: Hushim. The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob—seven persons in all. All the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his own descendants, not including Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six 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 into Egypt were seventy.

Again, this may look like a long list of names…and it is, but it is far more than that. This list of obscure names is a record of God’s covenant faithfulness. Through this list, just like every other genealogy we read, shows us that God uses broken people and broken stories. So let’s zoom in and look at a few stories specifically this morning.

First of all let’s look at

Judah & Perez:

Genesis 46:12 ESV

The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan); and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

As we focus in on these two we are able to see God’s grace in the midst of a scandal. I don’t know if you all know who Perez is…But I want you to think back to Genesis 38 where we read about a story that seems like a strange detour from the Joseph narrative. Let me give you a brief recap here.

Judah has three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah. Well, a woman named Tamar married Er, However, Er was evil in the site of the Lord and so Er died prior to having any kids. In their culture that meant that his brother Onan was supposed to take Tamar as a wife and have kids to continue Er’s family name. However, Onan didn’t want to give his brother any kids, so he slept with Tamar and made sure she didn’t have any kids. Well, that was not pleasing to the Lord, so the Lord took his life as well. That leaves Shelah…Judah’s last son. He then lied to Tamar and said that he would get her when Shelah was ready to have a family, except he never sent for Tamar. Tamar took matters in her own hands and slept with Judah (her father-in-law) and she had two boys. This is how Judah is able to have Perez and Zerah. I know that’s a crazy story, and so I encourage you to go and read Gen. 38 for yourself and you can even go back to when we covered that a few months ago in the sermon titled, “Unexpected Redemption” from March 2nd.

So basically, Judah sleeps with his daughter in law which is a shameful thing to do today…aaaaand a pretty shameful thing to do back then too. However, something happens that we need to pay attention to. You see, this isn’t the only genealogy that has the name Perez in it. Let’s turn over real quick to

Matthew 1:1–3 ESV

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,

So Judah sleeps with is daughter-in-law Tamar in an ugly and shameful act. Yet God chooses Perez, who was born out of that shameful act to be in the line of David, a man after God’s own heart…and in the line of Jesus, who provided salvation to all.

Isn’t that just amazing? You see, God’s redemptive plan is not hindered by sin…frequently he actually works through it.

What does that mean for you and I? Well… it meansGod doesn’t discard sinners…He redeems legacies. That means that no matter what your past is…you are not disqualified for having an impact in God’s redemptive story…I hope that’s encouraging to some of you who think you’re tainted due to your past, because you’re not.

Let’s keep going though and take a look at another name from this genealogy. Let’s look at

Levi:

Genesis 46:11 ESV

The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Now Levi is really interesting because you will likely recognize his name from the term Levites. For those who may not know, Levites were called to be priests for the nation, they were the intercessors.

Something really interesting happened as I read and studied this week. Something that I will say from time to time, especially when talking to people who don’t really go to church is, “I wasn’t always a pastor.” My point for saying that is to ease the tension that some feel when talking to a pastor so that I can have honest conversations with them.

Well, as I was studying these names on the genealogy, I was reminded that the Levites weren’t always the priests. Way back in Genesis 34 Jacob’s daughter Dinah was assaulted by a prince from another group. This an decided that he wanted to marry Dinah and continue to assault her. So they went to Jacob and to Jacob’s brothers to find out if they could purchase Dinah from them. Jacob’s brothers spoke up because they were furious with the whole situation, and they told this prince that every male in their group had to have a specific surgery.

Well…they did that and then this happened.

Genesis 34:25 ESV

On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males.

Levi was one of the two men who massacred all the men of Shechem in revenge for their sister. They wen’t far beyond justice in that situation and allowed their anger to rule their lives for that moment.

How is it that the descendants of Levi become priests, and intercessors, holy ones who are set apart? What changed in this line to allow for this calling. Well, God’s grace covers sin and God’s calling transforms lives.

Here’s the deal…even the most violent, angry, unclean people can be called into ministry. Did you know that? Here’s the truth…God transforms sinners into servants. What can he do with you?

Let’s keep moving through this list of people this morning. Next I’d like to talk about

Ephraim & Manasseh:

Genesis 46:20 ESV

And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On, bore to him.

This is another really cool story here. You see, these men were Joseph’s children that were born in Egypt to an Egyptian mother. That means that she is a gentile…something that Jesus talks about while he is serving and preaching in another few thousand years. Just like Jesus brings gentiles into the spiritual family, Jacob brings Ephraim and Manasseh into the family.

Now there is a couple of interesting facts about these boys as well. First, we don’t really know what age the boys were when they met their grandpa, but from Jacob’s perspective, they aren’t his grandkids, they will be his kids…which is why they are referred to as Tribes of Israel later through Scripture.

Later Manasseh will be referred to as the 1/2 Tribe of Manasseh because later when Israel is preparing to enter back into the Promised Land after being in Egypt as slaves, 1/2 of that tribe will decide not to cross the Jordan, but to stay where it’s safe. This action, read about in Numbers 32, shows the tension between earthly security and covenant faithfulness to the Lord. In other words, this tribe is spit in half because half of them don’t fully trust God and so they are left behind, outside of God’s full promise.

That’s not really what I want to talk about though. You see, in the story of Israel and his sons, later we will see that Ephraim is the younger, but he is blessed above Manasseh. What we see from that is God adopts outsiders, and reverse’s the worlds order. In other words…God doesn’t do things the way the world does them.

So…what about you? You may feel like an outsider to the faith, born “in Egypt,” but God welcomes, adopts, and blesses you.

Man there’s some cool stuff in here…let’s keep going. Who’s next? Let’s take a look at

Serah:

Genesis 46:17 ESV

The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, with Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.

Now Im not sure if I’ve said it yet today or not, but it’s not really normal when there are women in the Biblical genealogies. It’s not a dig on them, it’s just that culturally everything went through the husband and fathers line. That means if there’s a woman in the list…you might ought to take a look at that. So who is Serah?

Well there’s only one other woman named in this genealogy, the other is Dinah, and we talked about her earlier when we discussed Levi. So, let’s take a peak at Serah. This is a fascinating story because in a world that forgets women—God records her name. Here’s the deal. Serah is listed here in Genesis 46 as they leave to descend into Egypt. She is also listed in Numbers 26 as part of the census of those who are leaving Egypt to head for the Promised Land. Look at this…

Numbers 26:46 ESV

And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah.

The same father is listed here. Now, here’s the question—Did Serah live this long, or was her name remembered symbolically to show the continuance of God’s covenant? Well, we don’t actually know for sure. However, Jewish tradition claims that she was alive the whole time. Serah was a witness to God’s covenant faithfulness. The claim is that she is the one who was able to show Moses and the Elders where Joseph’s bones are so that they can carry him down to be buried with his father later in the story.

Whether she lived all those years or her name was passed along as a memorial, her presence bookends the exile. God remembers the faithful—especially the ones the world forgets…and here’s what we really learn from Serah. God doesn’t just use the loud or famous—He honors the faithful quiet . I know some of you want to ask the question, “when is it my turn to be used by God”, or “I thought I would have done more by now” Here’s what I want you to remember specifically this morning…You may not have known Serah’s name before today…But God never forgot her name over the entire 430 years in Egypt or the 4500 years since then. God sees you and hasn’t forgotten his plan for you either.

Finally this morning I want to look at

Dan:

Genesis 46:23 ESV

The son of Dan: Hushim.

We’ve seen something impactful about everyone we’ve looked at today…so, What do we know about Dan? Well, Dan is part of the covenant family. Unfortunately Dan is also the first tribe to introduce full-blown idolatry. Here’s what happened. In Judges 1 the tribe of Dan is given land by God…but they failed to conquer it. So then in Judges 18 they go out and seek new land because they feel uneasy. As you read through Judges 18, you will see that they stole idols and took a Levite and made that Levite their own priest in opposition to what God was doing in Shiloh.

So, Dan institutes an opposing system of worship, hires a priest to serve them, not God, and becomes a symbol of apostasy for all time. Why do I say that? Well, in Revelation 7 when the tribes of Israel are listed…Dan is the only tribe that is not listed in the sealed tribes. Dan essentially worshiped themselves, not God.

Dan shows us that being born into God's people isn’t enough. It's possible to be part of the covenant community and yet turn away into cultural religion, convenience, and idolatry. In other words, You can be in church, even active, and still miss salvation. Jesus says himself in Matthew 7 that “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom…”

That’s because salvation doesn’t have anything to do with your physical location, but your hearts location. So where is you’re hearts location this morning? Have you been attending church, but missing salvation? Have you been confused, or have you been purposely seeking your own glory?

This genealogy is more than history though—it’s a spiritual mirror. Let’s look one more time at these names—not as ancient people, but as portraits of how God deals with people like you and me

Judah & Perez remind us: God’s grace covers our shame. Even when our stories are scandalous, the bloodline of Jesus runs through them.

Levi reminds us: God can turn a violent man into a vessel of worship. No sin is too deep to be redeemed into priestly service.

Ephraim and Manasseh remind us: God adopts outsiders and reverses expectations. Born in Egypt, but raised as sons—God’s grace brings the far off near.

Serah reminds us: God does not forget the overlooked. Your quiet faithfulness is seen, named, and recorded in the book of life.

Dan warns us: You can be born into the family and still walk away from the Father. Closeness to God’s people is not the same as union with Christ.b

What do all these names teach us this morning? Grace is greater than your past, calling is stronger than your sin, God's love reaches farther than you’ve wandered, and He remembers the quiet faithful.

But it also teaches us that not everyone in the book of people is in the Book of Life.

So one last thought that I want to leave you with this morning: You may be in the church... but are you in Christ? Are you part of the list that heaven is keeping? The names we read today entered Egypt. Will your name be there when God brings His people up?

Luke 10:20 ESV

“…rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Let’s pray: Father, thank You for building Your kingdom with broken people like us. Help us to trust Your grace, heed Your warnings, and rest in the finished work of Christ. Write our names, not merely in a church roll, but in Your eternal book.