Genesis 46-47: What Matters to God?

Introduction

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/nyregion/11about.html What mattered to William Cimillo was just taking a break… Willing to go to extremes to have what mattered to him.

What matters most to you? You’ll do whatever it takes for what matters most to you. You’ll sacrifice for what matters most. You’ll fight for what matters most to you. You’ll invest in what matters most to you. What matters most? Family? Career? Your reputation? What people think about?

Better question than what matters most to you: What matters to God? What matters to God should be what matters most to you. When you live in right relationship with God, what matters to God will be what matters to you.

How would your life be different if your life was spent pursuing what matters to God?

Nearing the end of Genesis. Familiar themes resurfacing that help us to think about what matters to God. In this passage, 3 essentials of your faith that matter to God.

Your realization of His presence matters to God.

Jacob’s joy - Joseph alive. Not only alive, but ruler over all of Egypt. Disbelief at first, but then he sees the wagons… Joy! “The spirit of their father Jacob revived” (46:27).

Jacob wants see Joseph. But, God wants more for Jacob than just to see Jospeh. God wants Jacob and his sons to move to Egypt.

Jacob traveling to Egypt to see Joseph - stops in Beersheba - where Abraham lived and had offered Isaac as a sacrifice.

vs. 3 - “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.”

Egypt NOT the land God promised to Jacob and his family. Canaan was the land of promise, but Jacob would never see Canaan again. His descendants would not see Canaan again for centuries.

God would make Jacob into a great nation NOT in Canaan but in Egypt.

Doubts in Jacob’s mind… For years, Jacob has believed that God would prosper his family in Canaan, not Egypt.

The fear…How could his people possibly grow into a great nation WITHIN the greatest nation on the face of the planet?

God… much like He said to Jacob’s grandfather Abraham, “Don’t fear… Go… I will be with you. I will go with you to Egypt, and I will bring you back.”

God is always going to be with His people. God longs to be with His people. In the garden of Eden, God with Adam and Eve. They sin. Expelled from the garden, but God still longs to be with His people.

Familiar theme: He is with His people. He is with you. Jesus’ last words in Gospel of Matthew: “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20)

BETHEL = house of God. (Gen. 28) Jacob learning that God not confined to Bethel. For us, house of God is not this campus. House of God is your heart. You are the temple of God. (1 Cor. 3:16)

God is with us, yet we are overcome with fear: (Fear = an emotion that says it’s unsafe or dangerous to follow God. (Makes no sense…)

Do you fear the unknown more than you delight in the known? Pack up and move as an old man? Egypt was unknown to Jacob. God: When you fear the unknown, think about who you know. Afraid to share the Gospel with a neighbor, go on a mission trip, take that new job, give up a sinful habit, etc. because of the unknown. God: “I am with you.” Everything unknown to you is known by God and PLANNED by God.

Do you fear losing control more than you desire to give up control? God do what I say vs. I’ll do what you say. Jacob’s life story: “I want to be in control of my own destiny.” That’s your life story too. But, God is far better at controlling your life than you are. You don’t know what you need. God knows exactly what you need. The more you try to control your life, the more you lose control of your life.

Do you fear opposition more than you rest in your position? “What will people think of me? How will I be treated?” Why does it matter? You have God’s approval. He is with you and for you. (Romans 8:31)

You can be overwhelmed by fear or overwhelmed by His presence. To be overwhelmed by His presence live in His presence.

Instead of telling God, “I can’t...” say, “I will, and I must...”

Great Wolf Lodge and Ikea - I don’t have to go to Ikea. I don’t have to FEAR going to Charlotte this time… Great Wolf Lodge my SHELTER and my PROTECTOR

Your redemption for His glory matters to God.

Gen. 46:8-27 - A list of names - 70 men - not including wives… Compared to Egypt, the Hebrew people were small and insignificant.

A famished people on the verge of death… God’s covenant people on the verge of extinction, but God has a plan…

Jacob reunites with Joseph in the land of Goshen - southern part of Egypt. “Tell Pharaoh you’re a shepherd so you can settle in Goshen. All shepherds are detestable.”

Detestable? Not as civilized, educated, etc. as the elite of Egypt.

Before Pharaoh: “Let us settle in Goshen.” Pharaoh allows the Hebrews to settle in Egypt and Pharoah allows Joseph to let Hebrews have charge over his own sheep.

vs. 11 - settled in the best part of the land. Jacob’s family prospers in Egypt - they’re isolated in Goshen and protected by Pharaoh.

God puts the Hebrew people in a place where they could grow! In Canaan, they had to worry about surrounding enemies. Not in Goshen. Shepherds detestable to Egyptians so the Egyptians leave them alone. They become a great nation IN Egypt.

NOT what Jacob or his sons had in mind, but it’s what God had in mind. Accomplishing His purpose of building a great nation in best possible place on earth so they could ultimately go back to Canaan.

God not prospering the Hebrews for prosperity’s sake BUT redemption’s sake. Everything God does in your life is for the sake of your redemption. Centuries later, he’s going to rescue this nation from Egypt by bringing powerful plagues on Egypt because of their unbelieving Pharaoh. He will lead the Hebrews out of the land by parting the Red Sea.

Jacob and Joseph don’t know it, but God is setting the stage for REDEMPTION so that humanity would see the glory of God!

God’s most important work in your life is your REDEMPTION - to bring you out of this sinful world and to bring you into His presence.

Your PLACE in this life is nowhere near as important as your PLACE in His eternal Kingdom.

Centuries after Jacob, in the wilderness, Moses telling the Hebrews their story… Telling the Hebrews: “Look at what God has done!”

God has rescued you from your sins so you might look at your life, consider who you were, and consider who you are now, and say, “Look at what God has done!”

1 Peter 1:10-11

“Look at what I’ve done..."

OR, “Look at what God has done.”

Right now, where’s the focus? Your glory or God’s glory?

Your glory: always talking about you. “Look at how hard I work. Look at what a great student I am. Look at how I’m raising my kids. Look at how talented I am. Look at me...”

You’re saying, “Look at me...” while God is saying, “Look to me. I am the one who is worthy of all glory.”

Galatians 6:14. What are you boasting in? Look at what God has done for you!

Will you spend your life trying to prove yourself, or will you spend your life pointing people to the glorious God who has proven Himself to be faithful and good?

Your role in His plan matters to God.

Gen. 47 - God continues to set the stage for the events in the Book of Exodus in the time of Joseph.

Egypt declines - Famine hits… Genesis 47:13-25 - Under Joseph’s direction, the people give up the rights to their land to the control of Pharaoh in exchange for food. Pharaoh given even more power. BUT… setting the stage - A new Pharaoh in the Book of Exodus - hundreds of years later - the most powerful man in the world - will go head to head with the God of Israel. God will show that He is far more powerful than Pharaoh by rescuing His people.

Joseph living out His role in God’s plan. Moses has shown us that Joseph is a model of faith, integrity, and living out his God-given purpose with his eyes on God.

Contrast between Jacob and Joseph:

Jacob - God had a role for Jacob as well. But, Jacob nowhere near as pliable to God’s will as Joseph. Jacob continually fought.

Genesis 47:7-10: Jacob before Pharaoh. Pharoah: “How many years have you lived?” “My years have been few and hard...”

Why had Jacob’s years been hard? Constant wrestling. Joseph’s years were hard too, but he doesn’t complain. Instead, he embraces his role in God’s plan even it means extreme hardship. Chapter 45: “God sent me here...”

God at work in Jacob’s life. But… life story is struggle, trying to control of his life, etc. End result: “My life has been hard.”

Your role in His plan matters to God, but are you embracing your role? The primary way you live out God’s role for your life is through His church - in the community of faith - encouraging, growing, discipling, living out His mission, etc.

Are you following God kicking and screaming or are you eagerly embracing? You serve, but you resent. Obligation but not joy filled service. You’re here but your not - do your duty and then go do what you want.

Are you constantly complaining about God’s will or are you constantly rejoicing in God’s will? Duty but not devoted leads to a lot of complaining. “God wants too much of my time, too much of my money, preacher always talks about… The people are never nice to me...” Some of you spend way too much time complaining about the church than you do actually serving the Lord through His church rather than “I get too...”

Are you missing the joy of following God or are you experiencing the joy as you trust that God is in control of every situation? Miss joy because of wrong focus: “What can God do to make my life better vs. how can I bring glory to God with my life?”

Aren’t you glad that Jesus embraced His role with eagerness and joy? Hebrews 12:2 “For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross...”

Aren’t you glad that 2,000 years ago, Jesus didn’t say, “Father, please someone else…” Or, “You won’t me to die for them? They’re not worth it…

Instead, “Not my will, but your will be done.” Jesus went to the cross, died, and rose again for our redemption - Jesus is the greater Joseph - God raised Jospeh to a place of power to save His people. Jesus, however, gave up his position of power to save God’s people. He came from heaven to earth to live among us to redeem us. Trust Him today.