Life of Joseph - Week 15-16 (2)

Joseph's Family Reunion

Joseph’s Family Reunion

Genesis 46:8-47:31

INTRODUCTION

Backup

Jacob’s Unbelief

A.           Genesis 45:21-28

Genesis 45:21–28 ESV

21 The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. 23 To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.” 25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

 Inspiration caused the unbelief to turn to faith.

3 Elements of Inspiration

Words

a.           Jacob was revived by the words he heard

b.           We can overcome doubt through the words of God

(1)         Jeremiah 32:17 “17 ‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”

Works

a.           Jacob saw the carts and was revived.

b.           To see some hard evidence inspires.

c.            God promises to supply all our needs, to see it happen is exciting.

Worship

a.         Genesis 46:1-4 “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. 2 And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. 4 I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.””

b.           Jacob had trouble believing but took the step of faith to head to Egypt to see his son. (Goes against his understanding of Promised Land)

(1)         In the middle of a worship service, God speaks to him to let him know he was on the right path.

c.            Now Jacob had to be extremely excited about what was fixing to happen.

Jacob’s Realization

A.           Genesis 46:5-7 “5 Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 They also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, 7 his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters. All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.”

B.           The plan of God was realized and unfolding before their eyes.

C.           The family loaded everything, even the things told to leave behind.

1.           ILL– we take our junk when we move.

2.           Still a little doubt in Jacob.

If Jacob and his family had stayed in Canaan, they would have been absorbed into the culture. The Canaanites were the most vile, pagan people who ever walked this earth. They were so bad that, 400 years later when God called Israel back to the promised land, He ordered their total annihilation. So God had Israel settle for a time in t he land of Goshen, the best land in Egypt, protected and isolated. They would be under the protection of Joseph, the most powerful man in the kingdom. God knew exactly what He was doing. His plan was perfect for Joseph and his brothers, and it is perfect for us.

Sad story of family life in Genesis.

· 1st three chapters the foundational statements of family are introduced.

· Lamech, becomes a polygamist against the instruction of God.

· Ham, mocks the nakedness of his father.

· Abram has an adulterous affair.

· Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed because of homosexuality.

· Lot gets drunk and commits incest with his daughters.

· Abraham tempts Abimelech to lust after Sarah.

· Isaac shows preferential treatment to Esau.

· Judah sleeps with his daughter-in-law, Tamar

The family seems like it’s falling apart right after God created it, and we are still living with those same problems in our own day.

The story of Joseph’s family pulling together offers a glimmer of hope that families who have trouble can still work out their problems and develop the sort of atmosphere God intended.

Joseph’s Family

A. Genesis 46:26-27 “26 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. 27 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.”

– summary of those coming to Egypt.

B. Verses 8-27- list their names

C. A few interesting observations of this genealogy.

1. It includes Jacob, his twelve sons, his one daughter, fifty-two grandchildren, and four great-grandsons.

2. Simeon continued in his callous fashion– married Canaanite woman.

3. In contrast, verse 12 records nothing about Judah’s wife being a Canaanite.

a. Judah’s two boys not cursed with label of mom being a Canaanite. Why? Forgiveness?

4. Benjamin had 10 sons and Dan had only one.

D. God keeps track of details. Nothing is lost in His sight.

Joseph’s Father

Caring For His Father

1. Joseph had an excellent relationship with his father.

a. Joseph’s respect for Jacob is a testimony on how we should treat those who grow old.

2. Genesis 46:28-30 “28 He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. 29 Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.””

a. Joseph went from 17 year old protected child to taking care of the needs of his father.

b. Story of Erma Bombeck.

(1) Erma Bombeck used to tell the story of driving her car with her aged mother by her side. As they were driving down the highway, someone pulled out in front of them, and her first reaction was to reach her hand out to keep her mother from hitting the dashboard. As soon as she did so, her mind went back to all the times her mother had done that to her as a little girl, and she realized that what everyone says is true: As you age, you reverse roles with your parents. Erma was now the mother, her mom was the little girl, and Erma was watching out for her.

3. That’s similar to the role Joseph now plays, having determined to take care of his father’s needs.

Loving His Father

1. Their reuniting is one of the most moving in Scripture.

2. One of 7 times Joseph cries.

3. The love Joseph and his father have for each other is demonstrated by their physical affection.

Proud of His Father

1. Joseph had pride for his father.

a. In a land where shepherds were despised, Joseph brings his father into a face-to-face meeting with Pharaoh.

(1) Joseph proudly brings his father into Pharaoh’s court to meet the king.

b. Genesis 47:1-7

Genesis 47:1–7 ESV

1 So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.” 2 And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” 4 They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.” 7 Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

(1) Jacob must have looked out of place.

(2) Then he walks up to Pharaoh and instead of bowing he stands tall and blesses him.

c. Jacob understood things as they really were. He may have just been a nomadic shepherd, he knew he was a child of God. Pharaoh was an earthly prince but Jacob knew he was a prince of God in heaven.

d. The fact that Pharaoh wasn’t struck down is a testimony of Pharaoh’s respect for Joseph.

2. Pharaoh asks a strange question: “How old are you?” verse 8

a. The Egyptians did not live as old as the Hebrews.

b. Probably oldest person the Pharaoh had ever seen.

c. The answer: Genesis 47:8-9 “8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 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 sojourning.””

(1) a sad reply. In essence, Jacob tells the king of Egypt that his life has been short and sorry. He had lived a hard life, and his sorrow was partly from his own actions and partly from spending twenty years separated from his beloved son.

(2) he had cheated some, been cheated by others, and watched his boys go astray from what he knew was right.

Protective of His Father

3 Things Joseph did to keep his father safe and secure

He Gave Him Position

(1) Goshen– area east of the Nile River that was fairly isolated.

(2) very fertile place with great pastureland for the sheep– an easy exodus 400 years later.

(3) It was an ideal position to grow the family and yet to keep the family together.

He Gave His Possessions.

(1) Genesis 47:10-11 “10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11 Then 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 Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.”

(2) They were nomadic– now the own their land.

He Gave Him Provisions

(1) Genesis 47:12 “12 And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents.”

(2) He too the role of father to the whole family.

(3) Joseph arranged for a place near to himself, met every need, and gave his father all the provisions he would need in the years ahead.

SIDE NOTE (Look at wealth Joseph gives Pharoah)

Genesis 47:13–26 ESV

13 Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason 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, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 15 And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” 16 And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.” 20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh’s. 21 As for the people, he made servants of them from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” 25 And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” 26 So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.

Joseph’s Farewell

A. Genesis 47:27-31 “27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years. 29 And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” 31 And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.”

1. Jacob asks to be buried in Canaan.

2. Pharaoh gives Jacob a burial of royalty.

a. Joseph later asks for the same thing– THEY WANTED TO BE BURIED IN THE PROMISED LAND.

b. This is a testimony of faith.

(1) Joseph is praised in Scripture for the faith that they would be given the Promised Land.– Hebrews 11:22

c. Joseph was saying that he believed in God’s promise.

CONCLUSION

3 Lessons We Can Learn from Joseph and His Family.

God provided for the entire family due to the faithfulness of one member.

a. All of the family had turned away for the Lord. But through Joseph’s faithfulness the entire family was redeemed.

b. Christians, if we are the only godly people in our families, we can’t quit. We have the potential of redeeming our entire family.

We are to care for the elderly.

a. Joseph sets an example for us to follow by offering tender, loving care to his father.

God puts a priority on the family.

a. There are a lot of poor examples of family life in the Bible.

b. Here we have an example of a healthy, redemptive family.

i. They were not perfect, but they made it.

c. The family is part of God’s perfect plan for the world.

d. There are only two institutions God ordained: the church and the family.

e. In a day when the family is being torn apart this is a reminder of the need to stay faithful to the plan of God.