Genesis 46:1-7, 26-27 Joy for Our Journeys 3
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Benson/Vail, AZ
July 21, 2019
The Journey from Canaan to Egypt A Reminder of God’s Protection and Providence My friends in Christ, Some of you will remember some of the Bible history that occurred before the words from Genesis 46, which are in front of us this morning. The mistreatment of Joseph by his brothers is one of those stories that kind of sticks with you: Joseph telling his brothers about his dreams that indicated his superiority over them. How that, combined with their father Jacob’s favoritism toward Joseph led the brothers to throw Joseph in a pit, fake his death to their father, and sell Joseph into slavery. Maybe you remember how Joseph rose to prominence in Egypt because God was with him, despite the unfairness and cruel treatment he endured. Joseph eventually became second only to Pharaoh! Then there was the high drama of Joseph’s brothers travelling the few week’s journey from Canaan to Egypt because of a famine that had gripped their land. They ended up standing before their brother Joseph, without realizing it, because he was in charge of food resource management! Ultimately, Joseph revealed himself to them and assured them that he held no grudges against them for their mistreatment of him years prior. He told his brothers to return to their father and bring the entire extended family—the entirety of God’s people—to Egypt so that Joseph could bless them with food and everything they would need. If you know that slice of history—or if you can remember just those few details I’ve shared with you—you have the background for this journey that Jacob, Joseph’s father, made from Canaan to Egypt. That brings us right up to chapter 46 of Genesis: So Israel (who is also called Jacob) set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. Anyone who has an older brother or sister can probably tell you how they watched the behavior of their sibling and quickly learned not to repeat mistakes that they made because they saw them get in trouble! You would have to dig a little deeper back in Genesis to find these things, but we might suspect that something similar was going on with Jacob, only he would have been thinking about, not a sibling, but his grandpa and his dad. You see, when it says that his caravan reached Beersheba, that means that his journey had taken him outside of the land promised by God to his family and his descendants. You wonder if he was feeling funny about leaving the Promised Land when he, the patriarch, was the one who held the promise from God about the land and a Savior to come from his family and from that place. Is that why he stopped there and offered the sacrifices to his LORD and the God of his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham?
He may have also been thinking about how grandpa Abraham got into a little trouble when he journeyed to Egypt to find relief from famine. Then when his dad, Isaac, wanted to go to Egypt during another famine, the LORD did not allow it. It seems reasonable to think that the Promised Land and the trouble with famine-relief in Egypt may have been on his mind as he offered his sacrifice to the LORD—perhaps even the altar that his dad had built at Beersheba on another occasion. If those first steps out of the Promised Land were taken with trepidation, God lovingly comforted Jacob and reassured him. Jacob received what we often wish we would get—a direct revelation from God about what he should do. In a vision, God steered him in the right direction, the way he wanted him to go. Prior to this, Jacob couldn’t believe that his son Joseph was alive and living in Egypt, ruling as second only to Pharaoh. But his other sons convinced him and showed him the things Joseph had sent from Egypt to his father, so he was willing to go at the request of his son. But God calmed any anxious thoughts he may have had about leaving the Promised Land and going to Egypt, as he gave him promises of protection and care: “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. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.” Now Jacob could make his journey without fear and with a clean conscience. And so, faithful Jacob followed the Lord’s direction, trusting in his protection and his working through things to bless him and the nation that would come from the 70-some people of his family. So the caravan continued down the dusty desert road toward Egypt and his long-lost son. Perhaps you have heard of something called God’s providence. The providence of God is the Biblical teaching that God transcends his creation, he is above it and greater than it, but he is also consistently present in it and preserves and sustains it. God is involved in all things, working through all things. People, plants, animals, the earth, the solar system, galaxies do not exist and have all that they need by coincidence or chance or luck! God is intimately involved in his creation. He cares for the earth and everything in it. And he has a special love for his people that comes with the promise that he will work all things for their good. He has a vision and a plan and an almighty power to make things happen for his glory and for our good. This is the God we trust in as the only God, and his care and providing make us want to follow even more! That was true of Jacob as he journeyed with trust in the LORD. It was true as God did for Jacob and the people of Israel just what he said he would do. He went with them on the journey to Egypt…and over the next 400 years they were there…and he turned 70 people into great nation…and he brought them out of Egypt, which is the journey we will consider next week!
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the Savior-God who keeps every promise—is still the only true God. And he still comforts us with his promises today and brings us joy. If that comfort and joy have been absent from your life, they can be yours today. If you have sinned in such a way that you have rejected the idea of God’s everymoment-involvement in his creation or his care and protection over you, today is a day to repent for those sins. That is appropriate also if you have taken God’s providence for granted or simply have given it no thought and taken on the burdens of life’s journey yourself, with hardly a prayer acknowledging his power and love to help you. The God who showed mercy and grace to his people long ago, also withholds punishment from us and extends undeserved love to you and me. The Savior who was promised through the family line of Jacob and the nation that grew during their years in Egypt, came when Jesus made his appearance—born to faithful believers in the Promised Land and later put to death on a cross to pay the cost for the world’s sin and ours. The Holy Spirit who worked faith in the people of Israel works faith in us today and makes us part of his great nation of believers. Because he has made us his people, God makes some promises to us as well when it comes to our journey through this life. He does not specifically promise that our family will grow large or that it will become a great people. He doesn’t even promise us that we will be married…or that even if we are married that we will have children at all. Those were specific promises that were about much more than Abraham or Jacob or Joseph. Those promises revealed the wisdom of God as he provided a nation—a family line—from which he would send his Son to be the Savior of all people. That would be a distinct nation and their privilege and responsibility would be to carry with them on their journeys, the promise of the Savior to come. Thanks be to God that he kept those promises as he protected his people for those purposes! His promises to us for our journey through life have some similarities, however. We have this instruction from God’s Word in Proverbs: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (5-6). Just as Jacob was called to trust God’s direction, you and I are as well. And as you think about how God cared for Jacob and his family and that great nation…and how he provided the world’s Savior through them, just as he promised…why would we not submit to this same God and follow the path he sets before us?! God promises to protect us too, just like he always has done for his people. Just one of the ways he does this is by sending angels. The letter to the Hebrews reminds us of this: Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation (1:14)?
I can’t imagine how difficult many of those days were in Egypt after Joseph died and the Israelites fell out of favor with the Egyptian rulers and they became enslaved there. But the LORD continued his care as they grew into his great nation and ultimately he led them from there to the land of promise. Their hardships might remind us that life in this world comes with difficulties and tragedies and sufferings—even while the Lord watches over us. How helpful it is to have this promise from God in Romans 8: 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 (28). God promised Jacob: I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. Psalm 121 speaks of God’s help and assures us that God is always with us on our journey. It says, The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore (v.8). God cares for us as we go about our lives every day and when we finally make the journey from this world to heaven because our faith is in Jesus, our Savior. With minds comforted by God’s protection and providence and with joy in our hearts, let us thank God for all he has done…and is doing…and will continue to do for us on our journey! And let us leave his house today like Jacob left Beersheba—without fear, with a clean conscience, and with trust in the Lord’s protection and providence. Amen. Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Genesis 46:1-7, 26-27 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. 4 I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.” 5 Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. 6 So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt, taking with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan.7 Jacob brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring. 26 All those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons.27 With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all.