Voddie Baucham - Joseph Reunites with His Family

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Speaker 1: If you join me in Genesis chapter 46, we are

moving rapidly to the conclusion of the book of Genesis

and rapidly to the conclusion of this journey through Joseph's life,

which in actuality was not about Joseph at all. As

we've said on a number of occasions, we have to

look at Joseph's life in its broader context. First, we

have to look at it in the broader context of

this particular section of the book of Genesis. And we

know that there in Genesis chapter 37, that this is

the Toledot of Jacob. This is the story of the

generations of Jacob. So when we come to the life

of Joseph, it is told in the midst of the

story of Jacob's generations. We also know that when Joseph

communicates his own story to his brothers, that he says

to his brothers that God has sent him to Egypt,

not just so that he could be elevated to a

position of prominence, but Joseph says that God sent him

to Egypt so that he might in turn rescue his brothers.

So we have to put it into that context, but

we also have to put it in the broader context

of the story of redemptive history. And we know that

the book of Genesis outlines for us a very important

portion of that story of redemptive history, beginning there with

the creation of man in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2,

then the fall of man in Genesis 3. In the

midst of the fall of man, there is this curse

that is brought upon the man, the woman, and ultimately

the serpent. And it is in that curse that is

brought upon the serpent that we, for the first time,

hear the good news of the message of the gospel,

that there would be enmity between the serpent and the

woman and between his seed and her seed, that the

serpent's seed would bruise the seed of the woman on

the heel, but the seed of the woman would crush

the head of the snake. From that moment on, as

we read not only in Genesis, but as we read

in the rest of the Bible, we read an unfolding

story narrative of redemptive history. For the rest of the Bible,

if you wanna understand anything else in the Bible, you

have to understand it through the lens of God's redemptive

plan that is ultimately brought to fruition in the person

and work of Jesus Christ, who is that promised seed.

So when we look at the story of Joseph through

that lens, through the broadest of all biblical contexts, we

understand that the story of Joseph is about the continuation

of the line and that ultimately Joseph has to save

Judah and God has to redeem Judah. Because when we

meet Judah in chapter 37, if you'll remember, He's the

brother who says, why kill him? If we kill him,

we get nothing. Let's sell him into slavery. At least

we'll get something for him. In chapter 38, he's the

one who is ready to take the life of his

daughter-in-law because of her sexual impurity until she brings out

the evidence that it was actually him with whom she

was impure. How is that man going to be the

leader of this clan? How is that man going to

be the one through whom the promised seed will continue?

How is that man going to be the one who

ultimately gives us King David and great King David's greater son, Jesus?

The answer, he must be redeemed. And we've seen here

in the story of Joseph a picture of God redeeming Judah.

of God redeeming Jacob. And now we come here to

the end of chapter 48, or 46 rather, and we

see this reuniting of Joseph with his father Jacob. You

remember on last week we looked at the fact that

God has renewed the covenant with Jacob. God uttered almost

exactly the same words to Jacob that he had uttered

to Abraham and to Isaac. And the end of that

promise was that he's going to take him into Egypt

and in Egypt going to make him a great nation.

Now we read a list of names and when we

finished there were 70 Israelites. 70. That's it. And God

says this 70 is going to become a great nation.

Today I want you to see how this nation will

be set apart. and what will distinguish this nation. And

just like with the overarching story of Joseph, we're going

to put it into the context of the entire story

here of the redemption of Jacob, in the context of

the entire story of the book of Genesis, and in

the context of the entire story of redemptive history. And

I just have to confess that this has been an

incredible journey for me. I've been through the book of

Genesis on a number of occasions, but It's like going

through for the first time. Look with me beginning verse 28.

He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph. Again,

not Reuben the firstborn, Simeon the secondborn was kept in Egypt,

not Levi the thirdborn, but Judah. The fourth born son

is now the son featured prominently. 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.

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. Don't you just love that? He just, he wept.

He didn't just greet his brother or his father. He

wasn't just excited. The text says he greeted him and

fell on his neck and wept a good while. Israel

said to Joseph, now let me die since I have

seen your face and know that you are still alive.

Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household,

I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say

to him, my brothers and my father's household will who

were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.

And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers

of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their

herds and all that they have. When Pharaoh calls you

and says, what is your occupation? You shall say, your

servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth, even

until now. But we and our fathers, in order that

you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every

shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians. Isn't that interesting?

I'm going to go tell Pharaoh that you're shepherds. When

Pharaoh asks you what you do, tell him you're shepherds. Okay, why?

Because the Egyptians hate shepherds. Okay, son, I'm happy to

see you again and everything, but wait, back up. You're

gonna go tell Pharaoh that we're shepherds, yes. When Pharaoh

asks us what we do, we should say we're shepherds, yes.

And you want us to do this because the Egyptians

think shepherds are an abomination, yes. And we're going to

live in Egypt, yes. With the Egyptians, yes. who think

shepherds are an abomination? Yes. What's this about? I'm glad

you asked. We see two main things here. First, we

see a picture of God setting Israel apart in Egypt. Remember,

they're going to Egypt to become a great nation. They

are not going to Egypt to merge with a great nation.

They are going to Egypt to become a great nation.

And that is a very important distinction. God is not saying,

Egypt is a great nation. I'm going to send my

people into Egypt so that my people can merge with

a great nation and that somehow This Israeli-Egyptian united nation

will be a powerful nation that I can then use.

God does not want nor does he need the power

of the Egyptians. Amen? He's going to demonstrate that, by

the way. Nor does God send Israel into Egypt so

that they can learn from the Egyptians. God is not saying, hey,

I'm going to send you to Egypt. Egypt is a

great nation. You go to Egypt and learn everything that

you can from the Egyptians. Learn their ways of warfare,

learn their ways of metalsmithing, learn their ways of economics,

learn their ways of whatever. And then after you've learned

all the things that they have acquired and accomplished through

their diligent use of common grace, then you will be

more powerful. And when I send you out, you can

be Egypt light. It's not what God does. God doesn't

send them to merge with the Egyptians. God doesn't even

send them to learn from the Egyptians. He doesn't do that.

Never does that. In fact, it's very similar to what

happens when Daniel goes into Babylon. Interestingly enough, when Daniel

goes into Babylon, a lot of people look at that

and they say, well, yeah, you know, Daniel went into

Babylon and then they learned all these things from Babylon

and then they became greater than the Babylonians at the

Babylonians' own knowledge. No, if you read Daniel very carefully

in Daniel chapter one, Nebuchadnezzar chose Daniel and the others

that he brought in Because of the way that they

had already completed their education and training in Israel They

didn't go into Babylon until postgraduate school and They did

not acquire Babylonian knowledge and become better than the Babylonians

at their own knowledge They already had a superior worldview

and that's what set them apart That's not how God operates.

The pagans are great. Go learn from the pagans so

that you can be great as well. No, God says,

I'm sending you into Egypt to make you a great nation,

not another Egypt. In fact, you're going in as a

despised people group. And that is going to be part

of the way that you are separated from the Egyptians.

That's going to be part of the way that you

are protected from being assimilated into Egypt. That's going to

be part of the way that I preserve my teaching,

that I preserve my truth, that I preserve my covenant,

that you go in as my people in the midst

of Egypt. In other words, go in and be in Egypt,

but not of Egypt. Does that sound at all familiar?

In the world, but not of the world. Listen to

Calvin's comment on this. Nevertheless, though it was hard for

the Holy Fathers to be thus appropriately rejected and, as

it were, to be loathed by a whole nation, yet

this ignominy with which they were branded was most profitable

to themselves. For had they been mingled with the Egyptians,

they might have been scattered far and wide. But now,

seeing that they are objects of detestation and are thought

unworthy to be admitted to common society, they learn in

this state of separation from others to cherish more fervently

mutual union between themselves. And thus, the body of the church,

which God had set apart from the whole world, is

not dispersed. As the Lord often permits us to be

dispersed or despised or rejected by the world, that being

liberated and cleansed from its pollution, we may cultivate holiness. Finally,

he does not suffer us to be bound by change

to the earth in order that we may be born upwardly.

to heaven. There's the picture. This is who God is,

and this is what God does. This is the God

who says to Gideon, Gideon, you have too many men.

Get rid of some of them. Why? Too many men? Yes,

because this battle is about me getting the glory, not you.

God does not want it said later on, oh yeah,

that's Israel. Israel is a great nation because they went

into Egypt, commingled with the Egyptians, and now they're partnered

with the Egyptians, and the power of the Egyptians make

them great. It is not God's desire that somehow, generations later,

people will say, oh yeah, that's Israel. They're great because

they learned metalsmithing in Egypt. They learned warfare in Egypt.

They have chariots from Egypt. No, God wants it says,

that's Israel. Fear them because their God fights for them.

He distinguishes his people. He sets his people apart. And

in fact, he does not use the greatness of man.

It's always amazing to me when some famous person or whomever,

you know, famous person comes to faith in Christ. Again,

depending on how famous the person is, if they're famous enough,

they come to Christ today. Next week, they're on Christian

television and next month they got a book out. Amen.

Just that quick. Why? Because we somehow believe that all

God needs to turn the tables is the right Egyptian

with the right fame, fortune, or power to turn the

tide of public opinion. Folks, God has never been in

the business of using Egyptians to grant him fame unless

he crushes them with his mighty hand. Amen? That's the

way God uses Egyptians to get fame for himself. He

crushes them with his mighty hand. He drowns them in

the sea. That's the way God uses the Egyptians. He

does not take the Egyptians and raise them up and

use what they have done in order to gain power

for himself. Again, does he not do this in Babylon?

There in chapter four, we see Nebuchadnezzar radically saved. Seven years,

God turns him into a beast, and then Nebuchadnezzar rises up,

and when he rises up, he blesses God, and in

the next chapter, he's dead. Amen. Amen. Just when you think, oh,

this is awesome. This is just like God. Daniel's there.

They've been in captivity in Babylon. God gets the heart

of the king. He saves the king. Certainly in this

next chapter, the king is going to change all of

Babylon and God is going to be worshiped. No, his son,

who's worse than him, is now risen up. And he's gone.

This is is how God operates. He will not share

his glory with another. So he sends them in as

despised shepherds into the land of Goshen. He separates them

as despised shepherds in the land of Goshen. And he

preserves for himself a distinct people in the midst of

this land, a people whose honor will be based on

the fact that God is their God. Not only does

he bring them in as a despised group of people,

but it would be one thing if he brought them

in as a despised group of people who had a

trade that was, I don't know, just maybe more noble.

Maybe they come in as whatever, bankers or jewelers or

used car salesmen or whatever. Some other, maybe they come

in as something like that. But no, they come in

as shepherds. Shepherds. So they are both despised and lowly.

They're shepherds. But this is the second great truth. And

this is the most powerful truth in this passage. Not

only is God setting Israel apart in Egypt, but God

is laying a foundation for understanding the relationship between him

and his people. God is laying a foundation for us

to understand redemptive history. God is laying a foundation so

that the world will know who God is and how

God interacts with his people because he brings them in

as people. shepherds. Folks, there is perhaps no more significant

theme in all of the Bible than the theme of

the shepherd and the sheep. In fact, I would argue

that everything else pales in comparison to the theme of

the shepherd and the sheep, because that is the theme

that God uses in order to communicate the truth about himself,

the truth about his people, and the truth about the

way that he redeems his people through the theme of

the shepherd and the sheep. So two things God is doing. One,

God is separating his people in Egypt from Egypt. But secondly,

God is painting a picture of who his people are

and who he is, who his people are in relation

to him, and how redemption works historically. Don't believe me.

Let's spend a little time with the theme of the

shepherd and the sheep. First of all, the image of

the sheep. You cannot understand the image of the shepherd

unless you understand the image of the sheep. The sheep

is weak, not at all a powerful animal. There is

nothing powerful about a sheep. A sheep is defenseless. Sheep

have no defensive mechanisms, none. Even a skunk can spray you. Amen?

A porcupine sort of ball himself up and poke you,

but nothing. Squirrel, fast enough to get away from you.

Sheep's not fast. It's not powerful. He has nothing. He

has no defense mechanism. He is helpless. The sheep is helpless.

He cannot help himself. In fact, if a sheep becomes cast,

that is laid over on his back in a crevice

of some sort, the sheep cannot turn himself back over.

If his wool is thick, he cannot turn himself back over.

If this happens during the warmer months, he's got a

number of hours before gases collect in his system and

he dies. If it happens during the cooler months, he

has a matter of days before this happens. But in

either case, he usually won't die from those collected gases

because something will come along and eat him first. Sheep

are dumb. They are not intelligent animals. They're dumb. Again,

you can't understand the life of a shepherd unless you

understand sheep. Sheep are unintelligent animals. They will eat anything.

Most animals, if they eat something that makes them sick,

they won't go eat it again. Not so with sheep.

They are not intelligent animals. lead sheep jumps off a cliff,

you better start grabbing sheep because they will continue to

pour over the cliff after the lead sheep. They are

not intelligent animals and they are needy animals. Sheep are

very needy animals because of all of these truths. So

here comes Israel. What are they known for? They're known

for herding these weak, defenseless, helpless, dumb, needy animals who stink.

You ever been around a sheep full of wool? Those

are sheep. That's what Israel is known for. They're shepherds.

What do shepherds do? Four things. We've talked about these before.

They know and love the sheep. Secondly, they lead and

guide the sheep. Thirdly, they protect the sheep. And finally,

they feed the sheep. That's the responsibility of shepherds to sheep.

And it's not until you understand the nature of sheep

and the nature of shepherds that you understand the relationship

between God and Israel, between God and his covenant people.

It's not until you grasp this that you understand the

significance of redemptive history. So here comes Israel into Egypt.

They are set apart from Egypt because they are shepherds

who keep sheep. And they are distinguished in redemptive history

because they are shepherds who keep sheep. In order to

understand that historically, we have to understand this biblical picture.

We understand first the line of shepherds. And we think

maybe the line of shepherds starts here, but actually it

does not. The first one to whom we're introduced in

the Bible that is a shepherd is actually Abel. In

Genesis chapter four and verse four, it says, and Abel

also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of

their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel

and his offering. Abel was a shepherd. Abel was a shepherd.

So from the beginning, we have the picture of a shepherd.

Not only that, but the patriarchs were shepherds. We see

in Genesis 13, 5, 24, 35, 26, 14, 29, 2, 3,

and 8, that the patriarchs were all shepherds. So here's

a picture of Abel. You remember Cain and Abel, the

firstborn sons of Adam and Eve. Abel is a shepherd.

The patriarchs come along, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they

are all shepherds. But not only do we find that

here in Genesis, but we also find as God continues

to deal with his people that he does so with

prominent men who are shepherds. Or do you remember Moses? Moses.

Moses was raised in Egypt, but before God could use

him to deliver his people out of Egypt, he had

to go become a shepherd. It was not enough for

him to be a warrior prince. If he was going

to lead God's people, he had to become a shepherd.

So what do we read in Exodus 3.1? Now Moses

was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest

of Midian. And he led his flock to the west

side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain

of God. Very important thing happens there at Horeb, the

mountain of God, while he's tending sheep. The first 40

years of his life, There he is in Egypt. And

one would think God is raising up a deliverer who

delivers them out of Egypt. So he's going to raise

him up in Egypt. So he becomes an Egyptian and

uses the Egyptian things against the Egyptian. No, God says

second 40 years, you go become a shepherd. Why God?

Why do I need to be in the wilderness tending

these unintelligent, weak, helpless, hopeless animals? Because in the third

40 years of your life, you're going to shepherd my

sheep in the desert. That's what I do. I shepherd

my sheep. And if you are going to serve me

and represent me, you need to do the same. So

Moses becomes a shepherd. Not only Moses, but Judah's first

great son by the name of David. And we all

look and we see that Samuel goes to Jesse's house.

And when Samuel goes to Jesse's house, he's looking for

the next king. Now, when we read the story, we

think that it's quite ironic that the one he finds

who is to be the king of Israel was actually

out tending sheep. But the only reason we think that's

ironic is because we don't know the history of the Bible.

You want to find the king of God's people? What

better place to find him than tending the sheep? God's

people are shepherds after all. His people are sheep after all.

His people keep sheep. His people are sheep. That's the

picture that God paints throughout redemptive history. This picture of

the shepherd and the sheep. You find in 1 Samuel 17,

David said to Saul, your servant used to keep sheep

for his father. And when there came a lion or

a bear and took a lamb from the flock, your

servant delivered it out of his hand. God prepared Moses

to lead his people. How? How? by making him a

shepherd in the wilderness. God prepared David to lead his people, how?

By making him a shepherd who would fight against lions

and bears in order to deliver sheep so that he

would not be afraid when a giant Philistine said, send

me somebody who trusts God enough to fight me. Not

only that, but the leaders of Israel are seen as shepherds.

Go with me, if you will, to the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 23. Look at the first four verses. Woe to

the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture.

Who's speaking here? God. About whom is God speaking? His people.

To what does God liken his people? Sheep. To what

does God liken the leaders of his people? Shepherds. Why?

Because that's the way it has always been. Woe to

the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture,

declares the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God

of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people,

you have scattered my flock and have driven them away,

and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will

attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord.

Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out

of all the countries where I have driven them, and

I will bring them back to their fold, and they

shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over

them who will care for them, and they shall fear

no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing,

declares the Lord. The leaders of the church, in Ephesians

chapter 4, in verse 11, he gave some as apostles,

some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastor

teachers or shepherd teachers. In fact, what we read today

in 1 Peter chapter 5 was a picture of the

leaders of God's people being referred to as pastors or shepherds.

The word pastor means shepherd. And that is the work

of those who hold leadership over God's people. It has

always been that way. God's people are sheep. God is

a shepherd. And those who lead their people are shepherds

as well. But also the picture of God as shepherd

is even clearer in the scriptures. The clearest picture of

all is found in Psalm number 23. Go with me,

if you will, to Psalm number 23. Written, by the way,

by King David. The most beloved and endearing of all

the Psalms is a picture of the relationship between God

and his people. And it begins, the Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want He makes me lie down in

green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores

my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness

for his namesake. Even though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil

for you are with me. Your rod and your staff,

they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in

the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil.

My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life and I shall dwell

in the house of the Lord forever. Who's God? A shepherd.

Who are his people? Sheep. So when God brings his

people into Egypt to make them a nation, who do

they come in as? Shepherds keeping sheep. Beyond Psalm 23,

we also see Psalm 28, nine. Oh, save your people

and bless your heritage. Be their shepherd and carry them forever. Forever.

Also in Isaiah chapter 40, verses nine through 11. Isaiah

chapter 40, verses nine through 11. Get you up to

a high mountain, O Zion. Herald of good news, lift

up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news.

Lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Judah, behold,

your God. Behold, the Lord God comes with might and

his arm rules for him. Behold, his reward is with

him and his recompense before him. He will tend his

flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in

his arms. He will carry them in his bosom and

gently lead them those that are with young. Again, the

picture of God is shepherd. We see also in Jeremiah 17, 16,

I have not run away from being your shepherd, nor

have I desired the day of sickness. You know what

came out of my lips. It was before your face.

So again, this picture of God is shepherd. The picture

of God's people When they go to become a nation,

they go in as shepherds with sheep. But there is

another who paints the picture of God as shepherd. But

he also ironically paints the picture of God as sheep.

It is almost unthinkable, but that is exactly what Christ does.

Christ is the God man. He is fully God and

fully man. God is our shepherd. Man is what? Sheep.

He comes to redeem the sheep, but he comes to

do so as what? Sheep. Turn with me to the

book of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 53. Isaiah 53. Again, this

is not an isolated incident here. This is the overarching

picture of redemptive history. The picture of the shepherd and

the sheep. Isaiah 53, who has believed what has been

heard from us and to whom has the arm of

the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him

like a young plant and like a root out of

dry ground. He had no form or majesty that we

should look at him and no beauty that we should

desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a

man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Did we not just

sing that this morning? And as one from whom men

hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,

yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was crushed

for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought

us peace and with his stripes we are healed. All

we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone

to his own way and the Lord has laid on

him the iniquity of us all. What is that the

picture of? That is the picture of the scapegoat on

the day of atonement. So we are sheep who've gone astray.

Who's Christ? He's the scapegoat on whose head our sins

were placed. But wait, it goes on. Verse seven, he

was oppressed and was afflicted, yet he opened not his

mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

like a sheep that before its shearers is silent. So

he opened not his mouth. Who is Christ? Who is Christ?

The next day, he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold,

the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of

the world. And he looked at Jesus as he walked

by and said, behold, the Lamb of God, the Agnus Dei.

Who is Christ? Christ is the Lamb of God. Luke

chapter 2, verses 8 and 15. And in the same region,

there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over

their flocks by night. When the angels went away from

them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, let

us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that

has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.

The Lord has made known to us. To whom? Shepherds.

You don't get that unless you know redemptive history. The

Lamb of God is born in Bethlehem, and God goes

and gets shepherds to come and attend at his birth.

Go to the book of Revelation, if you will. All

the way over to the right. Go to chapter 5.

From the beginning of the Bible all the way to

the end of the Bible, there is this same thing.

Then I saw in the right hand of him who

was seated on the throne a scroll written, and on

the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a

strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy

to open the scroll and break its seal? And no

one in heaven or earth or under the earth was

able to open the scroll or to look into it.

And I began to weep loudly because no one was

found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

And one of the elders said to me, weep no more. Behold,

the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of

David has conquered so that he can open the scroll

and its seven seals. And between the throne and the

four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a

lamb standing as though it had been slain. with seven

horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits

of God sent out into all the earth. And he

went and took the scroll from the right hand of

him who was seated on the throne. And when he

had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the

24 elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a

harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the

prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song saying,

Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open

its seals. For you were slain and by your blood

you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language

and people and nation. And you have made them a

kingdom and preached to our God. And they shall reign

on the earth. Then I looked and I heard around

the throne and the living creatures saying, and the elders,

the voice of many angels numbering myriads of myriads and

thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice, worthy is

the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth

and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth

and under the earth and in the sea and all

that is in them saying to him who sits on

the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor

and glory and might forever. And the four living creatures said, amen.

And the elders fell down and worshiped. Now I watched

when the lamb opened one of the seven seals and

I heard one of the four living creatures say with

a voice like thunder, come. I looked and behold, a

white horse and its rider had a bow and a

crown was given to him. And he came out conquering

and to conquer. who is Christ, but the Lamb of God.

But not only the Lamb, but the Good Shepherd. Ezekiel 37, 24.

My servant David shall be king over them, and they

shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my

rules and be careful to obey my statutes. The only

problem is David's gone. So about whom does Ezekiel speak?

Ezekiel speaks about the Lamb of God, who is the

good shepherd. Matthew chapter two and verse six is actually

a quote from Micah chapter five, verses two through five.

It says, and you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,

for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd

my people, Israel. From you will come a ruler who

will shepherd my people, Israel. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 20.

Now may the God of peace be brought again from

the dead, I'm sorry, who brought again from the dead

our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep by

the blood of the eternal covenant. Again, the Lamb of

God and the shepherd of God's people. First Peter 2.25.

For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned

to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. Who is that?

That is Christ, the shepherd and overseer of our souls.

1 Peter 5, 4. And when the chief shepherd appears,

you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Who is

the chief shepherd? It is Jesus Christ. Revelation 7, 17.

For the lamb in the midst of the throne will

be their shepherd forever. And he will guide them to

springs of living water. And God will wipe away every

tear from their eyes. That's our hope. Christ as our

shepherd forever. And making provision for the sheep. Peter, do

you love me? Well, you know I love you. Feed

my sheep. He asked him again, do you love me?

Of course, Lord, I love you. Feed my lambs. He

asked him a third time, do you love me? Peter

didn't like it at all that he had asked him

three times, but he recognized that it was necessary to

be asked three times because he had denied three times.

You know all things. What does Jesus say to Peter

for a third time? Feed my sheep. Why? Because the

Lamb of God is God in the flesh. And God

is the great shepherd of his people. And the great

shepherd of his people gives under shepherds to his people

to care for his people. And he refers to those

under shepherds as under shepherds because it's their job. to

tend on behalf of the shepherd, the sheep. Finally, turn

with me to John chapter 10. John chapter 10. Truly, truly,

I say to you, he who does not enter the

sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way,

that man is a thief and a robber. But he

who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice,

and he calls his own sheep by name and leads

them out. When he has brought out all his own,

he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for

they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow,

but they will flee from him, for they do not

know the voice of a stranger. This figure of speech

Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what

he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, truly, truly,

I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but

the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door.

If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and

will go in and out and find pasture. The thief

comes only to steal and to kill and destroy. I

come that they might have life and have it abundantly.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down

his life for the sheep. He who was a hired

hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep,

sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees.

And the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees

because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for

the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own,

and my own know me, just as the Father knows me,

and I know the Father. And I lay down my

life for the sheep, and I have other sheep that

are not of this fold. I must bring them also,

and they will listen to my voice. So there will

be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father

loves me, because I lay down my life that I

may take it up again. No one takes it from me,

but I lay it down of my own accord. I

have authority to lay it down and I have authority

to take it up again. This charge I have received

from my father. Who is this Christ? He is the

Lamb of God who was slain for the sins of

his people. But who is he? He is the good

shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep. Yeah,

but who is he? He is the door in the

way that the sheep come in. Yes, but who is he?

He is the good shepherd who guides his sheep. He

is the one whose voice the sheep know and the

only one whose voice the sheep will follow. And so

here they go in. In Genesis chapter 46. And there

are 70 of them. And who knows how many sheep

and lambs and goats. And as they walk into Egypt.

And as they come into Goshen. I'm sure the question

rang out. Who are those people? Those are Joseph's people.

They're shepherds. That's how you know them. But if they

knew the real truth, the question would be, who are

those people? The answer would come, those are God's people.

That is God's nation. They are shepherds of the sheep,

which is but a picture and a foreshadowing. A picture

and a foreshadowing of what? Well, first, it's a picture

and a foreshadowing of how God is going to deal

with his people in order to make them his people.

Because eventually they're going to go out of this place.

And when they go out of this place, they're going

to go out of this place like sheep behind a shepherd.

That shepherd will be raised here in Egypt, but he

will not live as an Egyptian, nor will he deliver

them by using Egyptian means. But he will be a shepherd.

Believe that. And he will shepherd them in the wilderness.

And eventually, these people who are being shepherded in the

wilderness will become a great nation. But in order to

remind this great nation of who they are, God will

give them once again a shepherd to be their leader.

And eventually, these sheep will be cast all over the place.

But God will send a final shepherd, the good shepherd,

who is unlike any other shepherd, Because this shepherd will

be God himself and yet he will be the lamb

of God. This lamb of God will lay down his

life as a lamb for the lambs. And it's not

until this lamb of God comes that you will understand

all of the sacrifices of lambs and goats that have

gone before. It will not be until this lamb comes

that it will make sense that we placed our hands

on the head of the scapegoat and sent him out

representing the sins of the people being taken away and

slayed another lamb and killed him on the altar representing

the penalty being paid for the sins of the people

because in this one lamb death will finally atone for

sin And in this one lamb, sin will finally be

taken away. Why? So that we can be the sheep

of his pasture. So that he can be our good

shepherd forever. So what's happening in Genesis chapter 46? I'm

glad you asked. In Genesis chapter 46, God is saying

to you And to me, I've always been a shepherd.

And those who belong to me have always been shepherded,

both by me and by those who represent me. Don't

be surprised by this picture, but in fact, get used

to it. Because the greatest thing in the world that

you could be identified as He's a weak, dumb, helpless, needy,

good for nothing sheep. And if you're his, that's the

way you understand yourself. By the way, what is the

value of a sheep? You know how you determine how

valuable sheep are? It's very simple. You ask who's their shepherd. Why?

Great shepherds only shepherd the most valuable sheep. Why are

they so valuable? Because they belong to the great shepherd.

Who are you? Good for nothing sheep. But your value

is great. Why? Because God has seen fit to have

you shepherded by the good shepherd. Why are you valuable?

Because the ultimate price was paid. The good shepherd laid

down his life as a sheep for his sheep. What

are you worth? You are worth the matchless, priceless blood

of the Lamb of Almighty God. That's what you're worth.

That's what you're worth. And every time your head gets

too big, you just need to be reminded, but you're

still a sheep. When you come to Genesis chapter 46,

and we'll look at the first half of Genesis chapter 46,

and it's It's always interesting when you are assigned a

preaching segment that has, for the most part, a list

of names as its content. And we have that today,

where we have a list of names as a good

portion of the content in Genesis chapter 46. And yet

that list of names is extremely important as we understand

the movement here in chapter 46. I want you to

go back to Genesis chapter 37. And if you'll remember,

when we started in the life of Joseph, we started

in Genesis chapter 37. And we talked about those 11

times in the book of Genesis that you see this

Hebrew phrase or this Hebrew concept of the Toledot, or

this Hebrew concept of the story of the generations of.

Genesis starts these Toledotes early on in Genesis chapter 2. Ironically,

that's the first time when it's not the Toledote or

story of the generation of a family, but in Genesis

chapter 2, it is the Toledote or the story of

the generations of the heavens and the earth. Well, this

is the last one of those phrases that we have

in the book of Genesis here in Genesis chapter 37.

So the last Toledote or the last story of the

last generation to be accounted here in the book of

Genesis is not the Toledot of Joseph, but that of Jacob.

And it's important to remember that. So go back to

Genesis chapter 37, beginning of verse one. Jacob lived in

the land of his father's sojournings in the land of Canaan.

These are the generations of Jacob. Now, we've looked at

the life of Joseph, but we are studying the generations

of Jacob. The life of Joseph, though it looms large

in the minds of those of us who love the

Bible and those of us who love the book of Genesis,

the life of Joseph is only a parenthetical statement in

the life of Jacob. Joseph is not the patriarch. Jacob

is the patriarch. This is not about Joseph. Joseph finally

understands that. And we saw that in the last chapter

when Joseph says to his brothers, listen, don't be angry

with yourselves for what you did to me. God sent

me here. And more importantly, God sent me here in

order that he might use me to rescue you from

this famine. Why? Because this is not the Toledot of Joseph,

it's the Toledot of Jacob. This is about Jacob being

rescued and God using Joseph to rescue Jacob. Don't miss that.

So now we come back and all of a sudden

that title is reintroduced. That title, Israel. Remember, this is

the name that he gets after he wrestles with the angel.

So we are now talking about the nation that is

going to come forth from Jacob. Therefore, they refer to

him with this name again. We saw it already in

chapter 45, as he was once again referred to as Israel,

but now again, we'll see it in chapter 46. So ultimately,

here in this first half of chapter 46, we're going

to look at this picture of Jacob's multi-generational vision and blessing.

Jacob's multi-generational vision and blessing. Look beginning at chapter one.

So Israel took his journey with all that he had

and came to Beersheba. Now we've seen that place before, Beersheba.

His father Isaac built an altar there and offered sacrifices

to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke

to Israel in visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob.

And he said, here am I. 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. 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.

That statement only sounds confusing if you don't understand this

multi-generational and covenantal concept. If you don't understand this multi-generational

and covenantal concept then God just contradicted himself Don't be

afraid to go down to Egypt. I'm going to bring

you back up out of Egypt. By the way, you're

going to die there, and Joseph's going to be the

one to close your eyes when you die in Egypt. Whoa,

time out, God. I thought you said I was going

to go to Egypt, and then you're going to bring

me out. I'll explain in a moment. Verse 5. Then

Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried

Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives in

the wagon that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They

also took their livestock and their goods, which they had

gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt.

Jacob and his offspring with him. His sons and his

sons' sons with him. His daughters and his sons' daughters.

All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt. 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. So we got a lot

of pregnant women out there right now. You're trying to

think about names. You're gonna get a whole bunch of

ideas right here. Hanak, Palu, Hezron, and Carmi, the sons

of Simeon, Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaal, the

sons 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 Hamu.

The sons of Issachar, Tola, Puva, Job, and Shimron. The

sons of Zebulun, Sered, Elan, and Jahlil. These are the

sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram.

together with his daughter Dinah. Altogether, his sons and his

daughter numbered 33. The sons of Gad, Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Esbon, Eri, Arodi, Areli.

The sons of Asher, Imnah, Ishva, Ishvi, Berea, with Sere,

their sister. and the sons of Berea, Heber, and Malkiel.

These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah,

his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob, 16 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 Potipharah, the priest

of On, bore to him. And the sons of Benjamin, Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Mupim, Hupim,

and Ard. These are the sons of Rachel who were

born to Jacob, 14 persons in all. the sons of Dan, Hushim,

the son of Naphtali, Jazil, Guni, Jerez, and Shilim. 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 came into Egypt,

who were his own descendants, not including Jacob's sons' wives,

were 66 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 70. There's your nation of Israel, 70 people.

That's it. God made a promise to Abraham And his

promise to Abraham was a number so great that it

could only be compared to the stars in the heavens

and the grains of sand in the sea. And we

just read what they have up to now in five minutes.

That's it. 70 people. And God's going to turn 70

people Into a nation. And he's going to take 70

people out of Canaan. Most of the Canaanites probably didn't

even know these 70 people were there. Had no idea

who this clan was or anything about this clan. They're

going to come back and take over the place. 70 people.

What on earth can 70 people do? That's a good question.

If you know the rest of the story in the Bible,

you know that these 70 people are going to change

the entire world, but not in and of themselves. It

is going to happen over generations. And so here's the

multi-generational vision and blessing of Jacob that we see here

in Genesis chapter 46. Couple of things. Number one, we

see that Jacob worships the God of his father. Jacob

worships the God of his father. The first piece of

the multi-generational blessing of Jacob goes backwards. It's ironic because

usually when we talk about multi-generational vision, multi-generational blessing, we're

always talking about forward. We always start with me and

then we go forward. my children, my children's children, that's

going to be my multi-generational vision, my multi-generational blessing. No,

the beauty of Jacob's multi-generational vision and multi-generational blessing is

that it goes backwards before it goes forward. Look at

verse 1 and 2. So Israel took his journey with

all that he had and came to Beersheba, he goes

back to the place of his father and offered sacrifices

to the God of his father, Isaac. So he goes

back to the place established by his father to remember God.

He offers sacrifices there in order to remember God. And

God spoke to Israel in vision of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob.

And he said, here am I. Then he said, I

am God, the God of your father. He goes back.

This is something that we don't appreciate, especially those of

us who are of the reformed ilk. We don't appreciate

it because we look, for example, at Catholicism and we say, well,

Catholicism has a huge problem because they put the history

of the church and the tradition of the church on

par with the scriptures. That is wrong. Sola scriptura, sola scriptura,

to which I say amen, hallelujah, praise the Lord, be careful.

That's my response. Amen, hallelujah, praise the Lord, be careful.

Here's why. We worship the God of our fathers. If

your idea of biblical Christianity is starting at ground zero

and not depending on anyone who came before you, you

are arrogant, ignorant, and in great danger. If you do

not appreciate the history of the church, you are arrogant, ignorant,

and in great danger. If you don't read things that

are older than your own generation, you are arrogant, ignorant,

and in great danger. The first part of our multi-generational

vision is to go back, why? Because God wasn't invented

in my generation. Amen. God's truth wasn't invented by my generation.

There are those who have gone before who have known God,

who have walked with God, who have also failed to

walk with God, and there's something to be learned from

them all. Why is this so important? Well, a couple

of things. Look at, for example, the first commandment and

the fifth commandment. In the first commandment, God makes it

very clear. I am God. You should worship me only.

I'm God, you worship me only. Amen. He's God, we

worship him only. Then there's the fifth commandment. By the way,

first commandment, the first of our vertical commandments. The fifth commandment,

the first of our horizontal commandments is what? Honor your

father and your mother. Why? Because they're the ones charged

with teaching you who God is and how God is

to be worshiped. Do you follow? Do you follow? So

the first part of our multi-generational vision is we go back.

We go back to our forefathers. By the way, going

back to our forefathers, this is not about blood. This

is about truth. So who are my genuine forefathers in

the family? My genuine forefathers in the faith are those

who followed God. Which God? The Bible makes it clear

throughout the Pentateuch, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.

Who's that? That is the one true and living God.

Why do we follow the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Well,

because the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was also

the God of Noah. Well, why do we want to

follow the God of Noah? Because the God of Noah

was also the God of Adam. Well, why do we

want to follow the God of Adam? Because the God

of Adam is the God who created all things. He

is the Lord of the universe. And if you're worshiping

somebody who was not the God that Adam worshiped, who

was not the God that Noah worshiped, who was not

the God that Abraham or Isaac or Jacob worshiped, then

you are not worshiping the God of the Bible. So

the first place you look in your multigenerational vision is backward.

To make sure that the God whom we worship is

the God of scripture, the God who has revealed himself,

and the God who has called upon those to whom

he has revealed himself to tell the story to coming generations,

which is the incredible blessing that you and I have

when we open up the scriptures, that those who have

gone before us, who have encountered God, who have been

encountered by God, have provided for us a record of

that encounter. Go with me, if you would, and look

to the right. Look at Deuteronomy chapter 6. Look at

Deuteronomy chapter 6. Verse 1. Now this is the commandment,

the statutes and the rules that the Lord your God

commanded me to teach you, that you may do them

in the land to which you are going over to

possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you,

your son, and your son's son, by keeping his statutes

and his commandments, which I command you all the days

of your life. and that your days may be long.

Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them,

that it may go well with you and that you

may multiply greatly as the Lord, the God of your fathers,

has promised you in the land flowing with milk and honey.

There's the multi-generational vision. What does he keep doing? He

keeps going backward to the God of your fathers and

forward to the God of your sons and your sons' sons.

It's backward and it's forward. In other words, Moses says,

I'm giving you these commandments. By the way, these commandments

didn't originate with me. They go back to the God

of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, to the

God who created the world. This does not happen in

a vacuum. It does not exist in a vacuum. Our

desire is to worship God in spirit and in truth,

not based upon my own limited experience and my own

limited scope and frame of knowledge. I cherish the record

of those who've gone before. Turn with me, if you will,

to Psalm 78. Psalm 78. And look at those first

few verses there. This is a mascal of Asaph. Give ear,

O my people, to my teaching. Incline your ears to

the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth

in a parable. I will utter dark sayings from of old,

things that we have heard and known that our fathers

have told us. He's reaching back. We will not hide

them from their children, but tell the coming generation the

glorious deeds of the Lord and his might and the

wonders that he has done. He established a testimony in

Jacob and appointed a law in Israel. which he commanded

our fathers to teach to their children, that the next

generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise

and tell them to their children, so that they should

set their hope in God, and not forget the works

of God, but keep his commandments, and that they should

not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation,

a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was

not faithful to God. So we reach back, but not

for everything. Amen? We reach back, but not for everything.

We reach back for that which is true, which is biblical,

which is right. But we also learn from those who

have gone before us and the things that they did

not do well. Not just the Psalms, but look at Proverbs.

And we'd have to read all of Proverbs to get

the richness of this concept here. But look at, for example,

Proverbs chapter 4 and verse 1. Hear, O son, a

father's instruction, and be attentive that you may gain insight,

for I give you good precepts. Do not forsake my teaching.

When I was a son with my father, tender, the

only one in the sight of my mother, he taught

me and said to me, let your heart hold fast

my words, keep my commandments and live. In other words, son,

I want you to pay attention to what I teach you. Why?

Because I'm teaching you God's precepts, which by the way,

I learned from my father who taught them to me,

reaching backward and reaching forward. And again, Ephesians chapter six,

verses one through four. Children, obey your parents and the Lord,

for this is right. Honor your father and your mother,

which is the first commandment with a promise that it

may be well with you and you may live long

in the land. By the way, what's that? That's Deuteronomy

chapter five and Deuteronomy chapter six. Verse four. Fathers, do

not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up

in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. What's that?

Deuteronomy six, seven. So the beauty here in what we

see in Jacob is first and foremost in its continuity.

Jacob knows God for himself. Jacob has encountered God on

his own. And yet, the God whom Jacob has encountered

was the God of Isaac and the God of Abraham.

Abraham could not know God for Isaac. Isaac could not

know God for Jacob. They had to know God for themselves,

yet it was incumbent upon them to teach their sons

about this God with whom they were in covenant relationship.

And so it first reaches back. That's the beauty of

his multi-generational vision, is that the first thing that we

see here is that Jacob is walking with the God

of his fathers, because we've already learned that the God

of his fathers is God indeed, amen? Secondly, Jacob remembers

the covenant. Jacob remembers the covenant. Where does the sacrifice

idea come in? The sacrifice idea that we see here

in Jacob's life is the same idea that we saw

in the life of his father and of his grandfather.

And so, we go back again to this first part

of the passage. Verse 46, chapter 46, verse 1. So

Israel took his journey with all that he had and

came to Beersheba. He stopped in Beersheba, heading south on

the way into Egypt, offered sacrifices to the God of

his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in a vision

of the night, confirming again the covenant, and said, Jacob, Jacob,

And he said, here I am. And 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. Turn with me back

to the left and look at Genesis chapter 12. Genesis

chapter 12, and listen to this. Now the Lord said

to Abram, by the way, here's another one who's going

to have a name change. Isn't that beautiful? Even going

back here to Genesis chapter 12, you realize that this

is before the name change. God changes his name. Now

the Lord said to Abram, go from your country and

your kindred and your father's house to the land that

I will show you. By the way, is that not

exactly what's happening now with Jacob? God is saying, leave here.

Leave here. And I will make of you a great nation.

Is that not exactly, precisely what God just said to Jacob?

And I will bless you and make your name great

so that you will be a blessing. I will bless

those who bless you and him who dishonors you I

will curse. And in you all the families of the

earth shall be blessed. And again, we see it in

chapter 15 and so on and so forth. So what's

happening here is that God is reminding Jacob of the covenant.

that he made with Abraham, that he renewed with Isaac,

that he is now again renewing with him. He remembers

the covenant. He remembers the promise of God. Listen to

John Calvin commenting on this. Because the holy man is

compelled to leave the land of Canaan and to go elsewhere,

he offers on his departure a sacrifice to the Lord

for the purpose of testifying that the covenant which God

had made with his fathers was confirmed and ratified to himself.

For though he was accustomed to exercise himself in the

external worship of God, there was yet a special reason

for this sacrifice. And doubtless, he had then peculiar need

of support, lest his faith should fail. For he was

about to be deprived of the inheritance promised to him

and of the site of that land, which was the

type and the pledge of the heavenly country. Jacob's reminding

himself of the covenant. Please don't miss this. Jacob at

this point is older than anybody you know. Don't miss this.

Let me say that again. Jacob at this point is

older than anybody you know. Old people don't move. Amen. Generally,

old people don't move. If they do, it's kicking and screaming. Amen.

But generally, when you come to a place in your

life where you're 80, 90, 100 years old and you

live somewhere, what do you make up in your mind?

This is my home. I'm going to die here. Jacob

not only has found a place that has become a

home to him because it's where he grew up. This

is the place that God promised him. to his grandfather Abraham.

Abraham didn't even see it. He only got a small

portion when he bought a piece of land to bury

his wife. Now, here is Jacob and he's got 70

people and he's living in the promised land and God says,

old as you are, move. Really? Really? Do you know

how comfortable my chair is now? Are you serious? This

is the place where I have decided to die. I

remember my grandfather, who I buried earlier this year, when

he was close to the end, He couldn't say much.

And oftentimes he'd go into the hospital, but ultimately, ultimately,

what my grandfather would communicate toward the end was, I

want to go home and die. That's normal. That's natural.

I want to go home and die. I want to

lay down my head in the place that I know,

where my memories are, where my family is. And I

want to end my life where I have invested my life.

Just let me go home and die. That's normal. That's natural.

And at that point in his life, God says, move. Move.

And what does he do? He stops on his way

out of the land that was his home, out of

the land that had been promised, out of the land

that he lived his whole life to get to. And

on the way out, he stops and sacrifices to God

at a place where his father had built an altar

on his way into the land. And he says goodbye

to the promise Because God meant more. So many of us,

when we think about a multi-generational vision, all we can

think about is houses and land and wealth that we

can transfer from one generation to the next. And there's

nothing inherently wrong with that. But if you have a

place that you've acquired and your greatest hope is that

you look at yourself and say, one day a hundred

years from now, there'll be generations named after me and

they're going to live in this same place. You've missed

the idea of multi-generational vision. Jacob's hope is not in

the place, but in the God who promised. That's Jacob's hope.

And so we see first this multigenerational vision in that

he worships the God of his father. Secondly, he remembers

the covenant. But thirdly, he's leaving the land. He's leaving

the land. Because ultimately, Jacob's multigenerational vision and his multigenerational

blessing is faithfulness to the God of the covenant. Don't

miss that. Faithfulness to the God of the covenant. If

Jacob refuses to go, then he has faithfulness to a

plot of land. But Jacob doesn't have faithfulness to a

plot of land. Jacob has faithfulness to the God of

the covenant. He recognizes that the plot of land is

a very small piece in all of this. This is

not about a plot of land. This is about a

God who owns the plot of land. This is about

the God who owns the heavens and the earth. This

is about trusting that God. So he leaves. He's older

than anyone you know. and he packs up everything he

owns and he leaves to go to a land that

he doesn't know. He also knows that he'll never be back.

The last part of that paragraph is Joseph's hand shall

close your eyes. He's not going on a trip He's

not going on a vacation to Egypt. Jacob's part of

the journey will end in Egypt. So here's what God

is saying to Jacob. Jacob, I made a promise to Abraham.

And that promise to Abraham included this land in which

you now live and all of this land in which

you now live. That promise was confirmed again to Isaac.

Now here you are living in that land that was

promised to you and it's good. I've been good to you.

You've trusted me and I've delivered exactly what I said

I was going to deliver you. Now here's what I

want you to do. I want you to pack up

everything that you own and everyone who you hold dear

and take them out of the land that I promised

to you. And you are going to die on foreign soils.

And Jacob says, let me worship first. That's just good.

I'm not there. Are you there? I'm not. But by

God's grace, if he calls you to be, or if

he calls me to be, he'll grant us the grace

that we need in order to be there. Fourth thing

that we need to know is this. Jacob's playing a

part in the drama that he doesn't even know is

being written. Jacob's playing a part in a drama that

he doesn't even know is being written. Which is good,

by the way, because if he knew, it would be

even harder for him to go. That's why God doesn't

give us the big picture all at once. We couldn't

handle it. There's no way in the world that we

could handle the big picture. Here's what I'm going to do. Jacob,

here's what I'm going to do. I'm gonna take you

down to Egypt and things are gonna be great. You're

gonna be saved from the famine And you're going to multiply,

and this nation is going to grow. Oh, God, that's

so wonderful. You're too good to me. Yeah. And then

they're going to become slaves in Egypt for 400 years. Oh. No. See, no. No. No, no,

we're gonna go down there and then we're gonna eat.

And then the famine, see, that's gonna be over, right?

So five more years. And then after the famine is over,

then all of my people, they come back to this

land that you promised us and they stay here after

they've been rescued from the famine, God, right? No, they

will be slaves in Egypt for 400 years. Why would

God do that in order to keep his promise? Let

me ask you a question. Seventy people live in Canaan.

They continue to grow and multiply in Canaan. By the way,

we know what happens when they come back in Canaan

as a nation. We know the intermarriage and everything else

that happens. These 70 people are there in Canaan. they

begin to grow and multiply, they begin to intermarry in Canaan,

what are the chances that they end up becoming a

separate and distinct nation of people? Chances are slim. But

if you take them into an already existing nation, that

is the most powerful nation on earth at the time,

and you make them slaves to that nation, now what

are the chances that they don't intermarry with that nation,

and instead become a separate and distinct nation in and

of themselves, numbering in the millions and yet being completely distinct.

They go to Egypt to become a nation. They go

to Egypt to remain separate and distinct. By the way,

this is what God has always done with his people.

And in case you haven't recognized it, this is what

God does with you and me. In the world, but

not of the world. Come out from among them and

be separate. We are not of them. Do we love them? Yes,

we love them. Do we proclaim God's truth with them? Yes,

we proclaim God's truth to them. But by the way,

here's the difference. Ours is not an ethnic nation, but

a spiritual kingdom. So the blessing is that there are

those on the outside who can be added to the

kingdom to which we belong. But the fact of the

matter is, we are sojourners in this land. It is

not our home. And the land of promise is what

we anticipate, not what we already have. So he's playing

a part in a broader drama. By the way, As

I was looking at this, there were a couple of

things that just stood out to me. First, it was

just one or two. Then I started to look more

carefully and more closely. Before we get to the last point,

just stay here for a minute in this drama that's

going on that Jacob has no idea of, that Jacob

cannot understand at all. Now, in this drama, there are

several things going on. Number one, they're about to enter Egypt.

And I want you to see how entering Egypt mirrors

the Exodus from Egypt in a number of ways. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Number one, they had to have permission to get into

Egypt from Pharaoh. Pharaoh grants the permission to Joseph. They

had to have permission to get out of Egypt from Pharaoh.

Pharaoh grants the permission to their representative Moses. How about

that representative? Well, Joseph was the head of Pharaoh's house.

In the Exodus, Moses was raised in Pharaoh's house. How

about intercession? Entering into Egypt, God gave Joseph favor and

softened Pharaoh's heart. How about in the Exodus? God used

Moses and the plagues to harden Pharaoh's heart so that

he would eventually let them go. Oh, what about their wealth? Well,

coming into Egypt, there's wealth that was given to them

by Pharaoh on those chariots that came to get them.

When they're going out of Egypt in the Exodus, there

is wealth that is given to them by the Egyptians

on their way out. How about these chariots? Going into Egypt,

Pharaoh sends chariots to pick up Jacob and his people.

Going out of Egypt, Pharaoh sends chariots to destroy Israel.

How about the census? Going into Egypt, there is a

census of the 12 sons and the 70 people connected

to them. Coming out of Egypt, there is a census

of the 12 tribes and the millions that are now

counted among the nation. How about worship? Jacob stops on

the way into Egypt to worship God. Moses requests from

Pharaoh to be able to go outside of Egypt to

a holy place and worship How about disaster? God uses

a famine to get his people into Egypt. Then God

uses plagues to get his people out of Egypt. Jacob

has no idea that he is part of a much

grander story. And yet, when we look at a panoramic view,

we see that what God is doing here is mirrored

in what he's going to do to take his people

out some 400 years later. Finally, Jacob is believing God

for an inheritance that he can neither see nor attain

in this life. In a number of ways. God says,

I'm gonna make you a nation. But he also, you're

going to go here and you're going to die and

Joseph is going to close your eyes. But I'm going

to make you a nation. He's believing God for an

inheritance he can't see. He won't be around to claim it.

And yet, because he loves and trusts God, he holds

on to it nonetheless. He also believes that God's going

to give him the land. And he holds on to

it even though he personally is not going to see

it in this life. I don't know how clearly you

have seen these parallels between between Jacob and his multi-generational

vision and ours. But let's see if we can put

a finer point on it. Jacob worships the God of

his fathers. Folks, you and I are called to worship

the God of our fathers, of Abraham and of Isaac

and of Jacob. Our multi-generational vision begins with Jacob. the

vision of the generations who've gone before. We are the

fulfillment of someone else's multi-generational vision before we can start

thinking about our own, amen? By the way, ultimately this

multi-generational vision is about God who is calling forth a

people called by his own name for his own praise

and glory. Secondly, we remember the covenant. You and I,

as we walk through this perilous land, as we walk

through as sojourners, our hope is ultimately in the covenant

that God has made. This covenant that has been ratified

by Jesus Christ who shed his own blood and gives

us his blood. This is the cup of the new

covenant in my blood. Amen. Do this as often as

you drink it in remembrance of me. In remembrance of what?

In remembrance of the covenant that we have with God.

In remembrance that the God that we worship is the

God of the covenant and he is and shall be

true to his word. We also leave our promised land.

This earth is not our home. We live here as sojourners.

Our home is heaven. Our home is the new city,

and new Jerusalem. And that is where our hope lies.

So because of that, it doesn't matter where God calls

us to move in the here and the now. Whatever

routes that we set up are always going to be temporary.

We also play a part in a drama that we

don't even know is being written. We can go and

read the end of the book, but we don't necessarily

know how we get there from here, amen? There are

things that God is doing in your life and mine

that are designed to bring maximum glory to our Master, Savior,

and Lord Jesus Christ. We don't know what those things are.

But we know that in God's providence, He knows. And

so we walk holding on to that. And finally, we

believe God for an inheritance that we can't see or

attain in this life. We believe God for an inheritance

that we can't see or attain in this life. We

only get glimpses here and there. We get We get

pieces of the puzzles. We get types. We get representations.

But eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has

it entered into the mind of man what he has

in store for us. It's more than you can fathom.

It's more than you can imagine. And it's way more

than you deserve. Amen. Amen. So as we see this

picture here in this first half of Genesis chapter 46,

this beautiful portrait of a man older than anybody you

know who was willing to get up and move. Know

that it's not because he was just an exceptional older man.

Because he wasn't. Amen? If you've been reading, if you've

been with us for the rest of the book of Genesis,

you know Jacob is not an exceptional older man. He

may be exceptionally wicked, but other than that, he's not

an exceptional older man. This is about the power of God.

This is about the covenant God makes with his people.

And this is about the grace of God. You are

going to come to a moment in your life where

you have to let good and kindred go Perhaps this

mortal life also. The question is, when you come to

that moment, will you hold on for dear life to

the stuff that you've acquired, believing that that is the

greatest good that your relationship with God could produce? But

wait a minute, God, I have houses. I have land.

I have money. I have this. I have that. I

have the other. How could you possibly be calling me

to that place when you are the God who exists

to give me this stuff? I have this stuff now.

Why would you want me to go somewhere else away

from this stuff that my relationship with you is designed

to produce? That's not biblical Christianity. That's one of the

greatest problems with the Word of Faith movement, by the way.

When you come to that place, make sure that you

already hold the blessings that God has given you with

an open hand. Because they're not yours anyway. And there

is something for which we live that is far greater

than houses and land livestock and money and wealth and

fame and fortune, children, wives, husbands, or anything else. That's

what we live for. But here's the beauty. Does that

mean that our attitude is negative and nasty toward all

that stuff? No. It means that we appreciate those things

all the more as gifts from the hand of Almighty God.

That he didn't have to give us in the first place.

That's what it means. It means that we hold on

to all those things loosely. Recognizing that we are part

of something greater than ourselves. That we belong to a

kingdom that is ever advancing. And that we serve a

soon coming king who is going to make all things right.

And put all things under his feet. We have that perspective.

Then perhaps we too would be willing at a ripe

old age to get up and move if God said so.

Because one day we're all going to relocate for good. Amen?

Let's pray. Father, we bow before you as a people

who hold on desperately to things. We bow before you

recognizing that more often than not, we cringe at the

idea of you calling us to faith and obedience and sacrifice.

But thank you for reminding us today that we do

not live for the here and now. We do not

live for ourselves. But we live for something greater. We

live for something more. We live for something lasting. We

live for something eternal. Thank you for the testimony of

our fathers. who walked with you, who by your grace

finished well in spite of their frailties and faults. May

their testimonies cause us to trust all the more. I

pray for those under the sound of my voice who

are wrestling with your calling. And ask that by your grace,

they may be granted an extra measure. That we all

may be granted hearts willing to serve you and obey you.

And we thank you for our Lord and our Master

and King, Jesus Christ, to whom all glory belongs, because

it is only him working in us that allows us

to will, let alone to work for your good pleasure.

Grant that we might prize him above all else. Grant

that we might hold him so dear, so close and

so tight that all other things pale in comparison. Grant

that we might remember that he left his home in glory,

suffered the humiliation of wrapping himself in flesh having not

only seen but been the creator, master, and lord of

the promise that we look forward to, humbled himself, took

on human form, became a human baby, submitted to human parents,

and ultimately died at the hands of human sinners, all

in obedience to his father who said, go. Go. May we,

as those redeemed by your obedient son, reflect the image

of his glory in our obedience to him. This is

our prayer. And we ask it because we believe it's

in accordance with the will and the nature and the

authority of Jesus, who is the Christ. Amen. Well, if

you come to Genesis chapter 46, and we'll look at

the first half. But are you? Are you? Do you

belong to the Good Shepherd? Have you heard the voice

of the Good Shepherd? And hearing his voice, have you

responded the only way his sheep can respond? In repentance

and faith. Have you come to the good shepherd and

said to the good shepherd, I know I am worthless.

I know I'm helpless. I know I am needy. And

my desperate need is for you and for none other.

Will you be my shepherd? Have you done that? Or

are you walking around Honestly believing that there is something

in you or about you that makes you worthy to

save yourself. Interestingly enough, while there is this picture of

God as the shepherd and his people as the sheep,

we see a picture of the adversary, the devil. And

what's the picture that we see in the New Testament today?

a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Is there

perhaps one in the scriptures who has saved sheep from lions?

I know of one. His name is David. By the way,

there is another He is great King David's greater son.

He too saves his people from the lion. But is

that you? Have you come to him as a weak, needy,

and helpless sheep? Or do you still believe you can

defend yourself? Are you trusting in him and him alone

Are you satisfied to do that or do you desperately

want to be a powerful Egyptian? Is being a sheep

enough for you? My prayer is that it is because

nothing else will satisfy. The good shepherd laid down his

life for the sheep. You trust your life to him.

He is your only hope. Would you bow with me? Father,

whoever would have thought that this ragtag bunch of shepherds

coming into Egypt was actually a foreshadowing, a picture of

a great nation that would be shepherded by you. Who

would have thought that this group of 70 people walking

into Egypt was actually preserving in themselves not only the

great nation and its great king, but ultimately its great savior,

Jesus Christ. Who would have thought that this picture of

the sheep and the shepherd would have so much meaning

throughout redemptive history? Who would have thought? I guess the

answer to that question is you would have thought. Because

you've always been the shepherd of your people. You continue

to be the shepherd of your people. You continue to

tend your weak, needy, fearful, helpless flock. May we continue

to be grateful. Thank you for the good shepherd who

laid down his life for the sheep. Thank you for

the lion of the tribe of Judah who is at

the same time the very lamb of God takes away

the sins of the world. May we be reminded of

that afresh and anew as we gather before this table

of remembrance.