Genesis 45

Bibles to Genesis chapter 45.

Genesis 45 · chapter mention

You'll find it on page 51 of the Church Bible.

Last week, we got to the stage in Joseph's story

where after 20 years, he revealed himself

to the brothers who had sold him as a slave

and thought they would never see him again.

And now we're going to move towards Joseph being reconciled,

being reunited to his father Jacob

and settling in the land of Egypt.

We're going to try and cover a lot of ground today,

which means there's a fair bit to read from this story.

Let's hear God's Word beginning, first of all,

in Genesis 45 and at verse 9.

It's his words of Joseph to his brothers.

Now, hurry back to my father and say to him,

this is what your son Joseph says.

God has made me Lord of all Egypt.

Come down to me, don't delay.

You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me.

You, your children and grandchildren,

your flocks and herds and all you have,

I will provide for you there

because five years of famine are still to come.

Otherwise, you and your household and all who belong to you

will become destitute.

You can see for yourselves and so can my brother Benjamin

that it is really I who am speaking to you.

Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt

and about everything you have seen

and bring my father down here quickly.

Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept

and Benjamin embraced him, weeping.

And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them.

Afterwards, his brothers talked with him.

When the news reached Pharaoh's palace

that Joseph's brothers had come,

Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased.

Pharaoh said to Joseph,

tell your brothers, do this,

load your animals and return to the land of Canaan

and bring your father and your families back to me.

I will give you the best of the land of Egypt

and you can enjoy the fat of the land.

You are also directed to tell them, do this,

take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives

and get your father and come.

Never mind about your belongings

because the best of all Egypt will be yours.

So the sons of Israel did this.

Joseph gave them carts as Pharaoh had commanded

and he also gave them provisions for their journey.

To each of them he gave new clothing,

but to Benjamin he gave 300 shekels of silver

and five sets of clothes.

And this is what he sent to his father,

ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt

and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread

and other provisions for his journey.

Then he sent his brothers away

and as they were leaving he said to them,

don't quarrel on the way.

So they went up out of Egypt

and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.

They told him, Joseph is still alive.

In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.

Jacob was stunned.

He did not believe them.

But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them

and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back,

the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

And Israel said, I am convinced.

My son Joseph is still alive.

I will go and see him before I die.

So Israel set out with all that was his

and when he reached Beersheba,

he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night

and said, Jacob, Jacob, here I am, he replied.

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.

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.

They also took with him their livestock

and the possessions they'd acquired in Canaan.

And Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt.

He took with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons

and his daughters and granddaughters,

all his offspring.

And then there's the genealogy,

which we will pass over,

that is important.

And we'll come to verse 26.

All those who went to Egypt with Jacob,

those who were his direct descendants,

not counting his son's wives,

numbered 66 persons.

With the two sons who'd been born to Joseph in Egypt,

the members of Jacob's family,

which went to Egypt, were 70 in all.

Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph

to get directions to Goshen.

When they arrived in the region of Goshen,

Joseph had his chariot made ready

and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel.

As soon as Joseph appeared before him,

he threw his arms around his father

and wept for a long time.

Israel said to Joseph,

Now I am ready to die,

since I have seen for myself

that you are still alive.

Then Joseph said to his brothers

and to his father's household,

I will go up and speak to Pharaoh

and will say to him,

My brothers and my father's household

who are living in the land of Canaan

have come to meet.

The men are shepherds,

they tend livestock,

and they have brought along their flocks

and herds and everything they own.

When Pharaoh calls you in and asks,

What is your occupation?

You should answer,

Your servants have tended livestock

from our boyhood on,

just as our fathers did.

Then you will be allowed to settle

in the region of Goshen,

for all shepherds are detestable

to the Egyptians.

Joseph went and told Pharaoh,

My father and brothers,

with their flocks and herds

and everything they own,

have come from the land of Canaan

and are now in Goshen.

He chose five of his brothers

and presented them before Pharaoh.

Pharaoh asked the brothers,

What is your occupation?

Your servants are shepherds,

they replied to Pharaoh,

just as our fathers were.

They also said to him,

We have come to live here a while,

because the famine is severe in Canaan

and your servants' flocks

have no pasture.

So now,

please let your servants settle in Goshen.

Pharaoh said to Joseph,

Your father and your brothers

have come to you,

and the land of Egypt is before you.

Settle your father and your brothers

in the best part of the land.

Let them live in Goshen,

and if you know of any among them

with special ability,

put them in charge of my own livestock.

Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in

and presented him before Pharaoh.

After Jacob blessed Pharaoh,

Pharaoh asked him,

How old are you?

And Jacob said to Pharaoh,

The years of my pilgrimage are 130.

My years have been few and difficult,

and they do not equal the years

of the pilgrimage of my fathers.

Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh

and went out from his presence.

So Joseph settled his father

and his brothers in Egypt

and gave them property

in the best part of the land,

the district of Ramesses,

as Pharaoh directed.

Joseph also provided his father

and his brothers

and all his father's household

with food,

according to the number

of their children.

Amen.

And here we see a long period

of 45 to 47,

sort of two and a bit chapters.

But again, we're going to see God's grace

in the story of this family.

I wonder if you ever find yourself reflecting,

how did we get here as a family?

What are the major points

in our family history?

What are those defining moments

that still have an impact,

that still set the direction

for our family today?

There's a psychologist,

an author in the States

called Mary Pifer,

and she reckons that history

is inextricably linked to identity.

She asked the question,

if you don't know your history,

if you don't know your family,

who are you?

And I wonder if you agree

with that sentiment,

the significance of either

political, national,

or family history

for defining our own lives.

It's certainly interesting

to think about

and certainly interesting

to think about

how did we get here?

When you read the Bible,

you see that God's people

are a people who look back

and who reflect.

So you see them put up monuments.

God speaks or God delivers,

and you see monuments

being established.

There are people who recite,

who sing national history,

particularly thinking

about God's dealings with them,

particularly God's redemption of them.

And when you come

to the New Testament church,

what we see is frequent reminders

to look back

to the cross of Jesus,

to remember his death,

to remember his resurrection

for our ongoing walk of faith.

Why is that?

Why is it important

for us to keep reflecting?

Well, because in those reflections,

we are being reminded

both that we are great sinners

who have need,

and we have a great Savior.

It's a way for us

to connect our own personal stories,

our family stories,

to the story of a helping,

saving, delivering God.

So here is Moses again,

writing history.

He's writing some hundreds

of years later,

but as he writes this part

of the story,

he is remembering

and helping the people of God,

helping us indeed

to reflect

that God has always kept

his promise

to save and to bless.

Both in Jacob

and his family's arrival

into Egypt,

and then as Moses led

that family,

now a nation,

out of Egypt.

So we're going to look

at three big ideas

connected to God's grace.

First of all,

in chapter 45,

God's grace

in the honor

that this family receives.

It's so significant

as Joseph speaks

to his brothers,

the number of times

where he says,

five times I think,

he says,

God has raised me up.

We read it a couple of times

in our section.

Verse 9,

God has made me

Lord of Egypt.

And in verse 13,

tell my father

about all the honor

accorded me in Egypt.

God has raised Joseph

to this position

of prominence

so that God would keep

his promise

to this family

through Joseph

and through his position.

So we read verses 10 and 11,

and we see the comprehensive care

that Joseph will provide

for his family

because of his position.

They can have the best land,

they can take themselves

and their flocks

and they'll have food.

Perhaps even more striking

is that Pharaoh himself

will honor this foreign family

because Joseph,

with the help of God,

had rescued Egypt.

Verse 16 to 20,

we see that.

But especially,

verse 18,

Pharaoh says to Joseph,

I will give you

the best of the land

of Egypt

and you can enjoy

the fat of the land.

And he gives this message

to his family.

Verse 20,

never mind about your belongings

because the best of all Egypt

will be yours.

They are being honored

through Joseph

and his position.

And then as we got

to the end of the chapter,

as the brothers went back

with their carts full of goods,

they came back

with this good news,

Joseph is alive.

And we see eventually

Jacob the father's grief

turning to joy.

At first,

he's so stunned by the news

that Jacob is,

Joseph is alive.

He can't believe it.

But eventually,

he hears and believes

that his son

has been raised up.

And we see,

verse 27,

the spirit of their father,

Jacob, revived.

He's ready to go

and meet his son.

So Moses is writing

a long history.

He's writing the long history

of this family.

But he's making the point

again and again

that God always

keeps his promises.

Beyond the challenges

that were faced,

beyond the challenges

of timing,

this family will enter Egypt

with honor

and they will depart

from Egypt

with wealth

and freedom

and honor.

It seems as if Moses

wants to draw attention

to the parallels

between the story

of Joseph

and his pharaoh

and then hundreds

of years later,

Moses and his

very different pharaoh.

So when the family

were coming into Egypt,

Joseph's pharaoh

joyfully permits them

to come and enjoy

the best of the land.

But if you know

the story of Exodus

and you get to

Moses' pharaoh,

he grudgingly

is forced to allow

the family

that's become

a nation to lead.

It's significant

the position of Joseph

and Moses

within Pharaoh's house.

Joseph has been raised

up by God

to become a ruler

in Pharaoh's household

whereas Moses

was a prince

being raised

in the royal household

but he left

and then came back

to pull God's people out.

When we've seen

the actions of God

through Joseph

in this pharaoh,

as Joseph was given

the ability

to interpret

Pharaoh's dreams,

that softens

Pharaoh's heart

and he shows favor

to Joseph and his family

but when God

shows up in power

in Moses' story

to the pharaoh

through the plagues,

it serves to harden

his already hard heart.

So there is similarity

but striking contrast

but the point is

that the attitude

of a ruler

is neither here

nor there.

Nothing is going to stop

the purposes of God.

The apparent disaster

being faced

by this family

over the course

of 20 years,

family dysfunction

caused by sin,

none of it is going

to stop God's promises

from coming about.

Nothing and no one

can limit God's

promised grace

is the good news

of the Jacob

and Joseph story.

And when we think

about who Moses

is writing to,

he's writing to the

newly established

nation of Israel.

Here they are

in the wilderness

around Mount Sinai.

They still are not

in the promised land.

They're still weak

and vulnerable

as people.

But here is encouragement

to look back

to their story,

to look back

to God's faithfulness

in their story.

And that's the same

lesson for us too

when we feel weak,

vulnerable,

when we are struggling

to trust,

when circumstances

are hard,

we are encouraged

to look back

to see God's grace,

to see it primarily

at the cross of Jesus,

but to see it

in our own lives

of how God

has provided

and cared for us.

And of course,

as always,

we want to see

how this part

of the Joseph story

points us to Jesus.

So we see that God,

and Joseph is very

deliberate on this,

saying,

God raised me up.

And Jesus will see

that God was raising

him up for us,

for his people.

Jesus is raised up

in glory.

He is raised up

in glory

as he obediently

gives his life

as that perfect sacrifice

for sin

to secure

the salvation

of those

who would trust in him.

Jesus is then

raised up in glory

beyond death.

Death could not

hold him.

And then Jesus

is raised up

and returned

to the glory of heaven

where he now rules

and reigns

and prays

and intercedes

for his people.

And because Jesus

is raised up

for his church,

Jesus is the one

we look to

to provide

all that we need.

Just as Jacob

and his family,

outside of Joseph's help,

would be poor

and helpless.

So we come

to Jesus

spiritually poor

and helpless.

But in Jesus,

we become spiritually rich.

If we trust in him,

all those spiritual blessings

promised in the Bible

come to us.

Forgiveness,

being declared

just in God's sight,

adopted into God's family,

the assurance

that we belong,

the promise of heaven,

all of those

and so many more

come because Jesus

is raised up for you.

And just as Joseph

in his position

secured Jacob

and his family's welcome

before Pharaoh,

Jesus secures

our welcome

from our King,

our Father

in heaven.

Jesus is our friend

in high places.

Jesus, as it were,

says of his people,

he or she

is with me.

The access,

the privilege,

the love,

the joy that Jesus has,

he brings us

into that

as we follow him,

as we are united

to him.

And Jesus

is the one,

because he has been

raised up,

is able to turn

grief

to joy.

He can turn

the grief

of our guilt

to the joy

of forgiveness,

the grief

of a fear

of death,

to the joy

of assurance

of knowing

that Jesus

will never let us

go now

and for eternity.

The grief

of being

an enemy

of God

and loaded

down with a weight

of sin and guilt

to the joy

of becoming

a friend of God

as Jesus

forgives our sin

and secures

our peace.

Jesus is raised

up for you

and for me

and we need

to trust in him

to receive

these wonderful

blessings.

We also see

God's grace

in this

growing family.

So we're now

in chapter 46

and especially

the first

27 verses.

So in the book

of Genesis

we discover

God has made

a wonderful promise,

first of all

to Abraham

and then to

his son Isaac

then to his

grandson Jacob.

A restated

promise

from God

that says

I will make

you into

a great

nation.

And that promise

comes into view

again.

But at the beginning

of chapter 46

we find Jacob

moving towards

Egypt

and we find

him worshipping

God

offering sacrifices

and then God

speaks to him

in a vision

and in verse

3

we see

I am God

the God

of your

father

do not be

afraid to go

down to

Egypt

for I will

make you

into a

great nation

there.

So there's

that promise

again

I will make

you a

great nation

and there is

comfort for

Jacob

in verse 4

I will go

down to

Egypt

with you

and I will

surely bring

you back

again

the hope

of the

promised land

is always

there in

view

with this

promise.

But think

of this

here is

Jacob

and he told

Pharaoh how

old he was

he was 130

years old

and now here

he is at

that age

having to

move out

of

move away

from

the promised

land

and he's

moving towards

Egypt

and one of

the places

where things

had begun

to go

wrong

for

Abraham

his grandfather

where the

promise had

been under

threat

the place

where Isaac

his father

had been

told don't

go anywhere

near

Egypt

now Jacob

is going

but he's

being told

I will go

with you

and in that

context I will

make you

a great

nation

there's that

wonderful

promise as

Jacob is on

the move

that God's

love and

God's promise

goes with

him

God's love

promise is

without

borders

so verse

five to

seven we

see Jacob

and the

family

on the

move

and if

you've

ever moved

your family

you've had a

sense of

all that's

involved in

that all

the packing

all the

organization

all the

goodbyes

that need

to be

said

here is

Jacob

and 66

direct

descendants

all moving

together

from Canaan

down to

Egypt

on this

journey

of obedient

faith

in response

to God's

grace

and so we're

told in

verse 8 to

27 we

didn't read

it but

we're told

of this

growing

family tree

deliberately

in the middle

of all the

actions

stick in a

genealogy

to remind

us of the

promise

God had

said that

he's going

to make

them a

great family

and so we

begin to

see how

big that

family is

becoming to

remind us

of our

promise

keeping

God

and recognize

too that

Moses is

writing this

history and

by the time

he is

writing this

family this

growing family

has become

a nation

the nation

whom God

has chosen

and saved

from slavery

in Egypt

so even

as

Egypt

returned

from a

place

that offered

blessing to

Jacob

come and

enjoy the

fat of

the land

by Moses'

time we

know that

Egypt had

become a

place of

threat

and if we

know the

story of

Exodus

we discover

a pharaoh

there hundreds

of years

later who

is afraid

of the

strength of

these slaves

that they

have

trying to

basically

crush them

with hard

labor

then trying

to kill

the first

born

children

in each

family

to remove

their

power

but God

protects

God's

people

keep

growing

because

God's

promise

cannot

be

stopped

so again

as Moses

helps the

people to

reflect

they're

reflecting on

a national

history

dominated by

God's

mercy

by God's

love

by God's

promises

being

kept

so important

to look

back

and see

God's

faithfulness

what about

us in

light of

the coming

of Jesus

remember the

great words

of Jesus

when he

said I

will build

my church

and the

gates of

hell will

not prevail

against it

and then that

call to the

disciples

and the

great commission

you'll be my

witnesses to

Judea and

Samaria and

to the ends

of the earth

and as we

look around

2000 years

later at the

global church

we see God's

promise is

still being

kept

God is still

building this

family of

faith

and when we

trust in

Jesus we're

brought into

that great

family of

faith and

that faith in

Jesus then

connects us

with a local

church but it

also connects us

with a global

church and the

church through

all history

so today God's

people will

worship with

very different

cultures than

ours and

different languages

than ours with

very different

worship styles

than ours but

we will share

the same

saviour and

we have the

same faith and

it's so important

for us to

remember just how

big our God is

and how big his

mission is one of

the reasons why we

had our mission

Sunday a few

weeks ago to

remind ourselves

of just some of

what God is doing

through various

mission partners

that we are

connected with

but Jesus

Jesus builds his

church God

keeps his

promise to

make his

people a

great nation

of faith and

this is of

practical importance

to us today

it's important

for us if we're

here today and

we're not a

Christian to

recognize that

Jesus would have

you to be part

of his church

his kingdom

our youth group

on Friday we

were thinking

about the story

of Jesus as

he's dying on

the cross he's

speaking to the

thief beside him

that thief who

says Lord

remember me

when you come

into your

kingdom

and Jesus

turns to that

man and says

today you will

be with me

in paradise

as he

recognized Jesus

as Lord and

Savior and in

his only hope

he turned to

Jesus and Jesus

in mercy and

love saved him

and promised him

eternal glory

with him

do you see

Jesus as the

Son of God

as Lord and

Savior

then will you

believe in him

will you trust

him

will you follow

him

today

so Jesus

building his

church is

important if

we're not yet

part of the

church but it's

also important if

we are Christians

because one of our

tasks is to be

disciples who then

make disciples of

others so it's

important for us to

remember when we're

sharing our faith

it's important for us

to remember that we

don't save anyone

in fact we cannot

save anyone

it's only God who

gives new life

but God chooses

to work through

ordinary people

like us

so we tell people

about the grace of

God we share our

story of faith with

people we want to

show the love of

God in our families

in our workplace in

our community to do

mercy to love justice

for the sake of God's

glory and we pray for

the people that we

care about we pray for

our community our

country our nation our

world because we know

people that God

loves to save we

know that Jesus will

build his church and

he loves to work

through his people and

through his people's

prayers

one last thing to see

this time from the end

of chapter 46 and then

into chapter 47 God's

grace in a reunited

family

family

there's something

lovely about seeing

family reunions we've

been seeing family

reunions in Jacob's

story

we were looking after

two little kids this

week for a mum and a

dad

and after a few hours

we having looked after

the kids

Vicky delivered them

back

to the gathering where

the parents were along

with lots of other

people

and as soon as

the kids mum was

spotted

what would we expect

to happen

the smile came

and he started

charging

through that hall

full of people

elbows flying

plates flying

old people flying

because he wanted to

be back with his mum

even after four hours

there's that sense of

happy reunion

back

home

so how about here

in the story of

Joseph

and Jacob

verse 29

and 30

Joseph had his

chariot made ready

and went to Goshen

to meet his father

Israel

as soon as Joseph

appeared before him

he threw his arms

around his father

and wept

for a long time

for both of them

this is an

unexpected joy

this is an

unimaginable

joy

they are

restored

together

the father and son

who loved each

other

are restored

after the sin

of those brothers

had destroyed

that bond

for some

20 years

verse 30

Israel

covenant

promise

name

of Jacob

said to Joseph

now I'm ready

to die

since I abstain

for myself

that you are

still alive

he can die

happy

because he's been

reunited

to the son

he loves

and not only

will they be

reunited

they'll also

be settled

so that they

might live

together

so again

we see Joseph

preparing the way

we read that

end of 46

verse 31

to 34

we see Joseph

preparing

the way

for the brothers

to go into

the presence

of Pharaoh

so that they

will gain a

welcome from

Pharaoh

so they'll be

able to settle

in Pharaoh's

good land

again we see

another parallel

we see Joseph

and his family

they are shepherds

Moses leaves

the palace

and he becomes

a shepherd

lots of parallels

in this story

but we get

after the meeting

in the palace

we get a wonderful

little closing scene

in verses 11

and 12

of chapter 47

Joseph settled

his father

and his brothers

in Egypt

and gave them

property

in the best

part of the land

the district

of Ramesses

as Pharaoh

directed

Joseph also

provided his

father and his

brothers

and all his

father's

household

with food

according

to their

number

to the number

of their

children

God has

been preparing

the way

God has

been providing

for this

family

God is

keeping

his promise

to this

family

reuniting

them

and then

looking

after them

because this

is the God

who makes

promises

and when God

makes a promise

he always

keeps it

so we have

this wonderful

reunion

that takes

place between

Joseph

and his

father

and the

brothers

and they're

now living

together

in the best

of the land

in Egypt

beyond sin

beyond the

attempt

of destroying

the family

there is

reunion

or

reconciliation

to use

a word

that the

Bible

likes to

use

to speak

of salvation

when it

talks of

Jesus

work to

save us

it talks

about

reconciling

us

to God

there is

a breakdown

in the

relationship

between us

as people

and God

and the

break is

not on

God's

side

it's

on ours

because

of our

sin

that perfect

loving

relationship

that you

and I

were made

for

that joy

that we

were made

for

is broken

because of

sin

but then

restored

by the

work of

Jesus

Jesus

is the

son

who takes

our

place

to secure

our

peace

we see

Jesus

on the

cross

being

forsaken

by his

father

as he

willingly

and lovingly

carries on

himself

the sin

of the

world

so that

we might

be

adopted

into the

family

of God

welcomed

into God's

family

because

of Jesus

it's

through the

punishment

of Jesus

that we

have peace

the cross

stands at

the very

heart

of the

good news

of the

Bible

Jesus

the night

of his

arrest

and the

night before

his death

in John

John 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14

spoke

words of

comfort

that speak

of

reunion

he said

in my

father's

house

are many

rooms

and he

said

I'm going

there to

prepare a

place for

you

and if I

go and

prepare a

place I

will certainly

come back

and take

you to be

with me

that where

I am

you also

will be

when our

trust is

in Jesus

we have a

wonderful

reconciliation

that takes

place now

the barrier

of sin

is broken

because Jesus

has paid the

penalty for

that sin

but we also

have the

promise of

an eternal

reunion

of seeing

Jesus

face to

face

of being

made

like him

to enjoy

perfect love

and joy

and peace

forever

reconciliation

and reunion

that lasts

beyond death

and into

eternity

and we get

there

through trusting

in Jesus

the son of

God

who's become

our savior

I wonder

as we

close

what place

does God's

grace have

in your

story

when you

reflect on

your own

life up

till now

your family

life

what part

does God's

grace have

in that story

remember

our psychologist

Mary Piper

if you don't

know your

history

if you don't

know your

family

who are you

there is a

very real

danger for

us in a

church

of spiritual

amnesia

that we can

forget our

identity

that we can

forget that we

belong in

God's family

if we're trusting

in Jesus

we can forget

that we are

secure

we have a new

citizenship

we have a new

family

that we have

been brought

into

and you know

this is one of the

reasons why you

and I need

the church

because when we

gather every week

we are gathering

to remember

whose we are

that we worship

God as our

father in heaven

as our creator

as our king

as our lord

we gather to

remember how

we got here

how do we become

part of the

people of God

we remember

the loving

sacrifice of

Jesus that

unites us to

God and unites

us to each

other

and we gather

and we need

the church

because it

reminds us why

the gospel

the good news

of Jesus

matters so

much

to remind

ourselves of

forgiveness that's

only found in

him

new life that's

only found

through him

the promise

of a new

heaven and

earth in

him

so like

Moses

point yourself

and point others

back to God's

salvation

reflect back

on your story

reflect back

on the story

of Jesus

to see God's

grace

to see his

promises

kept

to see the

favor you

and I

enjoy

from him

make the

gospel

make Jesus

central

to your

story

to your story