Israel Comes to Egypt, Part 1

Genesis chapter 46 is where we are today. Genesis chapter 46 as I began to Put the finishing touches on this chapter this week I realized that we were not going to finish the whole chapter And I thought that was a good thing because that gives us one more week in the book of Genesis But on the other side of the spectrum there are so many things in the first four verses That I just couldn't pass up spending some time Talking to you about Israel's journey to Egypt this is the third journey of This family down to Egypt it follows on the heels of the second journey to Egypt But this one is unlike the other two because this time the whole family goes The whole family goes to to Egypt and it's not just 11 boys here.

This is a whole family We will see next week that this is 70 people. That's a lot of people They they are going to a new realm to a to a new society they are going from the from the land of promise that that God had promised to to bless the the family of Abraham Isaac and Jacob and they were now going to go to Egypt a polytheistic society I mean think about it. Yeah, you live in a in a Midwestern town. Let's say Kansas for lack of a better state Let's just pick Kansas and you live in the in the middle of some some Farming community in Kansas and you're uprooted and you move to LA or you move to New York.

I mean, it's culture shock I mean, it's a whole new different Environment for you and and you have to adjust for a while think of these people these lowly shepherds as they move from Canaan to the fast-paced society of Egypt all this would would play into the the emotions of these people as They would move from Canaan to Egypt and in that route along that way Jacob would do something very significant So significant that I could not just pass by it this morning So significant. I thought that we needed to spend some time understanding it Because on his way He stops at the last outpost there in the land of Israel Beersheba and there he makes a sacrifice and there he calls out to his God because he needs to find assurance for The trip and that's point number one, right the assurance for the trip And you know what this tells me listen very carefully Abraham had to make it.

I mean Abraham Jacob had to make a decision He needed to make sure that what he was about to do was the will of God for him and his family He wanted to make sure listen very carefully That the truth of God would stand supreme over his relationship with Joseph So important to understand Truth over relationship is Paramount So many times we forfeit truth for our relationship For a friendship and Israel is Going to stop remember his name is Israel in the last verse of chapter 45 And he's called Israel in the first verse of chapter 46.

So, you know, he's walking with God You know, he's sensitive to the purposes of God because when he's called Jacob, he's walking in the flesh But when he's called Israel, he's walking in the spirit. He is trying to rely upon the Spirit of God So here you find this man Realizing you know what before we actually step foot out of this land We're gonna call upon the name of the Lord We're gonna worship our God. We're gonna offer sacrifices to his name to make sure Without a shadow of a doubt that what we are doing is The right thing to do In that good boy, I tell you I read this story and I think man that that's the way we as fathers need to be right, I Mean before we ever make a move We got to make sure that this is what God wants us to do Is God moving this is God leading this is God guiding us or is this a whim of mine?

Or is this something that I just want to do because I've always wanted to do it. Is this what God wants me to do? We need to seek the counsel of God. We need to make sure we have the assurance of God, right? And and God beckons us to call upon him and That's what what Israel is going to do. Let's look at it together verse number one chapter 46 So Israel set out With all he had and came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac We'll stop right there.

I'm not sure we're gonna get much past that point You know Abraham his grandfather Offered sacrifices at Beersheba Isaac his father offered sacrifices at Beersheba Jacob does the exact same thing like father like son. Oh, man. This is so good You're gonna be so glad you're here today I'm telling you I can remember growing up watching my father pray in the same spot every single day I can recall where my father was and I would wake up sometimes early in the morning There would be my father exact same place praying for his family his children Ultimately his grandchildren he stayed in the same space for so long They had to replace the carpet because the carpet began to wear out where his knees were every single day I find myself getting up doing the exact same thing.

My father did I mean Jacob learned From his father from his from his grandfather He knew that that his his grandfather Abraham was not supposed to go to Egypt in the famine But he did and Abraham didn't call Abraham didn't call upon the name of the Lord before he went Jacob knew that Jacob knew his father Isaac was told not to go down to Egypt during the famine Jacob's learning, right? So what's he do before he ever embarks on this journey? He wants to get the assurance from God that this is the right thing to do God is this what you want me to do?

Is this where I lead the family? I mean if not tell me now Meaning that if you say no God, I ain't going I'm not gonna go. I know Joseph's there I know I can see Joseph, but God if you say no, I'm not going See what the text doesn't say that bad, but it's implied in the text Why do we stop and offer sacrifices to God? He had to offer sacrifices to God because that's the way he would get to God We we have we get to God today because of the sacrifice that was once for all for us The sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord.

There's one mediator between God man That's the man Christ Jesus because of the finished work of Christ on the cross We have access to God the Father and he is our way Because of that sacrifice and so so Jacob would offer those sacrifices because he was going to call out to God that God answers That God reveals himself to Jacob and assures him that what he's doing is The right thing to do that is so important. That is so important. You want to know why you say? Yes, I want to know why oh, okay good.

I'm glad you asked that question It's so good because you see a little bit down the road a little over 400 years from now There's gonna be great conflict in Egypt because Israel is there there's gonna be millions of Jews and there's going to arise a leader who didn't know Joseph He becomes fearful of the number of Jews that that are there that are growing each and every day so they put them in hard labor and they make them their slaves and they are in bondage in Egypt and God will raise up a deliverer.

His name is Moses. We're gonna study him because you see the nation of Israel Moved to Egypt because that's where God wanted them to be Sounds good, right? Until Until the affliction comes and then we say wait a minute God We asked you what to do and you said go and now we're here and now look what happened to us If Jacob would have stayed in in in the land of Canaan, this would have never happened But remember God was in the process of working everything out After the council of his will he would raise up another deliverer He would bring his people back to the land of Canaan because God was involved in all of that When you go to the Lord and call upon the Lord and receive assurance from him and receive the the counsel that he will give You oughta it'll be so good But that doesn't mean that that everything is going to be as you thought it would be because you don't know how it's going to Be right Oh It was good for Jacob and the boys for a while because they lived in Goshen and had the finest of the land And the Pharaoh gave it to him but their grandchildren the great-grandchildren they faced a very difficult task ahead of them and they would have to learn as Jacob learned to call upon the name of the Lord Because God's in charge of everything, right?

And so what you have is this man Jacob looking to do what his father Isaac did what his grandfather Abraham did because he is going to learn and understand God's working in his life and in His family all that to say this turn back with me if you would to Genesis chapter 21 and I want you to look with me at that that very first encounter Where Abraham would go to Beersheba and call upon the name of the Lord back in Genesis chapter 21 Verse number 31 says therefore he called that place Beersheba because there the two of them took an oath so they made a covenant at Beersheba and the Bimlech and Fico the commander of his army arose and returned to the land the Philistines and Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba and there he called on the name of the Lord the Everlasting God as you recall when we were here in Genesis 21 We told you that this is the first time El Olam is used the everlasting God Abraham realized that his God was in his yesterday was in his today and will be in his tomorrow because of the eternality of his God He is from everlasting to everlasting and Abraham would call upon his God He would call him the everlasting God.

He called him that because that tells us of the reliability of God Listen if he's in your yesterday He's in your today and he's in your tomorrow. You can be sure that he will always be there, right? He's never not there. You see God is always in the past the present in the future He's in all those things because he's on the present. There's never a place. He's not and so Abraham would receive comfort Realizing that his God was so reliable in his life in the yesteryear That he'll be reliable in the future.

He would call upon his God if you go over there to Genesis chapter 26 Genesis chapter 26 verse number 23 It says this then he that is Isaac went up from there to bear Sheba same Place that his father Abraham went and the Lord appeared to him the same night and said I am the God of your father Abraham do not fear for I am with you I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there and there Isaac's servants dug a well So now you have not only grandfather Abraham, but father Isaac calling upon the name of the Lord there and bear Sheba and God Reassuring him that as I was with your father Abraham, so I will be with you Isaac Why because he is the everlasting God.

He is the reliable one You can count on God which leads me to Genesis chapter 46 and in Genesis chapter 46 you have now Israel Jacob Calling upon the name of the Lord as he offers Sacrifices to God to receive assurance from the trip and we know that he calls upon the name of God because God answers him God assures him and God says to him these words and God spoke to Israel and visions and the night 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 I will make you a great nation there I will go down with you to Egypt and I will also Surely bring you up again and Joseph will close your eyes.

Oh, there is so much there What did he say? Surely I will bring you up again. When will he bring him up again? Not to the book of Exodus, right? He said he would do he didn't tell him what he was gonna do But he said he would do it, but God would answer him in the visions God would speak to him so he would understand that God gave him the assurance of going to Egypt That got me to think God is so reliable, isn't he? You can count on God You can count on God when you can't count on anybody else. Oh, you know what?

We got to learn that lesson don't we? We want to count on our husband or a wife or our kids or our grandparents or our workplace our boss, whatever You know, you can't count on those things. They're not reliable, but God is God is Reliable. That's why you need to call upon the name of the Lord Call upon the name of the Lord because that one who is reliable will answer listen to Psalm 86 verse number 7 in the day of my trouble I Shall call upon thee and Thou wilt answer me In that good in the day of my trouble.

I will call upon thee and You will answer me that's assurance and that's what we all need to have, right? The problem is in the day of our trouble Usually the last thing we do is call upon the Lord We pick up the phone and call our friend or we pick up the phone and call our parents or we pick up the phone and call somebody else, but the last thing we do is call upon the name of the Lord and The psalmist says in the day of my trouble I'm gonna call upon the you know It must have been good to live back in those days because they couldn't pick up the telephone to call anybody They couldn't use their cell phone To call their friends, you know, every time you drive down the road someone's talking to somebody else about something, right?

I mean, it's unbelievable these the way we use our cell phones today. What did we ever do without cell phones? How did we ever make it through life? Now people made it They call upon the name of the Lord. That's how they made it and God will answer them because he's reliable began thinking about that and thought what is God reliable to do if you call upon him? Number one, he's reliable to redeem you you can count on Peter in his first sermon They're in action for two was quoting from the book of Joel Helping those Jews to understand the day of the Lord and the coming of the wrath of God And he said these words in Acts chapter 2 verse number 41 Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved Paul and Romans chapter 10 would go back and quote Joel as well in verse number 13 and say the same thing Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved In fact, he said in verse 11 of Romans chapter 10 whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall not be disappointed That's great news.

Isn't it? There's no disappointment with those who call upon the name of the Lord and that's why he said if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. You shall be saved God is so reliable that when you call upon him in your sinful state He'll redeem you you can count on it because that's what the Word of God says Isn't that how how how we can a saving faith we we cried out to God?

Oh God be merciful unto me a sinner Oh God, I know that I'm a sinner. I need you to save my soul We called out to God we cried out to God and what did God do God saved us because that's the way that our Lord Is he is reliable to redeem his people it says over in Isaiah Chapter 55 these words First number one Ho everyone who thirst come to the waters and you who have no money come buy and eat come buy wine and milk without money And without cost Isaiah gives the invitation and then it says in verse number six seek the Lord while he may be found Call upon him while he is near Call upon him while he is near Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to the Lord and he will have Compassion on him and to our God for he will Abundantly pardon.

That's our God. He's so reliable prophet Isaiah says Call upon him while he is near the right of Hebrews say today is the day of salvation This is the day not tomorrow if you're here today, and you've never given your life to Christ You need to call upon him today. You see Lord be merciful unto me a sinner Take away my sin and may I follow you all the days of my life. That's the way God is He is reliable to rescue you It says in verse number three of Psalm 116 the cords of death Encompassed me and the tarot's tarot's of Sheol came upon me I found distress and sorrow then I called upon the name of the Lord.

Oh Lord I beseech thee save my life Gracious is the Lord and righteous. Yes. Our God is compassionate. The Lord preserves the simple I was brought low and he saved me return to your rest on my soul for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you for thou Has rescued my soul from death my eyes from tears my feet from stumbling That's the way our God is He is reliable to rescue your life He's reliable to redeem Your life. I'm reminded of of Jonah And all that took place in his life and where he was in the belly of the fish It says in in in the book of Jonah that he called upon The Lord and God rescued him I'm reminded of Stephen in Acts chapter 7 when he was being stoned The Bible tells us in verse number 59 that he cried out he called out to the Lord He called out to his God to rescue him and he got the ultimate rescue right you got to go to glory Quite out to his God and God rescued him.

Listen. I don't care if you're moving as these people were I don't care if you're getting married I don't care if you don't have any money and I don't care if you're in a life of misery You call out to your master. He will answer Guaranteed because that's what our God does call out to him. He's reliable You can bank on him right to redeem you to rescue you but to revive you to revive you He's not just gonna rescue you and you're just barely gonna make it. No, he's gonna revive your life He's gonna he's gonna give new life to you as an individual Psalm 71 Says these words Psalm 71 verse number 15 Or 19, excuse me For thy righteousness.

Oh God reaches to the heavens Thou who has done great things. Oh God who is like thee Thou who has shown me many troubles and distresses wilt revive me again and will bring me up again from the depths of the earth Over in Psalm 119 verse number 107. I am exceedingly afflicted Revive me O Lord according to thy word the psalmist calls out to his God Calls out to him and saying God revive me according to your word Lord I need your word to sustain my life. I need the words that are life to sustain my life I need you Lord to revive my soul God's reliable to do that You see a lot of times we want God to revive us, but we don't want to revive us according to his word We wanted to revive us according to our will and if our will is not according to his word We're in trouble Psalmist got it, right?

Revive me Lord according to your word Show me yourself Show me your statutes that I might be able to grow in my walk with thee Lord Because it's to the Word of God that we receive strength. So our God is reliable to to redeem us He is reliable to rescue us from danger He is reliable to revive us our God is also reliable to reward you Did you know that he will reward you for calling out to him over in Isaiah 58? Speaking of the return of our God and in and how he will with his people not only revive them But he will reward them.

It says in in verse number Number eight then your light will break out like the dawn and your recovery will speedily spring forth and your righteousness will go before you The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard Then you will call and the Lord will answer you will cry and he will say here I am if you remove the yoke from your midst appointed to the finger and the speaking weakness and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfied the desire of the afflicted then your light will arise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday and the Lord will Continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places and give you strength to your bones And you will be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail Our God says listen, I don't want ritual I want true repentance and when you truly repent you will call upon me and when you call upon me and cry out to me I will answer you and you will do exactly as I say and look what will happen to your life This is what will happen.

He said your waters will never dry up. You will be rewarded because that's the way our God is and so I'm 145. It says this first number 17 the Lord is righteous in all his ways and Kind in all his deeds the Lord is near to all who call upon him to all who call upon him in Truth listen now.

He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him He will also hear their cry and will save them man. That's our God He is so reliable and we the people of God need to understand What the word of the Lord says if he's redeemed if he's reliable to redeem you He is reliable to rescue you and to revive you to restore you to renew you He is that reliable you can count on him and he will reward You for obedience to his word. He will there are two more I want to give you But I want you to know that if you call out the Lord He's going to reveal himself to you just like he revealed himself to Jacob or Israel in Genesis 46 But there's one more and I want to close with this this morning that when you call out to God and you've been redeemed You will respond to him in a way that glorifies his name You can't help to to sing praises to his name You you can't help but but tell other people about but what he has done if God before you who can be against you, right?

God's for you and when you know God's for you listen to Psalm 116 verse number 13 I shall lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord I shall pay my vows to the Lord The psalmist understands that when I call out to God and God answers me All I can do to him is repay him By praising him by giving him my life by saying God take me make me mold me break me Whatever you got to do Lord. I am yours because I've seen the glory of the Lord I've seen how you've worked in my life. Listen to what Paul said to young Timothy now flee from youthful lusts and Pursue righteousness faith love peace with those who call upon the Lord from the pure heart How do you respond to the one who redeemed you you pursue righteousness you pursue love you pursue faith?

There's a constant hunting down a passionate pursuit of those things that God wants you to be Because Paul says all those who call upon the Lord do this. They're great. I'm gonna say it one more time Aren't you glad you came? I think those are some encouraging words I hope they've been as encouraging to you as had been to me this morning. Let's pray