Preaching the Word
The "First Principle" podcasts which are numbered # are a great tool for believers to go over the essentials of the Christian Faith.
The "Mysteries of God's Word" podcasts are an indepth study of Scripture.
The other podcasts are sermons that have been given, some verse by verse and others topical.
It is my passion to be true to God and His Word. To preach in such a way that people can easily see the LORD as our Creator and as our Redeemer. To understand that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever even as we live in a world that is continually changing. Salvation is and has always been through faith alone in the Messiah alone. His name is Jesus the Christ; there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Preaching the Word
Genesis 46 - Jacob's Journey to Egypt - The Mysteries of God's Word
Jacob journeys to Egypt with his entire family after receiving divine reassurance that God will be with him and make his descendants into a great nation there. The emotional reunion between Jacob and Joseph after 22 years of separation reafirms God's providence through all things to fulfill His purpose.
• God appears to Jacob in a night vision, promising to make him into a great nation in Egypt
• Jacob brings all his possessions, all his livestock, and all his direct descendants to Egypt
• The genealogical record carefully documents all family members by their mothers
• Joseph prepares his chariot and rushes to meet his family in Goshen
• Joseph strategically plans to settle his family in Goshen, separate from Egyptian society
• Hebrew shepherds were considered an "abomination" to Egyptians due to their pagan practices.
• Jacob declares he can now die in peace after seeing Joseph alive
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. Today we're in Genesis, chapter 46, where Joseph brings his family down to Egypt, beginning at verse 1,. So Israel took his journey with all that he had and he came to Beersheba 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 I am. And 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. In our first four verses of chapter 46, we see that Israel picked up all that he had and journeyed from Hebron, where he was, until he came to Beersheba, which was about 25 miles away, came to Beersheba, which was about 25 miles away. Beersheba was a town that was founded by Jacob's grandfather, abraham, in the desert of Negev, and it still exists today. Beersheba is also known as the southernmost part of the Israelite kingdom, and it's located just 45 miles southwest of Jerusalem. This is a place where Abraham, isaac and now Jacob offer sacrifices to the Lord God and they call upon the name of the Lord. Here God speaks to Israel. After Israel sacrificed to the Lord, god spoke with him in a vision, comforting him about his trip to Egypt. Why would he have to be comforted? Well, previously, in the life of Isaac, who is Israel's father, god had warned Isaac not to go down to Egypt during a famine. That was in Genesis 26, verses 1 through 5. Additionally, israel's grandfather, abraham, ran into some trouble in Egypt when he had first gone down there in a famine as well, back in Genesis, chapter 12. Therefore, it's very likely that Jacob has some anxiety, or even fear regarding going down into Egypt during this famine.
Speaker 1:And we read that God spoke to Israel in visions of the night. This Hebrew word for visions is unique in Genesis. It's different than the word that's used for dreams, which is more commonly a way that God would speak to people during the night. The root of this word for visions means to look at or inspect. It infers that Jacob actually saw something during the night with his eyes open. Other uses of this word also mean an apparition or like looking in a mirror, and it tells us Jacob likely saw something, as if he were seeing a reflection in a mirror and possibly even ghost-like figures, and God speaks to him saying Jacob, jacob. In addition to seeing something during the night with his eyes, in this vision, the Lord speaks in an audible voice to Jacob saying Jacob, jacob. And Jacob replies here I am. This is similar to how, 560 years later, samuel will hear the voice of God in the temple, when God audibly speaks to him during the night calling his name.
Speaker 1:And during this vision, the Lord comforts Jacob with a promise. He promises Jacob that he's going to make him into a great nation in Egypt. While this certainly sounds like a reaffirmation of the Abrahamic covenant and it certainly is tied to the Abrahamic covenant and the coming Messiah, this promise from the Lord is separate and distinct from the Abrahamic covenant. God is promising Jacob that his children will flourish and become a great nation in Egypt. This promise to Jacob is to comfort him that when he goes to Egypt, his children will become a great nation, and it does stand in contrast to the eternal promise that God made Abraham, that Abraham would be the father of many nations and that that promise was grounded in Abraham's faith and the Messiah to come. God tells Jacob, I myself will go down with you. God continues to comfort Jacob by telling him I'm going to be with you as you go down into the land of Egypt and one day, god says, I will also bring you out of Egypt again. God's final comfort to Jacob is that his beloved son, joseph will care for him during his death.
Speaker 1:Verse 5. Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob, their father, their little ones and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They also took their livestock and their goods which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and they came to Egypt. Jacob and all his offspring with him, his sons and his sons' sons with him, his daughters and his sons' daughters, all of his offspring he brought with him to Egypt. His offspring he brought with him to Egypt. In verses 5 through 7, we see Israel journeyed out from Beersheba after making an offering to the Lord and having received that vision from the Lord that night before, it tells us that's riding in the wagon down to Egypt. The rest of this verse describes the details of how everything Israel had in the land of Canaan was brought down to Egypt All of the livestock, all of the possessions they had acquired, all of the children and grandchildren, the boys and the girls. The scripture goes into great detail and it's quite specific describing how Israel pulled up everything that he had and he went to Egypt. The relationship that we see here between Jacob and his children is very interesting to consider, as all of Jacob's sons, other than Benjamin, are now over 40 years old. They're married, but yet they continue to live within the community of their father, israel.
Speaker 1: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, hanak, paliu, hezron and Carmi. The sons of Simeon, jemuel, jamin, ohad, jachin, zohar and Shol, the son of a Canaanite woman. The sons of Levi, gershon, kohath and Mererai. The sons of Judah, ur, onan, shelah, perez and Zerah. But Ur and Onan died in the land of Canaan, and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamal. The sons of Issachar, tola, puva, job and Shimran. These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, together with his daughter, dinah. Together, his sons and his daughters numbered 33. Here, in verses 8 through 15, are listed the descendants of Jacob and Leah according to their sons, grandsons and Israel's daughter, dinah.
Speaker 1:While the following lists after this are very self-explanatory, this first list, with a total of 33, can be a little bit confusing for a couple of reasons. This number of 33 includes Jacob himself, minus the two grandsons, ur and Onan, that died in the land of Canaan, onan that died in the land of Canaan. And an additional note is that the number of 33 does include the twin sons of Perez, which are Hezron and Hamul, but they haven't been born yet. They're in Perez's loins, likely because one of those twins, hezron, will be the continued line of the Messiah.
Speaker 1:Picking up in verse 16, the sons of Gad, ziphion, haggai, shunai, ezbon, eri, arodai and Arli. The sons of Asher, imnah, ishvah, beriah with Sirah, their sister, and the sons of Beriah, heber and Malkiel. These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob. Sixteen persons, here in verses 16, 17, and 18, are listed the sixteen descendants of Jacob and Zilpah, the servant of Leah. It includes their sons, grandsons and daughters. This list is very straightforward Sixteen names, sixteen people, verse 19.
Speaker 1: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, beker, Ashbel, gera, naaman, ehai, rosh, mopan, hopan and Ard. These are the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob. Fourteen persons in all. Again, here in these verses verses 19 through 22, are listed the fourteen descendants of Jacob and Rachel according to their sons and grandsons, and this list again is very straightforward Fourteen names, fourteen people Verse 23. The son of Dan Husham, the sons of Naphtali, jazihel, gunai, jezer and Shillim. These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob. Seven persons in all. Again, in verses 23-25 are listed seven descendants of Jacob and Bilhah, who was the servant of Rachel, according to their sons and grandsons. And again, seven names and seven people Verse 26,. All the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt. We see two different numbers 66 and 70. As noted, the number 66 are the direct descendants or seed that came to Egypt and it doesn't include the wives of the sons. This is the direct descendants of Israel, not including Jacob himself. This is the direct descendants of Israel, not including Jacob himself. However, when we do include Jacob himself, as well as Joseph and Joseph's two sons, ephraim and Manasseh, we come to the total number of 70.
Speaker 1:Picking up in verse 28, he had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen. So 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 he wept on his neck for a good while. Israel said to Joseph Now let me die, since I've seen your face and I know that you are still alive.
Speaker 1:In verses 28 through 30, we see that Jacob or Israel chose to send Judah to take the lead, that Jacob or Israel chose to send Judah to take the lead, to be responsible and go ahead of them into Egypt and tell Joseph they were coming. You may remember that Judah has a very promiscuous and adulterous past. He had left his family to live with the pagan Canaanites. But it would seem that recent events seem to show that he has a change of heart and he has changed his ways from the life of shame and guilt and he's stepped up to the plate and he wants to protect and care for the family that God gave him and he went to Joseph and told Joseph that his family was arriving, and Joseph prepared his chariot. What a sight this must have been as Joseph, the governor of all of Egypt, prepares his great chariot and his team of horses to go out and meet his father and the entire family who are coming into the land of Goshen in Egypt. And when Joseph meets his family, he presents himself to his father, israel, and he falls on his neck.
Speaker 1:It's hard for us to imagine exactly what Joseph did when it says he presented himself to Israel. Certainly, coming up on a chariot drawn by horses, in all of his grandeur, which was required of the nobles in Egypt but yet so different from the humble axe-drawn wagons of the shepherds, was a presentation in itself. Yet the context here seems to imply that Joseph shown himself as Joseph the son of Israel. How did the great governor, in all of his splendor, reveal he was still the humble son that loved his family and loved the Lord, god, during this precious moment? What we do know is that after Joseph presented himself, he fell upon the shoulder of his father and he wept for a very long time. The last time Joseph had seen his father he was 17 years old and it had now been 22 years since they had seen one another and both of them had always felt a special bond towards the other. Now their feeling of being reunited was of great joy and peace. Israel's response to seeing Joseph alive is that he can now die in peace. Israel now recognizes the hand of God was at work all of these years, even though he thought Joseph was dead, and now seeing with his own eyes what must look like a resurrected son who has great authority and power, jacob is reassured that the plans of God cannot be thwarted.
Speaker 1:Verse 31,. Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household I will go up and tell Pharaoh and I'll say to him my brothers and my father's household, 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, both we and our fathers, in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians. In these our last four verses. Joseph says he's going to go and talk to Pharaoh, even though Pharaoh himself had invited Joseph's family down to Egypt. The initial invitation from Pharaoh had mentioned to have no concern for their goods, for the best of all of the land of Egypt is yours. However, israel and his sons brought all of their livestock, which were very likely considerably sized herds. Now Joseph is going to talk with the Pharaoh about these large herds that his family has brought with them and how their lifelong profession has been shepherding. In so doing, joseph is going to try and secure this place in Egypt, away from the mainstream of Egyptian society for his family. Joseph tells his fathers and brothers to be honest about this generational occupation of being shepherds when they're called upon by the Pharaoh, how this occupation was passed down from their forefathers so that the Pharaoh might confirm the location of Goshen for them and their livestock. And Joseph tells his family that every shepherd is an abomination for the Egyptians.
Speaker 1:The Egyptians as a culture had a religious stigma against shepherds, and particularly Hebrew shepherds, because they would raise, sacrifice and eat sheep, rams and cows, and all of these animals were sacred to the Egyptians. It was part of their pagan worship to different gods. Additionally, the line of Egypt, who was the grandson of Noah through his son Ham, considered themselves to be a race closer to the gods than any other race. Since the Hebrews came from the line of Eber, who was the great-grandson of Noah through Seth, and since the Hebrews only worshipped one God, who was above all people and animals, the Egyptians considered the Hebrews to be an abomination to their pagan religious practices. Thank you so much for joining me this week. I hope you join me next week when Jacob's family settles in Goshen. God bless you this week.