Sermon – “The Makings of a Great Nation”

So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ² Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

³ So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. ⁴ I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.”

⁵ Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ⁶ So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. ⁷ His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

²⁸ Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. ²⁹ So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.

³⁰ And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.”

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
⁹ “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

²⁸ Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
²⁹ He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
³¹ But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

My message to smore Ning is titled The Making of a great nation the nation of Israel scripture comes from Genesis Chapter 45 versus 252-2840 61 through 7 hear the word of the Lord then they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father and they told him saying Joseph is still alive and he is governor over all the land of Egypt and Jacob’s heart stood still because he did not believe them but when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them and when he saw all the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him to spirit of Jacob their father revived then Israel said it is enough Joseph My son is still alive I will go and see him before I die and then picking up the chapter 46 so Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to earth Sheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night and said Jacob Jacob and he said Here I am so he said I am God the God of your father do not fear 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 put his hand on your eyes then Jacob a rose from Berseba and the sons of Israel carried their father Jayco their little ones and their wives in the carts with faith which Pharaoh had sent to carry him so they took their livestock and their goods which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and went to Egypt Jacob and all his descendants with him his sons and his sons sons his daughters and his son his daughters and his sons daughters and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt may God at His blessings to the hearing and reading of His Holy Word let us pray Grace’s Heavenly Father we do praise you a magnified it we know father that you are always in control of all things that your god that you are the great I-Am Father we thank you for the building of the Nation of Israel Father we thank you that throughout this entire journey that we’ve been learning about with Joseph and his family that you are in control that you are building this great nation and Father we thank you this to the nation of Israel that our savior is come Father we thank you for your your righteousness which you brought to us through Jesus Christ Father we thank you for your spear that is with us today may your spirt be upon us may your spirit guide us and direct us Father open our hearts in our minds to receive what you have forced Today Father is Karen said May your word go forth and produce fruit father may produce fruit for your kingdom and follow we just give you praise and glory and honor thank you for your word in Jesus’ name amen. So you know I was thinking about ending our series in Genesis last week with last week’s message the message that where Joseph was reunited with his brothers and he revealed to his brothers who he was course you know they were fearful would 1st he says don’t be afraid come near and so you know he hugged only his brothers but but my wife shared with me she’s like they want to hear Joseph being reunited with his father you know it’s an amazing story it is it’s kind of like you’re picture in this drama in your mind and Jacob was finally reunited with these last son the son that he thought was dead we’re going to get to that part so I just want to pick up a little bit right we’re left off last week so Joseph and all leavened brothers there together they have that dinner to remember and the next day he’s going to send them on their way send them back to the land of Canaan and he says I want you to go get my father want you to bring him down but you know when this journey this last journey back to the land of Canaan the 11 Brothers was not like the previous journey he remember the previous journey they stopped at the encampment nay found their silver in their sacks so as a Journey Don’t home they are very concerned that the next time they go back that they’re going to be thought of as thieves because they had their money and they had the concern or their brother that they had to leave behind Rimmer than Simeon behind in jail while they was going to retrieve their brother the bring him back so they had that fear are they going to that is he going to let our brother come with us that we can get more food the next time this journey is not like that they have joy in their hearts this time as a journey back to the land of Canaan because they get to go back and share with their father your son Joseph is alive. But remember this they would also have to share with their father what they had done in the past the law is that they had told him that the son was dead when they knew very well that they’re the ones that sold him so they had to reveal that also but they tell us father your son Joseph is alive if you ever heard the old saying If it sounds too good to be true it probably is well this actually sounded too good to be true he didn’t believe it the eat it 1st he did not believe his sons report the passage said that his heart stood still because he did not believe them not know that if I asked you to share you could probably share a time when you felt that your heart stood still you know I’ve had a few of those occasions where your heart stood still you know I was driving down frigid for Ginia Avenue one day and I actually was right there about where the Reverend was and I don’t know I’m tried was trying to think the other day if I was in my twenties or thirties as I’m traveling down through their pickup truck a young boy darted out from between 2 parked vehicles and man I slammed on the brakes that truck and I barely got stopped without hitting that little boy and into this to think about it today my heart I believe stood still that day because you know if I could thank you Lord I got stop because I would have had to live with that my entire life knowing that I injured or possibly even killed that little boy but Tom about a year ago I think my heart stood still when I. Knocked on mom’s door and there’s no answer and open the door and I could see that she was laying on the floor we all could probably share those moments we get bad news something’s happened a loved one has died or an illness. And with your heart stand still Jacob his heart stood still I think he wanted to believe but he had for so long mourned the loss of his son some long thought that he was killed by some wild beast because he saw the blood on that Coat of Many Colors surely must on his dead you know most commentators believe that Jacob did have some suspicions about his other sons because of their activities that were questionable but the scripture said when he heard all the words which Joseph said to them and when he saw the car that Joseph it sent it says that he then believed in a spirit of Jacob was revived there are many different descriptions of the statement that joke that Jacob’s spirit was revived such as he was restored to fresh vigor he had his vigor back he gained new life he lived one says now this is Karen kind already was given into this system but then bellows one says that his spear that his revised spirit was like the blowing and stirring up of almost extinguished embers that had been buried under the ashes I especially like that description his Hope had almost extinguished almost gone out there was just a little ember buried under those ashes a little glowing amber of hope but that bellows if you will of that wind reignited that news reignited revived his spirit I have hope my son is alive he believed. You know there are so many modern day examples stories of families reunited children reunited with their parents or siblings reunited I found one such example and this is actually siblings being reunited few years back a 79 year old woman named Irene Atkins she opened her front door one afternoon to see the face of a man that she had never met before but he told her that I’m your brother his name was Terry sprigs Irene had been abandoned by her family in 1932 when she was just 10 months oh she was really honed by British charity bar Nato’s and placed with a foster family she was later told by her parents that she was fostered that they were not her true father and mother but she was never told that she had any brothers or sisters so after her parents abandon her a few years later they had 3 other children and they actually raised those children so Terry among them later on he was told that he had a sister named Irene so with the help of his niece Sylvia Waters and she did some searching through bar Nato’s archives and found Lee brought that information to her uncle Terry and shared it with him he was found the able to track down where they thought Irene lived but he had no way of knowing for sure that he was at the right door when he knocked on that door he’s at the right place he had no way of knowing what kind of reception that he would receive when he knocked on the door of someone he never saw before but hoped to be sister when they were completely overwhelmed he was overwhelmed when he saw green for the 1st time in revealed to her who he was. And Irene said for years she thought she had other family you know she didn’t know that she had brothers or sisters but back then they didn’t have computers and all these resources to try to find lost family members but both of them were overwhelmed with the joy of finding need to other and sitting down and talking with one another and sharing and catching up on their families in the things that they had in common a great reunion between Terry and his sister Irene what a surprise it must have been so open that door and find that you had brothers and sisters that you never knew about your 79 years old what a joy it must have been for Jacob to hear that news that his son is alive what a joy it must have been to be reunited with that son that you thought was dead Genesis 4628 through 30 shares this week reunion then he sent Judah before him to Joseph to point out before him the way to gosh and and they came to the land of gosh And so Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to gosh and Goshen I believe as well as property said to me his father Israel and he presented himself to him and he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while Can you imagine the emotion going through their hearts he wept for a good while in Israel said to Joseph Now let me die since I have seen your face because your still alive you know it may seem that Jacob is a little obsessed with death the thought of death you want sons told him he’s knocking doctors My son is alive now I says. Because you are alive now let me let me die because I’ve seen you know I do not believe that he’s actually obsessed with death but I believe that he now is saying I can die with peace I can die with joy in my heart because I know that my son is alive I know that my son wasn’t mauled by some beast I have seen my son that I’ve longed for that I’ve loved so now I can die in peace he would not die for another 17 years he had 17 years in Egypt to get reacquainted with his son Joseph 17 years to get to know Joseph sons Efrem and Manasseh and Joseph wife 17 years to enjoy all of his family this meeting was a sweet reunion indeed it provides for a happy ending of Jacob’s life a happy ending to Joseph’s amazing journey from shepherd boy to slave to prison or to 2nd in command in Egypt that provides for a happy ending here in the book of Genesis doesn’t it but I want to look at another part of today’s scripture I want to look at the journey of Jacob down to Egypt the journey down of his entire family says they had traveled to bear Sheba it would have taken them about a week to travel to. It was a southernmost town in the region that region or in the Canaan. It was a special place for Jacob it was there that Abraham dug a well it was there that Abraham lived after offering Isaac up on Mt Mariah Jacob’s father Isaac also lived in her Seba it was from there that he would leave to travel to her harangue to find a wife for himself Genesis 2810 says not Jacob went out of her Sheba and went to her Rand he went to Laban’s family that’s where he met Rachel his wife and Leah his wife it was that perceived that God appeared to Hagel are to Isaac to Jacob it was a very important place for this family Jacob took all that he had with him to Egypt all of his sons all of those were all their wives all their grandchildren all their livestock all of the goods that they had acquired in Canaan they took it all with them when they travelled to Egypt quite a caravan wouldn’t have been actually in the book of Acts Stephen’s brief synopsis of Joseph story gives us an accurate number of how many people actually travel down to Egypt now accept or 7 verses 9 through 16 Stephenson novices here he gives really an entire account of this entire story that I spent weeks on a could have read this right and been done. X. 7 verse 960 and the patriarchs becoming envious soul Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh king of Egypt and he made him governor over Egypt in all his house now I famine in great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan and her father spell no sustenance but when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt he said our fathers 1st and a 2nd times Opus Joseph was made known to his brothers and Joseph Stanley became known to Pharaoh that Joseph sent called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him 75 people so Jacob went down to Egypt and he died and is he in our fathers and they were carry back to Shekh him and made in the late in a tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of him or the father of 2nd 75 people by friends Jacob’s stop and were Seba was more than he stopped for rest it was more than a stop down memory lane because it was his home place Jacob was there at that place to communicate with God As many of his ancestors did to ask God should I go down to Egypt should I go down to which God replied I am God fast forward over 400 years later God would call Moses to go bring the people out of Egypt and Moses says Who shall I say sent me to tell him I am telling my Am has sent you. He tells Jacob I am God and you better believe the Jacob’s shared that was his family so they knew all those years who God was he was I am I am God the God of your fathers and he said Do not fear to go down to Egypt for I will make you a great nation there it is there that I’m going to make you into a great nation but also he says I will go down with you what a promise what a promise God reaffirmed to Jacob the promise that he had made to ease ancestors that I will make you a great nation but also that I will be engaged with you all being gauge within your life I will go down with you how reassuring that God the God who created all things was going with them Deuteronomy 431 says for the Lord your God is a merciful God He will not for sake you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them my friends Jesus also gave the disciples an assurance that he was with them and he will be with us in Matthew 28820 and Jesus came and spoke to them saying all of Torah he has been given to me in heaven and on earth good so there is a message to go go therefore make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded that I have commanded you and lo I am with you always even to the end of the age Amen my friends Jesus says I am with you always. He will not leave you nor for sake you you may run from him you may turn from him or is that song said we turn and run back he will run towards us he will not leave us nor for sake us there is a promise from God a promise from Jesus Christ our Lord that promise is found in multiple books in the Old and New Testaments we can be assured that he is always with us that we can always repent return to God if we’ve turned our back on him. Nono for everyone will be completely honest with themselves you would probably have to admit that there probably been an occasion or 2 where you’ve question God with questions like why does God allow bad things to happen to good people why did God not intervene in this or that situation why did God do this or why did God do that and you know I’m going to say it’s not wrong to question God but is absolutely wrong to accuse God of wrong doing it is wrong to Q.’s got of doing wrong because God does not do wrong so this week early this week as I was reading this and finishing up the Book of Genesis and reading this entire story of Joseph and pondered in my heart the story of Joseph his brothers his father this entire family the thought or the question entered my mind did God cause the famine in the 1st place the God caused the famine that would cause a family have to travel down to Egypt so remember Did God not for war Pharaoh didn’t Pharaoh had that dream the dream of the 7 nice plump cows and then the sickly cows in Joseph that’s how he got out of prison remember. Cody not a prison in those revealed to him did in a dream that was going to be 7 years of plentiful followed by 7 years of famine and we know that God gave him the interpretation God gave Pharaoh the dream right so to God cause the famine or did the devil cause a famine Well the answer that I rattled around with and came up with is and it might not be right I might not be right but I do not believe that God caused the famine he used it yes but I do not believe he caused it I truly believe that the famine in Joseph’s day just like many of the natural disasters that we have seen in our lifetimes like the earthquakes like the tsunamis like the hurricanes like the fires like the viruses like the famines of today I believe there caused by the effect of the curse that was applied to creation Romans chapter 8 verses 822 this is a New Living Translation it says just yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later for all of creation is waiting eagerly for the future day when God will reveal who is children really are Listen against this will against its will all creation was subjected to God’s curse so when you look out all of creation was subjected to the curse that God placed upon it and man. But with the eager hope the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay for we know that all creation has been growing as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time they eighty’s how would childbirth experience be without any medication painful probably groaning and moaning in screaming and crying out in pain in back and forth but friends that’s an example was the earth is No one it’s moaning it’s growing it’s it’s blowing the winds of the tour are NATO it tornadoes and hurricanes tornadoes that’s a hurricane tornado damage right now anyway yeah the word mixed up where I work or Asians don’t want and I believe the famine was caused by that and friends God knows all things does he not he knows the beginning from the end so yes he knew that there was going to be a famine he knows the 1st going to be a famine x. a number of years from today he knows it he knows the future he knew that Phantom was going to happen and he did intervene in His mercy He forewarned pharaoh that it was going to happen in His mercy He prepared Joseph to lead and store up for those 7 good years in his mercy he did intervene to save not only the nation of Israel but even the Egyptian people God could have stopped it but yes he allowed it to happen he doesn’t always intervene and stop things but he can use them for His glory for his honor we may not always understand. We don’t always understand because we don’t have the mind of God doing I say of 5589 says from our thoughts are not your thoughts one or your ways my way says the Lord for us the heavens are higher than the Earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts then your thoughts and also in Isaiah 40 Chapter 20 Chapter 40 verse 28 to 31 have you not known Have you not heard the everlasting God the Lord the creator of the ends of the earth neither faints nor is weary his understanding is unsearchable he gives power to the weak and to those who have no might he increases strength even the use self fain to be weary and the young men so utterly fall but those who wait a little lord shall renew their strength they so mount up with wings like eagles ational run and not be weary they shall walk and not thing wait on the lowered his ways are past understanding but let’s wait on the Lord God used their time in Egypt to mold and shape the nation of Israel into a strong people it was there that he multiplied them greatly Exodus one verse 7 says but the children of Israel were fruitful increased abundantly multiplied in groups even Lee mightily in the land was filled with them the land of Egypt was filled with them we’ve already established for max 75 people went down to Egypt when Jacob moved his family there now there’s many different estimates isn’t to how many came out 400 and I think 30 years later but Exodus 123738 gives us a pretty good idea because this was recorded shortly after the Exodus. It says then the children of Israel journeyed from Ramsay’s to Sukkot off about 600000 men on foot Besides children a mix multitude went up with them also in flocks and herds and a great deal of livestock so that did not count women and children 600000 men. Went up with them out of Egypt 75 when God made them a great nation multiplied them greatly that they filled the land I want to end by returning to the scripture where I began were Jacob sons return and told him about Joseph being alive remember at 1st he didn’t believe did not believe what they told him but when they told him all the words Joseph it said to them and when he saw the corpse that Joseph had sent you know you know what the scales look like the scales that hang from the chain and you got the little plate that hangs there it balances back and forth so unbelief was down here is kind of winning out that’s a scale of unbelief was winning it was heavier greater than his belief but when he looked and saw those corks the scales tip the other way and he believed like he saw that physical evidence and he believed that is some was alive my friends in the New Testament Jesus appeared to the disciples with Thomas wasn’t there but when you other disciples told him Jesus is alive we saw when he’s alive he says unless I see him myself unless I touch his hands I will not believe one John and John Chapter 20 verse 29 Jesus said to him Thomas because you have seen me you have believed. Blessid are those who have not seen and yet have believed in and John 524 Most assuredly I say to you he who hears my word and believes in him and sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment but has passed from death to life my friends bless it are those who have not seen us or those who have not seen and yet believe in Jesus Christ our Lord do you see the similarities in Joseph in Jesus Joseph was rejected by his own rejected by his own brothers sold in the slavery falsely accused but yet was sent forth to save the nation Jesus was rejected by his own they received the not was falsely accused he did suffer and die upon the cross and rose again bless it are those who believe Blessed are those who have not seen but yet believe that he is the Son of God that he is alive he has died for my sins in your sins and he is making a great nation of people those that believe in Him There is another great nation and it’s those that are called the Sons of God the sons and daughters of the Living God If you believe in Jesus Christ you are part of that great nation if you’re here in His word and you have a believe in Jesus Christ turn run towards him or walk or crawl However you can get to him but please turn to him repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ and He is faithful and just and forgive will forgive you your sins and write your name in Outlands because life Amen.