A Fitting Memory Genesis 50

Sermon Nuggets Mon Jan 28  A Fitting Memory                                                      

Gen 49: The Death of Jacob

²⁹ Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought as a burial placefrom Ephron the Hittite, along with the field. ³¹ There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekahwere buried, and there I buried Leah. ³² The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”

³³ When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

A Fitting Memory

For several months we have been going through the book of Genesis. It is the foundation of the Bible. It is God’s introduction of himself through creation, fall, redemption, and providing a plan to bring people to himself and bless the world for his glory and his honor. The Bible is God’s story, not man’s story. And as the message of the beginnings ends with the patriarchs it gives to the Jewish nation the promises in a literal and a spiritual way that brings hope to every generation.

Last week we talked about the Blessings and prophecies Jacob passed on to his sons. Now in this last chapter and some verses that precede it we see the way in which Jacob and Joseph wanted to be remembered when they passed away.

During times of funerals folks will often share special memories and times of special accomplishments and relationships of the deceased. We have received memorial gifts in honor of a loved one who died. Those gifts honor the memory of someone by sharing in projects or ministries of the church.

Certain times of the year we honor those who serve in the Armed Forces and those veterans who have died, and especially those who died in a war. We also follow a practice as Christians to have a memorial celebration we call communion. It is a special time to remember the life and death of Jesus Christ who died for our sins and salvation. We also proclaim his life in the resurrection from the dead.

Now once again Jacob talks about his death. Jacob was ready to die many times before this. It almost seemed humorous, the number of times he mentioned it.

One pastor related the story of one older member of his congregation who called him to her death bed several times to practice the ritual of hand holding, asking if she was ready to die and quote Psalm 23 and praying together. The only problem is the woman didn’t die, but she practiced it numerous times and he had better be ready to respond when she knew it was her time to go.

How do you imagine it will be when you die? If you had a say in that most would wish it to happy like Jacob where he lived a full and rich life and gathered his loved ones around him to share in love and memories.  Most Christian parents would want to  be sure their loved ones were believers and followers of Jesus Christ.

Friends I say this with great sensitivity and love. Perhaps your loved one never embraced Christ and repented and trusted Him for their salvation. We an account in Luke 16 of a  rich man who died and was eternally lost. His wish and prayer was his loved ones would not follow him in his ways but turn to the Lord. That most certainly would be the greatest wish of all those who have died, those in Christ and those who did not believe.

Are you prepared spiritually for this journey of death?  Accept Christ today before it is too late.

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Tues Jan 29 Honor

Gen 49:29-50:14

Joseph threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him. ² Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, ³ taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

⁴ When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, ⁵ ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”

⁶ Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt— ⁸ besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. ⁹ Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.

¹⁰ When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. ¹¹ When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.

¹² So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: ¹³ They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field. ¹⁴ After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.

Memorial -A time to Honor 

The idea of honoring the dead is Biblical. Now we are instructed not to pray to the dead, or worship the dead, like some cultures and religions, but to reflect on their memories and recognize the mankind is a far different creature than animals. We have a soul is special and the life we live is special.

Joe Bayly, in his book on death, contrasts the death of his grandmother and his own father. One of his early memories as a child was being led into my grandmother’s room in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to give her a final kiss. She was dying. Grandma was conscious, slightly raised in bed, her white hair braided and carefully arranged on the quilt she had made as a young woman. The four-poster bed was the one in which she had slept for fifty years, in which her four children had been conceived and born.

There was a bouquet of sweet peas from Grandma’s garden, which gave the room a faintly fragrant. Her family surrounded her. In a few hours she died.

Forty years later Bayly recalled how his children were with their grandfather when he had his last heart attack. The EMT’s came and put Grandpa on a stretcher, carried him out of the house, and that was the last his grandchildren saw of him. Children were excluded from the hospitals. Joe and his wife were with him in the intensive care unit of the hospital. The mechanics of survival—tubes, needles, oxygen system, electronic pacemaker—were in him and on him and around him. The staff informed them they had to leave after visiting hours, and Grandpa died alone, that night. His grandsons had no chance to give him a final kiss, to feel the pressure of his hand on their heads

We understand the scientific progress God allows. There are people with us today because of the medical tools God has chosen to give us. There are many who have been given longer life with the help of medical and surgical treatment that would not have been possible 50 years ago.

But  there is something missing from memories when dying at home was part of each family experience. Jacob died in bed, at home, surrounded by those he most loved, and by those who most loved him. While most of us would prefer to die like Jacob, most may not have that choice. The need for very specialized treatment in a hospital or an unexpected death may snatch us from those we love without any warning or opportunity to say a final farewell.

At the death of his beloved Rachel Jacob hoped to die. (Gen 35:). Later when it appeared that Joseph was dead, Jacob saw little reason to live. “Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” (Gen 37:35). When Simeon was detained in Egypt and Benjamin was demanded as part of the integrity of Jacob’s sons, once again Jacob became preoccupied with death talking about going down to Sheol in sorrow (Genesis 42:38). Even when Jacob learned that Joseph was alive he was talking about death. “Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive” (Genesis 46:30). He lived 17 years longer.

Each country and religion has various burial customs. Even in different parts of the United States customs of burial are different. My Uncle was a mortician in Colorado and he found it odd that people would come and visit the family and body in mortuaries. In his day Colorado people went the homes of the survivors. In Detroit where I grew up, I never remember a death without at least two full evenings of visitation and was surprised about only one evening here in Minnesota.

I remember my first funeral as a pastor in Wisconsin. I came to the visitation and everyone sat down in chairs quietly. I thought this was the custom. I sat down also and sat in silence. I was feeling awkward as people looked at me and I looked at them. After a short time, I quietly told the family I needed to go and offered a quiet prayer with them and left. It wasn't until about three funerals later that I was made aware of the custom of the pastor having a prayer service at the funeral home and people expecting me to come and give some words, Scriptures and public prayer. I was so embarrassed.

The Egyptian mummies perhaps points to the unique techniques they had in embalming. The folks of Jewish descent today in America are usually buried without embalming within 24 hours of the death and people come and console the family many days afterwards. But embalming was needed as Jacob was to be taken up to Canaan to the field of Machpelah, and buried in the cave along with his grandfather Abraham, and his father Isaac, and their wives. Leah, too, was buried there, and it would seem that at that time he had hewn out a place in the cave for his own burial. Many Egyptians followed the procession, but then left the family alone for another period of time. This would then have been a more private family matter neither participated in by the Egyptians nor viewed with curiosity by the Canaanites.

I remind people before a funeral service one of the appropriate things we do is remember the good times, recognize the struggles life gives us. To reminisce is a way of honoring those who have gone on before us. It is part of our grieving process.

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Weds Jan 30 Healing

Gen 50:15-18 ¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” ¹⁶ So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died:¹⁷ ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

¹⁸ His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

Memorial -A time to Heal 

The story of Joseph and his brothers is far different than the family depicted in the Godfather series of the Calone family, where all was peaceful until after the death of the father and the mother When the parents passed away Michael Calone, the new Godfather, had revenge on his brother in law first, and later his brother by killing them for offenses done in previous years.  The message was clear. “We don’t get angry, we get even.”

But that was not the case with Joseph. The brothers feared retaliation now that Jacob was gone. Now, years later, they were still plagued with guilt about their treatment of Joseph.  They had experienced 17 years of grace. But, they reasoned, that was a time when Jacob still lived. Now that he is dead, would Joseph seek revenge?

They bring a message to Joseph from their father. The message is simple: "please forgive your brothers." It breaks his heart that the brothers don't take his love at face value. Joseph gathers his brothers together and says, "Am I in the place of God? You intended me to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

Vengeance belongs to God, not man. Joseph would not consider usurping a prerogative, which belonged only to God. Joseph was aware their attitudes and actions were evil, but the result was intended by God for the good of all. Instead, Joseph returned kindness for cruelty. The kindness Joseph had shown while his father was alive would continue he reassured them

Memories can bring honor, but it can also bring bitterness. While in the nursing home there was a sweet gentleman named Elmer. He attended regularly my Bible studies. He never had any visitors. We talked often about the Lord, but little about his family. I remember visiting Elmer at Vets hospital and reading passages of salvation and comfort while he was on a respirator and about 2 weeks later died. I was asked to do the funeral. I expected only a few from the nursing home to come, but to my surprise there were sons and daughters there whom I never met nor heard of. There was no weeping, no sharing of memories, no real connectedness.

It was after the memorial service when I got into private conversations with his children to discover the Elmer I knew they did not know. Elmer was an alcoholic, abusive father who did such physical and emotional damage to the family they could never forgive him. Whatever his past was I did not know, but apparently when he was forced to no longer drink his whole personality changed and he was the nicest man, but they never knew him sober. Bitterness, resentment, and even revenge lingered in the minds of the children who wanted to see their father in hell not in heaven.

At the time of one’s passing it can be a time when families break up or come together in healing. Part of looking at the past and thinking about the events as we do can bring healing. It took many years before a US President could go to Germany and lay a wreath, in honor of the dead soldiers. The memorials of the Holocaust carry the heaviness of hatred, prejudice and destruction, but to remember as was depicted recently again on the TV with the story of Anne Frank is a way to bring healing to past sins.

But don’t glorify war. It is horrible. There are wrongs, there are acts of innocent suffering, there is the repulsion of inflicting death on others when you wonder if there isn’t a better way. There is a time to seek forgiveness to give forgiveness and heal. Our coming together to honor is also a time to heal, to ask forgiveness and to forgive and pray that peace will last.

The times when people come to graves to think of loved one can also be a time for healing, not only the grief over the loss of a loved one, but the forgiveness that needs to be given. Pastor Steve Newton from Lakeside Christian Church had a vision of having a memorial spot in the Cambridge Cemetery to honor those babies who had been aborted, or miscarriages or still born. After the bench and marker was put up many ladies and men go there to think, pray, some to ask forgiveness, some to questions God. Most will find a place to release emotions and find healing. Some can let go of the past guilt or bitterness.

One picture that moves me is of a man on his knees grieving over a name on the Viet Nam wall as his hand tenderly touches the marble. People come for comfort, for memories, for releasing emotions, for healing. It has been a good thing.

At times of memorial ask those offended to forgive you and forgive others their offenses by leaving them in Gods’ hands. Healing is recognizing Christ’s blood changes the past because on the cross he paid for all the offenses. Healing is at the cross.

           

Things were made right between Joseph and his brothers because forgiveness was asked for and given. The relationship was restored. Memorial time is a time of healing.

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Thurs Jan 31 Hallowed

Gen 50:19-21

¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. ²¹ So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

Memorial- A Time to Hallow

It was President Lincoln at the Gettysburg grounds who in his famous speech said, “we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.” The deeds of the brave men and the cause of freedom for which they fought that all men are created equal is a God given value that makes this worth fighting for and dying for. The God is a divine cause.

Joseph could forgive not because there is any civil war to be fought, but there is a spiritual war that is always being fought. Satan seeks to kill and steal and destroy. But Joseph understands that holy work is being done in the offspring and descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He knows that he also was called to holy divine work by saving his family and the nation of Egypt. He saw Gods’ hand in the evil that brought him and others good. He could focus on the works of God and give him praise and wanted them all to see what God was doing.

He points us all to God’s sovereignty. God was guiding the circumstances of his life. He looks back at the events of his life and sees that God was working in the details.

The doctrine of providence is not very popular today. There is infighting even within a small minority of the Baptist General Conference over the doctrine of the openness of God. When difficult circumstances come our way some contemporary folks are quick to jump "to God's defense." They proclaim, "God had nothing to do with it!" or worse, they will say, "God couldn't do anything about it."

But there are two problems with these statements. What is comforting about believing that God is powerless to control the things that happen in your life? And second, trying to defend God's reputation they make God less than God. God's promises, His plans, His purpose are now subject to the arbitrary whims of man. If He is God, of course He could have done something about it. God’s foreknowledge is what this is also about. He knew while Joseph dreamed of the stars bowing what was going to happen. He knew about the coming of the nation back to the Promised Land. There is comfort to hallow memories and activities by looking back and seeing God’s wisdom and hand in the fight against evil and know we are on the winning side.

That doesn't deny evil. We are not saying what his brothers did was good. Joseph acknowledged his brothers intended evil. They wanted to hurt him. They sinned and were responsible to God for that. What Joseph acknowledged was God took their evil intentions and used it for good. So when children commit terrorist acts, when one person abuses another, when drug dealers peddle death to others, when God's standards are laughed at and ridiculed, these are evil acts. These people will stand before the judge of the world and have to give account for their wickedness. I believe God has chosen (according to His wisdom) to allow us a measure of freedom. They were fully responsible for their decisions and choices that God let them freely make. You make them and I make them. And with that freedom came consequences.

But what the Bible teaches is that in God's mercy He uses the free acts of men (albeit evil) to accomplish his purpose.

Joseph did not always understand God’s plan. Neither do we. I’m sure there were many nights when Joseph cried out "Why Lord?"  Job was confused about the evil done to him and asked, "God, what have I done to deserve this?"

. Same may ask, “Why did my spouse die? Why do I have cancer?  Why is my relationship such a mess? Why does everyone else seem to prosper while I struggle?

Believing in God's providence doesn't mean that you will understand what God is doing it only means you will trust that God is doing something. We don't define "good" the same way that God does. To us "good" is that which makes us happy, satisfied or brings us enjoyment. We see good in the absence of any pain. But God's definition is different. God defines good as that which leads us to Christ likeness, or that which brings us to trust Him more or which advances His Kingdom. Or what is a witness to his judgment. The Bible teaches that some people will be used for God’s glory in judgment.

Our perspective is faulty. We don't see the whole picture. We must trust God's wisdom.

We have studied the book of Genesis for several months. But in doing so our perspective is skewed. The events in these pages have not taken place over a monthly period; they have taken place over several hundred years. Consequently we may miss the faith that was necessary to hang on.

Think of the many months Noah was building the Ark with no evidence of a flood

Think many years between God's promise that Abraham would have a child and the birth of Isaac. Think of the 14 years Jacob worked so he could be married to Rachel. Think of the years of bareness Rachel endured before she had Joseph. Think of the years of separation between when Joseph was sold into slavery and when he saw his family again.

In each of these cases I suspect there were questions. These people wondered if God has forgotten them. But He hadn't. And He hasn't forgotten you. God knows where you are and He knows where you are going. This is a time to hallow. To make our earthly experiences and disappointments a spiritual experience. To look to God and praise Him for where he has lead us and how he has used circumstances to mold and make us and where he will be leading us. We are in process. We only see glimpse of a greater plan. But praise God we are part of it by grace and our faith in trusting Him through it all.

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Fri Feb 1 Hope

Gen 50: 22-26

²² Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years ²³ and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.

²⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” ²⁵ And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

²⁶ So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

                                                                                                         

Memorial – A time to Hope

            This is another death, but it points to the hope of the promised fulfilled. It identifies the family of God the Israelites as opposed to the adoptive family of the Egyptians, not just the race, but the faith. He knows the people will reach the Promised Land and even though it is 400 years later when we get to the book of Exodus when the people are free to go they take the bones of Joseph and carry them to the burying place of his father just like promised.

The land and people were promised by God. There was no doubt what was going to happen. The only question was when. That is hope. That is planned history.

            More than 50 years elapsed between the death of Jacob and the death of Joseph. Apparently the history of their lives weren't important for us to know. But the promise was important. In some respect I’d like to maintain the history from Genesis and go right into Exodus and all the way through the Old Testament in preaching, but I won’t subject you to that endurance. Plus there is value of moving the fall into a New Testament book and get a balance.

            But my point is- God’s timetable is not ours. But the hope and assurance of his promises keep us going and even making plans. We do not know if Christ will return in our life time, but we live in the assurance of that promise, so death has a different perspective, this world has a different perspective, the events of the Middle East have a different perspective all because of hope in the Word of God and the knowledge of we are not just left to chance, but to the divine movement of history to the culmination of the world just as God had planned and revealed to us in the rest of the book.

            People living with hope make life have purpose and meaning. It is not based on falsehood, but seeing how prophecy is fulfilled gives us greater confidence in the workings of the Almighty.

Joseph was a continual reminder to the Israelites in Egypt that some day the exodus would occur. Day after day in Egypt, that coffin spoke of Israel’s future and Joseph’s faith. Both men, Jacob and Joseph, determined that their death and burial would be a testimony to their faith and a stimulus to the faith of their offspring.

Genesis chapter 50 is not the end of the story; it is only the end of the book of Genesis. Moses has yet four books to write, and God has ordained another 61 before the final chapter is written. And in the final chapters of the book of the Revelation we once again return to paradise. (Rev 21:1-4)

When our Lord quoted the statement of God the Father, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Matthew 22:32), He did so to prove there is life after death. For, otherwise, He would have said “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”.

Our hope is in the Lord and Him alone especially at his second coming when the entire kingdom is under King Jesus. We have hope as individuals by the abiding presence of Christ and guidance in our lives until he takes us to glory. Our hope as a nation is not in our politicians or military or financial system. It is in God who is the God of the world, not just the USA. And when we leave him, as our nation is doing, then America will fall into ruins like all the countries before. We do have a divine destiny and responsibility until the Lord calls us home.

Pastor Dale

The Blessings Genesis 48,49

Sermon Nuggets Mon Jan 21 The Blessings  -Gen 48,49

The Blessings

            As one of the volunteer chaplain for the Cambridge Hospital, I sometimes contact family members to inform them of an accident or death of a loved one. When someone is in serious or critical condition the family and closest of friends come.  Although I cannot explain it, more times that not when someone is near death and an out of town son or daughter is coming, I marvel at how many linger on to life until their family members arrives and then passes away.

            Joseph, in spite of all his responsibilities, needed to leave the palace in Egypt to the region of Goshen in order to see his dying father, Jacob. He brought with him his two oldest sons.      When Jacob, also called Israel, saw his favorite son and his grandchildren he perked up.

He wanted his family to hear his last words.

            If you were on your death bed what things would you want to tell you family? Most will share love, the positive memories, instructions of what to do when they’re gone, and often some personal word of encouragement or fear. It can be a very intimate time.

Jacob wanted them to know his spiritual journey.

One of the memories of being in a nursing home was to hear some stories told over again by residents of the "good ole days". Many of the stories I had heard so many times that I could tell them too. If I had the time I’d listen even though I knew the story, but I also realized the person was reliving those times and enjoying the moment now as one reminisced about the past.

We may see Jacob simply rambling here. I'm sure the story he told was not a new story. But we shouldn't miss what he is doing: he is passing life on to his children and grandchildren. He is giving them a sense of history and heritage. We've lost that sense of history by being only concerned about the present.

It is not uncommon for those who might be near death for me to ask how they came to know Christ as their savior. Are they sure they are going to heaven? Do they want to be sure?               

Jacob tells the stories of God and how he met the Lord at Luz. He speaks of the importance of a God relationship. A parent who is close to God wants to pass on to his or her children a spiritual heritage. The only things you can take to heaven with you are your children, if they are prepared. All else is left behind.

When Jacob testified that the Lord had been his shepherd all along, he did not deny his sufferings. But now he has come to see them in a different light. While our Shepherd “makes us lie down in green pastures”, He also is with us as we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death”. Jacob has come to see that every event in his life was a part of the will of God for him and that God was guiding him and shaping him through adversity.

A mature Christian can look back on his life and see that God can take the pains and pressures of life and cause them to work together for good in his life and ultimately draw one near to Himself through them. We naturally want to shun suffering. But as we grow in the Lord we find that closest and most important lessons are learned in adversity: “… that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; …” (Philippians 3:10).

One of the best things you can do is pass your story on to others. One of the surprising things to me was when my mother joined the Church here at Stanchfield. As long as I knew her she was a member of the Highland Park Baptist Church in Detroit. I knew that she grew up in the Brethren movement. Members would sit around a circle until the Spirit of God would move one of the men to say something and or move someone to sing something and share something.

I always thought mom was saved as a child either in grandfather’s home or in one of those meetings, but I never heard her salvation story until she joined here in 1988. She attended a youth group in a Presbyterian church in Colorado Springs because the brethren never had youth meetings. At one of the meetings a speaker gave the gospel story and she responded by faith in Jesus Christ. She was later baptized when she was to join a Baptist Church.

Do your children and grandchildren know the story of your spiritual pilgrimage? What a blessing for children and grandchildren to know how you came to grace. It is helpful to learn of how you have seen God's faithfulness demonstrated in your life. So, share your stories. Take time to build a sense of history into those you love.

Pastor Dale

Tues Jan 22 Spiritual Blessing

Gen 48: 11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”

12 Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. 13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.

15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,“May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

16 the Angel who has delivered me from all harm —may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly    upon the earth.”

17 When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.” 20 He blessed them that day and said,

“In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. 22 And to you, as one who is over your brothers, I give the ridge of land I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.

Sharing the Spiritual Blessing.

Jacob is reminded of the spiritual blessing and prophecy from God to Abraham, Isaac and now to him. God reaffirmed the promise.  “I will make you fruitful and increase your numbers. He will be a community of people and give you this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants.”

While Rachel was the younger of his wives, she died prematurely on the way to Ephrath (Bethlehem). By inference, had she not died so early in life she would have presented Jacob with many other sons. The adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh provided Jacob with two more sons, technically “through Rachel.” The promise of God at Bethel in combination with the preference of Jacob for Rachel provides the backdrop for the adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh. In addition to this must be mentioned the faithfulness of Joseph to the God of his fathers, even while in a foreign land and in adverse circumstances. He, as the savior of his people, surely was worthy of the favor his father bestowed upon him.

So Jacob adopts his grandkids, Josephs two eldest. They will be on equal for the divine blessing as the first two eldest: Reuben and Simeon. Any other children of Joseph will inherit what Joseph has. But they will not have an allotment of the Promised land to their tribes and descendants. 

            As Jacob is to bless them he kisses them and embraces them. He marvels at the grace of God for taking care of Joseph and giving him back so he can see him again. Part of the ritual of a blessing or anointing is to lay hands on one’s head or shoulders, or to anoint with oil over the head or forehead. He prays that God will bless them, as he was blessed by his father, Isaac. These grandsons are to be looked upon with divine favor as part of the covenant of the promise, as offspring of Jacob on par with the legal heirs.

            As is the case in most cultures, the firstborn is to receive the greater blessing, but that was not so with Ishmael and Isaac. The idea of the second receiving the greater blessing or honor is also part of a theme in the Bible. Think of Cain and Able, nor Jacob and Esau. Prophetically it was the second Adam; understand when one began the first race of mankind and the other the redeemed race of mankind in Christ Jesus So in this way Ephriam, the second born, is blessed above Manasseh. Your heritage will be great in the prophetic plan of God.

            If you look at one of those maps in the back of your Bible and see a map that shows the areas given to the twelve tribes you will notice there are twelve tribes, but you don't see the name of Levi (they were the priests and given land in each tribe) or Joseph, but you do see the names of Ephraim and Manasseh. They were included as the 12 tribes of Israel.

One of the popular books a few years ago was the Blessing by Gary Smalley. It was related to the Old Testament blessings that the fathers would give toward their sons and daughters. It implied the importance of blessing them as well as praying for them. It is also a healing book for those who longed for a closer relationship with ones parent but it never happened. If you have been blessed by someone's word or have ached for such a blessing, you know what that blessing can mean. So we should realize that we can give a blessing to others by affirming character strengths by acknowledges a job well done, you can write your child, a friend, a mate, a family member a letter telling them how highly you regard them.

God's blessing came in this way because God wanted us to know that His blessing comes by grace and not merit. God was concerned that we understand that salvation is not something that is given to us because of birth order, IQ, gender, race, appearance, natural ability, or personal achievements.

 In the choice of Ephraim above Manasseh the principle of election is clearly illustrated, for Jacob’s choice is not conditioned by selfish motives. Jacob must have believed that God chose him over Esau because he could do more for God than his brother could. Now, at last, Jacob has realized that God chose him over Esau simply because He purposed to work through him, not Esau. There was no earthly reason why Ephraim should be placed above Manasseh, but this is why Jacob’s actions had great meaning. While society may have concluded, for practical reasons, to assign privileges according to the order of birth, God is not bound to such conventions. God is not obliged to act “traditionally” or according to our expectations. That is the prerogative of a God who is sovereign. Jacob, at last, has come to see this and has symbolically given testimony to his grasp of the principle of divine selection.

We also see that God blesses as He sees fit. I don't know why some people get great hair others get bald. I don't know why some are artistically gifted and others are not. I don't know why some people seem to have everything go their way while others don't seem to have anything go theirs. At times I am just as confused as Joseph. I think God is surely mistaken. But He's not. God knows what He is doing. God gives to each of us as "he determines" by his purpose.

Pastor Dale

Weds- Sermon Nuggets Weds Jan 23 The Personal Blessings

Gen 49: Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.

2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.

4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed,

    onto my couch and defiled it.

5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence.

6 Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger     and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.

7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel!

I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.

Sharing the Personal Blessings

            We continue in the 49^th chapter and reflect on the blessings and curses of the others. It is kind of like reading of the will. Everyone is going to get something, but not equally. Depending on circumstances and treatment some get more than others.

As I mentioned yesterday God’s grace is given not always in comparison to our actions. But that is not to say our actions are without consequences or blessings as well. This is especially true with people. Yet even though God works his will through people, how people respond has an effect on them and others. Living for God and being godly always brings about more blessings that those who rebel, live sinful lives, and ignore the principles of the Word of God.

Reuben. In Jacobs blessings some are prophetic. Some illustrations may be profitable in our own lives. We don't know what Reuben was expecting. As the oldest he would normally be made the leader of the family and granted twice the inheritance of the other sons. Not this time,

Jacob affirms that Reuben holds a special place in his heart by virtue of the fact that he was the firstborn. But the sins of the past have disqualified him from blessing in the future. You might remember that In Genesis 35 soon after Rachel died, Reuben became sexually intimate with Rachel's servant (and the mother of his brothers Dan and Naphtali). All the text tells us is that Jacob heard about it. We don't know why Reuben did this. Some suggest that Reuben hoped to make Bilhah someone despised by his father and Reuben, in his warped sense figured that his mother Leah, would then be the most cherished.

His adultery with Jacob's own concubine demonstrated his uncontrollable passion for sin - thus the comparison of Jacob's next words, You are “Unstable as water”. Water can lie dormant or move with such uncontrollable force destroying whatever is in it's path. On the stove, water can be visibly calm or boiling uncontrollably. That was Reuben! He was uncontrollable "unstable" as water. He allowed his passion to drive his actions. Not a good trait for the future leader of Israel.

As one writer indicated, “The tribe (Reuben) produced NO significant man, NO judge, NO king, NO prophet.” So much for the potential of dignity and power sacrificed for one moment of passion. The same is true of us who are his children, (Those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as their \personal savior). We may mess up, but one fact remains, we are his children. We may miss out on specific blessing, but by default (redeemed by Jesus Christ) we have the blessing of being a child of God and participate in the blessing of our eternal inheritance. But what other responsibilities we get in the kingdom do relate to our life here after we are saved.

            So we move to sons two and three, Simeon and Levi. Jacob blesses them together,

“Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence. Genesis 49:5-7
 In this blessing Jacob refers back to the events of Genesis 34. In that chapter we read of the deceptive way that Simeon and Levi conspired to slaughter the Shechemites because Shechem was intimate with Dinah, their sister. When Hamor (Shechem's father) asked for Dinah to be his son's wife, Simeon and Levi told them that all the men would have to be circumcised. When they were recovering from their surgery they slaughtered all the men and looted the town and took all the women. It was a violent, disproportionate act. Jacob had not approved of their actions.

It must be said that Simeon and Levi were wrong in what they did. They sought revenge, not righteousness; they were motivated more by pride than purity. They acted deceitfully.

Jacob may now look back upon this incident as being prophetic of the future possession of Canaan by Israel. That land will not be purchased, but it will be taken by force. The Canaanites are to be driven out and annihilated because of their great wickedness and immorality:

The lesson from these men is that we cannot live recklessly. It does affect our inheritance. Because of their wickedness they will be “divided and scattered”.  The Result? They will receive no independent tribal territory but their descendants would live scattered among the other tribes. By the time the Israelites were just about to enter Canaan the Simeonites were the weakest tribe. They received only a few cities within the land of Judah instead of their own territory. Eventually they lost identity among Judah.
           

The Levites also did not receive a grant of land but Joshua eventually gave them several cities to live in among other tribes. But they had gained the favor of God when Moses returned from Mt. Sinai and witnessed the worship of the golden calf. The Levites stood with Moses. Similar to Reuben, the descendants to Levi and Simeon suffer for their sin, they will suffer because of their sin but they are still blessed by retaining a place in the chosen family and may enjoy in the promises as Jacob's heir.

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Thurs Jan 24 Personal prophecies

Gen 49: 8-21“Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you.

9 You are a lion’s cub, O Judah;  you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down,   like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?

10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,  nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.

11 He will tether his donkey to a vine,  his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes will be darker than wine,  his teeth whiter than milk.

Sharing the Personal Prophecies

JUDAH -The first three brothers are disqualified from their position and now the mantle falls to the fourth child, Judah. The words to Judah are powerful, perhaps even staggering. The picture is clear. The tribe of Judah will be a victorious tribe. Judah's descendants will be victorious in battle and will reign over the others. The descendants of Judah will be prosperous. So prosperous that the vines for wine will be so plentiful that they will use them for common purposes like: tethering their donkeys or washing their clothes.

And though we might not pick these same images, this seems like a blessing any of us would desire for our own children: victory, success, leadership, and prosperity.

Jacob also makes a bold declaration: "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his." Judah foretells that the Kings of Israel will come from Judah.

And if you know the history of Israel, you know that stating with Saul, David and Solomon every King came from the tribe of Judah. And if you read Matthew 1 verse 2 you see that Jesus was from the tribe of Judah. After Christ, there have been no Kings. So, even now in the book of Genesis, Jacob is pointing to Jesus as the rightful ruler. He is the one who will not only be King over Israel but over the nations!

The great thing about these words to us is this: It shows us that God has a plan. From the first sin in Genesis three, God has been pointing His people to a Savior. And He points us in the same direction. We have the advantage of the added testimony of Christ's life, death and resurrection. We have the testimony of those who traveled with Him and were transformed by Him. Even in Genesis the spotlight is on Jesus. He is the One we have been needing. He is the one we have been longing for. It is not something some guy dreamed up like most of the religions of the world. This is what God has been preparing from the foundations of the earth.

           

            Not a lot is said about the rest, but we’ll comment on them briefly:

 .ZEBULUN :vs. 13 “Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, And his border shall adjoin Sidon.” Although Zebulun is never shown to have waterfront property in the Bible, he eventually does obtain territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee - a thriving commercial territory. An important caravan route passed through his territory connected Mesopotamia and Egypt.

            ISSACHAR : vs 14,15 “Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens; He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves.” Issachar will gravitate toward the agricultural lifestyle “strong donkey”. But like a donkey will be forced to work for others. "lying down between two burdens...” “becoming a brand of slaves”. In fact, his descendants settle in the lower part Galilee - an attractive and productive farming spot. They were sometimes subject to invading armies which may constitute the reference to forced labor.

            DAN : vs16-18 “Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse's heels So that its rider shall fall backward.”  Dan would be a judge in Israel and partially came to pass during Samson’s judgment. However, when we get to judges we'll see that the tribe of Dan is the first to practice of idol worship (idolatry) in a significant way thus they act as a serpent to the rest of the tribes. The tribe of Dan started out well. In modern day terminology, they were going to church each week. They tithed. They even helped serving in the church.
            They could have been that model couple you are sitting next to. There are far too many published incidences of a pastor or youth pastor who are doing a great job, but get involved in some sexual scandal. That is an account of someone that started well, and finished poorly. You can probably think of dozens, both public figures and personal friends who have demonstrated similar moral character as the tribe of Dan.
           

The next three sons have very brief prophecies. GAD, ASHER, & NAPHTALI :

Vs 19-21 “Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last. Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties. Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words."

           

Gad is to be effective in battle. As one author indicates, “3 of the 6 Hebrew words in vs. 19 are a play on the name “Gad” (attack). Gad will be attacked by a raid of attackers but he will attack. Apparently, border raids were common for tribes that settled east of the Jordon River.”

Asher would enjoy fertile soil and provide rich food. Naphtali’s descendants would be a free mountain people - “deer let loose”. They would also be praised by others. In Judg. 5, Deborah praises them for risking their lives, “on the heights of the field”.

Of course the prophecies deal with the offspring, the generations that follow. As God develops his nation to represent his work on earth, he wants the nation to know He is sovereign. He knows the beginning from the end. He does as He  wills. When they look back on these Scriptures 500 years later they will marvel that God has all time in his hands, and all people would do well to listen and follow all of Scripture.

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Friday Jan 25 Personal Affirmation

Gen 49: 22-28

Sharing Personal Affirmation

There is no question that Jacob's favorites were the sons , Joseph and Benjamin born from of his favorite wife. Likewise God chooses whom God chooses. He choose the Jews. He chooses various people to be raised up to be his prophets and kings and priests and now his royal family in Christ. 

            JOSEPH  (22-26) “Joseph is a fruitful vine,    a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.

23 With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.

24 But his bow remained steady,  his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you,  because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above,   blessings of the deep that lies below,  blessings of the breast and womb.

26 Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains,  than the bounty of the age-old hills.

Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

There is not a great need for more explanation to what we have read. The underlining prophecy is obvious, considering what we know of this middle aged man. He receives the blessing that was meant for Reuben. References are made to his other brother’s hatred toward him but he remained strong. As a result, “The Almighty will bless you with blessings of heaven above. Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb...” All the personal prophecies of Joseph as a lad came true. The brothers did bow down to him. He was a ruler. He saved his family and his people. God was good and his chosen instrument was faithful to God all his life in good times and in bad. He never gave up.

            Then there is the youngest, Joseph’s full brother, Benjamin. The last of his sons, Genesis 49:27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil.”
            The tribe of Benjamin produced many warriors in Israel's history. (Ehud, Saul, Jonathon to name a few.) and demonstrated a warlike character among the tribes.

After such a dramatic moment. God adds an exclamation point to the situation. Look to verse 33 “And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.” He died. We’ll pick that up next week.

I know you may be asking, "as fascinating as this history is . . . so what? I remind you that Paul says the stories of the Old Testament happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. (! Cor. 10:11)

Jacob's family is a living testimony that within the same blood line there is both righteousness and wickedness. The challenge is to be a Joseph or a Judah in the midst of Reubens (a society with uncontrollable sexual desire) OR Simeons (people driven anger, revenge, unforgiveness.) Or Dan -starting out well, but finishing poorly as they exchange their worship of Jesus Christ with the worship of things, money, power, relationships.
           

There is a hope in the story of Levi. Once a murderer with Simeon and later chosen to serve as Priests on behalf of the tribes of Israel. A story of change. This tribe typifies for us the changing power of God in a person's life.
           

There is encouragement in the story of Judah. God provided the promise of the Messiah right in the middle of a godless society and family. The expectation of the Messiah is sprinkled throughout the Old Testament. Jesus Christ, the “owner of the scepter was prophesied among a sinful family. He actually came, lived, died, and rose again during a sinful society. In the same power and presence He is still invading our sinful society with the transforming power of his love.

           

There was a concert pianist who gave a concert in Carnegie Hall. He played for the people and when he finished the people stood to their feet and applauded. The man should have been elated but instead he was in tears. When asked what the problem was he said, "My teacher was in the first row of the balcony and he did not applaud." When the blessing is withheld from the most significant person the blessings of others mean little.

The most important application here is one of blessing, promise, and hope. These men were to be leaders of nations. They didn't have to remain as they were. They could have chosen to change and pursue God.
           

Many of you crave the blessing of a parent, or a mate, or a mentor. But I suggest that the blessing that you most crave is the one that comes from the Lord. And I want you to know today that you matter to God. He has loved you from before you born. He knows you better than you know yourself yet He considers you to be a person of infinite value and incredible potential. He knows the failures and the sin. And He gave His Son for those sins all because He loves you and wants you to be His.

           

I know you may still yearn for earthly blessings. The applause of others is gratifying. But I want you to know that all the earthly blessings will be hollow if you do not get His. Friend, His arms are open. He is willing. All you need to do is turn from your past and come to Him. God offers you the blessing you have longed for all your life. So now it is up to you to believe it and receive it and then share it with others.

Pastor Dale

Principles of Living Genesis 47

Sermon Nuggets Mon Jan 14 Principles for Living

Gen 47: 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.” ² He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

³ Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”

“Your servants are shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” ⁴ They also said to him, “We have come to live here awhile, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”

⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, ⁶ 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.”

⁷ Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, ⁸ Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

⁹ And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” ¹⁰ Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.

¹¹ So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. ¹² Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.

                       

Principles for Living.

            As we come to the close of Jacob’s life we see the family now in Egypt. Even while living in a foreign land, they had a faith in God. How we live out our lives in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in remember some important principles of living.

           

1. Using his Gifts and Position for God’s Service:

God gave Joseph  his abilities and his position. There was no question about that. He was raised up into his position by the Pharoah for a particular reason. It was to save the people of Egypt as they were to face 7 years of famine, which was a divine message from God through Joseph. God’s plan was also through redemptive history was to save the nation of Israel. Prophecies told that the people would come out of Egypt. That was true for Jesus as well, since Mary and Joseph had to leave Bethlehem and go into exile into Egypt.

Joseph was capable of doing good for all the peoples of the earth, for it was God who had granted to him all the power and influence which he possessed. He was an influential participant in the life of his adopted nation, administering the affairs of Egypt during seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. Thus, Joseph was God's handpicked man whom he chose for the purpose of orchestrating and moving world events for righteous results.

Joseph was in a position to benefit the people of God and the cause of God. The Lord gifted him and placed him to do good for the fragile clan of seventy members, the family of Jacob, who went down to Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan.

There is no question that what ever abilities you have are God given. You may develop them and use them, but are talents and gifts are from above. Now here is the question: Have you ever thought that the place of your employment, or school, or neighborhood is also a divine appointment to be his unique witness? Allow God to use you where you are and with others you may come into contact.

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Tues Jan 15 Wisdom

Gen 47:1-12

2. Demonstrate Cultural Wisdom.

Another principle for living is Joseph learned how to get along in an unfamiliar culture. He realized what would work and what wouldn’t in that place. Some people are stubborn and never change. There is a difference between Biblical principles and cultural concerns.

Hudson Taylor, missionary to the Chinese, was like most of the British missionaries when he arrived. They were taught to sing fine British hymns, dress in British clothing, and have high tea at the proper time. Converts were few. When Taylor decided to grow his hair and put it in a pig tail and wear Chinese dress, and speak in ways that brought inroads into the culture people started listening to the message of Jesus Christ.

We always in every generation struggle with what are Biblical principles and what are cultural concerns. Resisting change is normal. We have loved our music, our dress, our habits, and our traditions, but another culture and land does things differently, not necessarily wrong. And that is also true for other generations, other parts of our own country.              

           

I worked on a committee for ministry with Native Americans for our conference. The issue that some churches struggling with is the use of drums in church. We struggled with that same issue. The Native issue, however, has some cultural implications. The Indians are not concerned with drums sets, but the large spirit drums that are typically used to call the spirits. For some it isn’t just a cultural difference it can also be a religious difference.

Being culturally sensitive to Egypt, Joseph chose five of his brothers, no doubt the most civilized and well spoken among them, and presented them before Pharaoh. He coached them on what to say, being well aware that Egyptians hated shepherds and thus they would leave the family alone in Goshen, a fertile but unused part of Egypt. There they would not be in danger of being co-opted by the Egyptians, as they were so endangered in Canaan, but would be allowed to thrive, away from the Egyptian centers of power. Thus Joseph used the means at his disposal to do good for his family and, by extension, the nation of Israel. Pharaoh even asked them to care for his flocks as well. Joseph therefore placed his family in Egypt in a way that maximized the benefit to the nation.

3. Be a Person of Integrity..

   Another principle of living as wise is living with integrity. Joseph was second in command of the whole known world. He could have let this go to his head. Many politicians do. It is difficult to be in power without abusing it. But all that we know and read shows that Joseph worked for his boss, Pharoah, to do the best job possible of helping the people and prospering Pharaoh. He was trusted because he was a person of integrity. He did what he did with effectiveness and honesty.

We have seen Joseph's integrity before. When Joseph was a servant of Potipher he was so trustworthy he was trusted with all household affairs. When Mrs. Potiphar tried to seduce Joseph, he refused, even though he knew it could cost him his life. He ended up in prison being falsely accused. While there he was a model prisoner and was put in charge of the other prisoners and even interpreted the dreams of the baker and cupbearer. And when he was called before Pharaoh, he refused credit for the interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams but instead he gave full credit to the Lord. He was a model of consistency and integrity.

Now in Genesis 47 we see the record of how Joseph managed the food supply for all of Egypt during the seven years of famine. It was tough.

It is important in our world to be people of good reputation, like Joseph was. We are examples to those for Jesus sake. If we claim the name of Jesus, we will be watched. Will we make mistakes? Absolutely, but we will also show the love of Christ in our weaknesses if we keep pointing to him.

Dr. George Sweeting, past president of Moody Bible Institute, told a story of a trigonometry professor who, upon giving an exam, would always share these words with his students: "Today I am giving you two exams. The first is in trigonometry; the second is in honesty. I hope you can pass them both. However, if you are going to fail one, fail trigonometry. There are many good people in this world who have failed trigonometry, but there are no good people in the world who have failed the test of honesty.”

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Weds Jan 16 Perseverance

Gen 47: 13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is used up.”

16 “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”

20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”

25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”

26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.

4. Persevere toward the goal.

 Another one of the important principles for living is to persevere in the task that you know to be right and true, regardless of the outward circumstances.

Joseph also suffered much hardship, and did so innocently. God does not offer you a life of ease, but a life of learning to rely upon Him, of looking for Him to exalt you in the proper time, rather than your getting ahead at the expense of others.

But in the events of the famine, Joseph followed the plan. It may not seem honorable. In fact it may seem mercenary. When people are down and out, do you take the little they have and make the rich richer? Doesn’t this seem contrary to other principles of the Bible? Didn’t Jesus say, “If you have two coats, give to him who has none”?

But in spite of the famine, Joseph realized his job was to save the people and have provision to restart the nation economically. He prepared for the hard times when there was plenty and now there is little he is still preparing the nation for when they would prosper again.

The larger picture was to serve God by saving lives. Sometimes you make friends and sometimes you make enemies. He was universally praised for his fairness. He ruled with wisdom and good judgment. It is not wrong for people to be organized in companies and governments. Neither is it wrong to use whatever positions God has blessed us with to use our influence for greater and long term good.

The apostle Paul was never shy about using his Roman citizenship to gain a hearing for the gospel. Joseph knew the psychology, the sociology and the politics of Egypt. He used his position in a righteous manner to save his family, the bearers of God's message of salvation to the world.

The animals and the land were worthless to the people at this point. If Joseph did not take the animals they would have died of starvation. And when he took their land, it was parched and worthless. Joseph moved them to the cities to make it easier to help the people and administer the food. And when the people offered their animals for food for their families, Joseph was still merciful. He cared for them when they were dying. They were grateful to live. But notice also that when the famine is over, Joseph put the people back on their own land, presumable returned their animals to work the land, provided the seed for the land and let the people keep 80% of what they earned. Wouldn't you be grateful for only a 20% tax rate? By not simply giving handouts, Joseph preserved the dignity of the people. He avoided a welfare state which would have led the people to feel the government "owed" them a living.

Joseph created neither the seven years of plenty nor the seven years of famine; he predicted both and proposed a program to deal with them. His plan did cost the Egyptians their fortunes and some of their freedom, but it also saved them from certain death.

The Pharaoh praised him for putting in place an economic revolution in Egypt, and the people likewise praised him for his wisdom in planning for the seven-year famine so that they had food in times of scarcity. In response to Joseph the people do not rebel or grumble- they praised him.

Joseph is a model of how to live wisely and righteously in pressure-filled times. God may present us with similar opportunities. The company you work for may be facing reorganization and you may be the one who will act wisely and righteously to save jobs, to perhaps even put bread on peoples' tables.

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Thurs Jan 17 Worship

Gen 47: 7-10 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, ⁸ Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

⁹ And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” 

¹⁰ Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.

 27-31  Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.

28 Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. 29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”

“I will do as you say,” he said.

31 “Swear to me,” he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

            5. Worship

Jacob had reached the end of his days on earth. He was without any standing in his own country. He was a wanderer and a sojourner, having been forced by circumstances to leave the land in which he had any inheritance at all. He spent his days serving God in a land which his family would one day control. He arrived as a beggar in Egypt, seeking food. Even his wealth could not deliver him from the terrible famine, which had come upon the earth. Jacob thus had no earthly platform from which to influence the course of history either for good or bad.

While Joseph’s brothers had come to repentance and realized the forgiveness of Joseph, it is not until this time, late in the life of Jacob, that he comes to a significant turning point of his life. It seems that at 130 years Jacob comes to grasp the essence of knowing and serving God.

Jacob was thinking over his life. Throughout the experiences of life Jacob puts his life in over by speaking about God, about worship and eternity; about what people will become if they listen to the word of God. The priority of Joseph relates to the nation, for Jacob it’s his family.

 Our last chapter we talked about the meeting with God at Beersheba and God's direction for his life. Now in this chapter we read of his thoughts coming to the end of this life. In both of these situations Jacob worships God. First, before he sets foot in Egypt, he worships at the altar in Beersheba which his father Isaac had built. And then, second, in a very solemn moment, Jacob has Joseph swear to him that he will not bury him in Egypt but will return his bones to Canaan. Then, following Joseph's promise to do as he had requested, again Jacob worships God. As we have pointed out, worship and faith were the two things that mattered most to Jacob as he faced critical times near the end of his days.

 The time came for Joseph to present his father to Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s graciousness to Jacob reveals his respect for this aged man as well as his regard for Joseph. How strange it seems to read that Jacob blessed Pharaoh. The Abrahamic Covenant contained the promise that Abraham and his offspring would be a blessing to all those who blessed them: “And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3).

The presence of Israel in Egypt was a blessing to this emerging nation, but it also greatly blessed the Egyptians. On entering and leaving the presence of Pharaoh, Jacob blessed him. Hebrews says that it is always the greater person who blesses the lesser. Because he knew God, Jacob was well aware that Pharaoh was merely a man, and that he needed to know about eternal things. Jacob is concerned with the eternal, not the temporal. He does not bother with giving advice to Pharaoh about anything that concerned the world.

When Pharaoh comments on Jacob's great age and certain distinguishing qualities which he possessed, Jacob's responds by saying that he has not lived very long at all compared with his father and grandfather. Even the years that he had attained had been somewhat difficult and unpleasant as he had created many serious problems for himself.

What Jacob said was true. His earthly beginnings were prophetic of his life. He struggled with his brother in the womb. He lived in a home where the parents were divided in their affection for their children. He gained the blessing of his father by deception and then was alienated from his family because of the hatred of Esau. He spent years in exile, serving his deceitful uncle Laban. He sought one wife and ended up with four (29:18ff.), and the outcome of this was continual competition and strife. He finally fled from his uncle and eventually had to make a non-aggression pact with him lest further conflict arise. He suffered the loss of the purity of his daughter Dinah at Shechem and feared the reprisal of Canaanite kinsmen when his sons killed the men of the city and took the women, children, and cattle as booty. Rachel, his most beloved wife, died prematurely along the way to Bethlehem. His oldest son lay with one of his concubines, and his favorite son was tragically lost and presumed dead. Finally, there was the famine which threatened the existence of his family, and the second in command to Pharaoh appeared to be taking even his youngest son away. Jacob, you see, was correct in his evaluation of his life.

There was a significant difference between the suffering which Jacob alluded to and that which Joseph endured. Joseph’s suffering was undeserved; Jacob’s was not. Jacob suffered virtually every painful experience because of his willfulness and foolish choices. He deceived his brother. He chose to live near Shechem rather than to go up to Bethel. He unwisely showed preference for Joseph. The suffering which Jacob experienced was due almost entirely to his sinful decisions and responses.

As Jacob stood before Pharaoh, he recognized that all of his striving had been for naught. The land which he wrested from the hand of Esau was left behind. So far as I can tell he never enjoyed the fruits of his deceptive labors. The blessings which he did experience were not the result of his activity such as peeling those poles and the production of the sheep.

 Now Jacob was old, and in the face of famine he was helpless and hopeless. As he entered Egypt, he could not rely on his former devices to provide for and protect him and his family. In short, Jacob had to trust in God and not himself. This was the beginning of a whole new life. It was only 17 years, but it was life lived in the blessings which only grace can give. Those 17 years were the happiest, most fulfilling years of Jacob’s life. He did not live in Canaan, but he had entered into “Canaan rest,” that rest which is obtained only by faith, and it is forfeited by unbelief (cf. Hebrews 3-4).

God had reiterated his promise to Jacob at Beersheba. Although he was now sending them down to Egypt, they would yet become a great nation there and he would rescue them again.                    

Pastor Dale

Sermon Nuggets Jan 18 God’s Will

Gen 47: 28 Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. 29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”

“I will do as you say,” he said.

31 “Swear to me,” he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

6. Yield to the Will of God. 

Another principle for living is yielding to the will of God. The things which Jacob tried to withhold and protect (Rachel, Joseph, Benjamin) were the very things that were taken from him. It was only by giving up Benjamin that he gained him. And in giving up Benjamin he preserved not only Benjamin’s life, but that of the entire nation.

Jacob had no real power or influence over worldly matters, but he did have quite an influence in Joseph's life. Joseph began to see, at the height of his power, that there were more important things in life than exercising power over people. That is why he had his body sent back to Canaan­to make the statement that he too trusted God. The Egyptians built monuments all across their land, both to the living and the dead. But Joseph, who had adopted that country and spent his life there, wanted to be remembered as one of the sons of Abraham, one who had the same faith as Abraham. Jacob, his faithful father, in exerting the vow from his son to not bury his remains in Egypt, had the effect of influencing his son to ask to be returned to Canaan also following his death.

America as we know it not going to last forever, despite our many freedoms and privileges. We need to align ourselves with Jacob, to become utterly certain of the promises of God to us as Christians. At the end of your life, if you are godly, you will not be intensely interested in who has just been nominated to the Supreme Court, or who will win the next Presidential campaign, important as those things are now and will be then. As you look back on your life then, the most important thing will be your worship and praise to God, as they were with Jacob in this Genesis story.

7. Live by Faith.

 Both Joseph and Jacob glorified God. Joseph served by using his God-given position and authority at the head of the leading nation of his day. He oversaw an economic revolution in Egypt, the mass migration of people to the cities, and the salvation of his generation from the famine. Yet none of those accomplishments influence the lives of people today. Jacob prayed and worshiped his God in gratitude because he lived to see his son once more.

.           Lee Strobel in his book, God’s Outrageous Claims, drives home the point with some very good questions: Christians believe that all people matter to God. But do we really live out that value when we're dealing with coworkers, customers, and competitors?

Christians talk about humility and say it's better to serve than to be served. But does that show up in how we relate to the people who work for us or in the way we trumpet our accomplishments in our quest for a promotion?

Christians endorse truth telling. But does that translate into practice when we're selling a product, talking about a rival, promising a delivery date, or cutting a deal?

Christians preach honesty. But is that always on our mind when we're filling out expense reports or creating an advertising campaign?

           

What are the priorities of life? What are the priorities that a Mother teachers her children, or a Grandmother? A Father, or grandfather?

                        More importantly than preparing a nation is preparing individuals who make up those nations in different ways. It’s the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob whom Joseph worships and is yielded to and serves by faith. Sometimes we learn those lesson while we are young, Sometimes like Jacob we must learn them when we are old. And unfortunately some never learn them because they have never been taught. And others never learn them in spite of being taught.

Pastor Dale