Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20000528.htm

GENESIS: THE SOURCES OF GOOD AND CALAMITY IN OUR ORIGINS
Part III: God's Ongoing Program Of Countering Man's Apostasy At Babel
JJ. Round Thirty-Five - Seeing The VALUE Of Divinely Permitted Trials That EMPTY Us Of Self-Help
(Genesis 46:28-47:31)
  1. Introduction
    1. At times, the believer is permitted by God to go through painful trials that totally empty himself of all forms of self-help manipulation. At the time, these things seem unfair or incomprehensible.
    2. However, total abandonment of self-help is invaluable as we can see in the lives of the patriarchs:
  2. Seeing The VALUE Of Divinely Permitted Trials That EMPTY Us Of Self-Help, Gen. 46:28-47:31
    1. When Jacob and his sons entered Egypt, they came as trial-plagued men wrung out from all self-help:
      1. Jacob's sons who had sold Joseph into Egyptian slavery and lied about Joseph being killed had to inform their father of Joseph's Egyptian status, confessing their sin to Jacob, Gen. 45:25-28; 37:31-35.
      2. This event had followed their being tested uncomfortably by Joseph to produce such a spirit of repentance for what they had done unto Joseph, Genesis 44:11-14, 27-34.
      3. Jacob himself showed his being unnerved by it all (as we learned in the last lesson) enough to seek God's support for leaving Beer-Sheba, the home of his father and grandfather, Genesis 46:1-3.
      4. Accordingly, when they entered Egypt completely dependent upon the kindness of the Joseph they had wronged, living by God's forgiveness and grace alone to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant, Jacob and his sons were extremely forthright in their words and relationships, Genesis 46:28-47:10:
        1. Joseph's brothers and father entered Egypt completely at the mercy of Joseph and Pharaoh's multitudes, and Joseph and his father, Jacob were wonderfully reunited, Genesis 46:28-30.
        2. Well, though Joseph suggested his family demphasize their Egyptian-despised occupation of being shepherds so he could convince Pharaoh to let them settle in the prized land of Goshen (Gen. 46:31-34) they forthrightly confessed to Pharaoh the absolute truth: they were shepherds who were merely sojourning in Egypt on a temporary basis, Genesis 47:1-3, 4. So deeply had God's dealings through Joseph undone their pride that these men DARED not say anything BUT the truth as they now sensed they were COMPLETELY thrust upon the Lord's mercy.
        3. Even when Jacob was introduced to Pharaoh, Jacob acted candidly and undiplomatically before him as a man sensing how completely thrust upon GOD he was for his welfare, Gen. 47:7-10: (a) Twice the text reveals Jacob blessed PHARAOH (Genesis 47:7b, 10a), something that only a superior party did unto one inferior, cf. Hebrews 7:7 NIV. This reveals that Jacob saw his move into Egypt and good favor in Pharaoh's sight via relationship to Joseph as the work of GOD Who had predicted as much by Joseph's Gen. 37:10-11 dream!
        4. Besides, when asked by Pharaoh of his age, something very respectful in that culture to mention before an aged person, Jacob refused the temptation to boast: rather, he mentioned how calamitous had been his life by his failings of unbelief, and how short it was in comparison to the longevity of his fathers, 47:8-9. Jacob was HONEST as he was totally trusting the Lord at this time!
    2. As a result, God uniquely blessed these men who were totally dependent upon His care, Gen. 47:11-31:
      1. God used Joseph to place them in the best land of Egypt, and fed them where the rest of the people spent their possessions and were relocated in order to survive, Genesis 47:11-12 versus 47:13-26.
      2. As a result, they multiplied and grew exceedingly in the land of Goshen, Genesis 47:27-28.
      3. Jacob accordingly recognized God's hand in fulfilling the Genesis 15:14 prophecy to Abraham, and so made Joseph sware to bury him in Canaan in preparation for his descendants' return there, 47:29-31.
Lesson: God's work to gain the COMPLETE faith of Jacob and his sons through their manifold and intense trials of Jacob's life, of the famine years and of the brothers' confession of their wrongs to Joseph worked to KEEP them in a position of BLESSING in fulfillment of God's plan for their lineage.

Application: We should rejoice in those trials that God allows to come that empty us of all forms of self-help (Jacob the deceiver and his sinfully deceiving sons) as seen in our becoming very CANDID in our relationships with God AND others. Only then can God BLESS us to the fullest of HIS intentions!