This morning we turn again to our consideration of the episodes of Joseph, Jacob's family actually. So I invite you to turn with me to Genesis chapter 47. I apologize that I have it wrong in the bulletin. We've already considered chapter 44. We're not going backwards, we're going forwards. So, we pick up our reading and our consideration at chapter 47, verse 7, through the remainder of this chapter. Genesis 47, beginning at verse 7, as we hear now the Word of God. Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, Pharaoh asked him, How old are you? 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. Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence. So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Ramses, as Pharaoh directed. Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food according to the number of their children. There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe. Both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 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. 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. Then bring your livestock, said Joseph. I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock since your money is gone. 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. 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's nothing left for our Lord except our bodies and our land. 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 seeds so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate. 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. And Joseph reduced the people to servitude from one end of Egypt to the other. 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. 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. 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. You have saved our lives, they said. May we find favor in the eyes of our Lord. We will be in bondage to Pharaoh. 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. Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number. Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years and the years of his life were 147. 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, 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. Swear to me, he said. Then Joseph swore to him. And Israel worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, what was God doing here? Of course, we know that that's the question that we need to ask of all of Scripture. Anytime a pastor or seminary student approaches a text to preach for consideration, or every time we consider a passage for Bible study, we need to ask, what is God doing here? But especially with regard to this passage before us this morning. On the one hand, we can say that God was caring for His church in the midst of the world. We know that God had chosen Egypt to be the incubator, to be the womb, if you will, in which to grow the nation of Israel, in which she would grow and prosper and become a large nation, leading, of course, to the promised Messiah. He was caring for His church in the midst of the world. God had given to His people many promises. In fact, to Jacob he had said in chapter 46, Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again, and Joseph's own hand will close your eyes. Now we know, of course, that there were many years, around 200 years from the time that God had first spoken the promise to Abraham, and this time, it seemed that God was dragging His feet, as it were. But now it almost seems that the promises he reaffirmed to Jacob were starting to be fulfilled immediately. There was provision. Joseph provided for Jacob's family according to the number of the mouths in their families. Each one had sufficient food. In Psalm 37, verse 19, the Lord says of the blameless, in the days of famine, they will enjoy plenty. And Israel indeed experienced this in the midst of famine. But we begin to see almost immediately, of course we don't know what the time span was, but we begin to see the blessing of children. Toward the end of what we read, they acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number. But most of all, we know that it's clear that God was with them. That God blessed them. And this is all true of the church today. God continues to be with His church. He continues to grow His church, to add to her the number of the elect, to bless her, to prepare her for the coming of the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. God was caring for His church in the midst of the world. But on the other hand, there's something else going on in this passage. And this passage is about God blessing the world through the church. blessing Egypt through Israel. God had kept Israel separate in Egypt, in the land of Goshen we know, but yet He blessed Egypt through Israel. And therefore, we consider this morning God with Israel, blessing the world through His church. Now this sort of thing may seem strange to us, blessing the world, but you see, in many ways, this helps us to understand what it means to be in the world, but not to be of the world. To be in the world, but not of the world, means to be distinctly different. The church is to live in the world in such a way so that believers are indeed a blessing to the world. And I'm not necessarily talking about being a blessing in a saving way. That's up to God. We know that. And it's not that the world necessarily sees the church and sees believers as being a blessing. and that's not our concern either yet we are called to represent God by blessing the world through the spoken word and through our visible actions and also through a living faith first of all through the spoken word as we give testimony and witness to God testimony that He is the God of blessing alone All blessing comes from him. Jacob blesses Pharaoh, the text says, not once, but twice as he's entering his presence, as he's leaving his presence. And we need to understand that this blessing here is not simply a meaningless greeting. Hi, how are you? Oh, goodbye. I'll see you later. It wasn't that. But through this blessing of Jacob upon Pharaoh, Jacob gratefully acknowledges all that this great king had done for Joseph and for Jacob and for the entire family. In this blessing was a wish for God's favor, a request for God's favor upon the king. Pharaoh had enriched Jacob's family and therefore may God enrich him, which indeed happened under Joseph's management. Now again, this may seem a bit odd to you and me to pray for a blessing upon the world. But this is something that is commanded by God. In Jeremiah 29, verse 7, to the exiles in Babylon, the Lord says, Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. And we can understand that, right? We pray for the peace and prosperity upon our own nation, knowing that if there's peace in our country, There's peace for the church in America as well. We pray for peace around the world and we know that God blesses His church then through that as well. Paul in 1 Timothy 2 says, I urge then first of all that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. We are to pray for the blessing of God upon the world, and in doing so, Jacob pointed to the God of all blessing. Jacob, in his blessing, requests the favor of Almighty God. It wasn't in Jacob to grant this favor himself. That could only come from God. As he blesses Pharaoh, he then gives testimony to the only true God who alone is able to grant blessing. In Hebrews, we read about Abraham blessing Melchizedek, and it says, the lesser blessed the greater. Abraham was the lesser blessing the greater. And here too, Jacob in the eyes of mankind, humanly speaking, was the lesser blessing the greater Pharaoh. Pharaoh was the ruler. Pharaoh had wealth, he had prosperity, he had splendor. He was the greater in the eyes of man. But spiritually speaking, Jacob was the greater. Pharaoh was the lesser. Jacob was the greater. He had true blessing to give as he would point to the one true God. And we see something similar in the book of Acts with Peter and John as they approach the lame man and they say, look at us. And the lame man looks at them as if expecting to receive something, only he receives much more than he had planned on. Peter says, silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. We too, people of God, are to pray for blessing upon leaders and people of the world. Not material blessing, that which would drive them further from dependence on God, but to pray for the blessing of coming to know by faith the only Savior, Jesus Christ. You see, we have more to give to the world than the world has to give to us. Think about that. We have more to give to the world than the world has to give to us. We have the treasure of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have the knowledge of the true God which is salvation. And by God's grace, we are the fragrance of life to those who respond in faith by God's grace. Someone has said no greater wealth exists. There is no greater good to be done for anyone than to offer him or her the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ in whom alone sinners can escape the wrath of God to come. The church is to be a blessing to the world through the spoken word. Showing them the God of all blessing, but also teaching them about the nature of this life. Pharaoh's question to Jacob is, How old are you? Now, in some circles today, that question wouldn't very well be appreciated, would it? It'd be offensive. But it was a question of respect from Pharaoh to Jacob. As well, in Egyptian history, it is said that they figured that 110 was about the lifespan of a man. And obviously, Pharaoh somehow knew, could tell that Jacob was beyond the 110. How old are you? Now, Jacob's answer is somewhat unexpected. Maybe not so unexpected because we've said before he was a bit negative. He was a bit of a pessimist. His answer seems like a complaint, but I don't believe it is. We find it between the covers of his blessings of Pharaoh. And I believe that really his answer is a beautiful testimony. In his answer, he gives a true picture of life. In verse 9, he says, The years of my pilgrimage are 130. My years have been few and difficult and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers. We know that Jacob had a tough life and it wasn't always undeserved. He was a deceiver. He was a cheat. He took advantage of some. But his life was tough. He had to flee from home. He had to flee from Laban. He was cheated by Laban. His favorite wife died in childbirth. His favorite son, Joseph, he thought was dead for all those years. Again, he was a bit pessimistic. We might think that he had a reason to be. But in his response to Pharaoh, he says, life is a pilgrimage. I've been a pilgrim. My fathers have been pilgrims. Boys and girls, a pilgrim is a traveler. One who is not at home, has no place to call home. Life can be tough when you have no place to call home. But Jacob, we see, Jacob is not talking about a physical place. He's not talking about a town or a house or possessions. We know that as we go to Hebrews chapter 11, the chapter about the heroes of faith. And after talking about Abraham and descendants, we read in verse 13, all these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised. They only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth, People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. We know, beloved, that the spiritual truth is this, that no matter how settled we as believers are in this life, no matter how firmly planted on this ground our feet seem to be, that this earth is not our true home. And this was quite a testimony to Pharaoh, who was firmly planted on this earth. He had cities, he had a palace, he had riches. What more could he need? This life is a pilgrimage, Jacob says. But not only that, it's a short pilgrimage, he says. In Psalm 90, verse 10, we read, The length of our days is 70 years or 80 if we have strength. And verse 12 follows that up. Teach us to number our days. This is a testimony to Pharaoh that this life is indeed short compared to eternity. Whether you spend eternity in the glory of heaven or in the destruction of hell, it's eternity. This life is short. And this life is a difficult pilgrimage, as Jacob makes clear. Psalm 90, verse 10 follows up to the 70 or 80 years, yet their span is but trouble and sorrow. And in Acts 14, verse 22, Paul, in encouraging his disciples, says, we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. He's talking about believers? Yes. Yes. But even unbelievers, even unbelievers live in the midst of sin. They may not understand it. They may not totally admit it. But they must admit that this world is not perfect. Many of them have a survival of the fittest mentality and that act of surviving isn't always easy. And even as believers, no matter how good we have it in this life, and we have it so good, don't we here? No matter how good we may have it, we will suffer. Each one of us will suffer in some way, either physically or spiritually, as our faith is tested or as we may be persecuted for our faith. Yet our comfort, as Paul says in Romans 8.18, is our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The church is to be a blessing to the world through the spoken word also as we testify of man's only hope. Jacob appointed Pharaoh to the only one from whom all blessings flow. And we as believers are to point to Jesus Christ, the only one in whom true blessing is found. We are called to be used of God, to call the world to store up true treasure in heaven. Beloved, we have the greatest blessing to offer to the world. To speak to them of Jesus Christ and of His gift of salvation. And notice, Jacob boldly took advantage of the opportunity granted to him by God in front of this earthly, powerful king who could have put him to death at the snap of the fingers. But Jacob didn't shrink back. He pointed to Almighty God. What about us? Are we as bold as Jacob? What are we afraid of? God is with us. May God give to us the courage to speak faithfully and effectively for Him. And although the world doesn't see our testimony and our witness as a blessing, yet it's a blessing that we are not to hold back because we too are so undeserving of the mercy of God. But the church is to be a blessing to the world more than just through the spoken word. Our walk is to match our talk. And therefore, God blesses the world with His church through our visible actions. Actions that demonstrate the true owner of all things. Now, Joseph's faithful and diligent management of Egypt takes care of his family and also of Egypt. And of course, we know that his management of Egypt then was the means to care for his family. Now, this famine was great. It was terrible. You and I can't even begin to imagine it. And praise God that hopefully we never will have to. About the closest we can come is to think about the images that we have seen of third world countries where famine and shortage of food is great and we see pictures of little children who are nothing but skin and bones yet their stomach is swollen and distended. And parents walking around holding their little children not knowing if they're going to be alive tomorrow or not. with a look of horror in their eyes. Egypt. Egypt normally provided food for well more than just Egypt. But the surrounding nations as well. But now Egypt itself was perishing. They were threatened with death. And of course, the text makes clear Canaan as well, which teaches us that had they not gone to Egypt, this would have been the end for Jacob's family. But the net result is that Joseph acquires the money of Egypt and Canaan. And then he purchases the livestock and the land and the people of Egypt for Pharaoh. Pharaoh then owned everything. He had blessed Joseph. He recognized through Potiphar that God was with Joseph. He had blessed Joseph and now he is blessed through Joseph. We remember a later Pharaoh who treated Israel poorly. And cursed Israel. And was in turn cursed by God and ruined. But God often blesses those who bless His people. And we know that many are blessed today in this life through the faithful and the diligent work of God's people who work first of all as unto the Lord. Now our unbelieving employers may not recognize God with us. But often they see something different about God's people who work hard. And they see that that hard, that diligent work profits them. And many of them, not all of them, will reward their employees. I experienced that many years ago. But as we work as unto the Lord, our actions are to point to God. The Creator of the heavens and the earth, the owner of all things, even the cattle on a thousand hills, Our lives are to show that God is the true owner of us and all that we possess. It's His. It comes from Him. And all people will be accountable to Him whether they realize it or not. And therefore, through our visible actions also then, we are to point to the One for whom we are to sell everything. Many say that this situation for the Egyptians was oppressive for them. They were reduced to slaves and they had nothing. But we need to understand, beloved, that this is not like our idea of slavery. In fact, the truth is, under Joseph's management, they enjoyed security. The truth is, Joseph provided the Egyptian people with stability. Indeed, they became Pharaoh's possessions, but they were more like employees. of Pharaoh running small businesses on his account or being property managers on his account. And in turn, Pharaoh took responsibility for their welfare. He provided for them. He gave them seed. No doubt we're seeing here toward the end of the famine when the seed would grow again. He provided them seed and they were to live on four-fifths of the crop and to give one-fifth to Pharaoh. And this was not a heavy tax. Remember, before the famine, Egypt was a very, very productive country. And no doubt it was very, very productive once again. Four-fifths was plenty, more than enough to live on. The bottom line is that under Joseph's management, the people became secure in the employment of Pharaoh. And we know that a later Pharaoh, again, abused this arrangement. And we, in our day, would not at all like this sort of an arrangement. But it was not oppressive then. The people liked it. They were grateful for it. Verse 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. They saw this as better than death. They saw salvation. They saw Joseph as a Savior. And they willingly placed themselves in Pharaoh's service. What a picture of gratitude. And that picture of gratitude, beloved, is to be a model of devotion and loyalty of those who are saved from death. A model for you and me as believers of devotion and loyalty that we are to have toward our Lord Jesus Christ who has saved us from death. Through the church's visible actions, we are to point to the only Savior, Jesus Christ, who has purchased with His own blood a people for His very own, a family for the Heavenly Father. And God cares for His people in such a way to provide complete provision, perfect provision for every need in this life and the next. And that Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior who is worth it all. He's worth it all. Again, the Egyptians saw their salvation from famine and it was worth selling everything they had. Again, what about us? What about us? How many of us truly recognize salvation and true life that it's only in Jesus Christ and that it's worth selling, forsaking the life of sin to live in gratitude to Him? We're not talking about purchasing our salvation here, but our response to such a great salvation that it's worth giving up everything to live in gratitude to Him. How many of us would sell all that we have to survive spiritually if our religious freedoms, our Christian freedoms, were being threatened to be taken from us. To give up the things and the pleasures of this world to keep them. Or to give up the things and the pleasures of this world to teach our children and educate them in the ways of the Lord. To show them the only Savior. As well to support kingdom work. To keep the Gospel going forth through our missionaries. As a young man in our previous congregation, I remember that when they had their first child, about that time he was without a job. He lost his job and he said, I will sell my house and rent something that we can barely fit in in order to provide Christian education for my children. Beloved, we as believers are to demonstrate to the world such a great salvation from sin. to demonstrate to the world that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed a pearl of great price worth giving of the pleasures of this life and the opportunities in this life that make one great in the sight of man but might not be pleasing in the sight of God. True blessing is found only in Christ Jesus. The Egyptians, you see, thought they had it made. But notice the contrast here. The Egyptians ended the famine years in bondage. Israel ended as free people at this time. The Egyptians lost their land and their possessions to Pharaoh. Israel, according to verse 27, acquired property. And also they were fruitful and increased greatly in number. They enjoyed unprecedented growth. The Egyptians barely survived, simply survived. But Israel prospered. Indeed, pointing forward, I believe, too, to the life to come. As those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ will suffer the famine of hell for all eternity. But those who trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoyed His salvation will enjoy the prosperity of the great banquet table. The truth is the Egyptians sold themselves for food which perishes. But true Israelites, believers who are purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ, are fed with the bread of life, the living water. Beloved, the greatest blessing believers have to give to the world is not to make the world rich, monetarily or materially, but to demonstrate devotion to the only Savior Jesus Christ and to visibly testify of the safety and the security that is ours of belonging to Him and being employed in His service. But finally, God blesses the world with His church, not only through our spoken word, not only through our visible actions, but also through a living faith. A living faith that expresses hope in God's promises. Beginning in verse 28, Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years, and the years of his life were 147. 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, 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. Swear to me, he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff. Now, this was not sentimentality on the part of Jacob. There are many today we know for different reasons that want to be buried some distance away when they die. Maybe next to a loved one somewhere for various reasons. Jacob was not superstitious. This was not sentimentality here. But his eye was on the promises of God. In Hebrews 11, verse 1, it says, Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. And because of that certainty, beloved, faith is demonstrated, as we've already said, in words and in actions. But this is looking out, looking forward. For Jacob, none of the wealth or the pleasures or the prosperity of Egypt was enough to keep him from longing for Canaan, the land of promise. He desired to be buried in Canaan with his fathers as a demonstration of his faith in God's promise to keep His Word, to give to Israel the land as their inheritance, as well to encourage his family in Egypt to keep the faith. Jacob had faith. He had trust in his final destination. Notice he says, when I rest with my fathers, and we could add the word then, then bury me where they are buried. He's not talking about resting as being buried. They're separate here. He's talking about resting as dying and going to be with his fathers whom he knew were with the Lord. It wasn't his concern simply to have his bones laying next to the bones of Leah and Abraham and Isaac in the cave of Machpelah. But again, a demonstration of his faith in God's promises and to encourage his family to keep the faith. He was confident of his heavenly country. God had promised to be with Jacob wherever he went and Jacob was confident that that was not only true for this life but for the life to come. And that was the confidence and the confession of the Old Testament saints. Job said, I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end He will stand upon the earth and after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. I myself will see Him with my own eyes. And Asaph in Psalm 73 says, Yet I am always with you. You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel. and afterward, you will take me into glory. Beloved, what a confident testimony. There's no greater testimony in death than this. The world hopelessly mourns in death because it's unknown, it's scary, and all they have to fall back on is eulogizing the one who has died, saying all kinds of nice things about that one. What they did, what they liked, the foods they enjoyed eating. But all that is meaningless when one is dead. It doesn't matter. But believers at the point of death bless the world with a testimony that our citizenship is in heaven. A testimony as Paul's in Colossians 3, Since then you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Beloved, at Christian funerals, we have such a wonderful opportunity and privilege to bless the world with the message of the Gospel, of what Jesus Christ has done for those who trust in Him in the comfort of being with the Lord. How valuable that is. That living faith is also expressed in the worship of the God of promise. And Israel worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff. Allow me simply to read the words of one commentator who says, Testimony to the grace and faithfulness of God is valuable at any period of life and in any circumstances, but it is especially meaningful at the end of life as death threatens. To stand at that point and look back over a long life in which God has neither left you nor forsaken you and praise Him for it, that is a great testimony. It is one of the chief opportunities of old age. People of God, God provides for His church in this life through the world as He provided for Israel through Egypt and God's people are called to be a blessing to the world while we are in it. Not by becoming of the world, but by bearing testimony to God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. So that through our words, the world might hear the Gospel message. And with our words, we might pray for the blessing of God's mercy on them. So that through our actions, the world might see the light and the truth of Jesus Christ reflected in our lives as all we do is done as unto the Lord and for His glory and as they witness in us that we belong to Him and all that we have is His. And so that through our faith we might demonstrate the hope of being forever with the Lord. And of course, beloved, we know that this is only possible if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in Him alone for salvation and have the full confidence that God is with you today and always. For those who don't have that confidence, the call goes forth to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And these things are true of you as well. And this testimony is yours as well to give to the world. In Him, we have the greatest privilege to represent Him to the world. Again, the world will not recognize it as a blessing. And the world is responsible for what they do with that blessing. If they reject Jesus Christ, it becomes a curse for them on the last day. But the world may not recognize it as a blessing, yet that doesn't make it less true. God's people are blessed by God to be a blessing, especially demonstrating the generosity of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we praise Your holy name for such a great testimony. The testimony of such a great salvation. At the same time, Lord, we must confess that we often fail in displaying this testimony with our words, with our actions, with our faith. We pray, Father, that You would give us courage, that You would give us confidence, give us the strength that can only come from You, that indeed we might love our salvation so much that we would also desire for others and desire to be those used of You to bless the world with that testimony, to be used of You to call unbelievers to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, give us strength. Give us endurance. Give us courage. All for Your glory and Your praise and for the coming of Your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.