Sermon(Gen 46:1-7): Old man Jacob received these blessings

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50026100746

 

 

Scripture reading: Gen 46:1-7

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>> 1 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night, and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here am I." 3 Then he said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again; and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes." 5 Then Jacob set out from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 They also took their cattle and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, 7 his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters; all his offspring he brought with him into Egypt. <<

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They say in Korea that you must prove yourself a good social figure by the age of 40. (That is, you must be worth your age if you are 40 years old.) I think that you've lived a somewhat successful life (as a 40-year-old man) if you graduated from college, have a house and sons and daughters, and is educating them well, and have tens of millions of won in your savings account. You can't be praised too much if you, as a 40-year-old man, are an owner of quite a good company. If you are a professor at a university, you can stand tall anywhere; if you are a judge or a prosecutor or a lawyer, you don't have to hang your head shamefully before anyone. If you are a church man having the position of gwonsa (exhorter) or janglo (elder), you can pride yourself. It is a little abnormal if you are still a jibsa (a deacon) at age 40 or 50 in the church in Korea. You may feel uncomfortable because you have to obey the janglo (the elder) who is the same age as you, in the church. Brethren, I hope you will be loyal to God in church and be a janglo. It is the honor of the house. Getting older, you can save face only if you achieve good position or achievements which befit your age, at home or church or company. If you live up to your age already, give thanks to God; if not, work and live harder from now on. Of course, you must live hard with God if you want to succeed.

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If you have no achievements until you become an old man, your life looks shabby. on the contrary, an old man with a splendid past is respected. Today's text is a record of Jacob in the twilight years of his life, who met the God on the way from his hometown to Egypt. Because of the famine in the world, Jacob's family is now on its way to Egypt where there is food. God is a good shepherd. He leads his sheep to green pastures with a shepherd's goad. It seemed right to God that the house of Jacob ought to be led to Egypt. The land of Canaan, where he has been living, is not a place where he himself can make his house a great nation because of the native people of Canaan. Jacob's family is close to 100, so they begin to be held in check by the natives around them. What indigenous people would let Jacob's family grow and grow into two million people? Because they (the indigenous people) themselves will be certainly kicked out of the land if they let it happen. What native people would gladly surrender their land to the growing descendants of Jacob? That will not happen! In the old days, about 100 people was the maximum size of a family a stranger could have. If the house increases more than that, the natives will attack them and root out the family in order to prevent trouble beforehand. So God sent Joseph to Egypt, the great nation at that time, in advance to make him a high official that is like a prime minister today, and Jacob's family settled in the good land of Egypt under Jeseph's protection. But after Joseph's death, the Egyptians forced the descendants of Jacob into slavery. Who could hurt the servants of the most powerful nation in the world at that time? No man or no nation could! In the end, the sons of Jacob grew into a people of two million population under the protection of Egypt, an absolute power, even though they lived as servants. These two million people carried out the exodus from Egypt and conquered the land of Canaan. Therefore the famine of Jacob's family was the staff of God to bring them into Egypt. And the kingdom of Egypt, with its strong military power, was a safe hedge to protect the sheep of God. Considering that, it was the cane of God's love that Joseph was sold as a slave to Egypt. Like this, God's wise providence much surpasses our understanding. That is why the believers should always be happy, pray, and thank the Lord. God sees our faith beautiful, so he does not always explain to us what he will do. It is God's will that we Christians should believe in the loving faithful God and live in peace without direct, sad or joyful reactions to what we see and hear. You not a true believer if you cry or laugh at only what you see. True faith does not doubt God's love for me under any circumstances.

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Jacob is before a great adventure in his old age. He plans to lead all his family to Egypt. Beersheba is the southernmost region of Canaan. If they go a little further, it is Egypt. Jacob offered sacrifices to God here at Beersheba. Jacob, who believed in the God of his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham, didn't neglect worshipping the God. Above all, perhaps he offered sacrifices to God before he entered Egypt, out of concern that he could not worship the God freely in the land where there were numerous idols. At this point of time, what consequences will we have if we judge the life of Jacob, who told about his life, "Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life (Gen 47:9)"? Could Jacob go around with pride at that age (because his life was successful)? Jacob is an old man now! What are the fruits of his life and what blessings has he received?

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First, Jacob received the blessing of Immauel. “I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again. (Gen 46:4)” 'Immanu' means 'with us' and 'el' means God. Therefore, Immanuel is >the God who is with us<. Jacob has walked with God all his life. God has decided his future since he was conceived, and has been with him wherever he went. Of course, maybe Jacob might have had life crises. In fact, all of those life crises could serve as an excuse to abandon God. After he had inherited the blessing from his father Isaac, he lived a terrible life. He could have doubted God's faithfulness and left God and led a fast life. But Jacob kept faith from beginning to end. Yea, my Brethren! He who, overcoming all the hardships and crises, has lived with God without giving up his faith is worth his honorable old age and wrinkled face, as a victor of life. >A long life with God< itself is the most honorable achievement. You have a shameful face if you believed in God first in your middle or high school years, then left him, and as a young man led a prodigal life, and now come back to him in a shabby appearance in your fifties or sixties. But if you have kept your faith firmly since youth and been loyal to God in the church like a pillar of the temple of God, and entered into your twilight years, you've received the blessing of >living with God all your life<. He who has been blessed with the blessing of Immanuel and kept it to the end will be blessed with the blessing that his descendants will prosper greatly. Abraham kept the blessing of Immanuel, and his son Isaac was greatly blessed. Isaac kept the blessing of Immanuel, and his son Jacob was greatly blessed. Jacob kept the blessing of Immanuel, and his descendants was greatly blessed to be prosperous and to become a great nation. I wish you the blessing of Immanuel!

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Next, Jacob was blessed so that his child became a high official. His son Joseph became the prime minister of Egypt, which was the greatest power of the time. As you know, it is the honor of parents to have successful children. However lowly you may have worked in a potato field for almost all your life in the country, you'll never be despised by anyone if your son graduated from a good university, or came to a high office, or got a job in a good company, or became a owner of a good company. An excellent son will save your face automatically. Jacob lived almost all his life as a stranger. He lived in father-in-law's house for quite a while. People (of Korea) say, "A man will not live in father-in-law's house if he has just one bucket of barley!" This means that it is so shameful and unbearable for a man to live in father-in-law's house. In other words, Jacob has lived a hard life as a stranger, but now he can boast of himself in his old age. God blessed him and made his son the prime minister of Egypt. My beloved brethren, have you lived a hard life until now like Jacob? May the faithful God save your face by exalting your descendants always. To be blessed like Jacob, you yourself must keep faith to the end and teach your children in faith. If parents keep their faith in God faithfully, they will see blessings come upon their children. If you didn't inherit much wealth from your poor parents, yet walked with God during your life, worked hard honestly and made your sons and daughters very good citizens, you're a far more honorable citizen than he who got much wealth from rich parents and lived in luxury all his life.

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Joseph saw that his father Jacob had kept faith in God and raised his children in faith even though he had lived as a stranger, so he respected his father deeply and loved and supported him dearly until his death. Jacob is a blessed person who is loved and revered by his wonderful son. He served the God, his spiritual Father, sincerely in spite of difficulties, therefore was loved and respected by his sons. It's a little embarrassing to say, but sometimes there are parents who were killed by their sons. What a tragedy! Not all of them, but maybe some of them might be killed by their sons because of their grave sins against God who is their spiritual Father. This is an eternal disgrace beyond the loss of face. A man, living in this world, is killed by his son? Oh, what a shame! May all of you give much filial piety to your spiritual Father, the God, and receive much filial piety and respect from your sons and daughters.

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Next, the blessing of Jacob was that he became the father of a great nation. “I (God) will there (in Egypt) make of you (Jacob) a great nation. (Gen 46:3)” Also Jesus told the parable of the mustard seed. Small as it is now, the mustard seed, a living thing, will become large enough for birds to nest, once it buds and begins to grow. Jacob received this blessing. Many people in the world come and go. Some die young; some die without children. Their names immediately disappear. But Jacob was much blessed by God, and his descendants became a great nation, and this nation made Jacob's nickname, Israel, its name. When God nicknamed Jacob 'Israel', perhaps he didn't know how great the nickname would be. Yea, my brethren! God's blessing that will come upon you who have kept a beautiful faith like Jacob is so great a blessing beyond your understanding. There were people in the world who made an epoch in human development, such as the father of music, the father of computer, the father of electricity, and etc. I want you to be blessed with the blessing of the mustard seed and to become the fathers of various fields, just as Jacob received the blessing of the mustard seed and became the father of a nation. May your children also be blessed with such blessing of the mustard seed. He who has dreams and hopes that will come true, however humble his life may be now, he is never a poor man. He who keeps the blessing of Immanuel to the end like Jacob will also receive the blessing of the mustard seed. He who has received this blessing of the mustard seed will be a great man forever.

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God tells Jacob that his beloved son, Joseph, will close his eyes. “Joseph's hand shall close your eyes. (Gen 46:4)” God promises Jacob a dignified and peaceful death. Is not this the great blessing which Jacob, an old man, can receive now? It is indeed a great blessing God allows that a man closes his eyes in peace while his beloved family are watching and weeping. Not only his descendants but also the Egyptians moaned his death. “And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days. (Gen 50:3)” Jacob was respected by many at his end of life. His life was from the bottom to the top. From the moment Jacob was conceived, God was with him, and God exalted and exalted him who kept the faith firmly so that he gained the highest respect that an ordinary man who was not a king could receive. Hallelujah! Let's praise the faithful God.

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May the blessings of Jacob come upon you who fear God and upon your descendants.

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Chong Tack Kim

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                                 - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -

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