Facing the Future with Confidence—Genesis 45:1-46:34
(I projected an old picture of church people, stiffly sitting in church pews, with suits and ties.)
Do any of you remember those old times, or even some of those people? Suppose, by some quirk of time travel, a big screen would appear before them, showing all that is going on in our world today. There would be risqué television programming…ads for products they would not dream of talking about in public…family relationships they would find scandalous. And the most scary programming? The news!
Now imagine that we could see into the future, perhaps 20, 40 or 60 years from now. (Maybe in virtual reality, we could experience it.) As we would swoop across the earth, with nothing off limits, what do you think we might see? Does the thought of it scare you? What is the world like, morally and spiritually? Where are your grandkids in that future? Where are God’s people?
The story of Joseph begins three generations before, in Genesis 12, when God makes a covenant with Abraham. That covenant was passed on to his son Isaac, and then to Isaac’s son, Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons, by four different women. Two sons, Joseph and Benjamin, were from the wife he loved most, Rachel.
Jacob favored Joseph over his other ten sons, and they sold him into Egypt as a slave. After several twists and turns, Joseph interpreted a dream of Pharaoh, which predicted seven years of famine. Pharaoh was so impressed that he appointed Joseph as his chief administrator, to store up food and distribute it.
When the famine hit Canaan, Jacob and his family were running out of food, and Jacob sent his ten sons to Egypt to buy some. They had no idea that the powerful man they were dealing with was their brother! Joseph messed with them, and insisted that when they come back to buy more food, they must bring their other brother, Benjamin. On their second trip to Egypt, Joseph had them sit down to a lavish Egyptian meal, and then threatened to make Benjamin his slave. As his brother Judah offered to give himself into slavery in place of Benjamin, Joseph finally broke down, and told them that he was their long-lost brother.
Read Genesis 45:1-7.
Joseph knew that the famine would last for five more years, so he and Pharoah invited his family to move to Egypt.
Read Genesis 45:16-27.
Imagine Jacob’s joy and wonder, as hears that his long-lost son is alive. Not only is Joseph alive, but he is the ruler of all Egypt! Then the donkeys and carts come into the family compound. The donkeys are loaded with the best of Egypt. (Project a collage of Egyptian images: clothes, finery, etc.) His sons have new clothes—designer clothes. Benjamin shows him five outfits, and 7.5 pounds of silver.
Jacob’s spirit is revived. He will see his long-lost son! Pharaoh has invited him to bring his family to Egypt. He has promised to give him the best that Egypt can offer, so that they can live off the fat of the land.
Yet something is bothering Jacob. In fact, he is afraid to go to Egypt, even while he is excited. Why?
Did you ever make a major move? Maybe you quit your job to further your education, or you moved to take a new job, or you took a transfer far away from family in friends. Maybe your biggest move was to get married, with all of the changes that can bring. You didn’t know what the future would hold, but you knew it would be different from the past.
Jacob knows that life in Egypt will be different for his descendants. But he has a deeper fear: If he leaves the land that God promised to his family, will God keep his covenant promises? When God established the covenant with Abraham, it was tied to the land of Canaan:
Genesis 12:1-3 (NIV2011) The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. ‘I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’”
Jacob had always assumed that his family would grow into a great nation in Canaan. Would God hold to his covenant promises if Jacob took his family to Egypt?
So before Jacob leaves Canaan, he goes to Beersheba, a place where both Abraham and Isaac had dug wells and worshipped God. For him, it represented stability. For us, it would be like going to the old home place, the church of our childhood, or the place where Dad and Mom said their prayers.
Read Genesis 46:1-7.
God promised to go to Egypt with Jacob and his family. He would keep his covenant. That gave Jacob confidence, as he went to Egypt.
HOW CAN WE FACE THE FUTURE WITH CONFIDENCE? What can we learn from this story?
GOD HAS A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE.
Whatever happens in the future, God will not be surprised or caught off guard. When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he said something remarkable—something he had thought about for a long time:
Genesis 45:7 “God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”
God knew about the famine, before it happened. God planned how he was going to preserve the family of Jacob. In fact, God had his plan in place long before Joseph was born!
Genesis 15:12-16 “As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, ‘Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.’”
God had a plan, and it was much bigger than providing enough food for Jacob and his family to survive the famine. His plan would fulfill his covenant promises, and lead to an even greater fulfillment: the salvation of many, through Jesus Christ.
When I talk with older folks, they sometimes talk about all the changes they have seen during their lifetime, and they wonder what the future will hold for their children and grandchildren. We don’t know what the future will bring, but God does! God already has a plan in place for our grandkids, unless life on this earth ends before then. He has a plan in place to overcome the powers of evil, perhaps on this earth, but certainly in the finality of future judgment. He has a plan in place to bring all who believe into his family, forever. His ultimate plan is found in Ephesians:
Ephesians 1:9-10 “He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”
God has a plan for a glorious future, and for our future.
GOD IS NOT LIMITED TO ANY PARTICULAR TIME OR PLACE.
Can you remember a time when you left the safety of your childhood, to go out into the world? Maybe you had experienced God through your family, or your church, or in an environment where you had learned to see God at work, listen to his voice, and follow Christ. Then you began a new chapter of life, in a new place, a new environment.
Jacob had gone through that once. He had left home, to seek a wife among his relatives in the north. It had been a time of turmoil, and he had come to know God through the stress and pain. Finally, he had made his way back to Canaan, the promised land. That was where he belonged, in the place God had promised to Father Abraham.
Yet the land did not guarantee blessing. Jacob had grown up in that land, in a dysfunctional family, where his parents co-existed in different worlds, living out their unrealized dreams through their favorite sons. Jacob learned to lie and manipulate in Canaan, and he passed on those traits to his wives and sons. His family was as dysfunctional as the one he knew as a child.
Canaan may have seemed like a safe place compared to Egypt, but it was not all that safe. His clan lived among other tribes, and he was dependent upon good relations with them. Early on, his daughter had been raped by a man from a neighboring clan, and his sons had killed off a bunch of men from that clan, endangering the family. His son Judah had engaged in religious prostitution with some of the people of Canaan, and had ended up having sex with his daughter-in-law. And then, it was in Canaan that his sons had thrown their own brother into a dry well, before selling him off as a slave. Although the land of Canaan had a key role in the covenant promises of God, it was no guarantee of the health of his family.
Egypt was a more alien culture, however. Canaan was a tribal place, where his clan could be free; Egypt had a highly-developed government, with Pharaoh and laws and taxes. Egypt had cities and temples and pyramids—and weird clothes! (Note: You could project a collage of Egypt here.) His family would never fit in there; they would always be aliens in a strange land.
Yet ironically, Joseph was thriving in Egypt, more than his brothers in Canaan. It was evident that God was with him, as God spoke to him in dreams. Joseph had godly character, which helped him rise to the top, even when he was a slave or in prison. Joseph had two godly children, even though he lived in a pagan culture.
God was not just in Canaan; he was in Egypt! If Jacob took his family into Egypt, God would go with them into that strange, foreign land.
GOD IS FAITHFUL AND ALL-POWERFUL
Jacob’s worst fears about taking his family to Egypt was that they would forget God. Over the next 400 years, his fears were realized. By the time of Moses, only a few of God’s people still knew God and obeyed him. Moses had to tell the Israelites who God was, and reintroduce them to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Yet God was faithful, and he had the power to redeem his people and fulfill his covenant. He spoke to Moses, and Moses spoke to the people. He brought ten plagues upon Egypt, to display his power over the false gods of the Egyptians. He parted the sea, to allow his people to escape from the Egyptian army. He provided for his people, giving them food in the wilderness for forty years. He gave them his law, so that they could live before him in freedom and holiness. He brought them back to Canaan, as he promised. God is faithful, and he has the power to keep him covenant promises.
When Christian missionaries were forced to leave China after World War II, there were about 700,000 Christians in China—less than 1% of the population. Many wondered whether the church could survive under the oppressive policies of the Communist government. Despite continuing restrictions, there are now, by conservative estimates, about 67 million Christians in China.
God is faithful, and God keeps his promises.
“Do not be afraid…”
Throughout history, God has a plan to save and bless people, and it includes us.
God is at work in all parts of the world, and no matter where we are, God will bless us and use us for his glory.
God is faithful and powerful, and he will bring his plan to completion, through Jesus Christ.
In that confidence, go wherever God leads you, and he will be with you there.
