A New Year’s Evaluation
Text: Genesis 47:7 – 10
By: Ken McKinley
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The Word of God is first and foremost given to us in order to direct us to God Himself and to the redemption and salvation He offers through His Son Jesus Christ. It is also the means God has chosen to use to teach us and instruct us in the will and ways of God. But something that we often forget is that the Bible is also given to us not just for our spiritual well being, but also as a means of instruction for our lives here and now.
In our text we just read about Jacob’s meeting with the king of Egypt. And I believe that in this passage; we, by God’s grace, can find instruction for the new year. In our text we see two different men standing before one another. One is a king, the ruler of one of the mightiest kingdoms of the time, the Pharaoh of Egypt. The other man, Jacob, isn’t necessarily a poor man – he’s been blessed by God, but he is an exile, fleeing a famine that has struck his own land. He’s a wanderer, a nomad, a pilgrim in a strange land.
Jacob didn’t have the silver or the gold that Pharaoh had, he didn’t have the resources of an entire nation, but don’t judge a book by its cover… Jacob had God as his portion. Jacob has inherited the promise of God. Jacob was a man who could say and DID say, “I have seen God, face to face, and my life was preserved.”
Pharaoh couldn’t say these things. He was a stranger to God, but Jacob knows God and would later be identified with Him by God Himself when He spoke to Moses. God said to Moses in Exodus 3:6, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” God even changed his name to Israel, which means “Prince of God.” So again we are looking at two men: the king of Egypt and the prince of god. So like I said, don’t judge a book by its cover (or as I like to say, don’t judge a book by its movie).
And when these two men meet, Jacob must have shown his age. He must’ve looked ever bit of 130, because Pharaoh doesn’t ask him how he’s doing, or how life was treating him. He doesn’t ask Jacob how bad the famine is to the East; no, he asks, “How old are you?”
How old are you? My daughters are age 7 and 8… they are still young, but even at that age the young should take care not to waste their early years. The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes that we should seek God early in life. I’m 36, people my age shouldn’t even be playing around anymore, they should be serving the Lord, and we pray that they are. My wife is whatever age she tells you she is.
The point is – are we redeeming the time that we have been given?
Now look at the answer Jacob gives to Pharaoh (Read vs. 9)
Jacob doesn’t say that he’s lived 130 years and God has blessed him, that he’s rich in cattle, and land, and servants. Jacob doesn’t say that. He says, “The days of my PILGRIMAGE…” Jacob understood that he was a pilgrim on the earth, living those 130 years in a place that was not his home, and that never would be. That was something that Pharaoh probably didn’t understand. Pharaoh didn’t know God, he was settled, he wasn’t a pilgrim, he wasn’t looking for a better place. He most likely felt like Egypt was the best place in the world to be.
Jacob said that his days were few… at least in comparison to his fathers. His father Isaac lived 180 years, his grandfather Abraham lived 175 years, his great-grandfather Terah lived 205 years. And Jacob says that they were pilgrims too.
Look what else Jacob says… he says his days have been few and evil.
Jacob was a deceiver, he stole his brothers birth right, he fled to escape his brother and went to live with his uncle. He had to escape from Laban as well. He came to the land of Canaan and had to bury his wife Rachel. His oldest son Rueben was involved in a disgraceful matter, his other son Judah shamed the family with sin, and for many years he thought his youngest son – Joseph had been killed by wild animals, and now here was, standing before the king of Egypt because famine had wiped out his livelihood and caused him to send his children to buy food from the Egyptians.
In other words; Jacob had lived a hard life.
And Jacob’s answer also tells us that in those 130 years – he had finally learned to get his priorities straight. The first thing that counted to Jacob was that he was simply a pilgrim.
1st Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourselves before the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” And 2nd Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land.”
You know what that passage tells me? It tells me that prayerlessness equals pridefulness. It tells me that a corrupt and immoral nation becomes so, not because of un-believers but because of God’s people acting like un-believers. God says’ that it is His people who need to humble themselves and pray, that it is His people who need to seek His face, it is His people who need to turn from their wicked ways, that it is His people… We cannot change a culture by legislation. We can’t change our culture by electing officials who make a profession of faith in Christ. Laws and rules don’t change the human heart. The only thing that does, and that ever has is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by which God has ordained as the means by which He provides His saving grace.
If Christians want to take America back for the cause of Christ then it is Christians who need to humble themselves and pray, it is Christians who need to seek the Lord’s face and turn from their wicked ways. It’s Christians who need to be doers of the Word and not hearers only; it is Christians who need to be about their Fathers business. It’s Christians who need to occupy until He comes. You know that term “occupy” is a military term… that’s exactly what our troops are doing in Iraq right now… we are occupying the country until they are capable of defending the country themselves and ensuring that a void will not open up after we leave. It’s not their home, but they are doing what needs to be done in order to make a difference while they’re their.
Jacob had come to this understanding (ya’ll thought I had gotten completely off subject didn’t you?)
How do we regard the things of this life and how do we regard the things of God? Are we a pilgrim or have we settled down in this world?
You know our world hasn’t changed much since the time of Jacob. It’s still a world without godliness. It’s still a world that has nothing to offer those who are seeking a far better place. There are still wars, famines, disasters, and no human being, no world leader, no politician, preacher or pope is able to stop them. The ratio of death to life is still one to one. Science creates hypothesis and theories, politics create platforms and committees, psychology creates self help and medication, but the problems still remain. When it comes to the problems of this world, the world offers me no solutions. Especially when the problem we face is the problem of the human heart.
When I read about Jacob realizing that he was a pilgrim it reminds me of another pilgrim. Christian from John Bunyan’s classic work – Pilgrims Progress. If you’ve never read it you should, but in that book Christian is made aware of the burden of sin he is bearing. He is made aware that his soul is in danger. “How can I be reconciled to God and where can I find forgiveness of my sins?” Is the question Pharaoh should’ve asked Jacob. The world doesn’t have that answer. And when we reach the end of our days, be they few and evil, or many and prosperous; the world can do nothing about our final destination in eternity. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and yet looses his own soul?
Are we at ease in this world or are we pilgrims making our way towards that far better country?
Instead of pilgrims we could say we are foreigners… we belong to the kingdom of heaven. I’ve been all over the world and I can tell you that foreigners have different laws, they have different behaviors, and they have different appetites. They see things in a different way. And when you are in their country, they know that you don’t belong there… unless you assimilate. That means unless you become just like they are.
The question for us today is: Have we assimilated to the world, or is it obvious that we are strangers in a strange land. Is it obvious that we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven or do we act just like the rest of the world?
In the last verse of our text there we see that Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from him. You would think that it should be the other way around. Pharaoh was the king of Egypt; he was the one with all the material wealth and resources. But instead it was this 130 year old man who blessed the king of Egypt.
But again that makes sense to us… after all, how can a king of this world bless a man who is a citizen of heaven? No… it’s supposed to be the other way around. We are supposed to be a blessing to the world. We are to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. We are to let our light shine before all men, that they might see our good works and then glorify our Father in heaven. Not glorify us, or praise us, or say: “Wow that guy is really wealthy, or fortunate.” Instead it’s supposed to make them say, “Wow there’s really something different about that person – they have joy, they have peace, they are content in all things, they are different, they don’t have the same behaviors as us, they don’t have the same appetites as us, they see things in a different way, and yes it’s obvious that they don’t belong here, but wherever they’re going I want to go too.”
I pray that this morning, the lesson we take from this passage, and the lesson we take into the new year is that we, as pilgrims, have a high calling to be witnesses to the grace of God. We have the high calling to send up prayers to God almighty for this poor, miserable world. I pray that this morning we take into the new year the knowledge and understanding that we are merely pilgrims in this world, and that this world is perishing and the lusts thereof.
I pray that we would be doers of the Word and not hearers only, and that it is our Christian duty, as ambassadors of Christ to share the life changing Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to live in a manner that reflects that Gospel.
And I pray that in 2009 God’s people won’t settle and assimilate in the Egypt that is the world, that we will not be conformed to this world, but that we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we may prove what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God, that we would not think more highly of ourselves than we should, but that we would think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
PRAYER AND INVITATION
