Sojourners and Strangers - Genesis 47
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Good morning. Please take your Bibles and turn in them to the book of Genesis. Genesis chapter 37. Or sorry, 47. Sorry. Not to scare you. 47. We're close. We're close to the end. Genesis chapter 47. Last time we saw how Jacob and his other sons have now moved with their family to Egypt.
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During this great famine, over all of the land. And Joseph, his son, is going to provide for them now as he is the second in command in Egypt. And so in God's providence, God has worked out through the enslavement of Joseph that he would be elevated so as to preserve many people alive through this famine, including the promised family, the promised seed of seed family according to the Abrahamic covenant. So we see God continuing to work out his providence, seeing to it that he fulfills his promises. A follow along as I read the chapter starting in chapter one, Genesis 47. So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers with their flocks and herds and all that they possess have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen. And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to his brothers,
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'What is your occupation?' And they said to Pharaoh, 'Your servants are shepherds as our fathers were. They said to Pharaoh, 'We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servant's flocks. For the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen. 'Your father and your brothers have come to you. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen. And if you know any able able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock. Then Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, and stood him before Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Jacob, 'How many are the days of the years of your life? ' Jacob said to Pharaoh,
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'The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life. And they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning. ' And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And went out from the presence of Pharaoh. Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses. As Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his fathers' household with food according to the number of their dependents. Now, there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe. So that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan
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and exchanged for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, 'Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.' And Joseph answered, 'Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock. If your money is gone.' So they brought their livestock to Joseph and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, 'We will not hide from you from my Lord, that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lords. There is nothing left in the sight of my Lord but our bodies and our land.
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Why should we die before your eyes? Both we and our land.' Buy us and our land for food. And we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die. And that the land may not be desolate. So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. For all the Egyptians sold their fields. Because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh's. As for the people, he made servants of them from one end of Egypt to the other. Only the land of the priests he did not buy. For the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them. Therefore, they did not sell their land. Then Joseph said to the people, 'Behold, I have this day bought you from your bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. And at the harvest, you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh.
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And four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households. And as food for your little ones.' And they said, 'You have saved our lives. May it please my Lord. We will be servants to Pharaoh.' So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day. That Pharaoh should have the fifth. The land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's. Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it and were fruitful in multiplied greatly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for 17 years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life were 147 years. And when the time drew near, that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, 'If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt,
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but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.' He answered, 'I will do as you have said. ' And he said, 'Swear to me.' And he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed. It says the word of the living God. I like to travel and when I do, I travel with only one bag. When I go on a trip, I pack everything in a backpack. One bag travel. I have a 26-liter backpack if you're curious. It is truly liberating. I once went to Israel and I brought two bags. One was my check bag and I had all my clothes in it. The other was my backpack and it had all my books in it because I was studying for my doctor of ministry and I had a lot of homework to do while I was on the buses from place to place. And so in God's providence, my check bag got lost
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and for like the first three, three, maybe four days of the trip and but I had all my books. So I could still do my homework. But I didn't have any clothes. So I borrowed one change of clothes from from someone else on the trip. And I just shifted back and forth. And so I got it finally back, my bag in Galilee on the Sea of Galilee. So how about that? Pretty cool. But I survived. I survived. It was okay. I don't know if people wanted to sit next to me on the bus, but hey, it's okay. But I think you're going to think I'm weird. I think one of my favorite parts about traveling is packing. I just love it. Assuming you can do laundry, at some point on your trip, you can get away with one bag packing. I even like to watch videos online of people who are packing their bag efficiently and like what do they need essentials. My kids like to make fun of me. In my notes app on my phone,
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packing and like most efficiently. I have a notes app for, you know, You know, okay, if I have to wear a suit, okay, what do I wear on the plane and what do I pack and things like that. You know, and just how can you make it work? Okay, I know you're thinking I'm weird. Okay, but it made me think about what is truly necessary, what is essential when traveling. What do you really need? How many times do you come back and I didn't really need that. I didn't use that. My goal is to use everything. You know, and not have not be in want for anything else. There's a certain kind of flexibility that you have to have when you travel. It requires a kind of minimal lifestyle for a short time. In chapters 46 and 47 are really talking about sojourning, the sojourning of Israel and his children, his descendants from the land of Canaan to the land of Egypt. And they pack all of their stuff and they move. So we might ask, what does it mean to be a sojourner? What is a sojourner?
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A sojourner is a temporary resident, someone who's dwelling somewhere for a temporary period of time. They're on the move. We might say they're camping. They're living in hotels, place to place. Maybe you've had to do, you know, work trip and you're there for a few weeks or maybe even months and they put you up in a hotel. Well, you're sojourning. You're sojourning. Look at chapter 47, verse 4. It said they said to Pharaoh, we have come to sojourn in the land to be temporary residents. You know, we're not we're not planning to stay forever, although 430 years is kind of a long time. Okay. Verse 9. And Jacob said to Pharaoh, the days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. And then he speaks about the life of my my fathers in the days of their sojourning. So we have this idea of sojourning, of living as a temporary resident that continues to come up. This is a theme in the Bible, being a pilgrim, being a wanderer, this world is not our ultimate home. Now, in some sense, this world is our home
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because God is going to create a new heavens and new earth. We're created to live on a physical planet in physical bodies. Resurrected, restored. So that is God's intention. It is not for us to live floating in disembodied forever. Although absent from the body, present with the Lord, the ultimate destination is for us to be resurrected on a physical planet. But as we live in this world, we hold loosely to the things of this world as sojourners. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 13 says, these all died in faith, looking at many who trusted in in Christ. These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. To be an exile is to be out of your land, out of your homeland. Our citizenship is in heaven. From whom we eagerly await for Christ to return. Last time in chapter 46, we looked at three keys for living faithfully
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as sojourners, awaiting God's future place. And this this morning, we look at chapter 47 and we continue to see really more essentials for living faithfully as sojourners. Awaiting God's future place for us. This morning, we're going to look at five essentials for living faithfully as a sojourner in this world. The first is it is essential that we would have application of the wisdom of God. We have application of the wisdom of God. In verses 1 to 6, Five essentials for living faithfully as a sojourner in this world. last time we considered at the end of chapter 46 how Joseph plans for his family to dwell in Goshen. It's probably when you're looking at Egypt to the east of Egypt, closer to Canaan, it's a very rich area. It's the best part of the land, we're told. He wants to settle them there, but not just because it's the best of the land, but in part because he wants to keep Israel from assimilating with Egyptian culture. He wants to keep a separation there,
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a distance. He knows that the Egyptians are not fond of shepherds. And so he's like, let's let's really emphasize that we're shepherds. That we've always been shepherds so that we create some distance there. That's his intention. But I want you to notice a different point in these verses. As we read, we see that not only is Joseph trying to keep them from assimilating, but also in the way that he goes about that, he demonstrates great wisdom in how he seeks to persuade Pharaoh to give them this land. The principle seems to be that we must know and apply the wisdom of God carefully in life. While God is sovereign, in control and he does stir the hearts of kings and individuals for his purposes. We've looked at that. God gives favor he gives favor to his people even from rulers. And that's what they're hoping to get
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from Pharaoh. But even though that's true, nevertheless, we must still be shrewd and wise in how we plan and execute our plans. So Joseph makes wise plans as to how to present this to Pharaoh. He doesn't just like walk in, hey, can we have it? You know, notice what he does in verse 31 of chapter 46. Just look up the page. Verse 31. Joseph said to his brothers and to Pharaoh's household, here's a strategy. I will go up and tell Pharaoh and we'll say to him, my brothers and my father's household, who are in the land of Canaan, have come to me. And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock. And they have brought their their flocks and their herds and all that they have. When Pharaoh calls you and says, what is your occupation? You shall say, your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth, even until now, both we and our fathers, in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians. So, you know, maybe maybe he's got
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a little like class here for his brothers. All right. Now repeat after me. Now say say what we just said, guys. Make sure you got it. Do you know what you're going to say? Okay. And so he's preparing them for that. He's coaching them. And we see that. And then we get to chapter 47. And he goes to Pharaoh first and then he only takes five of them. We don't know which ones. Which ones did he take? Some some say, well, maybe he took the best ones. You know, okay. Guys, don't be the ones that mess up. You know, which ones are they? Of your brothers, of your siblings. And which is the one? He's not going to put his foot in his mouth. Or maybe I don't know. We're not told. But maybe he he picked the most hillbilly among them. You know, and the most like shepherds, right? Because he was like, hey, I want him to see that we really are like shepherds. And these two represent that the best. And so that he'll see like, yeah, these guys really are shepherds. Let's get them out to Goshen. I don't know. What was his strategy? But he takes only five of them.
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He doesn't overwhelm Pharaoh. But he's using strategy here. He is careful planning. He's wise and he's shrewd in his dealing with politics. Sovereignty and responsibility are not at odds with one another. Yes, Pharaoh's heart is stirred by God as we'll see to give them this land. But that does not rule out our responsibility. To have wisdom and shrewdness. There is need for dependence upon God and diplomacy before men. And Joseph understands that. Sometimes we might think, well, you know, God is sovereign. So I don't need to plan for this. I don't need to do anything. I don't need to study. Whatever. Lord, just help me get a good test. You know, a good grade on this test. You know, it's like, no, you have to study, do the work, right? A business deal. You're going to think through strategy, but you're also going to depend on the Lord. We want to go the other way and go, okay, like let's just plan this thing all out. And oh, yeah, we forgot to pray. Let's pray. You know, no, we want to saturate our decisions
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in prayer, but also plan carefully. Missionaries have often worked hard because of this reality. They know God is sovereign. They depend upon him, but they understand they need to exercise great care and diligence in the work. In fact, the sovereignty of God actually motivates their hard work. William Carey, the father of modern mission, says, in one of his famous sermons, Attempt great things for God. expect great things from God. So so expect God to work, dependently rely upon him, but also attempt great things. Think carefully. Be strategic. About how you act. Joseph is wise. And shrewd. He he's dependent. And diplomatic in the way he goes about this. And you should do the same in whatever areas of stewardship you have, whether that's in your home, whether that's at your job, in the church. Think carefully about applying the wisdom of God to various circumstances and situations.
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While depending upon the Lord. God had providentially purpose the plan of Joseph and its effectiveness upon Pharaoh. He he used the strategy that that Joseph had to give give favor from Pharaoh. And then we see this other note in verse six just it's really a testament to Joseph's wisdom throughout his time leading the nation for Pharaoh. In verse six, it says, the land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen. And if you know any able men among them put them in charge of my livestock. In other words, he said, all right, you guys are shepherds. You're going to live there in the shepherd area. So I've got a bunch of animals. Hey, pick your best and and we don't know if he took them up on this. It just this is the level of trust that Pharaoh has for Joseph. He says, if you guys are anything like your brother Joseph, then you have the job.
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Maybe you understand that on the workplace. If if you're trying to get a job somewhere, it's often word of mouth. It's the best. If you have someone who is a really reliable worker, a great worker, and they're going to give you a recommendation, I mean, they're going to be like, wow, if they're giving you a recommendation, then man, you have the job. What's your name? I mean, so there's that great trust. And so he's saying, man, Joseph has been so reliable so wise in his dealing that if there's more like you in this family, we want to put you to work. Now, the point is this. As you're a sojourner in this world, you need to know how to carefully apply the truth of God, the wisdom of God, to various circumstances for what you're trying to accomplish. Plan realistically and rely upon God. That's what Joseph does here. We see his strategy. So this is the first essential to pack. As you live as a sojourner,
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application of the wisdom of God. Second, the second essential to pack is adoption of the outlook of God. Adoption of the outlook of God. How you think, how you perceive, what what you view your identity as as you live here. And we see this as Jacob now has an interaction with Pharaoh in verses seven to twelve. Jacob is brought before Pharaoh. This is a separate meeting from the five brothers. Jacob and Pharaoh meet one another and one writer said this is like old Jacob being brought into the Oval Office. I mean, Pharaoh is the leader of the world. And Jacob, this old frail man, well, maybe I don't know how frail he is because he's going to live for 17 more years, but he thinks he's close to death maybe. But he he welcomes him in and notice in this passage the outlook of Jacob and how it indicates his dependence upon God, his his really his outlook on life.
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The notice first, the covenant that he believes, the covenant he believes. The text emphasizes twice that Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Verse seven, the end, it says, Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And then verse ten, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. He went out from the presence of Pharaoh. This is odd. Pharaoh is the ruler and yet he is blessed by Jacob. You might expect that Jacob comes in humble before this world leader and the the leader is going to bless Jacob. He's going to give him this land. But that's not what happens. It's the opposite. Look back in Genesis to chapter 14. We get some help here. Genesis 14, how to think about this. This is when Abram comes back from a battle
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that he was successful in and he meets a king priest named Mel. Melchizedek priest of Salem, king of Salem. And notice what happens. In Genesis 14, starting in verse 18, and Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed him. In other words, Melchizedek blessed Abram and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. Okay. So that's what happens. Historically. Then if we go to Hebrews chapter seven, it reflects upon Melchizedek, mysterious Mel. Melchizedek is mentioned in Genesis 14, Psalm 110, and Hebrews Hebrews seven. And those are his three times. That he appears. Hebrews seven, verse one, says, "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God,
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met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him." And then verse four, "See how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the spoils." So it's saying, see how great Melchizedek was that Abraham gave him a tenth. And then verse seven, "It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior." That's the logic of this interchange, that Melchizedek blessing Abram is the the superior one and Abram is the inferior one, as he receives the blessing. And that is what I believe Moses is trying to show us here by emphasizing twice that Jacob is blessing Pharaoh. Matthew, Henry said, Jacob is the one greater over Pharaoh, the ruler of the world. "Though in worldly wealth Pharaoh was the greater, yet in interest with God, Jacob was the greater. He was God's anointed."
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Listen, far better to be a follower of Yahweh, the true God, than to be ruler of the world with all fortunes." What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul? You know, we don't know what ended up happening to this Pharaoh. Wouldn't it be interesting if he actually did come to saving faith because of the influence of Joseph and Jacob that would be that would be pretty neat to talk to him in heaven. We don't know. This blessing by Jacob also shows the outworking of the Abrahamic covenant. Go back to chapter twelve. In Genesis, chapter twelve, verse two. "And I will make," this is God speaking to Abraham, "and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you. I will curse." And you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. And so here now, Jacob blesses Pharaoh,
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a Gentile ruler. That was God's intent as he's forming this nation, Israel, for them to be a kingdom of priests and to be a blessing to the other nations. Ultimately, of course, that that comes to its fruition in the Messiah, which is the greatest blessing that comes from Israel to bless the Gentile nations. But even when we see later when God restores and regenerates Israel, that they become a blessing to the other nations in their lands. So Pharaoh will be blessed because of Jacob. Jacob may not look like much to Pharaoh, but we might say that he has a treasure hidden in a vessel of clay. He brings his blessing from God. Here's the outlook you need. Better to be in covenant with God than to be prosperous and condemned before God. And so this is the covenant he believes.
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Jacob believes in the promise that God made to his family and he he blesses Pharaoh in light of his belief in that promise. Notice also the consideration that he maintains. The consideration he maintains Pharaoh takes interest in Jacob. He has greatly respected Jacob's son Joseph. Joseph has done him great good in the kingdom. And now he has opportunity to meet Joseph's father. So man, your dad is here? I want to meet him. Who could be the father of this great man? And so he has Joseph or Jacob. How old he is? How many are the days of the years of your life? Like how old are you? You know, what does Jacob look like for him to ask this? One writer put it like this: "Egyptians were preoccupied with death, and the Pharaohs who professed to be eternal sought to immortalize their bodies. His age must impress Pharaoh."
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Jacob is quite old. He reflects upon his life here. And notice how he describes his life as a sojourn. We looked at it already in verse nine, twice it's mentioned. First referring to his own life and then also referring to Abraham and Isaac that their lives were a sojourn as well. So they all have a sojourner mentality. A resident alien mentality. Deuteronomy 26:5 says, "When they enter into the land, here's what they should say to the priests." And you shall make response before Yahweh your God, a wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there. Few in number, and there he became a nation great, mighty, and populous. Reflecting on the sojourn of Jacob. Do you have a sojourner mentality? A holding loose to the things of this world mentality?
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Hebrews 13:14 says it so well. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. It is very much like John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. We are advancing towards the celestial city, so to speak. Many challenges along the way. And yet we view ourselves as pilgrims, as sojourners. As exiles. First Peter is all about that. So this is the consideration he maintains. That I am a sojourner here. My father was a sojourner. My grandfather was a sojourner. That's their mentality. They hold loosely. And that's in part why he he's going to say, I want to return. I want my bones to be returned to the land that God has promised to us. When I die. Notice also he speaks about the challenges he faces. Or he faced. The challenges he faced. Jacob had lived for 130 years. But here's how he summarizes his life.
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Few in evil have been the days of the years of my life. And they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers and the days of their sojourning. He says there were few. And you're thinking 130 years. I mean, that's not very few. That's a lot. But he's comparing his life to Abraham and Isaac. Abraham lived for 175 years, and Isaac 180 years. And so Jacob sees his life in comparison to theirs as as few. I guess it's whatever you're comparing, you know. Jacob will actually live for another 17 years and die at 147, still quite short of his father and grandfather. And so this is a statement of comparison. You know, Moses would have us reflect elsewhere on our lives and in their brevity. Even if we were to live to 130. In Psalm 90, Moses writes this psalm. It's probably the first psalm that's written in the Psalter. And it says in verse 10, "The years of our life are 70,
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or even by reason of strength, 80. Yet their span is but toil and trouble. They are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger and your wrath according to the fear of you?" So teach us to number our days. That we may get a heart of wisdom. This is what Moses would encourage us to have as an outlook on our lives. The brevity of our lives. And that's what Jacob has here. Yet many of the days of his life are described as evil. Jacob, he's saying, I've had a hard life. I've had a hard life. Some of this, no doubt, was the result of his own sins and the consequences of them. His deception of his father, to steal the birthright. And that led to his sin against his brother and the conflict between him and his brother Esau, fleeing for his life. His marriage to multiple women, and the heartache that caused. The Bible says that the way of the transgressor is hard.
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And so yeah, that's part of the evil of his life. But not only that, but he's not only suffered by his own sin, which I think we could all say to some degree, but he's also suffered because of the decisions of others or just living in a fallen world. He's experienced the trickery of Laban. Tricking him with Leah over Rachel. And then even other ways of deceiving him. The deceiver was deceived. The rape of one of his daughters, he experienced. The loss of Joseph. He believed in death, but comes to find out in slavery. But his sons concoct this plan. Even the waywardness of his boys is a great burden to him. I think one lesson here is, you know, some commentators are really getting on Jacob here. You know, like, oh, he's still down on himself. I think he's just being realistic here as he looks back on his life. It's okay for Christians to express the reality of the difficulty of life. Jacob is being honest about the challenges. Waltke says, "With great humility and honesty,
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he confesses the humble state and difficulty of his years." Not everyone's life is as easy as others. Some have more challenges than others. Different challenges than others. And Jacob has had quite a few. But he doesn't stay there. And this is why I don't think we should be too hard on what he's saying. Because in chapter 48, you know, end of 47, 48, 49 is really Jacob's deathbed. And so we're getting his reflections on his life. So we need to pair what he says here in chapter 48, the next chapter, with what he says not very long after this verses 15 to 16. As he brings Joseph and his grandsons Manasseh and Ephraim. It says, "And he blessed," verse 15, "he blessed Joseph and said, The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day. The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, blessed the boys and in them let my name be carried on in the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
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He says, "All my days, God has been my shepherd." It's like he knew Psalm 23 already. Like he knew John 10 already. Yahweh is the good shepherd. He's led me through all the difficulties along the way. To be a faithful sojourner, it's essential to have an outlook on life that is God-centered. That views life through the lens of God's Word. That sees your life through the spectacles of Scripture and what Scripture says about you. Jacob understands that. He can interpret the sins in his past and the sufferings in his past because of his outlook. He can view his life rightly as a sojourner and he can view himself in the context of the covenant that God has made. He's in covenant with God. We might say for us, as a sojourner, I am a servant of Yahweh. I'm a sojourner. I am short-lived. I am a sinner. I'm a sufferer. And yet, I am saved by God's grace. And he is my shepherd along the way.
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So here is another essential that you need to pack as you are a sojourner. Adoption of the outlook of God. You need the right outlook on life. Notice also, here we see Joseph caring for the nation. And we see another essential, administration for the glory of God. Administration for the glory of God. In verses 13 to 26. And just to summarize this section, here we see Joseph's incredible God-given wisdom on display once more. Joseph had these dreams of seven years of plenty and then followed by seven years of famine. He tells Pharaoh that, or actually these are Pharaoh's dreams. He interprets them. And Pharaoh puts him in charge, believes him because there was a near prophecy that Joseph was accurate about that related to three days with a cup bear in the baker and Joseph was spot on with that. And so he could trust Joseph as a true prophet.
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So he trusts him to care during the seven years of prosperity and plenty. And Joseph stores up. And then now we are well into the famine. And now Joseph is showing wise administration for God's glory as he distributes and sells grain to the Egyptians and other nations. He is in charge of administering the nation in the midst of the greatest financial crisis and collapse in their nation's history. This incredible famine. Just reading in my Bible, reading this week. And I happen to be in First Kings chapter 18. And this is kind of the introduction to Elijah and his ministry. And it also is a time of famine. That's because the people are in covenant disobedience. But in First Kings 18, verse 5, it says, "And Ahab said to Obadiah, Go through the land to all the springs of water, and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses
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and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals." And so they're searching. I mean, they're just trying to find anywhere that they can get food for their animals, for themselves. And because it's so severe. Well, it's gotten so bad that the people are coming to Joseph for grain, continuing to come. And the text moves progressively in severity of the famine. And in each case, Joseph carefully handles it. It's seen as, it made me think of the game Monopoly. You know, some of you kids like to play Monopoly. And the goal of Monopoly is really to, at the end of the game, have all the stuff, right? You obtain all the stuff. And at the end of this game, it's not a game, but Pharaoh is going to have all the properties. He's going to have all the pieces. He's going to have all the land, all the flocks, the animals, and the people. And they're going to be paying him a tax. You know, sometimes you make little side deals in Monopoly, like, okay, you can land on this property, whatever, so many times. And then I'm going to start charging you. We're like, okay, you're going to pay me little things. I don't know if that's allowed in the rules, house rules. But this is what's happening. He's going to progressively gain more. Of the land through this.
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But we shouldn't think about it as many commentators do. Negatively. They put Joseph in a negative light. Like, how could he do this? Why did he just give everyone stuff for free? But notice his care and how he goes about this. First, they give all their money in exchange for grain in verses 13 to 14. And this is one writer put, this is like fresh grain. It's corn and cereal used for food, not like, you know, frosted mini wheats or something like that. Not that kind of cereal. But this isn't seed he's giving to them yet. That's later. Then so they give him all their monies. And then they come back and they need more. And what do they have left? They have their livestock. And so in verses 15 to 17, they give their livestock for food. And then they've run out again because it's so severe. They come back. They don't have any livestock anymore. And they offer the suggestion to Joseph to listen, we don't want to die. Buy us.
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Buy our land and buy us in exchange for food. That's how desperate they are. It's interesting. Many pointed out Joseph was sold into slavery himself and now, in a way, he receives the request of the people to be servants or slaves of Egypt. But they're not quite the same. Joseph's slavery is different than the slavery we see him putting the nation under. And so we need to keep that in mind. A couple of thoughts from our perspective. These conditions were very dire. The people also are the ones who offered the suggestion to Joseph. He's not like, all right, now you all become slaves. How about that? They're saying, please buy us. And this is more, as many have pointed out, more like feudalism. And they become serfs of the land. Instead of viewing it like chattel slavery, in America, James Boyce says, what emerged from Joseph's famine policy was something like the feudal system
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of the Middle Ages. The land was held by the crown or local ruler. And the people were serfs. They worked the land and in exchange were cared for and protected by the authority. We keep that in mind. Some of the differences there. Now, Joseph will take their land and they will become servants. And then he will employ a tax upon so these people are the ones who are actually going to work the land. And he's going to tax the land and its produce 20%. 20%. That means they keep 80% and they give Pharaoh 20%. Except for the priests. They have a little exemption. They have like a pastors have housing allowance or something. I don't know. Something like that. And so they get exempt from that. Notice how the people don't complain about this situation, but are saved by this. Ian Dugwood says, the Egyptian people are depicted as grateful rather than grumbling in response to Joseph's provision
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of a means for them to purchase food under such circumstances. Even at the cost of their personal freedom. Now, the writer said, it did not affect his approval ratings. Actually, it skyrocketed his approval ratings. So what are some lasting lessons we could take from Joseph's administration and his faithful service during this time of great challenge and difficulty? Number one, notice that Joseph was honest in his administration. He was honest in his administration. He demonstrated integrity. And we see this in verse 14. It says this at the very end of verse 14. After they give him all their money, Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. I want to tell us that. Why couldn't I just say, they brought their money to Joseph? I mean, he's second in command. It's careful to tell us he brought it into Pharaoh's house. This is not Joseph's money. This is Egypt's money. This is Pharaoh's money.
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And so he brings it in. Walky says, Joseph takes nothing for himself. And this is amazing. Once again, Joseph, by God's grace, displays financial integrity in 47:14. We've already seen him demonstrate sexual integrity in 39:9 with Potiphar's wife, as he was overseeing Potiphar's house. Now he's overseeing all of Egypt for Pharaoh. And he has financial integrity. Joseph was not a crooked politician. I was watching a video about fraud being exposed and all this money in the government. And Joseph would have none of that. I heard Charles Swindoll, I don't know if some of you have read Charles Swindoll, he's older now, but he was being interviewed on a podcast. And he was like randomly saw it. I was like, oh, man, Chuck Swindoll. And it said something like the four S's that pastors must watch out for. And I was like, whoa, okay. I should hear what he has to say.
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So I clicked on the video and watched it. And it was actually really good. And he was talking about the four S's that the derailed pastors. And I'm sure you could apply these to your life easily as well. He said, number one is sloth. Sloth. Being lazy. You kind of make your own schedule. You got to study the word of God, pray. You could easily be slothful and people wouldn't know about it. And so he could be easy. He's like, you could become a really good golfer. And a bad preacher. And so he says, sloth is a danger. Another is self. Self. To make much of yourself in ministry. And to promote yourself and not the Lord Jesus. He said another one is silver. Silver. Money. Many ministers have been waylaid by a love for money. And shady dealing with money. And the other, he said, was obviously sex. What we see in Joseph is just a man of integrity through and through. He's not a lazy man. He's hardworking.
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He gets right to work when he becomes second in command to Pharaoh. He's not about himself and exalting himself. He has integrity with money. And he has integrity in relation to sex. So we should learn from this in Joseph's life. We also see, not only that he's honest in his administration, but he's also helpful in his administration. Why doesn't Joseph just give everything to them for free? Well, this would not be helpful for them long term. I think he actually preserves the dignity of the people by giving them something to do, by giving them work to do in their poverty, and not just giving them free handouts. People need to work for what they eat. Paul will say that. If no one is not willing to work, don't let him eat. Now, of course, there's extenuating circumstances. People who are physically unable to work,
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that's not what we're talking about. Able-bodied people who Joseph is saying, okay, here's how we'll do it. We're not going to give something for nothing. And so he progressively based on the severity first takes their monies, then their livestock, and then their land. Joseph values personal responsibility for the people and therefore he gives them 80% and they take 20. The nation does. Now, it's like 20%. He could have taxed them at way higher. Okay, 50%. It's coming to us. This is actually low based on what records we have of standards of this day. And it may be, it's like you think about all the little hidden taxes that we have everywhere. And us. And so wouldn't we love to just, that's all you have. It's like 20%. That's it. He sets up a system that will require people to work still. Think about Ruth in the book of Ruth. This is a different context. But Ruth and Amy are in poverty. And they go to glean in the fields. So basically like the reapers come
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and they take all the grain. And then there's, of course, leftovers. And God said in his law, don't take everything. Don't strip it completely. Do your reaping, but leave the gleanings, the leftovers, so for the poor they can come and they can pick the gleanings and they can have some. So it's not, they're not getting it for nothing. They have to work for it. So it gives the dignity of work, but they can be provided for. It was a way in that culture in that time to do that. One writer even pointed out that Joseph in his careful balance here, balances centralized government as well as individual responsibility and involvement through this process. And so he's threading a needle here through this financial crisis in the nation. And he does it very well considering the circumstances. So he's helpful in his administration. To fellow image bearers. And we see that he's honored in his administration. He's honored in the midst of it. The people praise Joseph for saving their lives. Look at verse 25.
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And they said, you have saved our lives. Now, just think about this. I mean, Joseph in many ways is portrayed to us as a royal figure who is by and large righteous in his dealings. He's not perfect. And he saves those whom he represents. And so couldn't we say this verse towards the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our righteous redeemer and our royal figure? You have saved our lives. May it please my Lord that we would be servants to you. Isn't this just like a little window, a little picture of salvation that Christ saves us from the slavery of sin into slavery to his service? From slaves to sin to slaves of righteousness. And so we ought to say, Lord, you have saved us. Whatever it is that you would have us to do, we will do it. They are thankful.
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We've come under the gracious rule of Christ, our Master. And he has provided for us and saved us. Joseph truly benefited the people in their time of greatest need. He was a just ruler. Listen to what 2 Samuel 23:3 says about just rulers. When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. Joseph was that kind of leader. He sought the care for human life. God had given him this wisdom and leadership. And he exercised it. Pharaoh had said of him earlier, can we find a man like this in whom is the spirit of God? We might also know that Joseph is a politician whose personal faith in Yahweh impacts his decisions in the public square. As it ought to be for every Christian politician.
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Don't leave your faith at home. Natural law, special revelation should come together in judging and ruling wisely. But you may not be a politician. I don't know if any of you who are. Maybe on your HOA board. But you and I need to recognize we have various stewardship in life as well. And we need to administer those stewardships faithfully for God's glory. Jeremiah 29:7, when Israel is in exile, here's what the counsel he gives to them is. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into into exile and pray to Yahweh on its behalf. For in its welfare, you will find your welfare. So we ought to seek wise stewardship and administration in our workplaces, in our homes, to make them as much of a blessing as we can make them in our churches. I mean, pastors are called overseers. They administer. And they should do it in the same way
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that Joseph did as well. Do you loathe the mismanagement and fraud in our government and other governments at times? Well, let Joseph serve as just like a little taste of the perfect reign of the Messiah. Governing over the creation and the world. Perfectly ruling from Jerusalem and, of course, we will reign with him. Joseph gives us a small taste of that he's in a difficult time. And yet he manages in a way that benefits the people and saves their lives. How much better. Sometimes I do this. I'll walk around and I think, in my prayer time, I'm like, I cannot believe there's that much waste going on. That much inefficiency. In the government. And then you go, but one day, it just makes me long. Jesus will have perfect administration. There'll be no dumb decisions. Just well-ordered. And won't that be a great time to live? So may it cause you to long for that future day as well. Well, what else do we need to pack essentially as we travel as sojourners in this life? That we learn from this chapter.
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Here's another lesson of what we need to pack. What's essential? Appreciation of the goodness of God. Appreciation of the goodness of God. I trust that this will encourage you. In verses 27 and 28. Here we see the goodness and kindness of God. And we see three expressions of this in these two verses. Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. In a time of famine, Israel flourishes under the favor of God. They are set in contrast to the rest of the Egyptians during the famine. Israel settled in the best part of the land in Goshen. Israel gained possession really. Probably the idea that they gained possession of land. So everyone else is losing their land Israel gains possession of land in Goshen. And it's the idea of Abraham was able to gain possession of a small piece of land in Canaan. A burial place.
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And here Israel gains possession of some land. In Egypt. Not only that, but Israel is fruitful and multiplies greatly during a time of famine. This is a reminiscent of Genesis 1:28. Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. And God is blessing Israel during this time of famine. It just goes to show you that God can bless his people even in the most adverse circumstances. about how that works in just evangelism and suffering as Christians go out into the world. I think it was Tertullian who said And they may suffer, but they just populate. Many pointed out as I was reading this week the seed of the martyrs sorry, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. So even in adverse circumstances, God can cause his people to flourish. So we see God's goodness in giving them land and multiplying them greatly. But we also see in a very personal way to Jacob. Verse 28. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for 17 years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years.
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Now, if that may be like a flyover verse for you. This verse could make you cry. If you understand what it's saying. In love for your God. Israel Jacob. How long does he live in Egypt? He comes to Pharaoh and he says, I'm 130 years old. And he talks about the difficulties, the evil that he's experienced in his life, the hardship. And notice how Moses he will live for 17 more years in Egypt. And therefore he will die at 147 years old. Now, why tell us this? Why not just say he died at 147? Do you remember how old Joseph was when he was sold in a slavery? 17 years old. Good guess. Chapter 37, verse 2. That's how we're introduced to Joseph. He was 17 years old.
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And now, where as Jacob or Joseph experienced Jacob experienced the first 17 years of Joseph's life, now Joseph will experience the last 17 years of Jacob's life. Only God could plan that out in his providence. These are not random details. Oh, just so happened. No, God orchestrated it that way. As a kindness to Jacob and Joseph. Isn't this similar to Job? At the end of Job and God restores to him and doesn't take away completely the pain of his losses. But he restores to Job much of his money. He gives him daughters. God is the God who gives us glimpses in this life of his ability to restore all things. Listen, if the Lord can be so sweet and kind in this way, and he restores our hurt even in this life,
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how much more will he do for you If God can show such tender goodness and I in the age to come? and kindness to Jacob and Joseph by giving them 17 years, in Jacob's twilight years, to match the first years of his life, basically Joseph as a boy, and Joseph as a man. Isn't that an indication of how God will restore all things in the end? What losses have you experienced in this life? Only you know the true depth of those. Will not God show particular kindness to you related to those losses? Don't you believe that? Joel chapter 2. Joel 2 speaks to this reality. Joel speaks about a locust plague that devastated the land, which is a picture of the future day of the Lord's judgment that will come upon the world.
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But after that, he speaks of restoration Joel 2:24. The threshing floor shall be full of grain, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter. My great army, which I sent among you, you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of Yahweh your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. My people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Yahweh your God, and there is none else in my people shall never again be put to shame. This is what you need to know as being a sojourner. You need to have an appreciation of the goodness of God and trust that God is so good. He not only gives us glimpses of his ability to restore in this life, but also he will do so in the next. Finally, let's end by seeing the anticipation of the promise of God. Anticipation of the promise of God. In verses 29 to 31, Jacob is nearing death,
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and he calls for Joseph. And Joseph or God had promised to Jacob that before he left for Egypt, that Joseph himself would close Jacob's eyes in death. And so now he nears death. So basically, he gets that 17 years with Joseph. It's like we're not told. We're not given that episode, right? It's like you watch the show. We're watching the Joseph show for a while. We get these little vignettes. They didn't give us an episode. On those 17 years, they just say 17 years later, how sweet must those have been. I mean, Jacob lived lavishly, even though it's a time of famine. His son is the second highest in command. And so he lives of great blessed life. And yet that doesn't corrupt him. It doesn't keep him saying, oh, I just I'm an Egyptian now. No, he's still an Israelite. He wants to go back even in death to the land. They have this sweet time. Fast forward. Now Jacob's at the end of his life. And this the end of this chapter, the next two chapters are really going to show us
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the Jacob putting his house in order before he dies. And Jacob asks Joseph to promise and swear to not bury him in Egypt, but to bury him in Canaan with his fathers. To bury him in the land of promise. It's practice of putting the hand under the thigh. It makes him strange to us culturally. But it was the way to make an official promise. One person said, it's like, you know, we have like DocuSign today. You probably prefer that. You know, it's like just do that. They had the hand under the thigh, you know. So Genesis 24:2 to 3, this is what Abraham makes his servant do to him before he finds a wife for Isaac. So it's an official promise. What is the request? Tell us, though, about Jacob's faith. It will reveal his hope and his faith in the promise of God as he dies. He believes that God will bring him back to this land. Being buried in the land of promise is an indication of faith that he will be resurrected in the future, in the land to enjoy.
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So the patriarchs they understand God has promised me this land as well as my descendants. And so if I'm going to die before that happens, it must mean that God will resurrect me and bring me back. I think that's the right logic of how they're thinking. And therefore they say, put me bury me in the land because I want to be there when I'm resurrected. And so they have this hope of future resurrection. How is it that you can die well? In the ESV, it says it pretty starkly. Verse 29. And when the time drew near, that Israel must die. All of us have a time that we must die. We don't know when that is, but our days are marked, are numbered. And so how can you die well? By dying in the hope of God's promises, especially the promise of resurrection. Notice the posture of Jacob at his death as well.
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He's Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed. He's in a posture of worship. So debate about this. Is he leaning? Bowing down. Some translations maybe say on his staff. To Joseph in fulfillment of that dream. Or is this to God? It is one of those. But if it is that he's bowing to Joseph in recognition that, yes, God, you prophesied that this would take place and I'm acknowledging that. Well, that's still worship of God. But just notice simply that he worships God in these end days. He's in a posture of worship. Many saints have died with family around them, singing, worshiping as they enter glory, as it should be. Not everyone has that opportunity. But Jacob will. And Joseph will close his eyes in death. That's how we should die, in a posture of worship, looking back. Yes, we see the sorrows that we've experienced, but we also are satisfied in the God who will be our God and shepherd us even through the valley of the shadow of death. Five essentials for living as a sojourner.
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Application of the wisdom of God, adoption of the outlook of God, administration for the glory of God, appreciation of the goodness of God, and anticipation of the promise of God. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word to us and your faithfulness and goodness. Lord, my mind just is upon this idea that you can be so good to us as almost like a taste of how good you will be into the future. A little glimpses of your kindness and character and Lord, may we trust you even in hardship and difficulty in our lives that you are good and you do good. Pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Our final hymn is He will hold me fast. Number 388 in your hymn books. He will hold me fast when you find that. Please stand and sing with us. 388.
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Amen. Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ,