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As you're being seated, if you would, please turn with me in your copies of God's word to Acts chapter 3, Acts chapter three, we will be looking at verses 17 through 26, although we'll be tracing this theme a little bit through the Bible itself. We've already read the Old Testament mention of this, the first time it's shown up. And here we're seeing it here in the New Testament. 

If you're following along in the Pew Bible, the black volume that's in front of you that's on page 10083. 10083. To give you the brief context here, Peter is giving a sermon to a crowd that is gathered together because they have just healed a man who has paralyzed his whole life and has been sitting at this gate begging alms, and now all of a sudden he can walk around, jump around as praising God, and Peter is explaining how it is that this is possible. 

Of course, is the power of Christ that is evident in this man's life. The man that this crowd was at least joining in crucifying him. And that's where we pick up in verse 17, Acts chapter 3. 

Listen carefully, because this is God's word. And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets that this Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled, repent, therefore, and turn back that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you. 

Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, the Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him and whatever he tells you, and it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. 

And all the prophets who have spoken from Samuel and those who came after him also proclaimed these days.You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your father, saying to Abraham and in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God for His Word. 

Let's go to our God and ask His blessing on our text today. Oh, heavenly Father, you who have given to us your eternal Word, not only what we have just read, but in the person in whom this is about, we pray that we might look at this word with a greater clarity, and a greater love than we have before, but I pray that you had blessed the preaching of your word, pray that you had commended to the hearts of all of us, that we might love you more. 
Oh, we ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Who is Jesus? Who is he fully? There has been a recent survey that's gone out. It's called the State of Theology Survey, where they're asking people, both your average everyday Americans and even your regular churchgoing folk, a series of questions as to what is the Bible? Who is Jesus and this sort of thing. And one of the things that was amazing is when they asked the question, who is Jesus? 

Is he just a great teacher? And what we found was that at least, I think it was 20% of even church going folks, would say that yes, he's just a teacher. He's not God. But is meant to give us an example as to what we're to follow. Well, like most lies that are damaging, there is a bit of truth. Yes, Jesus has given us an example. 

Yes, he was a great teacher, but that's not all he was either. We can also make the mistake, especially when we come to our seasons of Advent, when we see little manger scenes everywhere that we see Jesus as the baby. The harmless little thing that we've all come to worship and adore. 
And we forget that there is a lot more to this baby as well. In theology, there is a term that's given that Christ occupies three offices, which is just a fancy way of saying that God has the Son of God Jesus, has three titles, three things about him, three jobs that he occupies to help us in our Christian life, to show us the way. And those three offices are prophet, priest, and king. 

And as those three jobs of Jesus, his full nature is what we are going to be examining this Christmas season, that he is the prophet. So what we're going to do is that we are going to look at our two points as we examine Christ's character today, if you will do the note-taking sort of person. The first is that Christ is the ultimate prophet. 

Christ is the ultimate prophet. But what we're going to see is that he is the message. He is the message or the word. 

So let's take a look. Christ is the ultimate prophet, and let's answer the question, what is a prophet? There's a lot of misunderstanding as to what a prophet does, because when we hear about prophets, it's usually stuff that they said a long time ago, that's only just now coming true. 

So we tend to look at prophets as future tellers, predictors. And while that's probably the most impressive thing that they do, that's not the only thing that they do. It's true whenever, usually, when we're reading from Isaiah, we're only reading about the predictions that he's made, that a virgin will conceive and bear a son, you shall call his name Emmanuel, and that's Isaiah chapter 7, "We don't see that verse fulfilled fully for another 700 ish years when we see Jesus, who is indeed born of a virgin and is given the name Emmanuel, meaning God with us. 

And while he does that in several places in the book of Isaiah, that's hardly the majority of what Isaiah is doing. The majority of what Isaiah is doing is not giving you new information, but is reminding you of information that God has already given. There is a law! 

You are to worship only God, not to make these idols of wood. Instead, ye to repent of that sort of false worship, and then turn to the god who is thrice holy. That's the main message of Isaiah. 
And yes, also prediction, in there as well. There is some fore telling, looking forward to the future, but the majority of what the prophets are doing is forth-telling, laying out God's laws. Now, who were these prophets? 

Well, the one that acts chapter 3, mentions, of course, is Moses. Now, Moses comes up again, in this particular concept comes up again in Acts chapter 7, just a few pages over. When we look at Acts chapter 7 and beginning, there in verse 20, we see this is coming up in the context of a sermon. 

Here in Acts chapter 7, we hear hearing from one of the first deacons of the church. His name is Stephen. And he's being brought in front of these religious leaders to give an account of what it is that we're teaching, what it is that we're preaching, and he is going through as we were to read the entire thing, which we do don't have time to do this morning. 

What he is doing is going through a history of the Old Testament and saying,Here is what your fathers have done to the prophets, and how well they have listened to said prophet. He introduces Moses's life, and if we were to read this whole passage, I would encourage you to do so at home later today versus 20 through 45 He lists out Moses, and all the things that he did, but how often he was ignored. Even at the very beginning of his life, and the very beginning of his ministry, so to speak, this first deliverance is delivering one of the Hebrew slaves from an excessive beating from one of the Egyptians. In the account and Exodus, which Moses himself is writing, says he looks this way, and that left and right, and kills one of the Egyptians and buries him in the sand. And then when he comes up and sees there's an argument the next day between two Hebrews, he comes up to them and says, hey, how can we sort this out? And it says they're in acts that he was thrust aside and saying, "Who have you have made you judge over us?" 

And we'll see that pop up here, and again and again in this chapter, Moses is thrust aside. And back in Deuteronomy, he is saying, there's going to be a prophet that's going to be raised up after me, and you shall listen to him. What we see in Acts chapter 7 in this fulfillment of it, that there hasn't been listening. Look at verse 42, but God turned away and gave them over to worship the hosts of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets, did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices during the 40 years in the wilderness? Oh house of Israel? You took up the tent of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship. 
I will send you into exile beyond Babylon. Here, they did not listen. They thrust Moses aside. 
They did not offer up true worship to the only God, which was the first and second commandments. The law was thrust aside. And indeed, as we are seeing here, and we get to the rest of this chapter, the one who was to be raised up a prophet like Moses, Jesus is thrust aside as well. 

And he is killed. This is how these prophets were treated. And we will see this throughout the rest of the Old Testament if we were to look at them, we were to see these sorts of prophets after Moses, there were many others that were raised up. 

There was another great prophet, and his name was Samuel, that he would be the one who was one of the kind of the first prophet and judges of pulling the people together and trying to bring more people into conformity to God's Word. But as we would see in the tragic life of his sons, Samuels even his own sons, don't follow him. Eventually, Samuel is rejected in favor of a king instead. 

Or Isaiah, probably one of the greatest prophets, at least in terms of Britain volume of what he is calling of his people to turn and repent, he's thrust aside, too. In fact, in Hebrews chapter 11 32 and 38, it says that some of the prophets were put inside of a log and sawn in two. The tradition is that's Isaiah. It doesn't get more thrust aside than that! God's prophets all the way through the Old Testament were ignored, because they continued to bring God's word and the people continued to not want to listen. 

But the prophets were limited. 

You might be able to say if we were going to try to if we were the ones in the sights of this complaint, we were ignoring the profits because it was like, well, these profits were flawed men too. Why should we listen to them? Who made them judge over me? I don't want to listen to this sort of a thing. I know their sins. I know Samuel's sons don't follow him. 

Well, here we get into the New Testament, we get the ultimate word as sent. Christ, He's the ultimate prophet. He's not only telling the future, we've seen places like Matthew 24., but he's also laying out God's law in Matthew 5 7 says, here is what the law looks like.  Here's what it always was meant to be, to call them to this great standard of holiness, but do you know what's fascinating when he talks versus when all the other prophets would talk? When the other prophets would talk, they would need to have a preface. They would need to say, thus saith the Lord, to give authority to what they're saying. 

They couldn't just get up there and saying, "Hey, guys, you know, this worship of Vail, it's just not practical." You see, it just doesn't work. They're not offering their own wisdom. 
They have to cite their source of thus saith the Lord. What is Jesus say? This is truly, truly, I say to you, what an audacious claim. To say, I am going to speak for God, because he is. That's one of the things that you will see throughout the New Testament when the people are reacting to Jesus, they'll say, no one teaches like this guy. All the other scribes in the Pharisees, they have to keep referring back to other authorities. 

He's speaking on his own authority. Well, how do you get to say that? How do we know? 
if you are there in the first century listening to Jesus, we've had lots of people come and claim to be prophets of God. And they were wrong. How do we know? 

In Deut. 18, a little further down, there is a test. Saying there's, if a prophet is going to say something, and that it doesn't turn out to be true, you can ignore him. You're going to test things against God's word.  That's exactly what he did. When he is saying, I'm I'm I'm going to be risen from the dead in three days' time, and what do you know? He's risen again, three days' time, just as he said. When he says, "You are healed, rise and walk, and the man is healed and rises and walks." Miracle after miracle after miracle, authenticating what it is that he's saying. He is a trustworthy prophet, the ultimate prophet, but he goes beyond this. 
He is able to do all of these things by his own power. The prophets couldn't do that. They couldn't force a conversion. 

There's a wonderful story in Ezekiel 37, another one of God's Old Testament prophets. Ezekiel is brought to this field of bones that are all dried out. And Jesus the Lord asks Ezekiel and says, "Can these bones live?" And Ezekiel goes, "Lord, you know," which is a great way of sidestepping the question. Because all he is saying is, Lord, you know the answer to that. And that's not what God said, is it?  He doesn't know. His answer might be. It's like, well, looking at the situation, the answer is no. These bones can't live again." But he says, "Lord, you know. Because with the Lord, all things are possible, and God tells Ezekiel to preach to the bones, and he preaches to the bones, which must have felt silly. I've had to preach to people who were asleep, but I've not had to preach to people who were dead. 

And then it says that there is a mighty wind that comes together, and animates these bones, brings them together, puts flesh on them, and ultimately, breathes new life into them so that they're raised again. Does that come from Ezekiel?  No. Nothing comes out of Ezekiel. He's just talking. But it's God that moves and raises these from the dead. Now, what happens when Jesus wants to raise somebody from the dead? There a mighty rushing wind? No. It's his word. It's his breath that calls Lazarus out of the tomb. It's his touch that heals, and its power that comes from him when the woman touches the hem of its garment, it's not power that's come from exterior. He says, I felt power come out with me. He is the source. 

And that's where we get into our second point, is that Jesus, Christ, is the Word. When he is coming and preaching, he is not like Isaiah. Isaiah is pointing elsewhere and is saying,Over here is the word of God. Follow it and obey." When Jesus is speaking, he says, "I am the Word. I am the bread, taste, and see. This is a very different prophet. This is not one that you are just listening to him. You are not listening just to the teaching that he's given. But shockingly, in John chapter 6, this is the prophet that you eat. That's weird. And it's intentionally so. 
Jesus is pointing out, I'm not like the rest of them. Yes, there is a prophet that is like Moses, but is much greater. Yes, Moses could bring the law of God down. Jesus comes down. He says, I am God's word to you. This is not written on a tablet of stone. It's spoken out of human mouth. And it's me, and it's not just following what I say. It's becoming who I am. 

This is what it means for Jesus to be a prophet. So when we hear the question, was Jesus just a teacher? The answer is a resounding no. Yes, he taught! Yes, he proclaimed God's word! But he was far more than that. He was the Word, and he calls you to it. The question, of course. is what are you going to do about it? That has always been the choice. That has always been what's on offer here, all through the Old Testament is God calling his people to himself. And Jesus is doing the same. He's offering out His Word to you, "We are sinners. We are rebellious. We deserve judgment. But just like all the other prophets of the Old Testament, there's an offer of grace, that there will be one by whose stripes you will be healed. 

Here in the New Testament, we get to see what this is. This calling, not to a way of life, but to a person, and to say, come, follow me, and I will give you rest. So what are you going to do this Christmas? How are you going to look at this prophet? Are you going to, like many, did in the past, thrust him aside, like Moses? 

There could be a lot of ways you can do that. 

It can be, I do not like God's demands on my life. I do not like what this is going to mean for me because things are going to have to change. We can thrust him aside that way. We can also thrust him aside by saying it's like, I really don't need that Jesus. My life is already pretty moral. I'm actually living a pretty good life. I don't need this grace. I prefer to do things myself. Well, Jesus has already proclaimed that we are sinners. 

It's not about living a moral life alone. This is about submitting to Christ, acknowledging that we are in fact, sinners, and we do in fact need this grace. So we can thrust him aside by saying, I don't want to be holy, or we can thrust him aside saying, I'm already holy, thank you." 
But doing that is to ignore the word that he's given. And this is the last word that we have. 

In the book of Hebrew, and we'll close with this, in the book of Hebrews in chapter 1, the writer is opening by saying that in many ways, in various times, God has spoken to us by the mouths of the prophets. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. This is as clear of a revelation as we could possibly ever have. 

When you look through the Old Testament, you'll find these prophets get increasingly theatrical. It's like there's this a deeper and deeper display of what God's word is. You'll hear Isaiah is talking and is preaching, but you get to Ezekiel, and he is like lying on his side for three years, chaining himself up with this ox goad. It looks kind of theatrical, but God's word is getting clearer and clearer and clearer. You weren't listening by words. I'll give you visual aid. 
You're not listening to the prophets, let me send my son to you. 

There is a message given by one of my favorite preachers, Neil Stewart, who talks about the life of Christ. And he says, "I can imagine in every single moment of Jesus' life, all the angels are going back and are looking down on him and are saying, "Ah, he's just like his father. 
He's the perfect revelation of God. Every word, every tone of voice, every facial expression, is all the perfect revelation of God, the Father, and his heart towards his people. We are not just coming to Jesus, fearing judgment or thinking, "Well, the Father's really angry at me, so I better shape up." Though the Father has the same beating heart as Christ. The one who dines with sinners and it compels them to come in. That's why he's the ultimate prophet. 

No, Isaiah couldn't dream of being like that. The beginning of his ministry, he says, "Woe is me, I'm a man of unclean lips!" Jesus comes, he's the perfect example. 
No sin, no flaw. And then offers himself on a cross, and then by faith, in a spiritual sense, he offers lunch, Supper. And he calls us to his table. 

And they're saying, you've heard this word. You've seen it, if you happen to be there in the first century, revealed to you on earth. And now, today, we see His Word at the table, in bread and fruit of the vine. A picture of a body broken of blood spilled. So as we come to the table this morning, let's be reminded, God has spoken to us in as many ways as is possible. 

He is spoken by His prophets. He has sent his son, he's given us visual aid, He's given us written words. We have every possible way of seeing and hearing God's word. 
Will you listen? Will you hear? Will you taste and see that the Lord is good? 

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this great word that you've given to us, this clear, window into your own soul, into your heart, that we can see that you love your people, and that you desire fellowship with your people. The name that you chose coming to earth was Emmanuel, God with us, and you are with us. 
So, Lord, now, we desire fellowship with you. We ask that you would meet us here in this moment, in this solemn celebration of the Lord's Supper. Help our hearts to be prepared to receive such a gift. 

Lord, we ask all of these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

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The more modern the world gets, the more relevant passages like this are. I know it doesn’t seem that way at first reading, but if you follow along with me, I think you will see that this is a very interesting passage with a critical concept for us to grasp. That concept is regular times of celebration before the Lord. 
One of the challenges of modern life is a loss of the sense of time. I don’t mean we are all so busy now, I mean that we live as if we aren’t as bound to it anymore. Let me give an example. When our phones could get email, a little over 15 years ago, suddenly we could be working anywhere, anytime. The idea of “office hours” vanished and suddenly all of life could look the same. Any day could became Monday just in the time it takes for your phone to chime. This is just an extension of what has happened in the last 50 or so years when a lot of people’s work stopped being dependent on what time of the year it is. Farming is very dependent on the month of the year. Email works the same whether it is June or January, so many have lost the connection to the natural rhythms of the world. 
I came across a quote from Dr. Ross, my old Hebrew teacher, that sums up what I’m hoping to preach about today: “Only when worshippers begin to see how creation and redemption inform their use of time will they fully appreciate what it means to enter into the Lord’s rest and enjoy fellowship with the holy God, and with one another in Christ.” (Recalling the Hope of Glory, 240). I'm leaning on Ross a lot in what follows, so if it sounds good, it is probably him. 
In this section of Scripture, and in other places in the Old Testament, we see feasts or celebrations to God that correspond to certain seasons of the year, the creation. They were times that called for everyone to stop and remember the past, recognize the present, and rejoice for the future. Each one is filled with meaning not only when it comes to what is happening in the world, but even more so what is happening in redemption. 
Embrace the opportunity to celebrate, knowing that you always have reason to do so. 

Let’s do a little setup here, with a lot of thanks to Dr. Ross. The Jewish people had two kinds of calendars, one that was civil, and the other that was religious. The Civil New Year actually started in the Fall, while the religious one started in the spring. The religious calendar starts with Passover, whereas the Civil one starts on the Feast of Trumpets. It’ll make more sense as we go. 
The first one is the Passover. This is the one that we are the most familiar with, and it was actually three celebrations in one! The Passover was a single night in which the Jewish families would reenact the night that God delivered them from Egypt. They would eat the same meal their ancestors did, in the same way that they did, and would explain to the children as they went how God cared for them in the past. 
Right after that one was the feast of Unleavened Bread, which sounds fun until you realize how good yeast makes things taste. When you are used to full on bread, suddenly crackers for a week doesn’t sound all that appetizing. But after that was the feast of the first fruits, in other words a celebration of the first of the crops coming in, and as you can see here, a grain offering. You can imagine the joy that would be around as suddenly everyone can have bread again (see v 14) and the rejoicing that would have taken place having a successful harvest. 
Fifty days after that, everyone celebrates again with bread (made from the grain that just came in earlier) and with generosity to the poor. 
Having just rehearsed their exodus from Egypt and the fulfillment of God’s promise to bring them to a land on their own must have been so satisfying. This is where that reference that Ross made to creation and redemption fits so well here. They are not just having some recognition that the crops came in. It is that, but the meaning of the crops coming in is so much more in the moment. The only reason they have crops in this land in particular is because God brought them there. They aren’t just lucky people, they are a blessed people. God didn’t have to passover judgment on them. He judged the Egyptians but not them. 
There must have also been a sense of humbling here. Why should they be given such a gift? Why should they have this exclusive relationship with God in such a way? Notice also how along with this, there is an opportunity to be like God in providing for the poor. They didn’t harvest their wheat fields all the way to the edge or harvest what they may have dropped along the way, sucking up every last bit of profit. Instead, they left it there for the poor. From a legal sense, the poor aren’t owed that. Looking at things just from a creation standpoint, what you own is yours. But from a redemption standpoint, that field isn’t just a field. It is an opportunity to love your neighbor. 
Now that is the first third of the year. They would have had another harvest feast in the summer, but this passage mentions the back half of the year, think September/October timeframe. They followed a lunar calendar which gives flexibility to some dates. This began with a blast of the trumpet, signaling the start of a new year. And everyone would rest. 
Ten days after that would have been an extremely holy day. All of them were required to be days of rest, but this one is so serious about rest. God promises to destroy people who don’t rest there in verse 30. This was the day of atonement, a time where the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies, the most sacred part of the temple/tabernacle where the presence of God was uniquely occupied. He would only go in here on this day of the year and had to be properly prepared to go inside lest he die on the spot. They actually used to tie a rope around the priest’s ankle just in case he did it wrong and was struck down. There would have been no other way to retrieve the body. All of this was done to ensure that the sins of the nation were covered. Of course, this would be something that would have to be repeated every year. Until of course, an ultimate sacrifice was given. 
Five days after that was the feast of booths, or tents. This would have been a time where you would have lived in tents for a week outside your houses to reenact the history of your ancestors wandering in the dessert. It would have been a time of great feasting and celebration and no work at all. 
But do you notice something here? Why did the ancestors live in tents for forty years? Does it take that long to walk from Egypt to Israel? No. It was because they rebelled against God. They were sinners. And having just had the sacrifice offered for the nation for this year’s sins, there wasn’t a whole lot of fingerpointing back to the previous generations. They all had just recognized their own sinfulness. 
Yet they could rejoice because forgiveness was given to them. So while they were remembering the past, they could recognize the present. They could see the goodness of God to them. And even if it had been a hard year, they could rejoice in how they as a people had been brought to this point. 
Now imagine what level of celebration that these feasts took on when they would hear from the prophets of a coming age of Messiah. The firstfruits weren’t just a glimpse into the harvest that they would eat in a few weeks, but in the age of Messiah, the food and wine would flow freely; there would be abundance more than could be imagined! Ross points out how often the terms harvest would be used to describe the judgment of God where His people would be gathered up and placed in the barn safely, but the wicked would be burned with fire. What must that have been like as they anticipated the day their oppressors would be cast off from them. 
Then think with the New Testament writers as Paul compares Jesus to the passover lamb. The blood on the doorposts was pointing to the blood on the cross. Judgment passing over! And it would pass over forever! The day of Atonement would have to be done year after year, yet Christ provides the ultimate sacrifice! And when He rises again, what does Paul liken it to? The firstfruits of the resurrection! Fifty days after the Passover was the feast of weeks when they brought the bread the grain harvested before made, and fifty days after Christ’s resurrection, the Holy Spirit descends and brings the results of Christ’s rising, the birth of the Church! 
Do you think this is the time now to stop celebrating? Christians have so much to celebrate around our tables. We have everything in the Jewish history to celebrate and everything in the New Testament to celebrate! Even if 2025 hasn’t been your year, and I know for many of you it hasn’t, Christ is still on the throne. He’s still brought you this far. Look how much He has taken you through, look how much He has brought our people, a people of every nation, tribe, color, and tongue—His people—through. This is why we don’t just look to creation to find our cues to celebrate. We look through the lens of redemption and what He is doing in it. 
Ross opened his chapter by pointing out that God made time and intends for us to use it well. He put us in it, not to mention entering it Himself, to do His work. And He has set aside times to remind us that He rules all time. This is why in addition to these festivals, there were monthly times of rest (the New Moon Festivals), weekly times of rest (the Sabbaths), and twice daily times of worship (morning and evening sacrifices). 
How are you using your Thanksgiving time? I love a Turkey-infused nap in front of the Dallas Cowboys losing as much as anyone. But are you taking some time to reflect not just on what God has done for you, but for the world in the sacrifice of His Son? What God will do in the end when all things are made new? 
I know we are presbyterians, but we should be the rowdiest bunch of people at a feast. We have so much to celebrate. We have been chosen not for anything good that we have done and are on our way to a blissful eternity feasting before the Creator, Savior, and Sustainer of the world! 
And if you say, “Look, I understand where you are coming from here, but have you seen the News? Aren’t you worried about the [insert current discourse/issue here]? Is this really the time to celebrate?” I say, yes. And do you know why? Because those people trying to knock over God’s table are going to lose. If you would like a slightly more aggressive Christian attitude to feasting, our celebration tells the world to take its best shot. God is going to dominate so hard He will go ahead and prepare a table in the very presence of our enemies. Eat in front of them. 
And then invite them to sit down. People are worried about young folks, particularly young men, who are so discouraged with the system that they just want to burn it down because they got locked out of it. Feasting is a better alternative. They got locked out of an American dream that for those who managed to get in tell us doesn’t make them happy anyway. Tell them not to burn down that which never really existed. Don’t find people to blame. Instead, sit down. God has this. Our people have been here before, and where we are going will be glorious. 
Maybe that will make the turkey taste a little better. 

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Today, we look at the final passage in Genesis. It has been quite a journey. We’ve watched God create a world, see Adam ruin it, yet a promise of care in the very same chapter. We’ve watched the world flooded yet out of that a sign of the covenant written in the sky to this day. We’ve seen the rise and fall of Babel, divine blood oaths, and stairways to heaven. Yet we’ve also seen the humdrum waiting. Yet in each one of these chapters, we have been exposed to yet another demonstration of the sovereignty of God. 
It all wraps up here with yet another reminder of God’s sovereign control of the world. Though here, we have a unique application of that doctrine. It is one thing to flatly say, “God is in control.” That’s good and true, but has been said so often we begin to become overly familiar with it. This passage says, “Since God is in control, there is an obligation on your part: forgiveness.” We will see how this occurs in our passage and our main point: God’s sovereignty requires us not to seek revenge. 
God’s sovereignty requires us not to seek revenge. 

Verse 15 is a rational thought from Joseph’s brothers. After all Joseph kept asking about Jacob every time questioning came up, so he clearly cared about him. Obviously taking vengeance on the sons while dad was alive would have been a bad call (even Esau knew that), so they would be rightly worried that this would be the case here. While he did talk pleasantly with them after his identity was revealed, Joseph is quite good at the long game and can keep a charade going for some time! 
Verses 16-17. Here the brothers turn to the oldest family trick in the book, lying. Considering the close relationship that Jacob had with Joseph, this sort of thing would have undoubtably come up in their conversations, and this is something that if Jacob thought Joseph needed to hear, he would have said so. 
Notice how they say “your father” rather than “our.” Really pulling out everything to ensure their survival. This shows that when the chips are down, we show what kind of character we have. The sons obviously trusted in their ability to lie, which is neither necessary or particularly convincing. They don’t put the same trust in God that Joseph does, showing one final time in this book where trust should always be. 
Now, let’s notice Joseph’s response. It is radically God-centered. 
First, he states why he isn’t going to pursue retribution on them: it isn’t his place to do so. “Am I in the place of God?” The expected answer of course is “No, I’m not.” Therefore, it is not my place to be dealing out death and judgment. This seemingly anticipates the command in Deut. 32:35 where God says that vengeance is mine. He remains in his place. 
But he tells us why. Yes, vengeance is for God, and that would be enough, yet God has also done something with his suffering. 
Second, he doesn’t pursue vengeance because, ultimately, God has meant it for good. They meant it for evil. There is no sugar coating that. Yet despite their intentions, God’s intentions overrules theirs. And He did it for good. 
Now, we’ve watched that happen over and over and over again in the book of Genesis. There is no mistake that gets away from God. Even chapter 3, the Fall of man ultimately prepares the way for Jesus Christ. There is no mistake in Genesis, and there is no mistake today. God still works the same way, and it is brilliant. Sin is still sin. Evil intentions are still evil. Yet, God is able to take those actually evil things and intend them for good. That is a radical comfort for me because there is a surplus of evil in this world. It can be easy to look around and despair because there is so much pain around us and even pain within us. 
But do you notice that Joseph doesn’t speak about the good that it did for him? Yes, God’s plan included his rise to ruler of Egypt, his wife and kids, and eventually the reunion of him and his father. Yet Joseph’s focus is what the hardship did for other people. 
That is a next level perspective on personal suffering. It isn’t good just because it turned out well for me. My suffering was good because it resulted in the good of others. Joseph isn’t focused on the out come of what happened to him personally. He isn’t thinking that his suffering was worth it because he is ruler now. He is satisfied with God’s plan because of what it has meant of others. Others survived because he suffered. Now if that isn’t a picture of Jesus Christ, I don’t know what is. 
Can you have that perspective on your suffering? Can you be so caught up, so surrendered to God’s will that the suffering that you endure is worth it because someone else might benefit from it? That sounds bonkers. That sounds like one of those crazy people on the internet who seem to like suffering for its own sake. But Joseph isn’t the only one to have that mindset. One might get to ignore Joseph saying, “Well it is easy to have that perspective wrapped in royal robes with all the authority the ancient world can give!” Then lets look at Paul in 2 Timothy 2:8–10 “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” He is writing with this perspective as the chains rattle. He could have sat there feeling sorry for himself there in prison, instead he is discipling a pastor in his church plant. 
Now, because messages like this get misunderstood, let’s also say that Paul isn’t suffering for sufferings sake. He was trying to appeal to Ceaser so that he could get out of prison. He appealed to his Roman citizenship to escape flogging when he could. He prayed three times for his thorn in the flesh to be removed (2 Cor. 12:7-10). Paul isn’t looking for suffering but neither is he shying away from it in order that others may be brought to salvation. 
This isn’t a call to be a doormat. This isn’t a call to light yourself on fire to keep other people warm. Not taking care of yourself to make people pleased with you isn’t noble, it is just pride by a different name. That would be suffering we bring needlessly on ourselves. What Joseph is doing here is acknowledging his suffering that he couldn’t do anything about. Yet he doesn’t become bitter by it. He doesn’t calculate how he feels about his sufferings by looking only at the balance of his own life. He views it from another angle. 
What this passage teaches us is another way to view the hard things in life as meaningful, he asks, “How has this suffering been beneficial to others?” 
Now, Joseph has the advantage in that he can view the trial from the other end of it. This was much less clear when he was in prison. However, we have an even greater advantage because we have watched God do this over and over again. He is the same God who operates in the same way, so even when we cannot see the personal benefit of our suffering or the benefit of others from your suffering, you can rest knowing that God will work it for good. 
Now, the end draws near as Joseph, just like his father, gathers together his many children and tells them that he is about to die. He too has a word of hope and a command to bring his body out of Egypt. This final word is fulfilled in Ex. 13:19and ultimately burried in Josh. 24:32, remembering, of course, that Joshua is Ephraim’s descendant. 
The book of Genesis ends in the past, yet Moses is writing to the fulfillment of Genesis in the people in front of him. Imagine the sense of awe that comes to the people of Israel as such a history is read to them. They are living in the fulfillment of everything that Genesis promised. They became a great nation! They have Joseph’s embalmed body with them! They are on their way to the promised land. Even after Moses dies, Joshua gets to see this promised fulfilled as he buries Joseph’s body in the promised land. 
We ought to know what that feels like because we are living in that reality every day. We stand in nearly all the fulfillments of the Bible itself. We have more of God’s track record than any believer has had before. And it isn’t just the Bible that we have. We have seen God’s faithfulness to his people in Church history for the last 2,000 years. God is faithful to His promises and can do so even through sin. 
That is everything that you need to know in Genesis to set up the rest of the Bible, because that will be the theme over and over again through the rest of the Scriptures. 
Which means that the last lesson Genesis taught us applies. There will be those who will try to wrong you, and revenge isn’t permitted. That’s a hard concept to follow. Vengeance appeals to our sense of justice. We make people pay who cost us. That is as natural born as anything in our world. Toddlers know that. Yet it is not our place to dispense this. It is God’s. God is far wiser than us. He has far more power than we do, and likewise far more mercy. We cannot expect to do better than He will. Nor do we have to carry that burden to try. One writer said that “The noblest revenge is to forgive.” (Thomas Fuller). One commentator notices that this unity the brothers have here is in contrast to the first siblings. Cain killed Abel when given the chance, but here Joseph shows mercy (Matthews). 
The desire for revenge is hardwired into us all. It was the first temptation in the book of Genesis to be as God, but only here do we see a man resist that temptation. What about you? The desire for revenge doesn’t have to show up like it does in the movies for it to be revenge. It doesn’t have to be a murder plot. It can be as silly and mundane as the silent treatment. Not speaking is a denial of contact, pretending the person is dead. Revenge can be found in all kinds of petty behavior. “These people don’t appreciate my work, so I’m just going to let it all fall down.” All these things may make a point, but they miss the point: life isn’t about what we get out of it. It isn’t about making sure the scores are even. None of our revenge petty or otherwise is right or pleasing to the sight of God because it says that God isn’t in control, He isn’t concerned about justice, so I am going to have to get it my own way. 
Now, again this doesn’t mean being a door mat, but it does mean pursuing justice the right way not the revenge way. If you’re being abused, you go to proper authorities. The function of government is to dispense justice with God’s delegated authority (Romans 13). Appealing to proper authorities as spelled out by God is leaving vengeance in God’s hands. God gave the power of the sword to governing authorities to make evil doers scared. Seek justice properly, God’s way, not taking matters into your own hands. 
Now, I can hear the objections already. “There is no justice in the hands of the government!” And yes that is proof of a fallen world. Oftentimes justice cannot be obtained rightly, but that does not give you permission to commit injustice, either. Going around God’s authorities is not staying on the obedient path. When those miscarriages of justice happen, then that is when you leave it ultimately in the hands of God. No one gets away with anything for eternity. Additionally, no one does anything that thwarts the plan of God. And we can see that most plainly in the cross.
God is in control. God is good. That is the message of Genesis. 

What do you want the end of your life to be like? Or to put it in a slightly more morbid way, how do you hope you will behave at your death? I know those sound like odd questions, but really of all things that we can prepare for in life, this is the one certain thing. Only the Christian has the answer for how to prepare oneself for such an event. Only the Christian can view death for what it is, a hated friend. What do I mean by that? How can one be a hated friend? Death is hated because it is a result of sin. The reason why we die is because of sin. Yet death can be a friend in its capacity to deliver us to heaven, something only Jesus could accomplish. 
Today we are going to look at two points today The Christian faces death with hope yet Christians rightly grieve death. 
Christians Face Death with Hope

Let’s see how Jacob meets his end. He has just finished proclaiming blessings on his sons, which makes total sense. Jacob is finishing his task, and so now it is time for his sons to pick up the mantel and keep going. 
But what follows wouldn’t make a lot of sense to a world like ours that views death as the end of all hope. He has instructions for what to do with his body, very specific instructions at that. He does not want to be buried in Egypt, but rather where his fathers are buried in the land of Canaan. 
This doesn’t make much sense to our modern ears. Is not Joseph all but the pharaoh of Egypt at this point? Is not every member of Jacob’s family in Egypt? Did Joseph not save the entire known world from starvation? Surely that would mean that the family will be respected for all time! As we will see in a moment, all of Egypt it would seem mourns the loss of Jacob. According to one source that I read, they grieved for only two or three days less than they would the pharaoh of the land! This was no small, unimportant family. Why not assume that Egypt is the land of promise? Has not Canaan had a famine every time we turn around? Is it not currently full of other residents, some of whom are hostile? 
But Jacob insists with this act that the land of promise is Canaan. That defies all earthly reasoning and present circumstances. But Jacob has something more precious than all of that, the promise of God. If he isn’t going to be able to live in the land of promise, then he wants to be buried there, where his descendants will be. That is a man who understands that God’s promises are sure. 
As one writer put it, “Death does not put our relationship with God into the past tense.” - John Blanchard. Jacob isn’t saying, “It’s all over for me, just let me die.” No, he still has something he wants to ensure is done, his body will be resting in the land of promise. God still has something for Him. Death doesn’t stop the fulfillment of a promise. 
Even the fact that he has a place to be buried is evidence of God’s faithfulness. He promised that they would have a possession in the land, and so they have. Abraham, Isaac, Leah, and now Jacob will take their place God claimed for them. 
The text then simply says gathered up his feet, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. That word “gathered” is in the passive tense. Jacob didn’t “pass” or “go.” He was gathered by God. It is a fitting end. The wrestler, the struggler, wrestles and struggles no more. He simply gathers up and is gathered gently into that good night. He isn’t terrified or looking at it with dread. He speaks of it matter of a factly, yet clearly viewing it as anything but the end. 
Is this your view of death? I’m not saying that we are hastening it along or looking forward to the process, but do you think about your death this way? Christ has died to purchase your hope in that process. If you don’t have that hope, why? 
Yes, the process isn’t enjoyable, but is your soul at rest knowing that your place in eternity is secure? If it isn’t, this might be a good time to consider why. Perhaps you feel distant from God at the moment and wonder about your salvation. Don’t stuff those thoughts away. God is there to answer those fears. Maybe you remember something horrible from your past and assume that there is little or no hope that God could accept you. You’ve grown somewhat numb to that fear all these years, but as those years drag on that fear gets deeper. It’s time to come to the cross. It is time to take Jesus at His faithful word when He says come to me, you who are weary and I will give you rest. Listen to His promise in John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” Come to Him, and keep coming to Him. Let each moment of doubt and fear be a reminder to you that there is a Savior Who is ready and willing to save scared sinners just like you. 
Now, maybe you’re on the other end of this spectrum and you aren’t bothered by death because, honestly, you don’t even think about it. If that is your camp, than it is probably because you are young and assume that death is really far away. One may come to the conclusion that thinking about your death at a young age is morbid and unhealthy. While I agree that we don’t need to think about it every minute, the Bible brings up numerous times that it is something that needs to be brought to mind regularly. Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Or, Psalm 39:4–5 ““O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah” And who could forget James 4:14 “yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” And there are more! 
The point of this isn’t to be depressing but to be driving. It wakes us up to the reality that this world really isn’t our home. We won’t be here in this state forever. Your life was meant for more than just surviving to the next day. It was meant for more than getting a job, getting married, getting a house, getting kids, it was always about Jesus and what you can give for Him. That is what eternity is going to be. And those who learn to follow after Him find out that they are pursuing their own joy. It puts things into perspective. And not in a cheap, you-only-live-once so do what feels good kind of junk. No. It is a, your life is going so fast, so what are you doing that is going to last? This isn’t a call to panic. It’s a sobering call to being deliberate. To think rightly about your life, knowing that our time here on earth is limited, to gain the right perspective on how fleeting life is, letting that panic start to build in your chest and then look. Look to Jesus. Be reminded that He is building His kingdom, His church, and you can be a part of it. Then soberly, deliberately live out what He has called you to do, with the time that you have, in the place where you are right now. And if you live your life that way, you will be on your deathbed with hope. Not because you will have done everything you wanted, but because by then you will be close enough with Jesus to see that it was always Him anyway. And you just can’t wait to see what happens next. 
Christians Rightly Grieve Death
Now, after all that, it may seem odd for me to then say that Christians rightly grieve death. You might think that I have laid out all that I’ve said so far to speak positively of death. It is true that Death is my friend insofar as it leads me to the presence of Christ. But we must never think that death in itself is a good thing. We cannot forget where death comes from and that is sin. That is worth morning. 
But even within that is hope. Joseph and his brothers follow Jacob’s instructions precisely and they burry him in the tomb that Abraham bought. The possession in the land has come down to the descendants. 
For us, who live on the other side of the cross, we have an even greater hope because we know about the resurrection (Matthews). When we bury someone, it isn’t because they will never need their body again, but precisely because they will! 
But in the meantime, we occupy a sinful world. It causes grief in our hearts. Death is not a part of God’s original design, and it isn’t in the future designs of God either. So we lament at the gravesides, just as Jesus did. We are not glib at funerals. We all must recognize the horrible effects of sin. Yet at the same time, we are not without hope of sin and death’s final defeat. 
The emotional range of the Christian at a funeral is astonishing. We can grieve like no other because we know that the sin that we give ourselves to time after time is the same thing that brings about death. Sin is not your friend. Yet at the same time we can see that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead has defeated death! It won’t be like this forever. So therefore we are able to be joyful in our pain knowing that every day we are getting closer to a world with no more death. That is how we are able to say with Paul that death has no sting. 
Don’t live each day as if it were your last; that sort of living is not sustainable. Instead live each day obediently to God’s word, and you will live a life that you will not regret at the end. As someone once said, no one repents of being a Christian on their deathbed. So be a Christian. Be an obedient Christian. And there you will find out only a life worth living, but a life worth rejoicing in. Such is the gift of Christ. He is not just a comfort in death, but is also the reason for living. What else or who else are you going to live for? What else or who else is going to survive beyond your death? Is it not him? And is it not those that you lied to Christ as well? And those things that you do for him? There is simply no other way to live your life that will extend into eternity, but he gives you that opportunity. Will you take it? If not, what else is going to last longer? 

Photo by Jainath Ponnala on Unsplash
What follows is an automatically generated transcript with Apple Podcast's AI. To be sure of what I said, you'll need to listen to the audio. 

And as you are being seated, if you would please turn with me in your copies of God's Word to 1st Corinthians chapter 11. 1st Corinthians chapter 11, if you're following along in the Pew Bible, black volume that's in front of you, that's on page 1139.
1139, and we're taking a little detour from our march through the Book of Genesis as we get to remember and celebrate what the Lord has done through the servant Martin Luther on Reformation Sunday. Now we can tend to think that the Reformation, and indeed we'd be right to think so, that a big part of that was about recovery of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. It's a doctrine that did not disappear. It's a doctrine that was not invented by Martin Luther, but was one that became less and less emphasized, less and less remembered accurately as we find it in his word. And so to recover this idea that it is not by your works that you're saved, but the free grace of Jesus that brings you in to heaven.
Because that's such a foundational doctrine, it can be easy to miss some of the other comforts that have come out of the Reformation.
The recapturing of these other doctrines. And since this is cohere d so well with our celebration of the Lord's Supper this morning, I thought I would take a moment of Sunday to take a look at 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and see how this meal that we're about to partake in is such a blessing to us.
But one that we have to prepare for.
Indeed, that's what's going to be our main point this morning, is that communion is a blessing for our souls.
And it's a blessing that we must prepare for.
So, let's see how we do this out of 1 Corinthians 11, verses 20 through 29.
Since we're kind of jumping in right in the middle here, I want to take just a moment to set up our context. 1 Corinthians is the first letter that Paul sends to the church at Corinth. This was a motley crew. There was a lot going on at Corinth, because there was a lot going on in the city of Corinth. It was a very worldly place, full of a lot of assumptions of how things were to be done with money, sexuality, and such that things were awfully confused within the church, such that we don't have the opportunity to look back and say, well, I would like for the church to go back to the way it was in the New Testament times. Well, it looks a lot like it does in modern times, because people don't change, and Christians have struggled with a lot of the same things back then as they do today. Here in this particular issue in chapter 11, Paul, among his many corrections he offers the Corinthians, offers correction as to how they're approaching the Lord's Supper. Here in the church, this would have been a part of a larger feast, and what we had is people were very selfish and unmindful towards each other. The rich pushing their way up to the front of the line to clear through the Lord's Supper and not leaving enough for the poor, who are having to go away hungry, and the rich, who have plenty of food at home, are going away gluttonous. And it's here in this context that Paul is revisiting 1 Corinthians 11 and is taking a look at the Lord's Supper.
So with this in mind, let's start in verse 20.
Listen carefully, because this is God's word.
In light of the situation we have just said, verse 20, when you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal.
One goes hungry, another gets drunk.
What?
Do you not have houses to eat and drink in?
Or do you despise the Church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?
What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this?
No, I will not. For I received from the Lord what I also deliver to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread.
And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup, for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God for his word.
Let's go to our God and ask his blessing on our text today.
Oh, Heavenly Father, we do thank you for this gift that you have given to us in your son and then this picture that you have given to us to remember and proclaim his death.
Lord, help us to understand this mystery.
Open our eyes to see your gospel, both in the things that we hear, even in the things that we see, even in the things that we taste this morning.
Help us to have a fresh grasp of the sacrifice that you have made for us today.
And it's in Jesus' name I ask these things.
Amen.
Well, as I began with, the doctrine of justification, important as that is, is not the only issue that was fought over. And in here, when we get to the Lord's Supper, we are encountering something of a mystery here. This is why there has been a lot of confusion as to exactly what this means.
What is it that we are doing?
One of the things that we want to take a look at as we'll go through here, is we'll take a look at a couple of common misunderstandings, how the supper was done and why it's important for us to see this way. The first thing that I want us to recognize and come away with, is that this is not a magic bread and juice that we are serving here this morning. In other words, there is not anything powerful in and of itself to make you grow as a Christian. If that were the case, if we could give faith to other people by giving special bread, well, then that's what we would do. We would line up and we would hand out communion bread that has been blessed by pastors and hope that this produces faith in people.
But that's not what this Lord's Supper is.
It's not magic bread.
It's not magic juice.
It feeds your faith, but it does not form it.
What I mean by that, it does not create faith.
Where, how, by what means, does God use to produce faith in us?
Faith comes by hearing. And hearing by what?
The Word of God. In every part of our worship, the Word of God is central.
This is why even in Protestant architecture, we have set up the worship space to be the way it is. What is quite literally front and center and elevated.
It's not supposed to be me.
I'm representing here the Word of God. Because that's where the power is. That's what builds our faith.
What this is, is a visual picture of that word.
This is the only authorized image that Jesus has given to us to say, here is the gospel visualized. But unless we explain what this means, if we were just to set up a table and I were to mime my way through the Lord's Supper and not say anything, no one would know what this means. They would just say, he's getting up, he's tearing apart some bread, he's pouring out some grape juice, and he's serving it out to people to eat it.
And if you have no context for what's happening, then you'll have no idea what this is talking about.
This is why God does not speak to us only in this image. He doesn't do so in vagary.
He gives us his word.
This is why even when Jesus is instituting it, he is explaining as he goes along, Jesus is not silent as he's tearing apart the bread. Remember, this would have been a part of the Passover Supper. So for him to begin speaking in this moment and say the things that he's saying was breaking protocol, was giving a new meaning to this meal. So the word is central to understand this. But it's not just intellectually understanding this. There are many people who have studied Reformation history, professors of theology, who can explain these things way better than I can. But do so from a position of saying that this is an ancient rite that gives comfort to some people but actually has no basis in reality. Does the supper benefit them?
They understand the word intellectually.
They know the meaning of what's happening here intellectually.
But they have no faith.
They have no connection point with God.
And without that, this again is an empty meal.
It's just bread and grape juice.
So there's nothing inherent in here to produce faith.
The word does that.
There's nothing in here that connects you with God on its own.
It's faith, and faith produced by the Holy Spirit.
These are necessary to do these things.
Now we can come away from this and say it's like, okay, all right, it's not magic bread.
So why do we practice this? What's the point?
While it's not magic, it's also not nothing.
It's not just a symbol. It's not just a prompt to remind ourselves about what Jesus is doing. Because we find that out earlier on in 1st Corinthians chapter 10. And 1st Corinthians chapter 10 in verse 16, it has a very interesting way of phrasing and talking about the Lord's Supper.
If you're there, it's just a page back, so go ahead and turn there, 1st Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 16.
It says, the cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
You see what he's doing here?
That this is a cup of blessing that he calls this.
And this word participation is a translation of the word koinonia, which we often translate as communion. We're having table fellowship with our Savior. And this is why later on in the chapter, he tells them, don't go to these other places of worship where you have meals with demons.
We don't participate with them.
We don't have communion with them. We have communion with our Savior. And it is a blessing to do so.
Not just, it's a blessing to prompt us to remind ourselves about the Gospel, but it in itself is an opportunity through faith, because of the Word, we're able to experience this blessing that we have with Christ.
Now, because this is such a mystery, there have been so many ways that people have tried to conceptualize that in Church history.
The Roman Catholic Church, what Martin Luther was dealing with, they thought that they were communing with Christ by very literally eating the literal body and blood of Christ. A process called transubstantiation, where the priest is calling Jesus out of heaven to be broken again and to be consumed by us physically. An over literal reading of this is my body. He also said that he is a vine and he is a door.
We don't take those quite so literally.
But what's the problem with that?
Well, one, this is asking us to take a contradiction here. This is bread, still tastes like bread, but we're supposed to say, but this is actually flesh. While we can argue on logical grounds, the real problem here is in what we're asking of Jesus. For his body to be broken again, for his blood to be poured out again, is to imply that the sacrifice he put on the cross was not enough. In Hebrews, we are told that this is a once-for-all sacrifice, and then Jesus sits down. We don't call him out of his chair every week to do more work.
The work is done. That's what's such the comfort about the Doctor of Justification. It's a one-time work.
With Jesus' sacrifice, it's over.
You put your faith in him, your sins are gone. But if we were to say, no, he has to be come back out of heaven again.
He has to be sacrificed again. We have to wonder, well, is it enough? Will it ever be enough for us to say, no, no, this is not calling God out of heaven to break him on our table again.
But this is a picture pointing back to the time in which Jesus was broken and his blood was poured out for the forgiveness of our sin.
And that's what we bless.
That's why this is a blessing for us.
But nor is it the other way. There were some trying to get as far away from that as possible. We'll say, no, no, no, no, this is just bread. This is just grape juice.
There is absolutely nothing going on here other than just what's in our head.
This is a reminder of this, and that's all that it is.
I don't think we can say that from 1 Corinthians 10.
It says that this is the cup of blessing, not the reminder of a blessing. And this is an opportunity, as it says, as participation with Christ, in some mysterious way, in a spiritual way.
We're communing with Him.
Now here at this point, the Lutherans want to make fun of us, and would say, it's like, well, He's physically present here. Something that they call real presence, which has some problems how Jesus is bodily able to be in multiple places at one time.
It's fraying His humanity.
But this betrays an understanding of saying, well, no, it's a spiritual presence here that makes it no less real.
Communing with Christ by faith is something really happening. No, we can't get out our scientific dials and watch the needles move around. A very materialistic way of looking at the world.
It's to say, no, Christ is spiritually present.
Not by Him coming down to us, but by Him bringing us up to Him, to have communion with Him.
Now, if that's what's really going on, and it is, how on earth do we get ready for something like that?
If we were going to have a face-to-face communion with some world leaders of our time, we would take a moment to kind of pull ourselves together. Try to figure out how to comport ourselves in the presence of greatness.
I went through this when I got to my first date, which happened to be with that young lady over there.
I had never been on a date before. I was 25, and all God's people said were not surprised.
I didn't have to laugh that hard.
But I had no idea how to comport myself. So I spent time preparing, and I still have the picture of an outline of a fictitious conversation that I was going to have with her, and how I was going to go from point one to point two so I wouldn't get lost and look unprepared. Unfortunately, I did not share the script with her, so by the time we got to point number one, we were always very off script.
So I was trying to prepare, and I give myself some effort for that. But a first date is one thing.
How do we prepare for a spiritual face-to-face with Christ? How do we get the most out of this that Jesus does for us?
Let me start by saying why do we prepare, and give you a couple of reasons as to why we are, how and why we're not doing this.
One, there are so many times, and this is something I've suffered with as a child, and don't want the same thing to be for you.
We talk about coming to the table unworthily. This does not mean that by our preparation, by having read our Bibles, by having prayed, by having avoided sin for this week, that we are worthy to come to the table. If that's what you're thinking, then you're suffering from another sin, and that's pride. That we could ever earn a spot at the king of the universe's table, that is only accomplished by grace through the finished work of Christ, which this celebrates. What a backwards way of thinking, that we come to a table meant to show for us that Christ has sacrificed himself for our sins, and we try to clean up ourselves on the way, forgetting this is a gospel. So never think as you're approaching this, saying, it's like, well, I've messed up this week, so I can't come here.
No.
We're made worthy by Christ.
We're made worthy by His work in our heart, that will, yes, show itself in good works.
But it's something that comes from Him and Him alone. This is why we don't prepare.
We've been made worthy by Christ.
But I also want to say why we do prepare.
In that preparing our hearts to come to this is not an automatic process.
This is not something where you just roll in and here we are.
But there is something that we can do.
There are some things to keep in mind.
And that's why I had us print up Question 171 from the Larger Catechism.
This would be something you can take home with you, take a look at, keep in mind for next month. Because it gives you an outline exactly how it is that we prepare.
All of these are being drawn from the scriptures themselves, and I can give you a list of what proof texts these things come from. But I wanted to go down kind of as an outline as we move into our application part of our message. Applying ourselves this command to examine ourselves, before we come to the table.
What does that look like?
Number one, when we examine ourselves, we are conscious of our sins. We're conscious of our sins. The point of doing this is not to just walk away from our time of reflection saying, well, I'm just the worst, the scum of the earth. That's not the point.
This isn't an exercise in self-flagellation, whipping ourselves so we feel appropriately bad enough.
The point of looking at our sins is to recognize why it is we need a table. Why it is that Christ had to come and die.
We can't get rid of these things on our own.
We need Jesus.
But by the same token, He doesn't just forgive, but He also cleanses and begins the lifelong process of having us hate our sin more and loving Jesus more. And once a month, as we come to Communion, it's a great opportunity to check in and see, how is this going?
When we're mindful of the things that we know we deal with, we have the opportunity to say, what steps am I taking to repent of this?
Or am I just hoping I'll just get better?
If you deal with anger and bitterness, are you memorizing Scripture that addresses those things? Do you have a structure of accountability to deal with that? If not, then that's a wonderful opportunity, a reminder to say, no, Jesus died to free you from this, not to give you a license to do it more. And he's given you his Holy Spirit so that you don't have to do these things over and over.
No one's ever going to be perfect.
No one is ever going to be every single month is one straight line straight up.
There's going to be setbacks. But having an opportunity to remind yourself, where am I weak?
Where does Jesus need to do more work? Gives you a wonderful opportunity once a month as we come to the table.
This is why we like to tell you a week in advance it's coming.
To check in, do some inventory of the soul, and see.
Here in 1 Corinthians 11, clearly we have some selfishness going on.
Would they would have examined themselves and say it's like where is this selfishness coming from?
How do I deal with this?
But it's not just a reminder or thinking about our sins. There's a second thing that we can think about to prepare.
Is where is your knowledge, faith, and repentance? This isn't just an opportunity to see how we're advancing morally. How are you advancing in what you know? Are you diving into the scriptures to learn more about your Savior? Do you know even just a little bit more about your Savior this month than you did last month? We're not able to find the comfort that God would give to us if we don't know what's there. We won't get to rejoice in the promises that Jesus offers to us if we don't know what they are. And we have an opportunity once a month to do an inventory.
What do I know?
How am I growing in my trust of Jesus?
How am I growing in my repentance from my sin?
And I love the next thing that they mention, instead of just the measure of the knowledge, faith, and repentance.
But the next thing is, is how is your love of God and neighbor?
This is a great reminder to those of us that would like to intellectualize our faith. That equate spiritual maturity with the amount of systematic theology textbooks you've read.
Because those are not the same.
You can know an awful lot and be very immature in Jesus. What is this knowledge of Jesus doing in your heart? Is it making a difference in your love for God and then your love for neighbor? If you don't love your neighbor, then you don't love your God.
How is this knowledge shaping you?
If it's just growing a lot more of what's in your head, Paul warns us that knowledge is just puffing up if that's all it's doing.
But your growth in love shows that it's having a real effect, that that is its purpose, a love for God and a love for neighbor.
And finally, Westminster pastors really touch on something here at the end.
It says, love to God and brethren, charity to all men, forgiving those that have done them wrong. That's really hard. It's so easy to love neighbor that does well for you. It's easy to love those who are like you and who like you. But the real test of whether or not you love your neighbor is, can you forgive your neighbor when they have done you wrong? Not just when you feel offended, but when they have done actual sin against you, when they have offended God and how they have treated you.
Are you able to forgive?
Are you growing in that ability?
Remember, these are not things that you are building up in yourself.
These are not things that if you just white-knuckle it hard enough, eventually you'll be able to forgive people.
This comes from spending time with Jesus.
This comes by appropriating the means of grace that he has given to you in word, in prayer, meditation.
Lord's Supper.
These are the opportunities for us to see how is my soul doing under Jesus' renovation?
Am I fighting him with this process?
Am I tying him up with this permitting process as I can?
Oh, no, you can't touch that.
I haven't given you permission to look at that area of my life. You cooperating with this renovation that he's doing, and communion gives you this wonderful opportunity to be reminded.
And then if we see that we're lacking, not to hang our heads and walk away and saying like, well, I guess there's just no hope for me.
But it says here, by renewing the exercise of these graces, if you find yourself lacking, well, it's only been a month since you last checked in, get back on it. Take advantage of the gifts that God is giving to you, including this supper that we are about to receive.
Because it's a blessing for you.
It's a nourishment for your soul. That's how we prepare to take.
But we're only going to take in the next five minutes.
So let me spend just one moment telling you, how do you receive this now?
There is a mixture of recognition of the sacrifice that Jesus has done.
And the victory that we have been set free.
So how is one to emotionally process the Lord's Supper as we're taking it?
Imagine that you have been given a diagnosis.
You are in acute kidney failure.
Both of your kidneys are gone.
And your only hope of survival is that a donor kidney is made available to you. And before you can even wrap your head around what the doctor has just told you, he comforts you by saying, but fear not, a donor has come forward and is offering you their kidney. It's a perfect match.
We're going to go into the operating room right now.
You are not given any time to answer questions, to ask anything. You're suddenly wheeled into the operating room. And the next thing you know, you're awake to the surgeon saying, the operation was a success.
You have a new kidney, you're going to live.
You can see your children grow up.
You can live the life that you truly wanted to live.
It won't be cut short.
And you can imagine the gratitude that floods your soul in this moment and the joy that you are not going to die today of this failed kidney.
And then the doctor looks at you.
And he says, would you like to meet your donor?
They're in the next room.
You walk out the door, you come into the next room, they pull the curtain back, and there, pale and trembling, is your mother.
Now you still feel the joy that your life has been restored.
And you know, looking at her, that it has been her joy to save your life.
But you know what she's going through.
That though it was a joyful process, it was not pain free. And that she has made an enduring sacrifice for you to make this thing possible. And there, in that moment, we can't draw a neat line as to exactly what we're feeling here. There is this mixture of incredible humility, almost a tinge of sadness that this is what it's required, that my body has caused suffering for another.
But also this joy that I am loved and cared for and redeemed, given new life.
I think that's what we're looking at here in the Lord's Supper. The Lord went to the cross with joy, but not without pain, not without sacrifice.
So when we come and we eat and have table fellowship with our Savior, there is a mix of humility, sadness, and yet of great joy as we take of this.
So because of the profound nature of what we have before us, it is well worth the preparation.
And all it is is rehearsing.
Since this is a picture of the Gospel, you have an opportunity to ask, what has the Gospel done for me?
How is this practically working itself out in my life? Jesus died for my sins and rose again to promise me eternal life.
Have I taken it?
Is it making a difference for me? And if not, then this is the opportunity to get serious. This is the opportunity to come back.
This is the opportunity to do business with God.
And to enjoy the freedom that this very meal pictures. So if you're in Christ today, but you know you've been letting some things slide, here's an opportunity to come back, to renew your commitment to Christ.
If you find, you know what? I've always just like known the stuff of the gospel, but it's never really made a real difference in my life.
Well, here's the opportunity.
Put your faith in Him.
Turn away from your sin.
Put your full weight on Him.
All of your eternal expectations put in His hands.
And say, Lord, you are my King. Guide me.
Take me. Transform me.
And I promise you will never be the same again. And that you will be able to take this Supper in full gratitude and love for Christ.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this opportunity to come before you, to have communion spiritually face to face. So I ask if there are anyone here who are unsure where they stand with Christ, that today would be the day of salvation, that they would know you and the power of your resurrection. Lord, I pray for those who have been discouraged, that they would be encouraged by what we see here today. For those that are encouraged, that their joy would be strengthened by what we have here today.
Oh, I ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Don’t you wish you could know the future? I think all of us if given the chance would love even a glimpse or a hint of what is to come in our lives. But as many popular stories tell us, how that future gets to us is often very confusing. 
Israel is about to die, but before he does, he is going to place his blessing on all of his sons. The last verse of our passage is going to reiterate that each blessing is “suitable” for each one, and we are going to see how that plays out for many of them here this morning. We will see that some of them, like Reuben, are getting “blessings” that are a result of what they have done. Some are getting blessings seemingly despite what they’ve done, like Judah. Others get blessings, but seemingly not the right ones, like Joseph. What are we to make of these things, how did they play out in history, and what does this mean for us today? We will tackle those questions as we look at our main point today: God’s blessings are suitable yet still need to be trusted. 
God’s blessings are suitable yet still need to be trusted.
 
Looking at the order, there is something odd in how they are listed. They are mostly in birth order (except for Zebulun and Issachar), in starting with the sons of Leah, then moving to the sons of the concubines, starting with Rachels, then finishing with Rachel’s sons. No one is left out among the sons. It is true that Dinah isn’t included here, but that is because only sons could inherit. Anyone that has come from Israel’s seed is given a blessing here instead of just one son. 
Now, that being said, not everyone is getting the same blessing. It appears that some are not getting the blessings that you would want because of their actions, specifically Reuben through Levi. That doesn’t mean things are unfair here. I’m reminded of a quote from RC Sproul who said something to the effect that, in our dealings with God everyone gets either mercy or justice. No one gets injustice. Even in the categories of justice amongst these sons, no one is getting tossed out of the family. Everyone is going to have a place in the land. Just not everyone is going to get the same amount of blessing while there. 
That is true for us as well. Not every Christian is blessed in the same way. We don’t all have the same marriages, the same health status, the same amount of money, or really anything that is exactly the same. Some of those circumstance are purely by grace. Others of those circumstances are the results of decisions made, good or bad. Following after Christ does not eliminate consequences of decisions in the past or in the future. Being a Christian doesn’t put life in easy mode or give a license to disobey God’s commands. At the same time, being obedient to Jesus doesn’t obligate Him to give you the life you want. Look at the life of Job. He lived, according to God’s perspective, a righteous life! Yet, he was subject to horrible circumstances for reasons known only to God. Part of that suffering was to relieve the suffering of millions who have read the account of Job. And here in this passage, we are given a warning that our actions can have consequences that can impact generations. 
Let’s look at Reuben as an example of this. Reuben’s sin in sleeping with his father’s concubine (a play for power in the family) is not forgotten when we get to this point. He was supposed to be the first born, the one who gets a double portion! But here, it is hinted that he has lost that portion, a hint confirmed by 1 Chronicles 5:1 “The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son;” 
Simeon and Levi are another example. They are said to be scattered because of their actions. Simeon’s tribe will be small, and live in the desert, however the tribe of Levi is going to become the assistants in the temple because of their later obedience, even if they don’t get a specific portion of land in the nation of Israel (Belcher).
On the other end of the spectrum is Judah. Now, we remember Judah. Here lately he has been a star. He is the one who convinces Jacob to let Benjamin go down to Egypt so they wouldn’t starve. He is the one who is willing to sacrifice his life for his brothers in Egypt. He is the one who leads the way in restoring Jacob and Joseph together! But has everyone forgotten who’s idea it was to sell Joseph in the first place? Was it not Reuben who tried to rescue Joseph at the beginning? Was it not Judah who left the family, had three sons with a Canaanite, and accidentally slept with his daughter in law? Where’s all this, “Your descendants are going to rule over everyone else” coming from? 
Grace. That’s where it is coming from. Judah is being shown grace here. Why? Not stated. While Reuben’s actions are cited as to why he isn’t being blessed, Judah’s actions are no where to be found. The text doesn’t say, “Because you have acted kingly, your descendants will be kings.” We assume that this is the reason, but God doesn’t tell us why. Judah cannot claim the throne on his own. 
Zebulon and Issachar aren’t given a lot of fanfare. One gets access to the coast, and the other ends up under slavery in a pleasant land, and that’s exactly what we see later (Belcher). 
One scholar had something interesting to say about Dan. He is said to judge the people and be compared to a snake, an animal known for being solo, not traveling in a pack. Ultimately, Samson comes from this line, the judge who acts alone and judges his people (Belcher)! 
The next three are given much shorter blessings. Gad will get raided but will fight back, as they later do. Asher does in fact end up in a very fruitful area of the land, and Naphtali will get lots of space to roam around in like a deer (Blecher). 
And now we get to Joseph, and it would seem at first that he should be getting the blessing of ruling! If there was anyone who could claim the throne it would be Joseph! He wasn’t just acting kingly, for all intents and purposes, he was! He has wisely administrated every single thing he was ever put in charge of. He would report on his brothers, he would run Potifer’s house like never before, goodness! he even ran the prison well, while being a prisoner! Do I even have to mention what he has done for the entire nation of Egypt and by extension the rest of the world? Yet all of that was grace as well, and Joseph told us as much when he stood before Pharaoh all those years ago. 
Yet, it is not as if Joseph is getting nothing, He gets a lot here, and through his two sons, he is getting a double portion. We saw last week how both Manasseh and Ephraim will be great people, and Ephraim most of all. He will become practically synonymous with Israel, to the point that when God will speak of Israel, He can use that name.  Hosea 5:3–4 “I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore; Israel is defiled. Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the Lord.” Yet, the Lord has compassion, for later in that same book Hosea 11:8–9 “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.” 
Joseph will have his portion, but it is all of grace.
But I mentioned there some hints of judgment to come. How does that square with these blessings? All of these promises that God makes look like they are going to fail at some point (sometimes multiple points) in redemptive history. Almost every time you think you know what God is doing and where He’s going with this, you’re wrong. 
Let’s just take Judah’s promise. Here he is told that his descendants are going to rule. You know what happens for 400 years after that? Slavery. I wonder how that tribe felt about bringing up those promises during the slave years? Ok, Moses is coming! He is going to lead the people out! What a leader! There’s a son of Judah if I ever saw one! What? He’s from the tribe of Levi (Exodus 2:1)! What about Joshua? Ephraim (Numbers 13:8). Line of Joseph. We got Achen coming from the line of Judah, but his claim to fame was when he disobeyed God after Jericho, brought trouble on the whole nation, and execution site set up as a warning for future generations (Joshua 7)! Ok, let’s skip to when the nation is finally organized. Who is the first king? Saul. Tribe? Benjamin. Benjamin?! That’s not how it is supposed to work! Yes, things finally improve under David, also from the line of Judah, and his son Solomon in which the wealth and prosperity of united Israel lasts for all of eighty years total before the nation is split after Solomon, leading Jereboam (from the tribe of Ephraim) to lead ten of the tribes under him! Judah is the smaller one! Yes, Israel finally gets conquered by the Assyrians for their apostasy, but Judah itself is conquered by the Babylonians for the same sins! Even when we get to the time of Christ, the tribes are united but ruled by the Romans, ultimately, and ruled locally in Jerusalem by a descendant…of Esau! 
Except for a few bright spots along the way, if you were to flip through the Old Testament and put your finger down, it looks like the promises of God aren’t doing so well. We can either say that Joseph is a better administrator than God, or we can relook at those promises. Ultimately, this promise of an eternal Kingship is pointing to Jesus. Even then, for most of His life, He was a carpenter! Yes, He starts healing people and multiplying food, but He ends up being executed on a cross! The most shameful way to die reserved for prisoners and enemies of state! But then He rises from the dead! Does He establish His kingdom then? Nope! He ascends into heaven and commissions fishermen to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, and we could go on and on. 
God’s ways are unexpected even when He tells you what He is doing. We never look to our present circumstances to determine God’s faithfulness to us. If you do, you will most likely be either delighted or despairing. Instead, look not to the present but the Person for your confidence. We trust in who is helping not what is happening on any given day. We trust in the character and nature of God, who we can see is faithful to His people down through the ages. He is worthy of trust. 

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How do you think about God's promises? For Christians, they are the central hope of our lives, because God's promises can't be stopped even by death itself. Because of this, we want to be able to pass on these promises to our children, and a big part of our ability to do that is because of this passage right here. Abraham has been promised that there will be a seed that will bless the nations. Ultimately, that is Christ. The promise is going to outlive Jacob, and we will see the transfer of that blessing here. 
Now, our passing on of the blessing looks different. In this passage, the blessing comes ultimately from the Lord but only *through* Jacob. As we will see, the blessing is going to be extended to the rest of the nation of Israel with the tribes forming their own contribution to God's plan. Today, the blessing ultimately comes from Christ but is shared through every Christian that opens their mouth for the kingdom. 
We are to remember and pass on God’s promises. 
Genesis 47:29-31: Painful reminder of a Promise The passage opens with a scene that should remind us of the past. When we see Israel asking for an oath with his thigh, we are, of course, reminded of Abraham making his servant do the same in Genesis 24. His focus at that time was a marriageable wife for his son. But in this particular moment, it isn’t about a people but a place, a return of Israel’s body to the land of Promise. 
But here, I think we get to see a subtle reminder of another marking of God’s promises. The word translated “thigh” here in this passage is translated “hip” in Genesis 32:31 but it is the same word. This is the part of the body that God touched when He was wrestling with Jacob right before he was about to encounter Esau the next day. Because of this, Jacob limped for the rest of his life. I wonder if it was painful to lift up his hip to allow for this promise? Did he have to lift up the other leg because it was his “good one,” the one God didn’t touch? We remember that this event was also the place where Jacob got his name changed to “Israel,” the name that this land of Canaan will one day be known by. 
This is a powerful reminder of how faithful that God has been, and we have something to share in that. God no longer makes a permanent mark on our flesh that we can always see, but He has given to us a sign of His faithfulness: baptism. Baptism is God’s sign of His work of including us in His covenant. If you have put your faith in Christ, you can look back and remember your baptism. The fact that you were baptized means that you have heard the gospel, and at least at one point in your life, associated with a church that cared about your soul. That is a tangible expression of God’s grace to you. 
It is the same for infants who are baptized. Even though they aren’t able to express faith, that actually isn’t what the sign is for. It is God’s sign of God’s work on this child, and if a child is baptized then that means that at one point at least, that child’s parents were involved in a church and believed that God wants their child to believe as well and made vows to pass on to their child, as much as they are able, the faith that they have. 
If that is your testimony, you can look back to that baptism and say, “God is after me. He has blessed me with a background that not everyone has.” In this way, we are able to join Israel here in this passage. You have had a blessing, and it is time to pass that along.
This is a great privilege and joy as parents to pass on the sign of this promise to our children as Acts 2 tells us it is for. 

Genesis 48:1-4: Strength Made Perfect in Weakness But so often, we feel weak to the task. We come to verses 1 and 2 and find Israel, the wrestler of God, sick in bed needing to summon strength to sit up. He is a physically weak vessel indeed, but he serves El Shaddi, God Almighty. Israel doesn’t have to be physically strong. He is only going to be a conduit of blessing, not its source. God’s grace is strong, yet it can be passed on even in weakness. 
And what a blessing he is passing on. Verse 4 gives us this word “multiply” which has been on the heels of the announcement of God’s blessing since Genesis 1. It was said of fish, birds, and Adam and Eve. And though it was said of Eve’s pain in childbearing, it will be relieved in the multiplication of children, as was said of Abraham, Issac, Israel, and even Ishmael. Now, we have see it come to fruition here in 47:27, and promised yet again for the last time in Genesis in verse 4. We won’t see it again until in Exodus 1:7. 

Genesis 48:5-7: The Lost Boys Gathered InWe have to look carefully at what Israel is doing here. As one can see when the tribes are given their allotments in the promised land, there is no mention of the “tribe of Joseph.” Instead, the inheritance is split into the two tribes who are represented here in Joseph’s two sons (with Levi not getting a portion in exchange for being priests makes the math of 12 work out according to Belcher). Israel adopts his grandsons as it were to give them a place equal to his full sons, in fact, it would seem according to 1 Chr. 5:1-2, they are actually getting the inheritance that Reuben and Simon would have been getting had they not dishonored their father in such a way. This implies that their behavior has impacted future generations (Matthews).

Genesis 48:8-16: A Heritage of Blessing Verse 10 shows usJacob stepping into the role of Issac. How similar, and yet how different. He kisses and feels his grandsons, not because he suspects deception but because he is expressing love and gratitude that he has the chance to even meet them, much less pass the blessing of his fathers to them. Things are improving for the family. 
Now looking at the blessing proper, it is very simple. Jacob recalls the past provision of God to his grandfather, father, and now him. He thinks of God along Psalm 23 lines of being a shepherd. He has led him safely to this point, and now desires the same for his sons. Don’t be confused to the angel reference here. On scholar points to Genesis 31:11–13 “Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’ ”” This is like the Angel of the Lord that pops up frequently in the Old Testament. He isn’t an Angel but God Himself. Possibly the Pre-incarnate Son. 
Along with remembering our baptisms as a central reminder of the goodness of God, we do well acknowledge the other blessings of God’s providences. It can be easy for us to compartmentalize God as needed for our salvation but our other blessings come from elsewhere. But we have to intentionally notice them. Richard Pratt in his book Praying with Your Eyes Open, talks about an exercise he would do with a kids class for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. He would ask the kids to list all the things their parents did for them. It would start out slow, but soon the list would fill up hard and fast! Kids would begin to notice all the things that their parents did for them once they got past the initial, “Well, they give me food.” God does even more than bring you salvation. He gives you food, too. 
But even as I give strategies to remember God’s work to help pass on the blessing of Jesus, we are reminded that it is God who decides who, where and when He blesses. 

We are not in control of where, who, or when He blesses.

Genesis 48:17-22: The Passing of Blessings Given We saw earlier that Israel crosses his hands before he blesses the boys. Joseph had set it up so that the right hand (a symbol of priority) would rest of the oldest’s head. That is the way things are done, after all. The oldest goes first! But God’s economy works different than ours. One commentator put it this way: “And is it not a perpetual encouragement to us that God does not merely crown what nature has successfully begun, that it is not the likely, and the naturally good, that are the most blessed, but that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise…” (Dods, quoted in Ross, 695). In other words, God is never stuck playing the hand He is dealt. He can do anything with you, regardless of where you start. Can you sin your way out of some blessings? Yes, Reuben and Simon did, but God’s grace can meet you even there. It is possible for me to sin in such a way that I disqualify myself for pastoral ministry, but I would not be beyond the saving grace of God. 
As much as we would like to control what blessing we get, we can’t! Joseph tries to influence who gets the greater blessing by moving his father’s hands. But there is no accident here. Israel’s eyes are bad but not that bad, and he has intentionally decided that the youngest is to be blessed, guided no doubt, by God’s will. 
Far from this passing of blessing being just a good luck wish, this actually plays out in the rest of the history of the nation of Israel. Ephraim was the stronger tribe of the two. Interestingly, when Moses dies, the nation is led by Joshua who happens to come from Ephraim (Numbers 13:8). And when the nation of Israel splits into Judah and Israel, can you take a guess from which tribe the first king of the new nation of Israel, Jeroboam, comes from? Yes, once again the line of Ephraim, 1 Kings 11:26-40. These aren’t things that Jacob could have had any control over, but they are things that God absolutely controls. 
This is another way in which we differ from Israel’s position here in this text. We can shape our children’s direction but cannot make sure their destiny. We are in Joseph’s position here. He tried to make things a certain way to follow the conventions he knew to follow, and all he had to do was set his sons in the right place. He did that, but God had other plans. Manasseh was still a great people. They still got inheritance, but it was up to God. 
Application To quote again from Dods: “And in the case of much that we hold, dear, the same rule is seen; a pursuit we wish to be successful in we can make a little of, and are thrown back from continually, while something else into which we have thrown ourselves, almost accidentally prospers in our hand, and blesses us. Again, and again, for years together, we put forward some cherished desire to God’s right hand, and our displeased, like Joseph, that still the hand of greater blessing, should pass to some other thing.” (quoted in Ross, 695). 
That is a beautiful way of saying that as much as we would like to shape precisely what blessings we have in life, we can’t. But we aren’t here to be the captain of our destiny. We are here to follow the Captain of our Salvation. We can’t steer the ship of history precisely where we want it to go, we can only be obedient to our Captain. This isn’t a “let go and let God” approach to life. This is “follow precisely what God said, yet leave the results to Him.” He will often surprise you! 
Don’t assume anything for your children. Just because they are the firstborn doesn’t mean much to their direction in life. Just because they have started out life poorly doesn’t mean it must always be that way. God chooses who He is going to work with and how. That doesn’t erase your responsibility to raise them and correct them, but it does ease the reality that you are not in control in any final sense. Give your parenting mistakes to God, and grant your successes to the Same.
At the same time, invest in your children with your prayers and teachings depending on your season. Your children have a mission that goes beyond themselves. They will have an impact and they will shape the future, just as you do. 

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
Last week, we saw that there is a certain restlessness amongst the people of God. The family of Abraham has been wandering the entire book of Genesis, knowing that they will eventually settle in the land that God has promised them. We also, in our own way, are wandering through a strange land waiting for our final, promised inheritance as well. But what do we do in the meantime? Are we just sitting around for 80 to 100 years just waiting to for our lives to really begin? How does God settle His people when they are waiting? 
​
God Faithfully Settles His separate people in a Strange Land 

Genesis 46:31-47:6Tearful reunion now settled, it was time to figure out next steps. What is life going to look like after happily every after? The strategy begins! But what is that strategy? Is it pretending to be something they aren’t like Jacob did to Isaac? No. 
Joseph isn’t telling them to do anything but tell the truth. We aren’t trying to trick Pharaoh into anything but simply identify what they need: a place with lots of pastureland for their animals to graze. Goshen is just such the place. 
Goshen was the most fertile pasture land in all of Egypt, which is how it gets its name. The word comes from the idea of “heart” (A Biblical and Theological Dictionary) or precious. This area is separate from the rest of the mainland of Egypt, so it will be the perfect spot for the flock. 
It will also be the perfect spot for the people as well. We can see from verse 34 that shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians. The word for “abomination” is the same word we find for God’s view of homosexuality in Leviticus. We aren’t entirely sure why. When the Greeks come along, one writer notes that the Egyptians worshiped the cow, so eating it for its beef was very offensive (Matthews). That’s possible. But whatever the exact reason, their ending up in Goshen is going to be the best for everyone. The Jews won’t assimilate the Egyptian practices, because they will be living in their own, separate culture over in Goshen (Belcher). This is going to continue to be the case until they leave Egypt in the Exodus. 
Joseph is also making sure that Pharaoh knows that they are shepherds and want to continue to be such. These are not kings in the making (Matthews). This isn’t Esau’s family. These are humble shepherds who need a little space to practice their craft far away from the rest of the nations so offense isn’t created. 
In God’s faithfulness, it works! Pharaoh commands that they take up residence in Goshen, and he even offers them a job looking after the royal livestock! What a kindness of God. Really, not the kindness of Pharaoh, although he is kind here. This is the move of God. What king who has the world at his mercy doles out the best of his land to a wandering band of shepherds? Yes, it is Joseph’s family, but ancient kings aren’t known for their whimsical kindness to foreigners, particularly those who are culturally offensive. So all credit here goes to God. He has taken care of His people to lead them to here to literal green pastures. We note that Joseph doesn’t have to sell this to Pharaoh. They lead with the fact that they are different, even offensive, to the rest of the population, yet God moves in it. No scheming required. 
Now I mentioned that part of the advantage of their moving to Goshen was so that they wouldn’t assimilate into Egyptian ways of thinking. The Messiah is supposed to come from the family of Abraham, and it was important that they not get absorbed by another people and disappear. 
But how does this work today? Are we as New Testament Christians called to live physically separate lives from those in the world? Do we need to build our own communities in far-flung reaches of the country? Bring back the monasteries? Select the Benedict Option? 
I don’t think so. Jesus didn’t tell us to leave the world but to go out into it. Jesus Himself went to eat with sinners and tax collectors. However, in both of those approaches it wasn’t to become just like the world James 4:4 is very clear: “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” As is 1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” But the point is to disciple the world. Jesus ate with sinners to call them to repentance. We go out into the world not to learn from it but so that it learns God’s Word. 
That begins by being honest with what we believe. God’s people don’t have to apologize for being different. The things that we believe, that we proclaim out of God’s Word are very offensive to our world. The idea that there is only one way to heaven, the idea that God is in control of absolutely everything, the idea that men and women are different and even have unique roles to play in society and in the church. And that’s just the garden variety stuff of Biblical Christianity. We haven’t even gotten to the Sabbath or even the Trinity yet. We’re an odd bunch, but we don’t have to hide that. We shouldn’t. We do no favors when we try to hide who we are as a people united to Christ. But we shouldn’t be surprised by resistance to it. Jesus Himself embodied this perfectly and was killed for it. 
It is harder not to be worldly than we think. Even in the ways that present the truth we can fall into the patterns of the world. 
There is being offensive for the sake of the truth and being offensive for offensive sake. It is getting increasingly hard to tell the difference these days because of how much the way we talk has changed. Such a change has taken place through the Internet. The Internet rewards saying outlandish things in outlandish ways, but we are here to please the Almighty not the algorithm. Jesus was not in love with the world, and if we are going to follow Him in that, we are going to need to be more careful than ever. 
It is very hard not to be discipled by the Internet. Here in our passage, the Egyptians found the shepherds offensive, and the religious practices of the Egyptians were offensive right back to the Jews. However, once they were out of each other’s presences, the influence stops. Not so today. Today the world follows us home. If you check your phone within the first ten minutes of waking up (like apparently 80% of the US population), the world is the first thing to speak to you. Throughout the day, we apparently look at our phone 205 times. (https://www.reviews.org/mobile/cell-phone-addiction/). 
We have a great opportunity to be a blessing to the world. But we can’t be that if we don’t even truly know why we are a blessing. We are a blessing by bringing Christ to the world, as we will see more next week, but if we are consumed by the world, it is impossible to accurately, and dare I say winsomely, present the gospel to world. 
We can’t be drawn in by the world but neither can we be fully withdrawn from it, so what do we do? We abide in Christ. Recognize the world that you live in and seek out God in prayer and in His Word. It is so easy to assume that because we once knew something that it means we are still living it. I’ve been to seminary and I catch myself living opposite to the what I know. And when I see that, when you see that, run back to God. Remember, God has followed you into this world. Just like placing the people in Goshen, He has placed you here in this time and this place. While it is harder to avoid worldliness, it isn’t impossible. James said not to be a friend of the world well before the iPhone came out. The danger isn’t fully avoided by canceling your connections with the Internet. But you will find the closer you get to Jesus, the worldliness of the world doesn’t have the same shine. Being close to Jesus means you can look at the piece of technology in your hand and praise God that He made a world where you can assemble sand and silicone and make a device that allows you to see the other side of the world live. And then you can put it down because the Giver is more impressive than the gift. 
So what is our takeaway here? We are called to be a unique people in our world, as we always have been. Yet we are called to spread that uniqueness by proclaiming the gospel of Christ: full forgiveness of sin by repenting and turning to Christ, union with Him. 
So kids: That means for the most part we don’t act like the kids you see on the TV. Almost never are you going to see perfect examples in the movies and TV we see today. We take how we are supposed to act from mom and dad. 
Adults: be thoughtful about why you think the way you do. Not just what you think but how you think. Is this conversation, this way of moral reasoning, is this from the Bible or X? Can we minister on these platforms? Yes! Can we find good stuff on the Internet? Of course. Just make sure that this is the majority of your time. Our lives are going fast. The world is changing even faster. Yet the gospel of Christ is always needed. It doesn’t change. The good news is still good news, so don’t let it go to the back of your mind. 

Photo by Luis Del Río Camacho on Unsplash
​Do you feel unsettled where you are? That’s normal. There is a feeling of something missing here in this world. We aren’t settled here. We shouldn’t be. The world actually isn’t our home, and we are wanderers within it, journeying towards our final destination. 
Sometimes it can feel aimless, inefficient, and looping. A lot of “Why did we spend so much time there?” But we aren’t charting our own course. The Christian life isn’t a choose your own adventure. It is being led, no matter how much it doesn’t feel that way sometimes, by the Good Shepherd Himself. God is a journeying God, a God of the wilderness, the desert, the strange land far off, but not because He’s a gypsy. Not because He has commitment issues. It is because He is seeking the lost sheep, the wanderers, to bring them home. And He will wander with them all the way. Indeed, not all who wander are lost. In fact, only the wanderers after Jesus are saved. 
In this passage we will see that God leads His people on a journey home. 
God leads His people on a journey home

Genesis 46:1The fun begins right in our first verse with the word translated “journey.” This word shows up 12 times in Genesis recording the movements of Abraham and Jacob. This is the last time it shows up in this book, and appropriately as this is wrapping up the final chapters. This family has a legacy of the lengthy journey and now Jacob begins the last journey of this book. It has been a long trip, but it is ending with a beautiful reunion of his family. 
However, we are going to make a quick stop along the way in Beersheba. If you don’t have your Bible atlas handy, I’ll just tell you that this is near the far southern border of Israel just before he leaves the country. It would be like saying that a person was on their way out of Alabama, God’s state, into Florida but they stopped in Brewton first. That’s right on the border. 
But this stop isn’t a mark of hesitation. This is the place that his father, Isaac, settled back in chapter 26, specifically in verses 23-25: “From there he went up to Beersheba. And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.” 

Genesis 46:2-4This is a stop for worship and reaffirmation from God Himself. Isaac was told not to go to Egypt in Genesis 26:1-5. In fact, he is the only patriarch not to have the word “journey” describe his life. How can Jacob be sure this is the right path? God Himself affirms the plan to go to Egypt. It’s been the plan since Genesis 15. 
Can you hear the fatherly tone? I am the same God of your father. Don’t be afraid. Why? I will make you a great nation there. I have a purpose in this. I know you are going away from home, the very home I promised to give you. I’m going to build you into a nation just as I promised. Also, and this is the best part, I, God, will be with you. 
The language here is emphatic. God is wanting to punch the point home that He, God Himself, is going to go down with Jacob. He isn’t doing this alone. Further, He isn’t going to leave him there in Egypt. He promises, with the same punch of emphasis, I will bring you back up home. 
What a condescension! The God of the universe is going to move to Egypt with them? Following around 70 people?! But imagine the comfort of that. When you were a kid, having a trusted adult be with you in the dark is so comforting. I remember when Granger was young and moving into his own bed on the other side of the house wanted me to sit in his room while he would go to sleep. The call was always “sit ina chair.” Here God promises to sit ina chair, as it were, to lead them to Egypt and back home again. 
Do you know God promises to do the same for you? Psalm 23 calling the Lord “my” Shepherd doesn’t stop with David who wrote it. We all call the Lord our Shepherd who leads us through the scary places of cancer treatment, troubled marriages, painful bodies, and even the good, yet still hard journey of raising children. He is with you in all of it. He, Himself. 

Genesis 46:5-27And look at all who come with Jacob! This huge list of people are all the descendants so far! We could be forgiven thinking that it was still Jacob and his twelve sons because that is really all that have been mentioned so far, aside from Judah’s three and Reuben’s at least two. But now we find out that the family has grown! And depending on how you work the math, at least 70, and many more if you thrown in the wives are coming down to Egypt. 
Why the odd math? Well, we aren’t sure! It depends on whether you want to count the sons of Joseph or not, the dead sons of Judah or not, whether you include Dinah or not or whether you include God Himself in that count or not (Matthews)! There is a way in which that number makes sense, but there are a number of ways to approach it. The main point is that a decent sized family is coming into Egypt. 
But as we round the corner of the end of this chapter, we come to a most emotional conclusion to Jacob and Joseph’s story. 

Genesis 46:28-30There is a wonderful detail in Jacob sending Judah ahead to prepare Joseph for their immediate arrival. The one who originally sold Joseph from his father is going to be the one to lead him back to his father. 
There is such redeeming grace here, that I just wanted us to sit with that for a second. You just never know how God is going to conclude a story, and that has been the theme of Joseph’s life. 
Joseph, riding his chariot, comes out to meet his father and the grand reunion takes place. It is almost impossible to imagine the power of such a reunion after being separated for twenty years each unsure if the other was even still alive (Matthews). Jacob feels that he is able to die in peace knowing that his son is alive and is able to see his face. He’ll actually live for another 17 years, so there is plenty of time to catch up. 
This incredible story would have been amazing for the Exodus generation of Israel to hear. The next time we read the word “journey” that we saw in verse one is when they are on their “journey” out of Egypt as not only a family but a nation, exactly as God said. 
They would be reminded that the God who promised to bring them out has done so, and this journey into Egypt has not been a mistake or bad decision. Imagine those who had grown bitter in slavery thinking that God had forgotten them are reminded in this story that they were right where God designed for them to be. It is only by keeping their entire story in mind does this seeming Egyptian detour make sense. 
God has indeed been faithful to them, and He has been such for us. 
While God had come down with the Israelites to their journey in Egypt, God has come down to us in the person of Jesus Christ. It was a condescension that is infinitely more impressive that what we see in this chapter. It is one thing to bring your blessing presence to Egypt, which I know Jacob and family appreciated. But when Jesus came down to live with His people, He got sand in His feet. He felt hunger, fatigue, and pain, dwelling among us as one of us (John 1:1-14). He moved into the neighborhood, as Eugene Peterson put it. 
But Jesus didn’t come down just to be here. He didn’t dine with sinners so that they would stay right where they are. Like God promised Jacob, He is promising to bring these sinners home, to bring them up. He is the Good Shepherd leading them as He does so. He leads us to still waters and grassy areas along the way, but it isn’t the final destination. 
He ascended up to heaven to prepare a place for us, a home, where we will have to wander no more. The journey will finally conclude. He has gone on ahead to prepare and welcome us when we arrive. 
What will that welcome be like? There are a couple places in the Bible that hint to what it will be like. In Acts 7, we see one of the first Christian martyrs, Stephen, being stoned to death for his belief in Christ. As He is dying, he says that he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father. Now that should strike us. Why is Jesus standing? According to Hebrews Jesus sat down because the work was complete? So why is He standing here? Spurgeon I think has given the best answer in that Christ is standing to welcome one of His own home. 
I can only imagine that the standing doesn’t last long. The picture of the joy of God to welcome a sinner home is in Luke 15 when the father of the prodigal son runs which wealthy noble Jews never do (MacArthur) to embrace his son. I can imagine that the same anticipation of Joseph riding that chariot hard to meet his father paints a picture of the anticipation of Christ welcoming His own home. 
It isn’t death to die, but a welcome home. 
So where do we go from here? Well, we remember that we are in fact going somewhere, and it isn’t here as the world presently stands. You are on your way to a glorious place where God’s presence dwells with beauty and fullness. 
Along the way, we rest in the comfort of knowing that God is with us, that we make our home with Him now. The world is a hard place, a place of pain but not permanence. This, too, shall pass, all of it. And He is determined to pass through it with us. He has already endured the worst the world can throw, conquering even death itself. Now, we simply trust.“Keep close to God, and then you need fear nothing” (Joseph Eliot). 
Evil can’t ultimately beat someone on their way to heaven. Whatever you are being called to endure, whatever your Egypt is, God has raced out to meet you there. So stay close. He’s leading you home. And as we will be reminded in the Supper, He is with us all the way. 

​Photo by Raphael Rychetsky on Unsplash
Some circumstances can seem impossible for God to work with much less bless through. The people of Israel needed to be reminded of this. Genesis was originally written to recently freed slaves, slaves who have known nothing but forced service for 400 years. They have just been let go, and are now wandering through the desert looking to one day enter the promised land. 
Now it is hard to have hope in a desert. There’s not much food or water. Everything is hard in a desert, and some might be tempted to believe that even God has a hard time working in the desert. Is He able to provide in hard circumstances? 
Joseph’s brothers are likely wondering this as well in this moment. They have been shocked to hear that Joseph has forgiven them, but as we will see from this text, the reason that they are about to be blessed is because God has been the one watching over them. 
We will look at some of these things as we look at our main point: God promises to provide for His people more than they could deserve to point to Himself. 
God promises to provide for His people more than they could deserve to point to Himself. 

Genesis 45:9-15Here we see Joseph, having just given us a masterclass in forgiveness, now shows us a great deal of generosity. Behind all the rest of this chapter is a smiling God, but you won’t see His name mentioned beyond verse 9 here. But when you hear what is being described you can see His fingerprints all over the chapter. 
Does anything sound familiar in verses 9-11? I think there are subtle notes of God’s promise to Abraham of a land, seed, and blessing. Even though they are going to have to leave Canaan, they are going to be provided the land of Goshen, apparently, a very nice place, as we will see in a minute. 
Further, there is the mention of children and grandchildren. The fact that there is land, that means that there will be space for descendants. They won’t be displaced to simply wander. They are going from one home to another home. 
Finally, there is the promise of provision, of blessing from Joseph’s own hand. Joseph is instrumental in providing food for the rest of the world, so they have been a blessing to the entire world. Now, they are getting some in return. 
All of this from a brother sold into slavery. All of this taking place in a foreign country. God is showing that He is able to provide for His people regardless of where they are. This doesn’t mean that this is the fulfillment of God’s promise. He hasn’t settled on plan B. It was always the plan to go to Egypt, but even there is a preview of what is yet to come. Canaan will still be the land of promise, but God can provide even outside its borders. It points to the fact that God is an international God and has something grand for His people yet. This is something that you can really see in our next section. 
Genesis 45:16-24One might say that all is well and good with Joseph providing for things, but what a wonder that Pharaoh himself provides in such an obvious way. He is pleased that Joseph’s family is moving in and he provides for all their needs along the way. He is sending them with twenty donkeys carrying treasures of Egypt as well as everything they would need in order to move down. He is basically telling them to just get in the car, don’t even bother packing. There will be better versions of everything when you get there. 
Notice this little word here in verse 18. “you shall eat the fat of the land.” Does that remind you of any other time that came up in Jacob’s life? It was when Isaac, his father, was blessing him back in Genesis 27:28 “May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.” Notice the last line of that verse: plenty of grain. There are ten female donkeys loaded up with it! And those are meant to just be some snacks along the way to Egypt the only place on earth that has five more years of grain enough to feed the world! You want to talk about plenty of grain—this is almost ridiculous! 
And let’s not even get started on verse 29 that talks about ruling over brothers. Joseph, Jacob’s son, is second in command of Egypt and in charge of everyone’s food for the next five years. That’s a lot of power. 
All of this from God, far more than could be imagined. It’s the same God we worship. Now, we get to see the big moments like this and don’t get to appreciate the day by day struggles that they went through, but this blessing is the way that God loves to operate (Matthew 7:11). And He can use even foreign kings to accomplish it. After all, Proverbs 21:1“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” 
Never think that God needs something or someone in order to get provision to you. You never have to do something sinful in order to ensure God’s blessings come your way. God doesn’t need the supposed “right people” on your team in order to bless through it. He doesn’t even need you to be the best in order to be a blessing to others. You and those around you don’t have to be stars for God to bless through you. You just need to be surrendered to God. Be obedient to Him, and let Him work through you. God already has all your crazy all factored in. 
Genesis 45:21-24Incredibly, all of this blessing is coming onto this family that up until five minutes ago we didn’t even trust to not sell another brother. Even after all this, they have to be reminded not to quarrel along the way. 
Note the generosity of Joseph. Yes, he gives his full brother more, but he gives a lot to people who the last time they were all together he was sold. 
These seem like very undeserving people. I can imagine in their position, I wouldn’t want to accept this gift. I couldn’t possibly deserve that level of kindness after what I would have done. But I don’t have to imagine their position. I don’t deserve anything that I have here, much less anything that I will inherit in heaven. If I wait to feel worthy to accept these things, then all I will have done is grown in my pride. 
I was talking with a friend of mine over the weekend who’s dad did a lot of ministry in prisons. He would talk about every time his dad finished ministry for the day in the prisons, he would be so excited to see grace in action. He would do Bible studies with men who were murderers and the worst kind of criminals who know beyond all doubt that they are sinners and starving for grace. They know they need it and are so grateful for it. Watching it play out was so encouraging for him. A couple of his students, themselves prisoners, would turn around and lead Bible classes themselves in the prison. One class is led by two inmates, one white, one black, each one a former leader of a race-based gang. Now they teach together when in years past they would have tried killing each other. That’s happening right now in Bibb county. That’s our God! That’s your Father. No, you don’t deserve that kind of grace either, but that is what is on offer! Will you take it? Will you humble yourself and say, “I don’t deserve it, but I need it?” 
Let these examples of God’s grace walk past you to point you to God. That is what we see in this last section. 
Genesis 45:25-28Jacob hardly knows how to react to this kind of news. It is only when he has seen and heard the words and actions of Joseph does he believe and resolves to go see Joseph. The blessings have pointed beyond themselves to a son seemingly risen from the dead. 
That’s what your blessings are meant to do for you. All of them. From air conditioning to laughter around your dinner table, they are all meant to point you to Jesus. Jacob doesn’t stop at the donkeys and say, “Well, I think that we’ve got enough to carve out a spot for us right here, don’t you think? No! He says, “All of this proves my son is alive, let’s go!” His real treasure isn’t on the back of a donkey, its the one who sent them! 
If your possessions aren’t doing that for you, then you’ve missed the point. So it is no wonder that you aren’t satisfied yet with what you have. That was never the object’s purpose. It was always meant to get you to look up. 1 Timothy 6:17–19has some practical guidance for us: “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” 
All of us in this room on the scale of most of the rest of the world are in the rich category. We all should be nearly delirious with joy that we have been born in the age not only of clean water and plentiful food but of air conditioning and ibuprofen. And we are told in what I just read how to react. We don’t become boastful of what we have, neither do we set our hope in it. What does it mean to set our hope on riches? I read a quote this week that said something to the effect of, “If you can end your day relatively happy having despite not praying at all that day, you are probably living a more secular life than you realize.” If I don’t feel the need to pray throughout my day, I’m probably too hopeful in how much money I have, how healthy my children are, and how competent I imagine myself to be. No, my hope should come from the Lord who has provided all of these things to me. 
Now the verse doesn’t stop there. It doesn’t say, “don’t set your hope on riches, and in order to do that, you need to get rid of it all.” That’s not what it says. It says to hope in God who gives you these things to enjoy. Enjoy—don’t trust in—but enjoy it. Treat your blessings like a delicious and healthy dinner made by someone you love. Savor the taste, sus out each note of flavor, knowing that you won’t be full forever afterward. Knowing that this experience doesn’t last forever. But neither of those realities ruin the dining experience. It’s just there to be enjoyed and to point to the one who made it. 
Of course, a good meal, a good blessing, is multiplied when it is shared. God gives us these things, as it says in verse 18, to do good works with them. Don’t let social media be the only way a blessing is broadcast. Let people find out how God has blessed you by the way you serve them with that blessing. 
And when you do those things, God is so good as to reward you anew in heaven. You make a blessing multiplier. All of it made possible by Christ’s work on the cross. This chapter of Genesis was paving the way for the ultimate blessing in Christ. His death on the cross paid for your salvation to go to heaven one day. This is a gift so great, that no circumstance could ever dull it. No matter what rolls past you, good or bad, you can look at the empty tomb and say, “Jesus is still alive, and I will see Him when I truly come alive in heaven.” 
So what should this change this week? Be grateful for what you have. Spend some time either literally writing it down or just sitting in a quiet place picturing in your mind all the blessings you have this afternoon. You don’t have to be ashamed of them. Enjoy them like a good meal. Then pass the plate around, let others enjoy your blessings on earth so as to make them treasures in heaven.