Server Outage Notice: TheSeed.info is transfering to a new Server on Tuesday April 13th
| > Sermon Archive > Sermons by Author > Rev. Mark Chen > God with Us Here, We with Him There | Previous Next Print |
| Order Of Worship (Liturgy)
|
God with Us Here, We with Him There
Genesis 46:1-7, 26-34; 47:1-31, 50:24-26, Joshua 24:32
Beloved, the Lord has always given assurances. When he returned to heaven, he said to his disciples - “Lo, I am with you, until the end of the age.” When Israel entered Canaan, he gave stirring words - “Be strong and courageous, do not fear, do not be discouraged, the Lord your God will be with you, he’ll never leave you nor forsake you.” Despite our trials, we’re told - “If God be for us, who can be against us?” And when we go through deep dark valleys of death, we can say, “Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life.” The journey of God’s people through uncertain times is governed by God’s presence, secured by God’s savior, and filled with hope in a promised future.
Jacob was called to an uncertain future. In verse 3, he was called to “go down into Egypt.” At Beersheba, he stood there with all his family and earthly goods. Behind him was Canaan - the land promised to Abraham and Isaac. Before him was Egypt - the land of idolatry and slavery. And he was afraid! Abraham went during a famine and nearly lost his wife. Joseph was sold into Egypt as a slave. It was a place of temptation and compromise, yet God commanded the descent. But he gave precious promises - “I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again.” It’s the same with us. God’s here with us - even in this Egypt. And because he is, we have hope we’ll be with him there in his country. Let’s trace this promise through four movements. Firstly, God promised to be with his people in Egypt. Secondly, God was with his people in Egypt. Thirdly, God’s savior was instrumental to bless them. Fourthly, God reminds us of our promised future.
Firstly, God promised to be with his people in Egypt. Here we see God’s command and promise. When Jacob was en route to Egypt, he stopped at Beersheba - “the well of the seven.” Here, God confirmed his covenant to Abraham and Isaac. So by stopping here, Jacob returned to the place of promise. He offered sacrifices to remind him of God’s covenant. And God spoke. In verses 3-4, God said, “Don’t be afraid to down to Egypt, for there I’ll make you a great nation. I myself will go down with you and bring you back again.” Notice three things. First, the command - “Don’t be afraid.” Fear was the natural response to Egypt. Second, notice the promise - “I’ll go down myself.” The God of heaven, who dwells in light inaccessible, would descend into the land of idols. He didn’t send an angel but went himself. And third, he promised the return - “I will bring you back again.” The Exodus was guaranteed even before the slavery started. God didn’t say - be brave and I might bless you; but I’m going with you, so don’t be afraid. Their time in Egypt was needed. It was a furnace to forge them as a nation. No exaltation without humiliation. And that’s why even our suffering - our testing - comes from above; that we may come forth as gold.
And we learn something spectacular. When they entered Egypt, with sons, sons’ sons, daughters, and son’s daughters - they were all named. Verse 8 onwards records them. God didn’t only number and name them when they returned to Israel 400 years later, nor when they returned to Judah after 70 years in Babylon, he numbered and named them here as they entered Egypt! Verses 26-27 say they all numbered threescore and ten - 70. Now, we wonder - why only 70. Why not more? After all, Abraham had a fighting force of 318 men. Why wouldn’t Jacob have more? He returned from Haran like a small nation. Notice the interesting repetition of 7. The descendants of Rachel were 14, twice 7. Bilhah had 7 persons. Leah and her maid had 49 - seven 7s. And the entire family was 70, 10 sevens. Why? To remind Israel.
God created all things to sustain life in 6 days and rested the 7th. 7 times God said this life was good. Cain’s life would be avenged 7 times over. Noah had 7 pairs of clean animals for sacrifice. God warned Noah 7 days before the rains started to preserve life. The ark rested on Ararat on the 7th month for life to restart. Noah released the dove in intervals of 7 days to find signs of life. 70 living nations came from Noah’s sons. Jacob got his wives after 7 plus 7 years to bring forth life. In reuniting with Esau, Jacob bowed 7 times to preserve life. And Pharaoh had dreams of 7 plenteous years and 7 devastating years - to raise up a savior of life. So similarly, God emphasizes here that no lives were left behind; all lives were preserved. Dinah was mentioned in verse 15, Asher’s daughter Serah in verse 17. Why? God counted his people. Each one mattered. He knew all he brought to Egypt and all to eventual slavery. Sometimes God’s people feel invisible - tried, sad, troubled - but God sees everyone of us. In Luke 10:20, we’re told our names are written in heaven, in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The fact we’re living in Egypt now doesn’t alter the fact that God’s with us to preserve our lives. He knows each one of us.
Now, after they moved, we see secondly, how God was present with his people in Egypt. God promised to be with them. We see how in verse 28 onwards. God knew what his people needed in Egypt. After they entered, we see one of the most tender scenes in all of Genesis - it happened in Goshen. Verse 29 - “And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.” After 22 years of separation, slavery, prison, and intrigue; father and son embrace. Jacob said in verse 30 - I can finally die, I’ve seen your face and know you’re alive! These were the same words spoken by Simeon when he saw Christ - “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” Jacob saw beyond Joseph; he saw proof God would preserve life to produce a savior. Joseph prefigured that savior. He went ahead to Egypt, prepared Goshen - the best land - for them. He gave them provision and secured their preservation. He made sure, they’d be separate from the rest of Egypt. In verse 34, he told his brothers to say they were shepherds - which was true. And since the Egyptians despised shepherds, they’d leave them alone. What looked like a curse became a blessing - Israel was spared from intermarriage to keep purity to preserve the line of promise. The church grows when it’s not absorbed by the world.
And yet, the church is a blessing to the world. God’s people are a blessing to Egypt. In Genesis 47:7, Jacob stood before Pharaoh and blessed him. Yes, the aged shepherd blessed the most powerful man on earth. When Pharaoh asked how old he was, Jacob answered honestly - not nearly long enough and most of it tough years. And he blessed Pharaoh again. We know that as God’s people living in Egypt, or Babylon, or whatever we call it here, the presence of the redeemed brings blessings to the unredeemed. Egypt would receive rain for Joseph’s sake. The world is sustained because of God’s people. Remember what God said to Abraham? “In you shall all the families of the earth be blessed!” And that promise was working itself out, even in Egypt, even in exile, God’s people are priests. God’s people were to be blessing. In verse 6, they’d live in Goshen, but those with special skills would be in charge of Pharaoh’s livestock. Separate but a blessing. We pray for the government, bend our backs to obey the laws, pray for our neighbors, do good to them, and are upright. And because of us, God blesses the people around us. When Judah was exiled to Babylon, God instructed them in Jeremiah 29 to seek the city’s welfare. They were to contribute to the economy by building homes, planting gardens, and marry to increase their families. They were also to seek the peace and prosperity of the city where they were exiled, praying for it because their well-being was tied to its success. Beloved, God has given us a task here - to seek the welfare of the city or country we’re in. But how? We’re to be different, separate, distinct; but a blessing. That’s the most powerful weapon we have - living out gospel. Our Lord blessed those around him. He sought their good - their salvation, their blessing, their prosperity.
And that too was Joseph’s role - God’s savior was instrumental in blessing the people. That’s the third movement. We see in Genesis 47:13 that after Israel settled in Goshen, he dealt wisely with the Egyptians. When the famine deepened, the people spent all their money on the grain. They paid Joseph, and Joseph placed it into Pharaoh’s treasury. The people had no more money. Now, they offered themselves as slaves in exchange for food. Joseph knew how bad slavery was. He wasn’t about to do that yet. In his wisdom, he told them to exchange their livestock for grain. But at the end of another year, their food ran out. No money, no livestock, and nothing but their lands and their bodies. So now, he took their lands so all lands were Pharaoh’s. And he took them as indentured servants. But why?? Wisdom.
If he hadn’t taken their animals, they’d have slaughtered and eaten them. But he had their animals, and now their lands and their bodies. But interestingly, in verses 23-24, he provided them seed to plant the fields. They’d become tenant farmers. After harvesting the fields, they’d keep 80% and give 20% to Pharaoh as taxes. But this wasn’t the usual way of slaves and masters - this was the way of Joseph. He’s far wiser and better. In such a time, he returned to them a greater portion than what he took. Sure, it wasn’t a perfect system and we shouldn’t use it as a model for our country. But the point is simple. Joseph held all resources. He was steward of life. He dispensed equitably. In tough times, the people got through it when they submitted to him. And at the end, they were grateful. Verse 25 - “Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.” So in spite of the dire situation and hard requirements, they acknowledged that it was Joseph who saved them. But he didn’t only save them.
He especially saved his people. Joseph provided for all, but he showed special grace to his own family. In verses 11-12, he didn’t treat his family like the Egyptians. He gave them a holding - a possession - in the land of Egypt, the best land. The same Hebrew word is used later for Israel’s inheritance of Canaan. Joseph gave them a down payment on the promised land - right in the middle of Egypt. He provided bread “according to their little ones.” So whereas grain was rationed for the Egyptians, it was not rationed for Israel. It was based on need. And as the famine died down, Egypt could plant. And Israel also could but in better land - in Goshen where they were left alone. Verse 27 says as “Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen…they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.” As they planted in this Eden-like life giving region, they grew even more. This echoes Genesis 1 - “be fruitful and multiply.” So even in exile and famine, the blessing of creation continued. Egypt couldn’t stop the promise. They had a slice of Eden in Egypt. For some, we may feel it’s unfair. How could Israel get more blessings than the Egyptians? Why not?! Beloved, Joseph was the savior and blesser of Egypt, but he’s especially the savior and blesser of his own people. It’s not the same. God sends the sun and rain upon the unjust. Yes - it’s benevolence. But God saves his people from sin. He showers us with blessing. And while the church does good to all men, she does good especially to the household of faith.
Beloved, we have a savior in the Lord Jesus. He told all to “come unto me, ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Many came to him for bread, but when his teachings became too difficult, telling them to come and eat of him - the bread of life - and never perish, they abandoned him. Despite all the blessings he showered on them. But when he asked his disciples if they’d leave him, they replied - “How can we? You alone have the words of eternal life.” They knew what they had in him. Similarly, Israel was cared for in a special way. While Joseph cared for others, he especially cared for his people. This here is the doctrine of election and special love.
And God saves us so that we’d have a promised future. We see this also in our text - the fourth movement. After Jacob was in Egypt - settled, fed, multiplied, secure, separated - we see in Genesis 47:28-30, after 17 years, he hasn’t forgotten his home. He trusted God to fulfill his promise of the land. When the time of his death drew near, he called Joseph and made him swear a solemn oath - “Don’t bury me in Egypt - let me lie with my fathers. Thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace.” Why? Because he knew he didn’t belong in Egypt. It was a temporary place - and for the most part, he experienced blessing. But it wasn’t his home. And he wanted to be placed in the Promised Land, which God had given to him. And Joseph swore it to do what Jacob said. And Joseph himself believed that God would fulfill these promises. In Genesis 50, Joseph himself was about to die. His last words weren’t about pyramid tombs or Egyptian honor - he said - “I’m about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” He knew that the Exodus would take place. And he himself made his sons swear that they’d carry his bones to the Promised Land. 400 years later, the Exodus happened. God’s people were delivered out of Egypt, and finally into the Promised Land by Joshua - who took Joseph’s bones and buried them there. Beloved, why is this so important? It’s because Jacob and Joseph both voted with their bones. They refused to let Egypt claim them. They’d lived there, blessed there, flourished there - enjoyed Goshen, but they belonged to Canaan. Their hope wasn’t in the life-giving Nile but in the promise-keeping God. The author of Hebrews looked at this moment and said, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” They knew that Egypt was not their home. But they also knew that Canaan - the earthly one - wasn’t their home. They “desired a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” They didn’t want to remain in Egypt, but looked for a heavenly country which Canaan represented.
Beloved, Genesis started with Eden and ended with Egypt. Sure, Goshen, but Egypt. But they don’t stay in Egypt. Neither do we. Beloved, we live in Egypt, or Babylon, or whatever we want to call it. Life here can be very good. Many of us are living in Goshen. We have a nice house, a good job, a comfortable life. But some of you are not. But as believers in Christ, we’re sojourners. Philippians 3:20 says our citizenship is in heaven. And we’re not to let Egypt and all her pleasures, politics, anxieties bury our hope. Why do we have the Lord’s Day, one in seven, to rest and worship in Christ? We’re reminded that we’re called out of this world to worship. That one days, we’ll worship God in the eternal land above in that eternal 7th day. So we come today to sing about heaven, plan for heaven, and work for heavenly goals. We have this family, this church, where we can serve God. This is our holding site - the possession God has given us while we’re in Egypt. But together with God’s people we shall be in glory one day. Here, Christ feeds us with living bread. He isn’t Joseph distributing bread - he is the bread. And so we come to receive him as we hear the Word. And as Joseph saved Israel from starvation, Christ saves us from sin. The famine in Egypt was real - bodies died. But the famine of sin is infinitely worse. But we’re nourished by Christ. And he’ll take us to where he is one day. Israel was in Goshen, but eventually the Promised Land. Christ assures us - “In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
But while we are here, let’s serve Christ. Yes, we set up home but we remember to be separate from the world. Don’t abandon yourself and your children to the ways of Egypt. Instead, bless Egypt with the gospel, serve God and have dominion. To serve Pharaoh, to set up home and families, to shine as light in the world. Joseph engaged with the world and famine. He didn’t waste the opportunity. He was shrewd, but honest, all while honoring authority. As you conduct business in Egypt, you are Joseph in Pharaoh’s court. Your vocation is not a sideline - it’s a frontline. So bring in the wisdom of God into a starved world. Don’t retreat into sacred spaces. That’s how the gospel spread.
Remember, even as we’re in Egypt, we have Christ with us. He’s promised never to leave nor forsake us. That’s why we can live without fear. Sometimes, we’ll live in our lush Goshens. But instead of thankfulness to God to serve him, we’re thankful to Pharaoh. We refuse to stand for the truth and oppose the sin in the land. Unlike Daniel and his three friends, we relish the king’s meat. This was the problem with the Israelites who left in the Exodus. They eventually wanted to return to slavery for the leeks and garlic. But if we know our Goshens here are given to us by Christ alone, then we will be separate, holy, different - and our eyes will be set on God’s kingdom. And that will be the hope that sustains us. But let us be honest. For some of you older saints, like Jacob, when asked how old he was, you’ll answer - not nearly old enough and most of it tough years. Take heart, the Promised Land is not far off.
1
1. God’s Promise to Be with His People on Egypt (46:1-27)
A. God’s command and promise (1-7)
B. God numbers all his people (8-27)
2. God’s Presence with His People in Egypt (46:28-47:10)
A. God knows what his people need (28-6)
B. God’s people are a blessing to Egypt (7–10)
3. God’s Savior Is Instrumental to Bless (11-27)
A. His wise dealings with the Egyptians (13-26)
B. His gracious dealings with his family (11-12,27)
4. God’s Reminder of the Promised Future (47:28-31, 50:24-26, Joshua 24:32)
A. God’s people trust in the promises (28-31)
B. God will fulfill his promises (24-26, Joshua 24:32)
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2026, Rev. Mark Chen
Please direct any comments to the Webmaster
