Look at the last phrase of verse
34. For every shepherd is an abomination
unto the Egyptians. Now that's a strong word. It
means an object of disgust and repulsion. Every shepherd is
an abomination to the Egyptians. And then Joseph advises them, his brothers, it
shall come to pass when Pharaoh shall call you and shall say,
what is your occupation? That you shall say, Thy servant's
trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now,
both we and also our fathers. And through this, you're going
to dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination
unto the Egyptians. Now I don't know how many times
that I've read that in the past and thought that just seems out
of place. To say, here's what you're gonna
say to Pharaoh when you come into his presence, tell him you're
a shepherd. Every shepherd is an abomination
to the Egyptians. Tell him you're a shepherd and
through that, you're going to have the good of the land. You're going to live in the best
land. Now this is a detail that God
the Holy Spirit has caused to be in this story. Chapter 43. Now this is when Joseph has set the brothers in
order before, um, he had made himself known to him and they
were going to eat supper together. He said, you're all going to have
supper at my house. Now look at this detail in verse 32 and they sit
on him and they sit on for him by himself and for them by themselves,
just Joseph and his brethren. And for the Egyptians, which
did eat with him by themselves, they wouldn't eat with them,
because the Egyptians might not eat bread with Hebrews, for that
is an abomination unto the Egyptians. They found it an abomination
to be with a Hebrew, because a Hebrew was a shepherd, and
a shepherd was an abomination. And yet Joseph says, Here's what
I want you to do. I'm gonna give you the very words
to say. When you come into Pharaoh's presence, tell him we're shepherds. From our youth up. That's all
we've ever known. And through that, the good of
the land will be given you. Now this story begins with Joseph's
promise to his brethren after he'd made himself known to them.
Look in chapter 45 verse 9. This is when he's telling them
to go get Jacob, his father, whom he hadn't seen for some
22 years. He says, haste ye, go ye up to
my father and say unto him, thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath
made me Lord of all Egypt. Come down unto me and tarry not.
And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen. That's the best land. And thou shalt be near unto me,
thou and thy children and thy children's children and thy flocks
and thy herds and all that thou hast and there in the land of
Goshen will I nourish thee. for the yet five years of famine. But through your connection with
me, you're going to be in the best land. And Pharaoh was right
with this. Look in verse 16 of the same
chapter, chapter 45. And the fame thereof was heard
in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come. And it pleased
Pharaoh well and his servants. This was something he was excited
about. You remember the story of Joseph
forgiving his brethren. And this spread throughout all
of Egypt, this remarkable case of forgiveness. And Pharaoh was
happy to hear this. And look what he said. And the
fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren
are come. And it pleased Pharaoh well and his servants. And Pharaoh
said unto Joseph, saying to thy brethren, this do ye. laid your
beasts and go get you into the land of Canaan and take your
father and your households and come into me. And I'll give the
good of the land of Egypt and you shall eat the fat of the
land. Now thou art commanded, this is not advice, this is something
I'm telling you to do. This do ye, take your wagons
out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your
wives and bring your father and come and regard not your stuff
for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. You're going
to have the good of the land. Now in chapter 46 verse 1, Israel
begins his journey. They've told him Joseph's alive. Can you imagine how shocking
that would be if you thought your child was dead? And 22 years
later, you find out that your child lives. How amazing that
must have been. And now Jacob is going down to
Egypt in the wagons that Pharaoh provided to bring him there.
Verse one, chapter 46, and Israel took his journey and with all
that he had, and he came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices unto the
God of his father, Isaac. And that's when God spoke to
him at night and, um, gave him his assurance. I'm going with
you. I'm going with you. And he went with his 70 descendants
into Egypt at that time. Now, let's pick up in verse 28
of chapter 46. And he, Jacob, sent Judah before
him unto Joseph to direct his face unto Goshen. And they came
into the land of Goshen. They'll be there for another
400 years. My grandma used to always say, land of Goshen. And
I never knew what she meant. I thought, what in the world
does that mean? Well, here's where it comes from. Land of Goshen,
the good land. The best land, uh, the only place
where any cattle anywhere in the world could graze. It was
the fertile land. It was a strip of Delta in the
Nile where all the waters, uh, kept that land irrigated and
you could still grow things there. And that's where they were to
go to the land of Goshen. Verse 29 and Joseph made ready
his chariot. And he 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." Now, I want you
to think of that reunion. They hadn't seen each other for
22 years. Now my son who I thought was dead lives and he fell on
his neck and wept a good while in joy. Verse 30 and Israel said
unto Joseph now let me die Since I've seen thy face, because thou
art yet alive, I'm ready to die. It can't get any better than
this, is what he's saying. And this is really a believer statement. When we see the Lord's face,
we're ready to die. Nothing else is needed. We've
seen everything. And Joseph said unto his brethren,
verse 31, and unto his father's house, I will go up and show
Pharaoh and say unto him, now this is interesting, Joseph says,
I'll go to Pharaoh and speak to him for you. That's what I
want, don't you? I want the Lord to represent
me before the Father, just the way Joseph went to Pharaoh to
speak in behalf of his brethren. I will go up and show Pharaoh
and say unto him, my brethren, in my father's house, which were
in the land of Canaan are coming to me. I love to think of the
Lord saying that to his father, my brethren, they've come to
me. The father is pleased with that.
My brethren are coming to me. And he's going to say to Pharaoh,
these men are shepherds and the men are shepherds for their trade
have been to feed cattle. And they have brought their flocks
and their herds and all that they have. Now remember, shepherds
were so disgusting to Egyptians that even when Joseph was going
to have this dinner with his brethren, the Egyptians wouldn't
sit with them. And they sat separately because
a shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians. And he says,
these men are shepherds. He knows what he's doing. He
knows what he's doing. These men are shepherds for their
trade with men to feed cattle, for they have brought their flocks
and their herds and all that they have. And it shall come
to pass when Pharaoh shall call you and say, what's your occupation? And you know, that is literally,
what are your deeds? What are your works? What do
you do? Joseph tells him exactly what
to say. That you shall say thy servant's
trade has been about cattle for our youth, even until now, both
we and our fathers, that you may dwell. And he says, you say
this, that you may dwell in the land of Goshen. The only way
you're going to be able to dwell in this land of Goshen is if
you come into Pharaoh's presence and say, we're shepherds. That which is an abomination
in his sight for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians. Now, here's why you'll be given
the land of Goshen, the best land to dwell in. If I come like
they did into God's presence. And say, I am a sinner. He'll say, go into the best land. And if I come any other way,
I will be rejected. You believe that? Okay. Chapter 47, verse one. And Joseph came. told the Pharaoh and said, my
father and my brethren and their flocks and their herds and all
they have, or come out of the land of Canaan and behold, they're
in the land of Goshen. And he took some of his brethren,
even five men and presented them unto Pharaoh. Now, why didn't
he present them all to Pharaoh? I don't know, but he presented
five. And we don't know which five they were, but I like that
number. Don't you? Five, the number of
grace. And he makes this presentation
of these brethren of his to Pharaoh. And I couldn't help but to think
of the Lord's presentation of his people. He'll present every
one of his people before the Father, holy and unblameable
and unreprovable in his sight. He makes this presentation. And
just as Joseph said it would take place, and Pharaoh said
and his brethren, What's your occupation? You know, Joseph
knew exactly what he would ask. And here he asks exactly what
Joseph said he would ask. What's your occupation? And they
said unto Pharaoh, thy servants are shepherds, both we and also
our father, that which is an abomination to the Egyptians.
They said moreover unto Pharaoh, for to sojourn in the land are
we come. For thy servants have no pasture
for their flocks. We don't have anywhere to go,
we don't have any food. For the famine is sore in the land of
Canaan. Now therefore we pray thee, let thy servants dwell
in the land of Goshen. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph,
saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee. The land
of Egypt is before thee. In the best of the land, make
thy father and brethren to dwell. in the land of Goshen let them
dwell. Now that word dwell is generally
translated abide. Let them abide, let them dwell,
let them stay in the land of Goshen. That place that Joseph
spoke initially in Genesis chapter 45, you're gonna dwell in the
land of Goshen, you're gonna be near me, that's what Goshen
means, near, and I'm gonna nourish you and take care of you in the
best land. Now, Pharaoh says you're going
to abide in the land of Goshen. Now I couldn't help but think
of the song we just heard about in the beloved. In the beloved. Turn with me to John 15. John 15. Verse one. I am the true vine. And my father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. And
every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring
forth more fruit. Now you are clean. Through the word which I have
spoken unto you, Abide in me. Now remember he said they're
gonna abide in the land of Goshen. This is so important. Abide in
me, dwell in me. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can you except
you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches,
he that abideth in me, and I in him. Now that is unusual language. What does he mean? You're to
abide. You're to dwell in me. You're
to make me your living place. And you're not to leave me. Abide
in me. And I in you. The branch cannot
bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine. Let me show you another scripture.
Turn to 1 John chapter 2. 1 John 2, verse 28. And now little children, 1 John
2, verse 28. And now little children abide
in Him. Now, there is a conscious desire to abide in
Him. That's what he means when he's
talking about abiding in him. And now little children abide
in him. Don't be anywhere else. Abide
in him. That when he shall appear, now
he's talking about his second coming. When he shall appear,
we may have confidence. and not be ashamed before him
at his coming. Now, how is it that I can have
confidence and not be ashamed before him when he comes back?
One way, as I abide in him. Stay in 1 John, look in chapter
three, verse six. Whosoever abideth in him, sinneth
not. Whosoever sinneth hath not seen
him, neither known him, they are not abiding in him. Whosoever
abideth in him sinneth not." Now, abiding in Goshen teaches
us something about what it means to abide in Christ. That's why we have these details.
You abide in this dwelling place, in this place of plenty, in this
place of of all you could want, stay right there. And they did
stay there. Now abiding in Christ, all of
God's blessings, all of God's salvation is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. All of God's blessings are given
to me only as they are mediated to me through the Lord Jesus
Christ. First Corinthians 1.30 says,
of him are you in Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us. Wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification. And redemption, all of that is
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why Paul said, I know
I quote this probably a couple times a month and hope I will
until I die. Paul said in Philippians chapter
three, verse nine, oh, that I may win Christ. And what? And be found in him. When God comes looking for me, Would you like to be found preaching?
Nope. Would you like to be found witnessing?
Nope. Would you like to be found praying?
Nope. Would you like to be found reading
the Bible? Nope. I want to be found in Him. I want to be found in Him. I
don't want to be found anywhere else. Oh, that I may win Christ
and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is
of the law, but that which is through the faithfulness of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith. You're gonna dwell
in the best land, the land of Goshen. Now, when the rain was coming down
from heaven to flood the earth. Would you want to be anywhere
but in the ark? There was no other place of safety
but in the ark. When God passed through the land
to destroy the firstborn and he gave this promise, you put
blood over the door. And you get in the house with
the blood over the door. And when I see the blood, I will
pass over you. Would you wanna be outside of
that house? I wouldn't. I'd simply want to be in the
house with the blood over the door. Now here's an illustration
that I've used before, but I'm gonna use it again. Let's say in this room, the room
we're in, Now if you told me I was gonna have to stay in this
room the rest of my life and never get out, I'd think, I don't
like that. That would be boring, it would
be, but if I told you in this room is everything you could
ever desire or even imagine. In this room, everything God
requires of you, you have. In this room, there's nothing
but pleasure ever more. And I'm talking about the pleasures
of knowing God. In this room, there's nothing
else you could even desire, except in this room. In this room, if
you have everything, and outside of this room, there's nothing
but the wrath of God. Would you want to stay in the
room? You really would. You'd want to stay in this room
and you'd never want to be anywhere else. Now that's what it is to
abide in the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't want to be anywhere else
and all I want is in this room. All I need is in this room. beyond anything I can imagine
is in the room of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that's what he's
talking about when he's talking about abiding in him. You do not want to be anywhere
else. Now, the land of Goshen, the
land of Goshen. The land of Goshen was a strip
of land in Delta at the Nile River in Northeastern Egypt,
which was the most fertile land of Egypt. It was the best land
in Egypt. And that's where Jacob would
spend the next 17 years of his life. The land of Goshen. And the first thing that I would
point out, and we've already seen this about the land of Goshen,
the things Pharaoh said, Pharaoh said, you're going to stay in
the best land. The best land. The land of Goshen is the best
land. The famine was everywhere else,
but there was plenty in the land of Goshen. It was the best land. One of my favorite words in the
book of Hebrews is better. You take the best. Christ is
better than that. Beyond the best, he's always
better. And the land of Goshen is the
better land. And if you're in Christ, it can't
get any better. It can't get any better. And if you know who Christ is,
you know that so. In Christ, He is the best land. There is no ending point to his
infinite betterness. Being found in him is better
than being found anywhere else or in any other condition. Oh,
that I may win Christ and be found in him. The land of Goshen was the land
Pharaoh provided. And Christ is the living space
that God has provided for His people. And there's so much room.
We don't feel confined in this room. This room is infinite.
It's not some little narrow room like this is, 2,500 square feet.
I mean, it's an infinite space. Although it's confined to Christ,
it's infinite because He is infinite. Oh, what a wonderful thing to
be in Christ. in the beloved. Now, a lot of
times when people are living in a house, they think, well,
I'm going to get another house. It's going to be an upgrade.
I'm going to have a better house with more space. Not in this
place. There are no upgrades. You are
in the place of infinite greatness, the land of Goshen. Turn with me to Exodus chapter
eight for a moment. The children of Israel were still
living in the land of Goshen during the Exodus before the
Lord brought them out. And this is when the Lord is
sending the plagues. Look in verse 20,
Exodus chapter eight, verse 20. And the Lord said unto Moses,
rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Lo,
he cometh forth to the water and saying to him, thus saith
the Lord, let my people go. that they may serve me. Else,
if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms
of flies upon thee." Man, I hate flies. Can you imagine
what that must have been when the Lord sent these swarms of
flies? and upon thy servants, and upon
thy people, and into thy houses. And the houses of the Egyptians
shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they
are. And I will sever in that day
the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarm
of flies shall be there, to the end that thou may knowest that
I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division
between my people and my people. Tomorrow shall this sign be. And the Lord did so. And there
came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh and
into his servants' houses, into all the land of Egypt. The land
was corrupted by reason of the swarm of the flies. Can you imagine
how miserable that was? But you know what? There wasn't
one fly in the land of Goshen. Not one. And here's what the
Lord said about this. He said, I will put a division
between my people and thy people. I'll make this division. Now
this land of Goshen is the place where God has made
the difference. You know why you're in the land
of Goshen? You know why you're in Christ? Of Him are you in
Christ Jesus. This is the land of God's sovereign,
distinguishing, discriminating grace. Now that word discrimination
is a, anytime there's discrimination in our lives, it's evil. To put
one group of people over another group of people and give them
favor because of the people they are because that's evil. But
the only hope you and I have is that God will discriminate
with us and do something for us and not leave us to ourself.
He said in first Corinthians chapter four verse seven Paul
said who makes you to differ. If you're a believer you do differ.
Who makes you differ. And what do you have that you
didn't receive? And Paul was thinking about in
Exodus 11, verse 7, when the Lord was talking about the Passover,
he said, against any of the children of Israel, shall not a dog move
his tongue against man or beast, that you may know how that the
Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. If
you're in Christ, if you abide in Him, here's why the Lord put
you in Him. He made the difference, and that
is the only reason you're there, and you know that. You see, the
only reason these men had the land, the best land, was because
of their relationship with Joseph. The land of Goshen. Turn with
me to Exodus chapter 10. We're there in Exodus 8, just
a couple pages over, Exodus chapter 10. Verse 21, and the Lord said unto
Moses, stretch out thy hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness
over the land of Egypt, even darkness, which may be felt. You know what that means? A complete
absence of light. The darkness was so thick you
could cut it with a knife. There was no light. Can you imagine how terrifying
that would be? No light at all. And Moses stretched forth his
hand toward heavens, and there was a thick darkness in all the
land of Egypt. Three days they saw not one another,
neither rose any from his place for three days. They were afraid
to get up. They didn't know where to go. But all the children of
Israel had light in their dwellings. The land of Goshen is the place
of light. It's the place of light. There's
darkness everywhere else. The land of Goshen is the place
of light. Now, when I think of the light
of the gospel, what always comes to my mind first is where the
Lord said, I am the light of the world. And he said that in
response to that woman who was taken in adultery in the very
act And there at the end of that beautiful story, he said, woman,
where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She
said, no man, Lord. And he said, neither do I condemn
thee. Go and sin no more. Now, how could he say, I don't
condemn you? When she was guilty, she was
caught in the very act. How can he say, I don't condemn
you? One reason, there was nothing
to condemn her for. that sin was put away. And the Lord looks at me and
he says, I have no reason to condemn you without guilt before
a holy God. Now, Christ is the light as to
how that can be, because you take this woman, she was caught
in the very act. She was guilty. And yet the Lord
says, I don't condemn you. And the Lord also says, I'll
by no means clear the guilty. How can that be? the light of
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The land of Goshen is
the place where there is light. Light as to how God can love
me. Light as to how God can accept
me. Light as to how God can see me
as to be without guilt and beautiful, perfect in his sight. Oh, the
land of Goshen is the land of light. Turn to Genesis 47. A couple more. They dwelled in
the land of Goshen. Genesis 47 verse 27. And Israel dwelt in the land
of Egypt in the country of Goshen. And they had possessions therein
and grew and multiplied exceedingly. Now there's two things here said
about Goshen. Number one, it says they had possessions therein. My possession is what belongs
to me. Revelation 19, eight, under her
was granted fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen
is the righteousness of Christ imputed to the saints. Did I
quote that right? No. I did not quote that right. The fine linen, clean and white,
is the righteousness of the saints. The righteousness of Christ is
my personal righteousness, my personal possession. In the land
of Goshen, there's possession and there's exceeding growth. Now, I love the scripture, grow
in grace. and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. The only way I'm gonna grow in
grace is as I abide in Christ. I abide in Christ, I will grow
in grace. It's a growth in grace. And don't
you wanna grow in grace? Don't you wanna grow in graciousness?
Don't you wanna grow in meekness? Don't you wanna grow in humility?
in love, don't you want to grow in faith? Yeah, we want to grow,
but let me say this, the only way you and I will grow is as
we abide in the Lord Jesus Christ. Genesis 45, I've already read
this once. Verse 10, and thou shalt dwell
in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me. You know the only way you're
near to Christ is if you're in Christ. And if you're in Christ,
you know what? You're real near. You're real
near. You can't get any nearer. I love
that hymn, near, so near to God, nearer I cannot be. In the person
of his dear son, I'm as near to God as he. Dear, so dear to
God, dearer I cannot be. In the person of his dear son,
I'm as dear to God as he. You're going to dwell in the
land of Goshen. And you're not going to be placed
in the land of Goshen until you come to Pharaoh and he asks you,
what's your occupation? I'm a shepherd. And with that confession of sinfulness
before him, for Christ's sake, I don't, oh, This is really believing
this when we come into God's presence. Not understanding it
all. I don't understand how depraved
I am. You don't understand how depraved you are. I don't understand
enough of my need of Christ that I ought to understand. I realize
all that. But I do know this, when I come
into God's presence, I'm not completing anything other than
my need of his mercy and his grace. And I come as a shepherd. That which in and of itself is
an abomination, sins an abomination to God. This is not in any way
making light of sin or glorying in my sinfulness, not at all.
But I know this, the only way I can come into God's presence
is as a sinner needing his son. And isn't that the first beatitude?
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Now one last thing. Verse six. The land of Egypt
is before thee, and the best of the land. Make thy father
and brethren to dwell in the land of Goshen. Let them dwell.
Let them remain there. Don't leave. And if thou knowest
any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my
cattle." Now, just on the surface, he's saying they can watch over
my cattle. But you know, every believer,
by the grace of God, is a man of activity. What's that mean? Paul put it this way, I can do
all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Let's pray. Lord, we ask that you would give
us the grace to abide in thy Son We ask that you would give
us the grace to come into your presence, confessing our sin
from our youth, even until now, needing thy son, needing his
righteousness, needing to be found only in him. Oh Lord, make
that true of each one of us. Cause us to abide. to dwell in
thy Son. Lord, as we look forward to this
coming week, we ask that you would order our steps in your
word, that you'd let no iniquity have dominion over us. And we
ask that you would open doors for us to preach your gospel
according to your will. Bless us for Christ's sake. In
his name we pray.