Well, it's good to see everybody,
and I thank the Lord that we're back home. We had a wonderful
time with our family. It was good to see them all,
but it's always good to come home. I'm gonna ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to Genesis chapter 47. Genesis
47. I'm going to make a few comments
on verses 8 to 10. I had looked at that passage
last time we considered the book of Genesis 47. I'm actually going
to speak out of 11 and 12. So I'll read, I'm going to read
the verses 8 through 12, and like I said, our text actually
being 11 and 12, but to bring us up. Genesis 47, verse eight,
and Pharaoh said unto Jacob, how old art thou? And Jacob said
unto Pharaoh, the days of the years of my pilgrimage are in
130 years. Few and evil have the days of
the years of my life been. and have not attained unto the
days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of
their pilgrimage. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and
went out from before Pharaoh. And Joseph placed his father
and his brethren and gave them a possession of land of Egypt
in the best of the land, the land of Ramses, as Pharaoh had
commanded, and Joseph nourished his father and his brethren and
all his father's household with bread according to their families. Now, like I said, last time we
looked at this passage of Scripture, I dealt with verses 8, 9, 10, and we looked at a question that
Pharaoh asked Jacob, Jacob is the daddy. And Pharaoh has been
brought down, or Jacob has been brought down to Pharaoh's company. And Pharaoh asked him a question. And Jacob gave Pharaoh an answer
of great instruction for us. We need to be careful that we
don't, rush over these precious words found in God's holy scriptures. How old are you? And Jacob answered with great
wisdom. He spoke as one who knew himself
to be a stranger in this world, a traveler. heading toward another
world. He knew in the book of Hebrews
chapter 11, Hebrews 11, there's a passage of scripture that gives
us some understanding concerning what God's people knew as they
were traveling through this world. Hebrews 11 verse 13, The scripture says, these all
died in the 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. Now, beloved, you that know the Lord, you know
this. There's a lot of things that
are strange to us. Things we don't completely perceive,
understand, grasp hold of. We hear the blessed truth of
the gospel of God's grace, electing grace, preserving grace, but
we're still, you know, not knowledgeable as we wish we would be. And this
thing of of leaving this world. We've got a concept based on
scripture of what it'll be, but we really don't know. We've got
some things that the Lord been pleased to tell us, but we really
don't know. But we know this one thing, where
we are right now in this world, this is not our home. We know
that. We've got a concept perceived
by our eyes, our understanding, looking around us. And we know
that there's something about this world that's not permanent. We're getting older. Things are
changing. And when Pharaoh asked him, how
old are you? He gave him that That answer
that, as I said, showed so much wisdom. Verse nine, Jacob said
unto Pharaoh, the days of the years of my pilgrimage are in
130 years. Few and evil have the days of
the years of my life been and have not attained unto the days
of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their
pilgrimage. He reckoned this life to be measured
in days. The days, that which was measured
in just a short period of time. We talk about being so many years
old, and I get it. That's understandable, I get
it. But when he answered, how old are you? Well, these days
that I've been here, He said, the length of them has just been
few. Think how quickly we've gotten
to where we are right now, right now. Just think how quickly you
got here. I've said this before. I mean, I can think back and
you can too. It was just no time ago. We were,
I mean, elementary school I mean, you remember, I bet you everybody
here can remember their first grade teacher's name. Yeah, yeah. Mine was Miss Blalock, first
grade. Man, that was a long time ago. But how quickly it's passed. Scripture says in Psalm 90, verse
12, so teach us to number our days. We're not gonna be here
very long. We just, a few more fleeting
suns, sunsets, teach us to number our days that we may apply our
heart unto wisdom. Apply our heart unto the wisdom
of Christ. Our need of Him. Teach us, teach
us, teach us. Psalm 39.4, Lord, make me to
know mine end, that the measure of my days what it is that I
may know how frail I am. Lord, teach me to know how frail
I am. Have you been taught a little
bit about that? Just teach me to know how frail I really am. The length of Jacob's revelation
of his age. How old are you? Oh, the days,
he said, few few. Jacob at this time about 130
years old. He knows that those years of
130 years was just few in comparison to eternity. I've tried and you
have too. I've tried to just perceive and
I hear something about forever and you just No matter how hard
you try, you just can't grasp hold of it. By the time you get
to where you think you might be getting it, it's not there
yet. These days, right now, in comparison to forever, they're
just few. We'll be leaving this world of
time, measured time right now, but when we leave this world,
there's no more measuring anymore. 2 Peter 3, verse 8. But beloved, Peter says, be not
ignorant of this one thing, that one day with the Lord is as a
thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Not only did Jacob refer to these
days when Pharaoh asked him, how old are you? He says he referred
to those days not only as few but as evil. That's what he said. Jacob said unto Pharaoh, the
days of the years of my pilgrim, 130 years, few and evil, have
the days of the years of my life been. They've been evil, plagued
with the frailty of this flesh, the animosity of this world,
the strugglings, temptations of Satan. They've been hard days. And he said also, and he says,
and the days of my life have not attained unto the days of
the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrims.
They've been few, they've been evil, and my days hadn't been
as long as some of my ancestors was. I mean, Methuselah, hundreds
and hundreds of years old. And Jacob said, my years hadn't
been that old. He had not attained unto the
days of the years of the life of his fathers in the days of
their pilgrimage. Is this, if he was saying, he
said, old age came to me sooner than it did to some of my ancestors. I mean, you think about 130,
he was 130 years old. Now, life, you know, that's a
long time compared to us. And to his ancestors, 130 years
wasn't nearly that old. Some of them lived about 900
years, just 800, 900. I hadn't lived as long as they have. My days have been few and evil. He got old sooner than they did.
He's old. Verse 10, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh,
and he went out from before him. Jacob was a man that was found
to be thankful. He blessed him. I looked it up. He was thankful. Jacob blessed. Pharaoh. He was thankful, first
of all, unto the Lord God of heaven for God's good pleasure
to use him. He, God used Jacob as a minister
unto Pharaoh. And he was, he was just telling
Pharaoh, ask him a question. How old are you? And Jacob, Jacob
witnessed to him. Tell him how old he was, how
long the Lord had preserved him and how the days had gone for
him. He was appreciative for the kindness
and the generosity that had been shown him. But knowing that all
the praise and honor and glory for the things that had been
shown, the kindness that had been shown unto Jacob by Pharaoh,
he knew that the Lord was the author of that. He knew that
God Almighty, the one who Loved him, chose him in Christ, preserved
him, and kept him until this end. He blessed him. Actually,
when I looked it up, he thanked him. He was cordial to him. All the time knowing the Lord,
the Lord has used you, Pharaoh, to preserve me. Well, in verses
11 and 12 now. Here's a beautiful picture of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we just sang that song.
Everything in the Bible is all about the Lord Jesus Christ.
And right here, we're going to see Jacob, as we just looked
at. Here was Jacob, picture of God's sheep. Jacob, one that
was loved. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated. One that was preserved and kept.
But now we're going to see Joseph, in these verses 11 and 12, And
I want us to look at Joseph for a few minutes as a picture of
the Lord Jesus Christ, who has been eternally pleased to preserve
his people, call them out of darkness. Verses 11 and 12, and
Joseph placed his father and his brethren and gave them a
possession. in the land of Egypt, in the
best of the land, in the land of Ramses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished his father
and his brethren, and all his father's household with bread
according to their families." Here's having considered Jacob
as a picture and type of every vessel of God's mercy choosing
vessels. who shall surely be kept and
provided for. I looked at these verses and
I saw what Joseph did. Now here's Joseph. Now remember,
a picture of Christ. Picture of Christ. Joseph is
the son of Jacob. But he right here is a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Joseph, a type of Christ. What
does it say that he did in that verse 11? First part, and Joseph
placed his father and his brethren. He placed them. Now they're in the land of Egypt. They're in Canaan. And here's
Joseph and he placed his father. Now here we see the wisdom and
the power of Almighty God concerning where God's people are found
in this world. I looked at that, and here's
Joseph now, a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said
he placed his daddy and his brethren, he placed them somewhere. Hold
your place right there. Turn with me to Deuteronomy 32,
verse eight. Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 32. Verse 8. Let's read 7 and 8. Remember
the days of old. Consider the years of many generations. Ask thy father, and he will show
thee. Thy elders, they will tell thee. When the Most High divided to
the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of
Adam He set the bounds of the people according to the number
of the children of Israel. I read that scripture and I thought,
what an amazing thought. Everybody that has been born,
whether God calls them out of darkness, whether he doesn't,
he sets the bounds of all men. Everything is ordered by God
for the accomplishment of God's will and God's purpose. Almighty
God that predestinated all things, determined all things,
everything is under his control. God Almighty was pleased to have
called you or you or you or me out of darkness and was pleased
to use vessels of His mercy. I think about how when I first
heard the gospel, I was in Louisiana and I was doing what I thought
I was wanting to do, you know, and the Lord Took a man, took
a man, and caused that man to cross my path. Henry Mahan was
his name. And he caused, you know, he sent
Henry to a church in Kitchens Creek Baptist Church, still right
there. My sister goes there now. It's been there since the 1800s. And little old church in the
middle of Ball, Louisiana. Where in the world is Ball, Louisiana? And my mom, I've told you this
story. My mom told me, said, we've got
somebody come to preach to us here. Why don't you come? Henry
Mahan, I never heard of him. And crossed my path. And over some time, the Lord
began to show me, created an interest in what this man was
saying. Never heard that kind of stuff in my life. And I got
to listening, called him up, asked him to come over. preach
for me at this little church that I was pastored. False prophets,
all I was, didn't know nothing. I knew nothing. Religious, and
when God Almighty was pleased, he opened my eyes to the truth
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and gave me some understanding,
gave me a new heart. in all the places where I've
come from here. How did I get to Katy, West Virginia? I've been in the littlest, smallest
places in the world. Ball, Louisiana. Katy, West Virginia. But this is where God placed
me. This is where God placed me. And so here's Joseph's family. Joseph placed his father and
his brethren. He placed them. Placed them where
he was pleased to put them. The time of our birth, born October
the 5th, 1949. I've told you before, it's what
my birth certificate says. I don't really remember it, but
it's pretty well established. It's written down on a piece
of paper. Time of my birth, the place of my life, Alexandria,
Louisiana, how did I get there? He placed me, placed me there. Length of our days, all appointed
by Almighty God for the accomplishment of His will. Everything is ordered
so that He's gonna have the accomplishment, the fulfillment of His will,
His purpose, everything. None of this is by accident.
We're all here by appointment, appointment. Joseph placed his
father. How'd you get here? God put me
here. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. But not only was Joseph's family
placed where they were. Look here, back in verse 11. Joseph placed his father and
his brethren, and look at this, and gave them a possession in
the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Ramses,
as Pharaoh had commanded. Almighty God had been pleased
to place his people in this world, ordered everything about them,
and had given them a possession. possession. Possession. Beauty of this blessed picture
in time. Joseph gave his family a position. Oh, do we not behold something
of the blessed possession that has been given us in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ? I didn't earn it. You didn't
earn it. I didn't deserve it. I had to look it up. It means, in our passage right
now, it means property, land, or possession by inheritance. Man, Neil, all you gotta do is
just read it. Just read it. I mean, it's so beautiful. Possession
by inheritance, and what? an inheritance we have in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hold your place right there and
turn to Romans 8, 15. Romans chapter 8, verse 15. 15 to 17. For ye have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
And if children then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if so be you suffer with him that we may also be glorified
also together. Joseph. put him in a place of
God's choosing, and he gave him a possession. Well, Genesis chapter 47, it
says Joseph placed his father, his brethren, gave them a possession. Not everybody, not all the Egyptians. He gave it to his family. He gave it to the ones that were
of his blood. He gave them the best of the
land, Ramses is commanded. Gave them a place of distinguishing
mercy, just like the Lord has given us, a place of distinguishing
mercy. I think about just being here
in a place where we can hear the gospel of free grace. Don't talk to me about me trying
to do something. Please God, I can't do it. Tell
me one more time what the Lord's done for me. We've all been born
in Adam with a heart totally depraved, all of us spiritually
blind and deaf to the voice of the good shepherd spiritually
bankrupt, deserving nothing but death. That's all we deserve.
Now just, if every believer is gonna be honest about it, I don't
deserve, I don't deserve the mercy of God. I don't deserve
it. But God, who's rich in mercy, was pleased to not leave his
people, the people of his choosing, to themselves. He was pleased
to make his sheep be his heirs. Heirs of God join heirs with
Christ. Heirs to all that God himself
has to give, engaged himself to make them his people, robed
in his righteousness, cleansed by his blood. And then lastly,
verse 12, and Joseph nourished his father. and his brethren,
all his father's household with bread, according to their families. He nourished them. In this world,
I know there's gonna be times of drought, lack of supply, but
according to the need of God's people, we shall not want, shall
not want. As I wrap this up, Exodus 16,
Exodus chapter 16. Exodus 16, I'm going to just
read verses 1 to 15. I started to read it. Exodus
16, I'm going to read 15 verses because I just saw the beauty. Exodus 16, verses 1 to 15. They took their journey from
Elam, and the whole congregation of the children of Israel came
to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elam and Sinai, the
15th day of the second month after their departing out of
the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children
of Israel murmured against Moses, Aaron, and the wilderness. And the children of Israel said
unto them, would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord
in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, when we
did eat bread to the full, for you have brought us forth into
the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Then said
the Lord unto Moses, behold, I will rain bread from heaven
for you. I read that and I thought to
myself, But for the mercy of God, he said, I'm gonna rain
fire and brimstone upon you. He did to the cities of Sodom
and Gomorrah. But here they were murmuring
and complaining and griping, and it's not going my way, and
poor, poor, pitiful me, and I'm just so bad. I thought just hush,
Marvin, shut up. What are you griping about? I
don't ever get the attention I need. I don't ever do that.
The Lord said to Moses, behold, I will rain bread from heaven
for you, and the people shall go out, gather a certain rate
every day, that I may prove them whether they will walk in my
law or no. And it shall come to pass that
on the sixth day, they shall prepare that which they bring
in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. And Moses and Aaron said unto
all the children of Israel, and even, then shall you know that
the Lord hath brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and
in the morning then ye shall see the glory of the Lord, for
that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord. And what are
we? that ye murmur against us. And
Moses says, this shall be when the Lord shall give you in the
evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full,
for that the Lord heareth your murmurings. I kept reading that
and I kept thinking, Lord, you kept hearing us complaining and
complaining and complaining, and still in your goodness and
mercy, you didn't cut us off for your namesake. For the Lord
heareth your murmurings, which ye murmur against him. And what
are we? Your murmurings are not against
us, but against the Lord. You know, whenever we complain
against the providential dealings of God, even through others,
when we complain against what others have, you know, they do
to us, and they go, well, you brought us here. What would you
bring us here for, Moses? They were complaining against
the Lord. He's the one that worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will. The Lord had ordered this. And
Moses, verse nine, spake unto Aaron, saying to all the congregation
of the children of Israel, come near before the Lord, for he
hath heard your murmurings, And it shall come to pass, as Aaron
spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that
they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the
Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak
unto them, saying, At evening you shall eat flesh. In the morning
you shall be filled with bread, and you shall know that I am
the Lord your God. I am the Lord your God. I am
the Lord your God. And it came to pass, at evening
the quails came up, covered the camp. In the morning the dew
lay round about them. The host dew that lay was gone
up. In the face of the wilderness
there lays a small round thing as small as the hoar frost on
the ground. And when the children of Israel
saw it, they said one to another, it is manna. They wished not
what it was. And Moses said unto them, this
is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. Back in Genesis
47, That was the last thing that scripture says that Jacob, Joseph,
did for his family. There's a picture of Christ,
verse 11 and 12. It says he placed his father,
his brethren, gave them possession in the land. Verse 12, Joseph
nourished his father and his brethren in all his father's
household with bread according to their families. Our Lord and our God has been
pleased to call his people out of darkness. And when we didn't
even know what he was doing, when we were complaining and
griping against his good providence, when we didn't understand the
ways of the Lord, we thought, how can these things be happening
to me? Why am I going through this? And all the while he was
leading us with a hand of kindness and mercy. Grace and compassion. Lord, help me. Help me not to
gripe about your good providence. Thank you for placing me where
you did. Thank you for teaching me. Thank you for nourishing me.
Thank you for holding me for Christ's sake.