Genesis chapter 47. Look at verse seven. And Joseph brought in Jacob his
father and set him before Pharaoh. Now let's take a few minutes
to think about these few words. First, I'd have you to notice
that little three-letter word, set, S-E-T. Joseph set his father,
Jacob, before Pharaoh. The Hebrew word there is ahmad,
and it means to present. Joseph presented his father,
Jacob, before Pharaoh. And as I mentioned last study,
I believe, you don't just drop in unannounced to see Pharaoh. He's king. He's monarch. He's potentate. He's the ruler
of the world at this time in history. How do I know that he's the most
powerful man in the world? Well, he's in the midst of a
seven-year famine. And he had all the food, all
of it. And if you have all the food,
it's just a matter of time, you're gonna have everything else. We'll
see that before we finish this chapter. Joseph presented Jacob
before Pharaoh. We cannot enter into the holy
presence and throne room of God Almighty, unless we too are presented
by Christ, our Joseph. We say it all the time, so let's
say it again. There's one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And in our story, Joseph was
the man. But in eternity, and before the
throne of God, Christ is the man. That's why he became a man,
to redeem man. Now I want you to try to imagine
the scene here. It does us good to try to do
that when we read the scriptures. Jacob has been beckoned to appear
before Pharaoh. Pharaoh's told Joseph, I want
to see your father. I want to meet your father. I
want to talk to him. So he's been beckoned to appear
before the most powerful man in the world. And again, remember,
Egypt is the richest and most powerful nation known to man
at this time. Can you imagine the worldly splendor,
the magnificence, the majesty, the grandeur, the pomp that was
displayed as you entered the throne room of Pharaoh? The throne room was like Pharaoh's
trophy room. The floors were marble, as well
as the walls inlaid with gold. There are large marble pillars
reaching from the floor to the ceiling so high you can't hardly
see it. They've got beautiful tapestries
of vibrant colors hanging between each pillar of marble. The walls,
or the marble and the walls, are engraved with Egyptian hieroglyphics,
which told the stories of past kings and present gods and future
mythologies. Large monuments and statues of
Egyptian gods cast in gold, many of them having human bodies with
heads of dogs and birds and all kinds of strange things. Stretched
down both sides of the corridor that lead to the king's throne
are the chief guards of the Egyptian army, along with a company of
Pharaoh's attendants dressed in royal attire. Nothing out
of place. Closer to the throne are Pharaoh's
closest advisors, philosophers and magicians and diviners, and
they're strategically placed around his throne. to answer
Pharaoh's beck and call. And Pharaoh's throne is a spectacle
in and of itself, elevated on a platform with steps, ebony
wood inlaid with the purest gold, covered with every precious stone
imaginable. And there sits Pharaoh on the
throne, ruler of the world, the most powerful, potentate that
you could ever stand before. And He's able with a word to
exalt you in the glory of Egypt or condemn you to the dark dungeon
of despair. Just a word. Maybe not even that. Maybe just a thumbs up or thumbs
down. Can you picture what I'm attempting
to paint? Pharaoh's throne room is putting
on the ritz, to put it mildly. But I'm not finished. Picture
this. in walks a 130-year-old shepherd
named Jacob. God calls him Israel. And in
the eyes of the Egyptians, his type is a scum of the earth. But in the eyes of God, he was
the covenant patriarch. In the eyes of Egypt, he was
a loathsome shepherd. But in the eyes of Jehovah, he's
the prophet of God. In the eyes of the Egyptian world,
he and his sons are now servants in Goshen, attending Pharaoh's
livestock. But in the eyes of Joseph, it's
his father, the servant of the living God. And again, verse
seven reads, and Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, and set
him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Jacob blessed
Pharaoh. Who blessed who? You see, all
who stand before Pharaoh in this time of famine are looking for
a blessing from him. But here, the servant and the
prophet of God blesses Pharaoh. Now, I understand that Pharaoh
had blessed Jacob and his sons. His graciousness to them reveals
his respect for this aged man and his love and regard for Joseph. And Jacob responds by pronouncing
a blessing upon Pharaoh. And indeed, Pharaoh was blessed
by Israel. Joseph, his son, had virtually
saved his kingdom. And in the next study, we'll
see that he obtains possessions of nearly all of Egypt's wealth,
including the people themselves, verses 13 to 26. And we're not given the blessing
that Jacob pronounces here. I don't know what he said or
may have just been a greeting, but I think it's more than that.
But we are told that he blessed him. So what is the Holy Spirit
showing us here? The author of Hebrews, talking
about Melchizedek, tells us in Hebrews 7, verse 7, that now
beyond all contradiction, the lesser is blessed by the better,
or the greater. It's the greater that does the
blessing. It's the lesser that receives
the blessing. And I got to thinking about that
as I read in Hebrews 7. And in this we find that Melchizedek,
the king of Salem, the priest of the Most High God, the king
of righteousness, actually considered by God to be greater than Abraham,
even though Abraham was considered the father of the faithful. And
we know why that is, because we know who Melchizedek really
was. But what's the purpose of the
Holy Spirit making us aware of this blessing of Jacob upon Pharaoh? It's to show us who's the greater
of the two. There sits Pharaoh in all his
splendor, and in walks this old shepherd. But in the eyes of
God, he's the greater of the two. Jacob, who's nothing in
the eyes of Egypt, which represents the world, is greater than mighty
Pharaoh in the eyes of God. And truly the thoughts and ways
of worldly men and women are not as God's. No doubt in my
mind that those four words, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh, are written
on the pages of scripture to remind God's elect that spiritually
speaking, things are not as they may seem. Oh, for the eyes of
faith. Friends, I'm telling you, what
a gift it is. The eyes of faith that we may
clearly see things as they really are. In the fourth chapter of
the Gospel of Luke, the Lord Jesus goes into the synagogue.
And he opens the book and he found the place where it is written,
the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he's anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor and he has sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering
of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Then he closed that
book and he gave it to the minister and he sat down and the scriptures
say that every eye was fastened upon him. Every eye in that place
was looking at him. And then he said this, he said,
this day, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. In other
words, I am the Messiah. I am the Savior whom God sent. Now, Did they see him as the
one who was prophesied to come? They saw him with their physical
eyes. Did they rejoice that the Christ
was among them? Did they fall down and worship
him? Did they thank God that the Messiah had come? No. They said with great unbelief,
is this not Joseph's son? Didn't see him at all. Not with
eyes of faith. Is this not Jesus, the son of
Joseph, whose father and mother we know? You see, they saw him,
but they didn't see him. They had physical sight, but
they were spiritually blind. And that's the case with a lot
of folks today. They don't see Christ with enlightened,
spiritual eyes. Lord, open my eyes, and I may
see. Let's move on, verse eight. And
Pharaoh said unto Jacob, how old art thou? And many of the
commentators that I read on this verse seem to think that Pharaoh
had never seen such an old man before. I don't know how old
the average Egyptian lived, but Jacob's 130 years old. And it
seems as though Pharaoh had never seen a man with maybe so white
a head of hair and beard. I don't know. It seems to me
that Pharaoh asked this question inquisitively and maybe even
with some admiration, with great respect and possibly with some
astonishment, he asked, how old are you? Whatever the reason,
Jacob's age is really not the issue. But his answer is, The
answer that Jacob reveals shows us something that all God's people
are gonna learn. Look at verse nine. And Jacob
said unto Pharaoh, the days of the years of my pilgrimage are
130 years. Now look at these next words.
Few and evil had 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." Now, first notice
that Jacob compares his life to a pilgrimage. We've often
talked about that, sojourning in this life, just pilgrim. A pilgrim is one who's a stranger
and a foreigner in the land in which they dwell. Truly, all
God's people are pilgrims, pilgrimaging their way through this life.
Jacob was one who was not at home even when he was in his
own country, and he certainly doesn't feel at home here in
Egypt. The believer's years of journey
in this life are such as Jacob's. We're only passing through. Whether
we live a short while or a long time, I don't think I'll make
it to 130. However long is a vapor that
appeareth for a little while and fadeth and vanisheth away. Few of Jacob's years had been
spent in happiness and joy. We've certainly explored that,
haven't we? He told Pharaoh that his days
were not only few but evil. His earthly beginnings were actually
prophetic of his life. He struggled with his brother
in the womb of his mother, chapter 25, and his life was a constant
struggle with grief and pain. He lived in a home where the
parents were divided in their affection for their children.
Rebecca loved Jacob and Isaac loved Esau. He gained the blessing
of his father by deception, and then was alienated from his family
because of the hatred of his brother. Things didn't start
out well for him. And they continued that way most
of his life. He spent years in exile serving
his deceitful uncle Laban. He sought one wife and ended
up with four. And the outcome of that was just
continual competition and strife. He finally fled from his uncle,
and eventually he had to make an agreement with him to avoid
further conflict. That's in chapter 31. Then he
suffers the loss of the purity of his daughter Dinah in Shechem.
And he feared the retaliation of the Canaanite kinsmen when
his sons killed all the men of the city and took their women,
children, and cattle. Chapter 34. And if this was someone
that you and I knew personally, we would say, my, my. His oldest son lay with one of
his concubines, and then his favorite son, Joseph, was tragically
lost and presumed dead for 22 years. And then finally, God
sent a famine in the land that threatened the existence of his
whole family, and the second in command to Pharaoh appeared
to be taken away, even his youngest son. So much so that he just
refused to let him go until he finally had to give in because
he was going to starve to death if he didn't. The ruler of Egypt
being Joseph, they didn't know it. But he said, unless you bring
your younger brother down and I see that you're telling me
the truth about who you are, you're not getting any more food.
Not only that, I'm going to throw you in prison for being traitors. So when Jacob says this to Pharaoh,
he was correct in his evaluation of his lot. And he suffered virtually
painful experience, mostly because of his own selfish ways and his
foolish choices. Boy, I can sure relate to that.
I can relate to that. He deceived his brother. He chose
to live near Shechem rather than to go on up to Bethel. And he
unwisely showed preference for Joseph, so much so that all his
other sons hated Joseph and sold him into slavery. Jacob had fought
for that. Those boys wouldn't have hated
Joseph so if Jacob hadn't made such a fuss over him. You know
they wouldn't have. They were jealous of him. And
I would have been too. I would have been right there
with Reuben going, throw that little mangy rascal in that pit. Tired of Daddy making such a
fuss over him and his little pretty coat. Jacob had not seen
the hand of God in his adversity as Joseph had. Jacob had become
a fearful and a broken man. In Genesis chapter 28, Jacob
had made a vow with God saying, if you be with me and keep me
on the journey that I take, and give me food to eat and garments
to wear, and I return to my father's house in safety, then the Lord
will be my God. And this stone which I've set
up as a pillar will be God's house, and all that thou dost
give me I will surely give a tenth to thee. But God doesn't bargain
with men. He don't. Jacob's vow was no
more than an attempt to bargain with God, and his obedience and
his faithfulness to God were conditional. God, I'll serve
you if you'll just do this for me. Well, I'm telling you, God
didn't do it. He never took Jacob up on his
proposition. Never was the tithe given either,
nor was it asked for. God doesn't need anything from
us to accomplish his will and purpose. Folks need to learn
that. God doesn't deal with wheeler-dealers.
And that's what Jacob was. You see, God does not work with
men on the basis of their works. No. His grace is not conditioned
by man's faithfulness, but guaranteed by His. Great is Thy faithfulness,
O Lord. How many times have we said it?
God will bring His elect to the end of themselves. God will cause
His people to see their need of Him. If you're one of His,
He will. Well, I haven't seen it yet.
Maybe you're not one of His. But this is the place that every
believer comes in the end. I'll tell you that. We see that
our life, our work, our faith hadn't amounted to much. It just
hadn't. I wish that wasn't the case.
Our days are few and evil when compared to the eternity and
the goodness of our Redeemer. And Jacob had evaluated his sorry
life and he'd come up short and wanting. I've come up short and wanting
in and of myself. And if you're honest, you'll
agree you have to. But finally, there seems to be a great turning
point in his life. Just as his sons had come to
the place where they acknowledged their sins and turned from their
wicked ways, so Jacob seems to do so here. And he confesses
to Pharaoh in so many words, I am what I am by the grace of
God. God loves me in spite of me. Has the Lord brought you there?
Jacob saw that all his sorrow was the result of his sin. And now he saw things in a different
light. Isn't it interesting to see that
the things that Jacob tried to hold on to and to protect the
most, that being Rachel and Joseph and Benjamin, clearly his favorites. The very things that he tried
to hold on and protect the most were the very things that were
taken away from him. God's not going to allow his
people to cling to the mammon of this world. Not going to do
it. He'll break your fingers and
make you let go if you're one of his. And it was only by giving
up Benjamin that he gained him. And in giving up Benjamin, he
preserved not only Benjamin's life, but that of the entire
nation. Again, we're reminded that God's
ways are not our ways. Jacob stands before Pharaoh and
it seems that he's recognized that all his striving had been
for nothing. And it seems like he recognized
that God was behind it all. And he said, my days have been
few. You've lived 130 years, my days have been few. Thought
about this, the land that he had snatched from the hand of
Esau was left behind. He's not even living there now.
He never enjoyed the fruits of his deceptive labors. Boy, isn't
that like God? The blessings which he did experience
were not the result of his doings, but the ones of divine grace,
sovereignly wrought by God. You remember when he was in Laban's
camp and they made the deal about the cattle and he stripped those
poles and all that. The reason that the cattle were
like they were was because God made them that way, not because
he did. But now he's old. Jacob's old. And in this face
of famine, he's helpless and he's hopeless without his God.
He knows, without my God. My God's been with me all this
way. The only reason I'm standing
right here, Mr. Pharaoh, is because God caused
it to be so. And then before he entered into
Egypt, he stopped at Beersheba and God told him, He said, don't
be afraid to go. I'm going with you. And there
he is. He wasn't gonna rely any longer
on his former devices to provide for and protect him and his family.
In short, Jacob began to trust in God and not in himself. And
that's what we're gonna have to do. We're gonna have to trust
in him. It's gonna get too tough for
you and I. Too tough. And this was a beginning of a
whole new life. Though he didn't know it at the
time, he would live another 17 years. And those 17 years would be a
life lived in the blessings of God, the blessings of grace,
the blessings that only God and His grace can give. Those years
would be the happiest, most fulfilling years of Jacob's 130-year life. Why, he's with Joseph. He's with
all his family. He's living in the good land
of Goshen. And everything's provided for
him. You ask the aged believer if
he or she feels like they've improved and gotten better over
the years, and they'll tell you the days of my life have been
few. Seemed like yesterday, I was a young boy. I'm not going to
lie to you. You know, you feel the same way. I know. My friend
who's been doing some painting for us brought some Little League
baseball pictures the other day that he and I both were in. And
I looked at him, and I said, Nelson, that seemed like yesterday.
He said, I know it. 40, 50 years ago. We were probably
10 years old at the time. Seems like only a few years ago
that I graduated high school. Seems like that not long ago
that I got married and began having children. Seems like only
a few years ago that I moved to Madisonville, a 34-year-old
man with a wife and three children, age seven, five, and two years
old. And there sits the two-year-old
right there with two children of her own that will soon be
six and four. And it seemed like only yesterday
that she was just a two-year-old girl. And some of you are here,
you know I'm not lying. Friends, the years of my life
have been few. And as far as my participation
in my redemption, those few years have been evil. full of adversity,
full of trouble. But why should we be surprised
the Holy Spirit says that man that is born a woman is of few
days and what? Full of trouble. There's nothing
I can call my own but my sin and I've never contributed one
thing, not one single thing that would cause God to be mindful
of me. But I see like never before that
in my flesh dwells no good thing. And someone might say, well,
what a sad, empathetic life that I've had. And I'd say, no, not
at all. My Joseph has done all things
well. And I stand before you tonight
only by the mercy and the grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 10. And Jacob blessed
Pharaoh. He blessed him again. And he
went out from before Pharaoh. And Joseph, now look at this,
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 Ramesses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished
his father and his brethren and all his father's household with
bread according to their families. So let me say this in clothing.
Dear sinner, lean and trust on Christ alone, and all will be
well with your soul.