Verse 1. And Israel took his
journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba and offered
sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto
Israel in the visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, here am I. And he
said, I am God, the God of thy father. Fear not to go down into
Egypt for I will there make of thee a great nation. And I'll go down with thee into
Egypt, and I will also surely bring thee up again. And Joseph
shall put his hand upon thine eyes." The older that I get,
the more of a homebody I've become. I don't care much about going
anywhere anymore. It just doesn't float my boat.
I'm content just to stay at home. It hadn't always been that way,
but it is now. And I'm content to be at home
in my house, and I'm content to be at home in my city, Madisonville. And I'm more than content to
preach from this pulpit. At age 62, I'm not much on change
of any kind. Pretty much eat lunch at Subway
every day. And y'all keep bringing me those
coupons. It's saving me a lot of money. I guess you could say
that I'm a creature of habit. My routine is pretty much the
same every day. And some might say that that's
kind of boring. And I'd be the first to agree.
I have a son that lives in California. We don't get to talk a lot. And
occasionally, he'll call, or Andrew, for that matter, from
Saudi Arabia. And they'll say, most every time
they call, well, Dad, is there anything new going on? And my
answer is nothing new here. And that's OK. Usually, if there
is something new going on, it's not too exciting. I don't have
any problems with being boring. No hang-ups about being unexciting. Not anymore. No issues with being
a homebody. And I was thinking earlier today
that if I lived to be 70, 75, or even 80, I wonder what it's
going to be like then. But I really wonder what it would
be like to be 130 years old. That's how old Jacob was. Can
you imagine what it was like for Jacob? He's 130 years old
and he's fixing to move all the way to Egypt. Larry's 70, I don't
think you mind me telling everybody that. He and Carol just packed
up and moved back here from across the state. That's difficult and
stressful at any age. But to be 130. And I'm telling
you, those wagons are moving awful slow. Moving awful slow. And I know that it may not be
so with everybody who's gotten older, but I have observed that
most folks who get into their senior years just aren't too
fond of change. I guess we're just too tired,
maybe. But Jacob had spent most of his life trying to get home
to Canaan. Now he's there, and he's settled,
and he has no desire to leave. Canaan is his home. Canaan is
where his heart is. Home is where the heart is, right?
Jacob is apprehensive to leave. He, I'm sure, has some anxiety
about leaving. He has some fear of the unknown
that lies ahead. I know something about that,
don't you? We have a lot of fear about unknown things. And I suppose
other than the absence of his beloved son, Joseph, everything
is pretty okay, as they say at home in Canaan, until God sends
a famine. Everything seems pretty okay
with me in my life, too, until God sent a famine, a famine of
the soul, and I remember it well. And because of that famine, Jacob
is forced to have some dealings with Egypt. Jacob didn't want
any dealings with Egypt. He had heard stories. Trust me,
he'd heard some stories concerning his grandfather Abraham with
Pharaoh and with Egypt. He knew that Egypt was a godless
place. He knew that Egypt was an idolatrous
nation. But now Jacob heard that there
was corn in Egypt, and he's forced in the providence of God to have
some dealings with Egypt. If he wants his family to live,
he's got to deal with Egypt. So he tells his sons to get you
down to Egypt and buy corn for us that we may live and not die.
It's a serious matter. Nothing but trouble came from
it. You know, trouble is always sent from God. And we learn with
David that it's good for us to be afflicted that we might learn
God's statues. We've discussed this many times
before, but it doesn't hurt to talk about it again. When David
said, it's good for me that I've been afflicted, that I might
learn by statutes. The Hebrew word for statutes
means appointments. God sends us trouble so that
we might learn that everything that comes our way, even trouble
is by divine appointment. Do you believe that? Well, it's
true. Through trouble, God's gonna teach His people that all
things are by His sovereign hand and purpose. And God sends trouble
so that we might learn from His appointments. And not only that,
that we might learn that all His appointments, all things,
are working together for the good of His people. That we might
learn that God is the first cause of all things, even trouble. And God sent this famine for
one reason, and that was to accomplish His will and purpose that was
ordained before the foundation of the world. God's purpose always
has something to do with His honor and His glory, and it seems
to always have many facets. The facets of God's purpose in
this seven-year famine was to save much people alive. It was
to preserve the posterity of Jacob's family. It was to send
Jacob and his family to Egypt. To bring to pass what God had
told Abraham many years before. Let me show you that real quick.
Turn back to Genesis chapter 15. Hold your place here in 46
or stick your marker there. Genesis chapter 15 verse 13. And he, that being God, said
unto Abram, Abraham, he said, know of a surety that thy seed
shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs and shall
serve them and they shall afflict them 400 years. And also that nation whom thou
shall serve will I judge and afterward shall they come out
with great substance. And God sent this famine to accomplish
his purpose. And God sent 72 of his people
out of Canaan into Egypt. And 400 years later, he delivered
around two and a half million with a strong arm for his own
honor and glory. He raised Pharaoh up and he brought
Pharaoh down for that very purpose. For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up. that I
might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. When trouble comes, always remember
that God sent it. There's a lot of folks that take
issue with you on that. But those of you who know God
and know his word know it to be true. God sends trouble for
a reason, and that reason is to accomplish his sovereign will
and purpose in all things, and to bring glory to his own namesake,
for his own namesake. And that's what Joseph told his
brothers. You remember in chapter 45, I mean, chapter 45, verse
seven. He said, and God sent me before
you to preserve you a posterity in the earth and to save your
lives by a great deliverance. God sent me here. Now wait a
minute. His brother sold him into slavery.
Joseph said, God sent me. He sent me before you. Look at
verse eight. So now it was not you that sent
me here to Egypt, but God. And he hath made me a father
to Pharaoh and a lord of all his house and a ruler throughout
all the land of Egypt. And he says, haste not and go
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. So now we find God bringing to
pass what he had purposed. Jacob is moving to Egypt, even
though he really didn't want to. Oftentimes we're unwilling
to do what divine providence asserts. But God makes us willing
in the day of his power, doesn't he? We're gonna see that very
thing again in the life of Jacob. In verse one again back in chapter
46, and Israel took his journey with all that he had. And he
came to Beersheba and he offered sacrifices unto the God of his
father Isaac. Now, I wanna just talk briefly
again about the two names of Jacob. And this is very obvious
in reading these first four verses that he's called Israel and Israel
took his journey. And then he's also called Jacob.
These two names very well picture the believers two natures. Israel
means Prince of God or one that has power with God. Israel was
Jacob's spiritual name. It means Prince of God, he who
prevails with God. If you remember, Jacob wrestled
with the Lord and he said, I'm not going to let you go until
you bless me. And it was after that that God
called him Israel. God blessed Jacob and called
him Israel, Prince of God, one who prevails with God. When Jacob
came to that time and place in his life where having the blessing
of God was the most important thing to him, it was then that
God blessed him and called him Israel. And it's the same with
us. The name Israel represents our
new nature in Christ. We are princes who prevail with
God, and that's only because of Christ. Our union is such
with Christ that we have what he has, and he's the prince of
peace, isn't he? The King of Kings, the Lord of
Lords. And then you have Jacob, Jacob's birth name. And Jacob
means the heel. He came out after his brother
Esau, grabbing at his heel. And as you know, the heel is
the lowest extremity of our body. That very well pictures Jacob,
and it very well pictures us. Oftentimes in the scripture,
many times in the scriptures, we're called the sons of Jacob.
We are sons and daughters of Jacob, no doubt. Jacob was the
lowest of the low. He was the worst of the worst.
Yet God had said, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
And that debate's been going on for years. Folks say, how
could God hate Esau? But when you read the life of
Jacob, the first thing out of your mouth is how could God love
Jacob? He was a scoundrel. He was a
deceiver. He was the worst of the worst.
And naturally speaking, we are too. By nature, we're the worst
of the worst, the lowest of the low. Apart from Christ, we're
sinners, we're deceivers, we're liars, just as Jacob was. Now listen to me on this. I hope
that I can convey this to you where you, it'll be a blessing
to you. You can't be an Israel if you're
not first to Jacob. And men and women are gonna have
to see what they are. God's gonna have to reveal to
a man or a woman who and what they are. They're Jacobs, they're
sinners, they're deceivers, they're heels. Jacob is gonna have to
move and he's gonna have to dwell and he's gonna have to die in
Egypt. And so are you and I. And I'll talk about that more
in a moment. Again, verse one, and Israel
took his journey with all that he had and he came to Beersheba.
Now, do you remember Beersheba? We talked about it in one of
our past studies. It means the well of the oath. Matter of fact, let's just take
the time. I'm not gonna keep you long this evening. Turn back
to Genesis chapter 26 with me. Again, hold your place here in
chapter 46. The well of the oath. In Genesis
chapter 26, verse 23, it says, And he went up from Thense
to Beersheba. And the LORD appeared unto him
the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father.
This is Isaac. Speaking of, I'm the God of Abraham
thy father, fear not for I am with thee and will bless thee
and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. And he,
Isaac, building an altar there and he called upon the name of
the Lord and he pitched his tent there and there Isaac's servants
digged a well. Now Beersheba is a place rich
in the history of Jacob's father and grandfather. Abraham had
called upon the name of the Lord here in chapter 21, verse 33,
and he had settled in this place after he had offered Isaac upon
Mount Moriah in Genesis chapter 22. And it's here at Beersheba
that Isaac had been visited by God and the covenant made with
Abraham is reiterated to him as we just read. God reminds
him of the covenant that he made with Abraham. And it would also
seem that Jacob lived at Beersheba when he deceived his father and
obtained Isaac's blessing that belonged to Esau. You remember
that story. Chapter 27 of Genesis. And it
was from this place. Beersheba, that Jacob had fled
from Esau and departed to Haran in Genesis 28. And Beersheba
was also, if you look at it on the map, it was the southern
extremity of the land of Canaan. Once Jacob left Beersheba, he
left Canaan, the place that he called home. And it's here in
Beersheba that he seeks the Lord's will and endeavors to find rest
for his soul and comfort for his fear. How does he do so? Well, he does so the only way
that a man or a woman or any sinner can. He seeks to commune
with God the only way that a sinner can approach the throne of grace
to find mercy and grace and help in time of need. And that's through
the sacrifice of blood. And back in chapter 46, we see
this through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
the only way that you can worship God is in Christ. That's the
only way that God will speak to a man, woman, or sinner through
Christ. In these last days, He's spoken
unto us through His Son. And we see here in chapter 46
that Jacob offered sacrifices unto the Lord. And in verse two,
we read, and God spake unto Israel. He spake unto Jacob in the visions
of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, here am I. And I'm telling you, that's a
wonderful thing to read. What glad tidings of great joy
that God would speak to a man. What is a man that God would
be mindful of him? What a wonderful thing that God
would stoop to even talk to a man, much less visit him in mercy
and grace, save his soul. What a gospel of grace. God speaks
to men, women, and sinners, but He speaks to them only one way,
and that's through the one mediator between God and man, the man
Christ Jesus. And boy, we've talked about that
a lot lately, haven't we? Only one way. Only one way that
God'll have any dealings with such wretched sinners as we are,
and that's through a mediator. And we only have, there's only
one. Only one. The man Christ Jesus. If you
desire to hear from God, you must approach Him in Christ.
That's the only way. What a wonderful thing to know,
and what even a more wonderful thing to do, to be able to approach
God in His throne of grace. So what does God say to Jacob?
He says to Jacob what he must convince all his people of. He
says, I am God. And there's a lot of folks today
that believe in a God, but he in no way resembles the God of
the Bible. He said, I am God. And I'm telling
you, friends, besides this God, there is no God. That thou mightest
know that the Lord, He is God. There's none else beside Him.
Just one God. One God and one mediator. He
said, I am God. And then right up on the heels
of that, He says, I'm the God of thy father. And that's the
same as saying, I'm a covenant God. When God says, I'm the God
of thy father, He's saying, I made a covenant with your grandfather
Abraham and his seed, all his seed that were to follow. And
I reiterated that covenant with your father Isaac. And I am that
same God that now says to you, I will make you a great nation.
You see that? That was God's covenant with
Abraham. God tells Jacob, fear not to go down into Egypt. Now
I'm telling you, Jacob, though I know he is bursting at the
seams to see Joseph, he's been told that his son's alive, that
he's thought was dead for 22 years, and he can't wait to see
him. Yet there's some real apprehension here. I've got to go to Egypt. What a godless nation. Fear not,
God says, to go down into Egypt. He said, I will there make you
a great nation. Now, did you notice the endearing
way that God spoke to Jacob? I can just almost hear him say,
Jacob, Jacob. And he also mentions his name
twice to get his attention. You know, when Abraham was about
to sacrifice his son Isaac, God called out to him, Abraham, Abraham. Abraham said, here am I, just
like Jacob did here. He said, lay not thy hand on
the lad, for I know that you fear God. When God spoke to Moses
from the burning bush, he called out, Moses, Moses. Exodus 3,
4, Moses said the same thing, here am I. When God called out
to Adam in the garden, he was hiding. But Abraham says, here
am I. And Jacob says, here am I. And
Moses said, here am I. God called out to Samuel twice
when Samuel had mistaken God's voice for that of Eli's. And
he said, Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel said, speak, for thou
servant hearest. Oh, God has a way of getting
his people's attention. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has
desired to shift you his wheat. but I've prayed for thee that
thy faith fail thee not. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? I've often heard my name in that
place. David, David, why do you persecute me? Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often
would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth
her chickens under her wings, and you would not. Oh, when God
calls a name twice, he's about to share something that's very
crucial. What's so important on this occasion
that God will call Jacob, Jacob? Well, afraid and greatly concerned,
Jacob seeks God's will on this trip down to Egypt. And God answers
by reminding Jacob that he's a God. and that He's in control
of all things. We need to be reminded of that,
don't we? Sure we do. Often. That's why we meet together
around the preaching of the Gospel. We need to be reminded who God
is. The Gospel proclaims that God is God and beside Him is
no other. The Gospel declares that God
is with us and we can find comfort in knowing that He is with us.
Always, even until the end of the world, Christ said. Why don't
we fear to go down to Egypt? Because God says in verse 4,
look at it, He said, I'll go down with thee into Egypt. Boy,
there's no reason to fear going if God goes with us. God doesn't
say, no, I'll watch over you as you go. I'll keep an eye on
you. He doesn't say that, does He? He doesn't say, I'll be with
you most of the way. He doesn't say, well, there's
Egypt on down the road there a little bit. You'll be okay
now. No, no, no. He says, I'll go
with you into Egypt. I'm going to go all the way,
all the way my Savior leads me. What have I to ask beside? Can
I doubt his tender mercy when through life he's been my guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, hereby faith in Him to dwell,
for I know that whate'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well. My, my, all the way, my son.
He cheers each winding path I tread. He's there on every path, cheering
me along, saying, I'm God and I'm with you. I'm going with
you all the way. Gives me grace for every trial,
feeds me with the living bread. Though my weary steps may falter,
and they do, don't they? And my soul, a thirst may be,
gushing from the rock before me, lo, a spring of joy I see. Jacob, don't fear. Don't fear
to go down to Egypt. I'm going with you. And that's
what the God of Jacob's doing here. That's why God calls his
name twice, to assure Jacob that he was with him, to assure Jacob
that he does all things well. And that's what I'm endeavoring
to tell you tonight. Don't be afraid. God's gonna
make his children a great nation. He's gonna go with you every
step of the way, every step. Oh, may God enable you to believe
that. May God enable me to believe it. God's not watching us from
a distance. There's a song that says that,
but that's not true. He cheers each winding path we
tread. He's right there with you, giving
you grace for every trial. Has that not been your experience?
Feeding you with Christ, His heavenly bread. He didn't just
make it possible to reach your destination if you do some things
right. Man, don't put that pressure
on me. I can't do anything right. That's no good news. Don't make
anything conditional on me. He says, I'll be with you. When
you pass through the waters and through the rivers, they shall
not overthrow you. God can and will keep your head
above water. When you walk through the fire,
you shall not be burned. Not even the smell of smoke shall
be upon you. The flames shall not even kindle
upon you. Why? For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, your Savior. What does a Savior do? He saves. He saves. Verse four, I'll go
with thee into Egypt. Read on. And I will also surely
bring thee up again. That means several things. It
means that the nation of Israel would return again unto Canaan,
the land of promise. This meant that Jacob too would
be buried in the land of Canaan, which had its fulfillment in
the next chapter, chapter 50, when his bones are carried out
of Egypt into Machpelah. But it even means much more than
that. This refers to the resurrection of the believer in Christ. Dear
believer, God is going to bring thee up again. That we shouldn't
even fear death. God's gonna bring thee up again.
Notice the last part of verse four. And Joseph shall put his
hand upon thine eyes. That was the same thing as saying,
Jacob, you're gonna die in Egypt. You remember the old westerns
where the old boy gets shot and he's sitting there dead with
his eyes open? Boy, they had some not so good
actors in some of those old westerns. But then the old boy, his friend
would come up to him, take his eyes and close them for him.
That's what that's talking about. Joseph shall put his hand upon
thine eyes. Jacob, you're going to die in
Egypt. And you might find it interesting to know that Jacob
lived another 17 years after he got to Egypt, isn't that something? 130 here lived to 147. But here God is assuring him
that Joseph would be there to close his eyes at the moment
of death. Now listen, Jacob is gonna have to die in Egypt in
order for Israel to live. The flesh is gonna have to die
in order for the spirit to live eternally. You remember what
I said in the beginning about the two names of Jacob? Remember
Israel represents the new man, the new nature, the new creation.
And Jacob represents the flesh, the old nature, the old man that
must die and be put to death. By the will and purpose of God,
Jacob is gonna die in Egypt. And so are you. If you belong
to Christ, so are you. In the Kingdom of Heaven, the
way up is down. Going down to Egypt. God's going
to bring you down to Egypt. God's going to put you in a place
where you know and understand that only He can deliver you.
That's where He's going to bring every one of His people. All
the believing sons and daughters of Jacob must be brought to the
place of despair and darkness, to the place of bondage and oppression
where sin has brought down the troubled soul. It's there that
the resurrected Christ reigns. It's in Egypt where redemption
is manifested. It's in Egypt where redemption
is declared, where redemption is proven. In Egypt, where redemption
is given and received, God's gonna deliver all his elect out
of Egypt. Thus saith the Lord that created
thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel. Fear not, for
I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by name. Thou
art mine. When you come out of Egypt, There
ain't gonna be any doubt in your heart or mind that it was God
that brought you out. But when all those folks came
out of Egypt, there wasn't a doubt in their mind who brought them
out. They knew it wasn't Moses. God sent those plagues upon Egypt. My, they knew that they had been
delivered by the mighty hand of God. Ain't gonna be any doubt
about that. Where does God bring men and
women to the end of themselves? In Egypt. Where does God shut
chosen sinners up to His love, mercy, and grace? In Egypt. When
Abraham left Egypt, do you remember that story? There was a famine
then, too. God sent a famine. Abraham went
down to Egypt. And he told Sarah, he said, now
listen, if anybody asks, you're my sister. You're not my wife. And boy, we got into a mess.
You read that account again. It says the Lord sent plagues
upon Pharaoh. And Pharaoh came to Abraham in
the end. He'd already had Sarah in his house. He's fixing to
take her as his wife. And the Lord brought plagues
upon Abraham. And old Pharaoh, he came out
and he said, here, you take her and you get out of here and you
can take all that stuff I gave you with you. Just go. And when
Abraham left Egypt, there was no doubt in his mind who delivered
him out of Egypt. God did. There'll be no doubt
in your mind either. When God delivered Israel out
of Egypt by the hand of Moses, there wasn't any doubt about
who did it. And when God delivers you out of Egypt, there'll be
no doubt that he delivered you either. This is a faithful saying
and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world. He came into Egypt. That's what this world is, to
save sinners, to save the sons and daughters of Jacob. And when
Christ came to the world, God came with him. So, let me ask
you a question. Who is Jacob going to see on
the throne of Egypt when he gets there? Huh? Well, he's gonna
see Joseph, his son. If you see the glory of God and
the salvation of sinners, you're gonna have to see it in Egypt.
There on Egypt's throne, there sits one who's already went down
to Egypt. He's gone before you. They call His name Emmanuel. God with us. And everything's going to be
alright. When Joseph's brothers sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites
into slavery, the scriptures say, but the Lord was with him. When Potiphar's wife lied on
Joseph and he was cast into the king's prison and shackled with
irons, the scriptures say that Joseph found favor with the keeper
of the prison because the Lord was with him. And all that he
did, the Lord made to prosper. And when Joseph interpreted and
declared the meaning of Pharaoh's dreams, Pharaoh said, where can
we find such a one as this, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
No need to fear going down to Egypt. There's one there on the
throne that loves His brethren. There's one there on the throne
that intends to do them good. There's one on the throne that
has promised to nourish them with all they need to sustain
eternal life. He's going to surely bring them
up again. Did you know that when Jacob
died, Joseph personally took his father back to Canaan, to
the land of promise, and Mechpelah, where Isaac and Rebekah were
buried? Oh, I'm telling you, Christ is
going to put His hands upon your eyes when you die in Egypt. And
He's going to be the first one you see when they're opened again.
Hmm? Oh, isn't that an amazing thought?
He's going to be with me when I leave this world and He's going
to be the first one I see when I rise in the night. Today you
shall be with me in paradise. The happiest day of a believer's
life, now I haven't arrived here yet, but the happiest day of
a believer's life is the day they leave this world, the day
they leave this Egypt. And that same day you'll be with
Christ in paradise. That's the happiest day. There's
no day like that. And I'm telling you, when that
time comes, child of God, I am convinced that God will make
that a happy day for you. Oh, I hope the Lord gives me
dying grace. Are you dying? When you do, He will. May God calm our fears and enable
us to trust in Him who does all things well. I'll tell you what,
Jacob went on down to Egypt. He sure did. lived 17 years with
his beloved son. Isn't that amazing? What a story. Can't make it up,
it's true. It's a true story.