Thank you, John. Genesis 49. This will be a great blessing
if the Lord blesses it. I was so blessed studying this.
Let's read verses 28 to the end of the chapter. All these are the twelve tribes
of Israel, and this is it that their father spake unto them.
Jacob. and blessed them, every one according
to his blessing, Jacob blessed them. And he charged them and
said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people. Bury me with
my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephraim, the
Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which
is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought
with the field of Ephraim, the Hittite, for possession of a
burying place. There they buried Abraham and
Sarah, his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah,
his wife. And there I buried Leah. The
purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was
from the children of Heth. And when Jacob had made an inn
and commanded his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and
yielded up the ghost and was gathered unto his people." What
a gathering. These are the last words, the
dying words of dear old Jacob. And I hope they'll be words of
hope and comfort for all the dying sons of Jacob, of God. It speaks of a blessing. Verse
28, he says, all these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and
this is that This is it, that their Father spake unto them
and blessed them, every one according to His blessing. He blessed them.
We went through this Sunday, if you remember. We went through
all the sons of Jacob as the Father spoke to each one of them.
And you may remember that. If you weren't here, get it,
get the message. I think it was a blessing to
those that heard it. I hope so. Turn to Hebrews 12
with me. Hebrews 12. If you remember in
that study how that he started with the first three sons, Reuben, Levi, and Simeon. Remember that? Remember what he said about those
first three? He wasn't good. He said, Reuben's unstable as
water. He said, he was the son of my might and my strength,
but he said now he's unstable as well. Simeon and Levi, he
said, are instruments of cruelty. They got angry, took it out and hurt some people. In the story it says they made
their father to stink. And what a picture we saw that
is of us by nature. And then Judah came along. Remember
that? Judah, because he was a surety,
everything changed from there. And they were blessings. But
can you consider what Jacob said to Reuben and Levi and Simeon
as a blessing? That's what it says here. He
said he blessed all of them, didn't he? Even rebukes, reproofs? Conviction? Correction? Telling them they're sinful and
rotten? Is that a blessing? It sure is. That's where it starts. That's
where the blessings start. Hebrews 12, because, you know,
if we are chastened And it bothers
us, he says, you've forgotten, rather you've forgotten verse
5, Hebrews 12, the exhortation which speaketh unto you is unto
children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord,
nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth,
he chasteneth, and he scourgeth. Scourging is severe. My dad doesn't
remember this. He doesn't remember whipping
me with a belt. And I can say that because it's too late for
him to haul you off to my civil service. He used to take his
belt out. Right? Your dad did it even to
the girl, didn't he? So scourge him. And it's not
pleasant. It's not pleasant to the father
giving it. And it's sure not pleasant to the child giving
it. But He loves you if He does.
If He didn't love you, it wouldn't hurt. It has to hurt. You know, that's the only lessons
we learn. It's painful. Read on. He says, if you endure
chastening, verse 7, God dealeth with you as with a son. That
is, you don't harden your neck. And what son is he whom the Father
chasteneth not? If he be without chastisement,
We're of all our partakers, and you're bastards." And he goes
on to talk about, our fathers did that to us because they loved
us. Not because they loved chasing
us, but because we needed it. So is it a blessing for the Lord
to tell us what rotten sinners we are? He's telling us the truth. Go back to the text now, Genesis
49. It says all of these were tribes
of Israel. All of them were the sons of
Jacob. All of them received the blessing.
Every one of them were in God's covenant. Reuben, Levi, and Simeon. They were in the covenant. You know, all of them but two
were from an unwanted woman and from concubines. All of them
but Joseph and Benjamin were born bad. That reminded me of
Ezekiel 16 where the Lord said, "'Cause Israel to know their
abomination, Your mother was a Hittite and your father was
an Amorite. We come from, John read Psalm 51, he said, In sin
did my mother conceive me. Yeah, we were born bad. We came
forth from the womb speaking lies, but God. Gospel always starts there, people.
How bad we are and how good God is. See, it's a blessing. It's a blessing to be reproved
and rebuked and corrected and chastened. It means you have
ears to hear. If you hear it, if you endure
it, it means you have a heart that needs breaking. It means
you have a conscience that's not seared yet. It means you're
a son of God. Scott used to say, go ahead,
call me a sinner. Call me a sinner. He said, because
that gives me hope because it says Christ came into this world
to save sinners. Everyone was blessed. It says
in verse 28, according to His blessing, He blessed them. According
as He saw fit. And He blessed them accordingly. You know, Joseph received. You know what he always said
about Joseph? He deserved it, didn't he? What he said about
Joseph, what all he said. He gave him a special, and we
may look at this Sunday morning. This place that he gave to Joseph. I completely passed over. This
place he gave to Joseph. But it says in Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians
12, things like this, it says that we have one God and Father
of all, who is above all and through all and in you all, but
unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure
of the gift of Christ. We all have the same grace. We're
all saved the same way. We all have the same grace. You
know, Joseph, he had more grace, didn't
he? I want to be like Joseph. You
know, he'll giveth more grace. He'll giveth more grace. Just
ask for it. He'll giveth more. If I don't have much, and we
may look at James, I keep threatening or promising whatever, But James
said, if any man lack wisdom, let him ask. The Lord delights
to give. He gives liberally. If you keep
asking, He'll keep giving. And He won't upbrage you for
wasting what He gave you and not using. Now that's another
text too. But look at this verse 28. So
here's a solemn charge. This was to all the sons, no
matter Bad and good, you know. It's
all of them, the blessing. And he gave them this solemn
charge, verse 29, he charged them and said unto them, I am
to be gathered unto my people. Now remember when he said, and
if you didn't hear the message on bury me not in Egypt, That
was a blessing to me. I pray that you'll get it and
be blessed by it. But he said, Bury me not in Egypt.
Don't bury me in Egypt. But here he tells him exactly
where he wants to be buried. He gives explicit directions.
Though there be no mistake, this place of his rest where others
in his family were put to rest, that's where he wants to be buried. And I'll give you a clue, it's
where he wants to be found when the Lord comes back. Read on, he says it here, he
said, I'm to be gathered unto my people. Bury me with my fathers
in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite. In the
cave that is in the field of Macphelia. Now, it's a solemn
charge. He's talking about his death.
He's talking about his burial. Death is a serious thing. Death
is a solemn thing. Death is a sad thing. Death is
a certain thing. And we, like Jacob, need to talk
about it. We need to tell our sons and
daughters about it. We need to prepare them for ours
and for theirs as much as we can. We need to talk to our spouses
about it. You need to talk to me about
it. Some of you have. What you want. What you want
done. even where you want to be buried. Death is a solemn
and a serious thing. We must think about it. It's
a certain thing. We need to talk about it. It
will remove the fear. The more you talk about it, the
more conversant with it you are, it will remove the fear. And the more we talk about it
and consider what the Lord has in store for us, it will absolutely
make us Yield to it. Even act just for it. Jacob yielded
not to go. Moses said this, Oh, that they
were wise and would consider their latter
in. Oh, there's so much there in them. It's all going to end. And then what? Oh, that they
were wise. and wouldn't think about temporal
things, but would set their mind and affection on eternal things. Oh, that they were wise. See,
man goeth, Ecclesiastes says this, man goeth to his long home. He's not coming back. It's solemn. That's why it's serious. It's
the most serious thing of all. But if you have Jacob's testimony,
if you know Jacob's Lord, if rather are known by him, Ecclesiastes
7.1 says the day of one's death is better than the day of birth. If you're a true son of Jacob,
an Israelite, a Jew, inwardly, the day of your death is better
than your birth. But it's a solemn thing, it's
a serious thing, and we need to be sober and vigilant and
watch and be sober. The world is foolish and frivolous
about everything that's serious, aren't they? The world mocks
everything sacred and solemn and serious, like death. They
make a mockery of it, don't they? You've seen this, where certain
ones die, particularly celebrities or well-known people, and they
make it a mockery of it, don't they? They make it into what
they call today, they're calling them celebrations. They're celebrating
his life when that person's probably perishing. And you know, they
drink and have a big old time and act like nothing ever happened.
That's what they're trying to avoid thinking about. But not
us, not the sons of Jacob, not the sons of God. Listen to this.
Some of you know this passage well and love it well. It says, The righteous perisheth,
and no man lieth at the heart. And merciful men are taken away,
none considering. that the righteous is taken away
from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace. They
shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness. Isaiah 57, 1 and 2. Death is
solemn. Death is serious. Death is sad,
but we don't sorrow as those who have no hope. Look at chapter
50, verse 10, and I don't know when, maybe Sunday, we'll look
at this funeral of Jacob, the funeral. But in verse 10 it says,
They came to this place where he was to be buried, and they
mourned with a great and very sore lamentation. They made a
mourning for his father. They were sad. They lost a dear,
dear man. And we're never ready to part
with Mormon. But it's coming for all of us. And we will sorrow,
a great sorrow and lamentation, but not as others who have no
hope. We have hope in Christ. We have
hope in the resurrection, don't we? We have Job's hope. What
was Job's hope? He said, and this was Paul's
hope, I know My Redeemer liveth, and I shall see Him with my eyes."
Not another. With my eyes. This is all my
eyes. This is the root of the matter.
And I shall see Him. This is Jacob's hope. Look at
verse 29 again. It says, I am to be gathered
unto my people. I am to be gathered. That means somebody is coming
to get him. He says, I am to be gathered. Jacob had this hope. Because he met the Lord. He met
Job's Lord. The Lord met him. The Lord revealed
himself to him. The Lord made known unto him,
like he does all the sons of Jacob, the mystery of his will
according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself,
that in the dispensation of the fullness of time he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both in heaven and which
are on earth, even in him. Gather together. Jacob knew the Lord. Jeremiah
29. Turn over there with me. Jeremiah
29. While I read to you a few verses that speak of us being
gathered, there's a verse in Isaiah that says we're going
to gather one by one, the sons of Jacob. One by one. One at
a time, like sheep. Like brands. Psalm 50 says, Gather my saints
together unto me, those that have made a covenant with me
by sacrifice. That is, those who believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ, our covenant head and His sacrifice. Another
verse says, He shall gather together the dispersed of Judah, the outcasts,
like we read about in Deuteronomy 30. Another verse says, he shall
gather the lambs with his arm, like the shepherd that he is.
Isaiah 54, oh, I love this. It says, for a small moment have
I forsaken thee, but with great mercy shall I gather thee. And look at Jeremiah 29, verse
10 and following, Thus saith the Lord, that after seventy
years be accomplished at Babylon, After you dwell in this land
of captivity, I will visit you and perform my good word toward
you in causing you to return to this place. For I know the
thoughts I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace
and not of evil, to give you an expected end. That's faith,
what you expect or hope from Him. Then shall you call upon
Me, and you shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto
you. And you shall seek Me and find Me, and you shall search
for Me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith
the Lord, and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather
you from all the nations. From all the places whither I
have driven you, saith the Lord, and I will bring you again into
the place which I caused you to be carried away captive."
Like old Jacob. He's down in Egypt. Don't bury
me in Egypt. I am to be gathered. Take me
back and bury me with my people." He said in our text, go back
there, he said, I am to be gathered unto, verse 29, I am to be gathered
unto my people. I am to be gathered unto my people. If you're like Jacob, the Lord
has chosen you, loved you, revealed Himself to you, revealed yourself
to you. He showed you the ladder to heaven,
the way to heaven, which is Christ. All the blessings of God coming
down. He's wrestled with you. brought you down to the ground,
made you confess what you are, changed your name, made you a
king and a priest, and made exceeding great and precious promises to
you that He would gather you and bring you. And He would not
stop until He finished His work. then the Lord has blessed you.
And you shall surely be gathered unto him and unto his people."
He said, I'll be gathered unto my people, Jacob said. He called
them my people, God's people. Verse 31, he says, this place
is where they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife, and Isaac
and Rebekah and Leah. Jacob said, those are my people.
That's who I want to be buried with. Those are God's chosen,
aren't they? Those that God loved. They were
brought and taught, all of them. They were redeemed, ruined, redeemed
and regenerated, all of them. God's people. Jacob's fathers
and mothers and Jacob's people and God's people. Are they your
people? Are those your people? Those
were sinners saved by grace. They were seekers. They were
pilgrims. They were strangers. They all laid hold of the promise. embraced and confessed that there
were strangers and pilgrims here and didn't look back. And they
said, we look for a city who has foundations, a builder and
maker of God. And that's where we want to go.
Are those your people? Is that who you're following? Are those your people? Worshippers
of the Lord? Lovers of His truth? Followers
of the Christ. Go to Ruth, the book of Ruth
chapter 1 with me. Ruth chapter 1. This will be
a great blessing if you haven't read it in a while. Ruth chapter
1. Joshua judges Ruth. I had to
tell myself where it is. Ruth chapter 1. David said this. And an article in the Bulletin
a couple of weeks ago, gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men.
Lord, don't leave me in Egypt. Don't let me gather with sinners
and bloody men, but gather me with the saints. Gather me with
the saints. Look at this, Ruth chapter 1
in verse You know the story. When Naomi was going to go back
to Bethlehem, she heard there was bread in Bethlehem and had
two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. And Naomi was leaving. In verse 14, they lifted up their
voice and wept. Naomi's leaving. And Orpah kissed
her mother-in-law, kissed her goodbye. But Ruth laid hold of her. And she said, Naomi said to Ruth,
verse 15, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, the world. Idolaters. Those that don't know the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Those that don't care. Those
that don't know the covenant. Strangers to the covenant. She's
gone back. Those are her people. And to
her gods. The things she lived for. And
she said to Ruth in verse 15, Go, return thou after thy sister-in-law. Return to thy sister. And Ruth
said, Oh, entreat me not to leave thee,
or return from following after thee, whither thou goest. And this is what every believer
says to the Lord Jesus Christ. Cast me not out of thy presence.
Entreat me not to leave thee. Return, or return from following
after thee. Whither thou goest, I will go.
Where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people. You're God, my God. And where
you die, where you die, where you die, will I die. And that's where I'll be married. Take me to. Back to that cave
of Machpelah. Do you remember that? Remember
that story? It's been a year and a half since
we looked at it. Go back to Genesis 23. A year
and a half. Do you remember what that story
is about? The cave of Machpelah? That Abraham bought it? Well,
if you don't, be of good cheer. I want to tell you. Because I
didn't remember either, people. I had to go back and look at
the notes. I had to go back and look at it again. It was such
a blessing. Same thing. The same blessed truth. You know, death. Jacob said,
I am to be gathered unto my people. Death is not a separation. It's
a gathering. It's a gathering unto our people. And it just remains for us to
be gathered. We take our loved ones to the
grave and we say we left them in the grave. No, no, no, no,
no. We don't leave them. They leave us. We're the ones
left behind. We're the ones left in Babylon.
We're the ones left in Egypt, aren't we? They've gone on to
glory. We're the ones left praying,
hoping, come back and gather us. Come back and gather us. Death is not a separation. It's
a brief separation from us, those who are left here, but it's a
gathering that Jacob said, He didn't say, I'm going to leave
you all. He said, no, I'm going to be gathered to my people. That's where we need to look
at it, don't we? Just a short, very brief separation, and then
an eternal gathering, unity, union, never to be separated
again. And the charge he gave was very
explicit, very implicit. He said, I'm to be gathered,
and I'll tell you exactly where the place is. I know it well.
My grandfather told me about it. And it's here in Genesis
23. Look at verse 3 and 4. It says,
Abraham stood up from before his dead. His beloved wife of
how many years? How long were they married? I
forgot to write it down. A long time. A long time. And his beloved wife of so many
years had died, and he stood up from before his dead and spake
unto the sons of Heth the world. He stood before everyone and
says, I'm a stranger and a sojourner here. This is not my place. But I've come to get a burying
place with you that I may bury my dead out of my sight. Now, do you remember this? This
is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham represents the
Lord Jesus Christ who came for his beloved bride who is dead,
dead in trespass and sin. And our Lord Jesus Christ stood
up before God, before man, before the law, before the world and
says, I am come. The first thing he's got to do
is bury his dead. put away sin by the sacrifice
out of His sight. We've got to be crucified with
Christ, don't we, in order to be raised again. He said, I am
come to do that and I am come that they might have life. And
He purchased a place. Abraham purchased a resting place,
a final resting place. He purchased it. They wanted
to give it to him. They loved him so much and esteemed
him so highly and said, Thou art a prince among us, just take
it. No, no, he can't. He's got to pay for it. Verse
8 and 9, and he said in verse 8 and 9, If it's in your mind,
I'll bury my dead out of my sight. Hear me now and treat me that
Ethan, the son of Zohar, give me the cave of Machpelah, which
he hath in the end of his field, for as much money as it's worth,
whatever it's worth, I'll pay it. And they went on down in
verse 15, they said, Oh, sir, it's worth 400 shekels of silver. It's expensive, very expensive. The cost of this place of final
rest is great. Can you pay that? Christ said,
Abraham said, I'll pay it. I have the price, and I'll pay
it. See, people, the redemption of
our souls is precious. It's costly. It's expensive.
You know what it took? The soul that sinneth, it must
surely die. And God made Christ's soul an
offering for sin. He paid the ultimate price. He gave Himself for us. a sacrifice for our sins that
He might bring us to God. to put away our sins out of His
sight. To bury us. To bury us. To put away our sins. He gave
Himself. He said, I'll pay it. And it
was a perfect, a perfect transaction. So they had to do this. So in
verse 17, the field of Ephraim. 16. Abraham hearkened unto Ephraim,
and Abraham weighed to Ephraim the price. He weighed the price,
a just weight and balance that was named. The price that was
named, he paid it, 400 shekels of silver for that cave of Macpelah. You know what a cave is, don't
you? It's a cliff of rock. And for
that cave he paid for, in verse 17, in the field, Ephraim, he
bought the field wherein was a pearl, and which is at Macphailia,
which was before Mamre, and the field and the cave therein, and
all the trees in the field, and the borders round about, and
everything around that place, he bought it all. To this end, Christ died. was
buried and arose that he might be Lord over the dead and the
living. He bought it all. He bought it all. He bought this
place of rest for his people. This place of rest, verse 20,
it says, the field, the cave that is therein were made sure.
They were made sure under Abraham. It was a transaction made, a
legal transaction. John, he made the title clear. He made sure that he had the
title to put his loved ones in forever,
this resting place. And that's where Abraham was
buried. That's where Sarah was buried. That's where Isaac was
buried. You know who buried Abraham and
Sarah, don't you? Isaac and his brother. You know who buried
Isaac and Rebecca, don't you? Jacob and his brother. You know
who married Jacob, don't you? Reuben and his brother. And on
and on it goes. But all of them were buried there.
Now how can you get so many people in one place? It's a big cave. But won't all those people stink? None of them suffer corruption. You hear that? Can you put all
those bodies in one place and not one of them? Evidently. What a picture that is, huh?
Where do you want to be found? In Christ. In the cleft of the
rock. That's where I want to be found
when the Lord comes for me, when He comes to find me. There will
only be bones there, but you know what He'll do? Can those
bones live? You just wait. I looked that
up in Ezekiel 37, it says, and the bones came together. Bone
to His bone. That's His body. By the bone of His will be left
behind. So the hip bone connected to the thigh bone. You know that's where that song
came from? You think that's just an old silly old song. That's
where that came from, Ezekiel 37. And the hip bone connected.
And the bone was connected. They all came together bone after
bone. And all those bones in that cave,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Sarah, and Leah. was in that
cave. That's where I want to be put.
I want to be found. When the Lord comes looking for
His people, I want to be found in Christ, don't you? A good report that I've died
by faith, when He comes for our bones and puts them back together,
puts sinews upon them and flesh and spirit and says, And we all
gathered to our head, the body to our head. Well, that's what
happened to old Jacob. Go back to our story in chapter
49. And this is a blessing. So Christ purchased our resting
place, and it's Him. It's Him. In Him we dwell and
live and move. And you know what? You're dead,
and your life's hid. with Christ in God. Just like
all of them, they were in that cave. Oh, but they're not dead. Dead to the world, aren't they?
So when Jacob, verse 33, had made an end of commanding his
sons, salvation is by command, isn't it? It says he gathered
up his feet into the bed. It's as if he knew it was time,
but he didn't. He gathered up his feet into
the bed. You know, the Lord, the Scripture
says, he giveth his beloved sleep. And it says he yielded, up to
go. In other words, he was willing. He was ready. He was anxious. Yes, it's time. The Lord said,
it's time, Jacob, it's time. Let go. Yes. Let go. Gladly. Take me. And if you worry about not having
right now dying grace, then you're probably not dying right now.
But when the time comes, you will yield up to God. You'll be ready. Let go, Jacob. Fear not, Jacob. You know now
why he kept telling him, fear not, fear not, fear not, because
Christ came to deliver us who were all our lifetime subject
to bondage, to fear of death. And he keeps telling all of us
sinners that we are. Fear not. I've purchased your
redemption. I've bought you with a price.
I've paid the penalty. I've secured it. You can read
your title clear. You just trust me. And when you
go to lie down, and you lie down, you trust me, let go. I'm coming to get you. Somebody shout, would you? Because
how do you know this, preacher? How do you know this? It says
he was gathered his people. He was gathered his people. How
do you know this? I'll tell you how I know. Because Christ came. Because
Christ died. Because Christ rose from the
dead. And Christ said, fear not. Fear not. And I know He liveth. My Redeemer liveth. And He shall
stand. No. No, He's not going to stand
on this earth. He's already done that. But He's
going to come in the air. And I'm going to meet Him. And
we're all going to meet Him. And we'll be gathered to our
people. All right. Stand with me. Our Lord, what a blessing, what
promises, what exceeding great and precious promises are given
to us, how certain and sure, yea and amen. promises of God
in Christ. A full, free, and final, eternal
redemption that's in Him through His precious blood. And a final,
eternal dwelling place, resting place, secured for His people. by a covenant between the Father
and the Son and sealed by the Holy Spirit to all those whom
He loved, the sons of Jacob. What a blessing. What a blessing. What exceeding great and precious
promises we have. And even by these promises we
are made partakers of the divine nature. Oh Lord, escape the corruption
that's in the world through love. May we always be looking to our
inheritance, looking to Christ. This is how we escape. This is
the way to escape the temptations. Looking to Him, seeing that we
have such a better, such a better, place and such a desirable place
to be with better people and a place called heaven with Christ
and righteousness. Oh Lord, set our affection on
things of the earth, not on things of the earth. Let us, bury us
not in Egypt. Don't let us be overcome in this
world, but carry us out of this Babylon. Cause us to be found
in Christ. And when you come, gather us
with thy people, we pray. That's our prayer. That's my
prayer for every person in this room. Oh Lord, do it for us because
surely you come quickly. Do it today, Lord. that today in the heart of someone.
Today. Well, it's called today. Harden
not their hearts. In Christ's name we pray and
give thanks and ask these things and worship. Amen. You're dismissed.