Alright, Genesis 47. Let's read
verses 27 through 31. Genesis 47. And Lord willing,
Sunday morning we'll look at Joseph's Jacob's blessing of the lads. Bless the lads. Lord willing,
that will be Sunday morning. It's our prayer for our children.
Verses 27 through 31 of chapter 47 says, Israel dwelt in the
land of Egypt in the country of Goshen. And they had possessions
therein and grew and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived
in the land of Egypt, 17 years. So the whole age of Jacob was
147 years. And the time drew nigh that Israel
must die. And he called his son Joseph,
and he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight,
put, I pray thee, thy hand unto my thigh. and deal kindly or
mercifully and truly with me. Bury me not, I pray thee, in
Egypt. But I will lie with my fathers,
and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their dwelling
place." And Joseph said, I will do as
thou hast said. And Jacob said, swear unto me. And Joseph, swear unto me. And
Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head. Bury me not in Egypt. This is much more than an old
man's request to be buried in the old family cemetery. This is the Gospel. This is our
prayer, the prayer of every son of Jacob. Bury me not in Egypt. Don't leave me. Don't leave me
in this place. Take me out. Take me out. It says that Israel dwelt in
the land of Egypt, verse 27, in the country of Goshen, and
they had possessions therein. Israel wasn't just Jacob. Zolot. As He was, so were they. They were joint heirs, weren't
they, with Him. And we, the people of God, Paul
went to great lengths to describe this, that the people of God
are the true Israel. Now Jacob and his sons are all
called Israel, prince with God, people of God, because God chose
them all, sons of Jacob. I'm the God of Jacob, therefore
you sons of Jacob are not consumed. So we're all the children of
Abraham by faith, sons of Jacob, and have this promise that we're
the true Israel. So as they dwelt in the country
of Goshen, They had possessions therein, grew and multiplied.
You remember reading with me Sunday how that Egypt, everybody
lost everything. The money failed. Food failed. Everything failed. Joseph put
them under the law, taxed them. Not the sons of Jacob. Sounds
to me like they dwelt in this place all by themselves. and
had it all. It says possessions. See, from
the beginning, as we saw, the Lord in the beginning began to
put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. He began
to put a difference. And this is the whole story you'll
see from here. And then in Exodus, somebody
wants me to go through Exodus after this just to continue this
story. I don't know. But the Lord began
to put a difference between Egypt and His people. And He began
to show that plainly. And right here we see that His
people were not under the law. That His people were nourished
and well fed. They didn't lose a thing. They
didn't lose their possessions. And what this is a picture of
is that we have riches that the world knows not of, which the
world and things cannot take away. Unsearchable riches, hidden
treasures in Christ. And we grow in grace and the
knowledge of the Lord, and it says they multiplied, and the
grace of God and the peace of God is what multiplied. unto all of God's people. Rich,
maybe not in houses and land. We may lose those someday, but
we'll not lose the true riches of which Proverbs says so much
about. But the children of Israel lived
in Egypt. The sons of Jacob, they lived
in Egypt. The Lord put them there, didn't
He? The Lord brought them to Egypt. But they were not of Egypt. They were put in Egypt, and there's
a Scripture that I like to think about. It says, the Lord put
the world in their heart, that is, in the world's heart. He
puts the world in their heart, that is, this is all they're
taken up with. And the reason being is so they
will prosper and do all these things for the election. Because
God's people aren't after the things of this world. They just
want to make ends meet, don't they? God put us in this world,
but we're not of this world. Just like Jacob and his sons
lived in Goshen. They were in Egypt, but they
dwelled together. You always find them together. And they had to do business in
Egypt with the inhabitants of Egypt, but they were not of Egypt.
Joseph wasn't a beager. Joseph wasn't a beager. You remember
we read there in Hebrews 11 where he said, and we're going to see
that in the last of Joseph's life, Joseph said, don't leave
me here either. Then take my bones out of this
place. They're not of this world. Didn't
our Lord say that in His prayer? Lord, Father, I pray not that
Thou shouldest take them out of the world. It will be time
for that. But you should keep them from
it. Because they are not of this
world, even as I am not of this world, Christ said. And I pray
that they should not be overcome by it and perish in the wilderness
like some did. Listen to this by J.C. Philpott. This is so good. I may put it
in our bulletin soon. I got this, Brother Terry Worthen. I listened to him preach this
text and he quoted this. It's so good. And the title of
it is, If You Are at Home in the World, by J.C. Philpott. He says, we're only
here for a moment. We're just strangers and sojourners,
as the Scripture says. Our days are just like a shadow,
a vapor. And if you possess the faith
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, you, like them, you confess you're
a stranger here. And that confession comes from
your heart and sincere experience. You feel a stranger in this ungodly
world. It's not your element. It's not
your home. You're in it during God's appointed time, but you're
wandering through it. Up and down in this world, you're
a stranger to its company. You're a stranger to its ways.
A stranger to its fashions. That is, the world thinks you're
strange. A stranger to its principles.
You don't think like that. You're a stranger to its motives,
its desires. You're a stranger to its lust.
You're a stranger to its inclinations. But this is the world's element.
God has separated his people by his sovereign power. They're
in the world, but they're not of it. But, he said, I can tell
you plainly, if you are at home in this world, if the things
of this world, this element, if you feel one with the company
of this world, the ways of the world, perfectly comfortable
with the fashions of this world, the principles of this world,
Grace hasn't reached your heart. The faith of God's elect is not
in your bosom. The first effect of grace is
to separate. Separate. Not bodily, not bring
you out of or have you separate yourself physically or literally,
but a separation of heart takes the world out of our heart. Separation
of principles. We differ. We greatly differ
in everything. A separation of affection. Our
affection is not here. It's on things above, which the
world has no affection for. It's a separation of spirit.
It was so in the case of Abraham, this separation. He was called
by grace to leave. We read that. He was called by
grace to leave, to go out of that land and to a land that
God showed him. And that's God's word to his
people now. Listen to this. This is Scripture. Come out from among them and
be ye separate, says the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing,
I will receive you and will be a father unto you. You'll be
my sons and daughters, says the Lord God Almighty. Separation,
separation, separation from the world is the distinguishing mark
of vital godliness and true salvation. If grace has touched your heart
and you're a partaker of the faith of God's elect, you're
a stranger in this world. And it's clear, it's manifest
by your life and your conduct that you are such, that you are
strange. And so it is with God's people. They're not of it. They're
not of it. Egypt, and I thought about this. You ever think about this? Egypt
was the greatest and richest kingdom on earth. Babylon was
the greatest at that time. The kingdom of the Persians and
so forth. There's no real descriptions
given of the glory and the beauty of those kingdoms. If you read
through the Scriptures, you'll not see the Lord going on and
on about the beauty of Egypt. He doesn't say anything about
Egypt. He just calls it Egypt. But it
was the most glorious and beautiful and prosperous and technologically
advanced and cultured place in all the world, and God doesn't
say a thing about it. None of the beauty of it. The only place in Scripture that
God goes on and on and on and on about the beauty of is New
Jerusalem, is the tabernacle, is the temple, isn't it? Remember,
the disciples were all impressed with that earthly temple. They
said, look at this, Lord. And He said, every stone is coming
down in My Father's house. Beauty. Unsearchable riches. And because all of that's a picture
of Christ and His Kingdom. This world has no beauty. You
know what our Lord called this world? You know what He said?
All that is in the world is the lust of the eyes, the lust of
the flesh, and the pride of life. And it's not of the Father. And
He says, love not the world. Set not your affections on them.
If riches increase, set not your heart on them. The riches have
wings and these things are going to perish. Oh, but new Jerusalem
is coming down from heaven. Coming to get us. Jacob and his
sons didn't belong there. There were strangers and pilgrims.
They were passing through. And Jacob's dying request, and
the dying request of every single son of Jacob, every single child
of God, the dying request is, don't leave me here. I don't
want to stay here. Please, put your hand unto me and carry
me home. Don't leave me to be swallowed
up. in this Egypt. This is the story here. This
is our heart's desire and a prayer of all of God, all of Israel
to God, that we be saved from this untoward
generation, that we be taken out of this present evil world
and this present evil world taken out of us. And our Lord is sworn
by Joseph. He's promised. And everybody
asked him. He said, I will not leave you.
I'm not going to leave you here. I'm going to come to get you.
All right, verse 28 says that Jacob lived in the land of Egypt
17 years. He had to live 17 more years.
He was already 130 years old. He was already an old man. And he had been through, you
know, his time in Padana realm, do you remember that? I don't
know how many years he was there. It was a long time. And oh, he
was in bad shape wasn't he? His family was in bad shape.
It wasn't until they came to Goshen that they were all united. No more schisms. No more divisions. No more strife. You know that? After this, there's no more strife.
They're all in Goshen now. Before this, before they were
all gathered to Joseph, there were all kinds of strife and
troubles. But now they're all gathered
together in the land of Goshen, and Joseph's watching over, and
Joseph nourishing them, and Joseph's dwelling with them, and they
just have peace. I thought about old Jacob. You
know, he's 130 years, and they said, you've got to move. Oh,
my. But he was going to Joseph. And
we already looked at that. What a blessed picture that was. And then he got to where Joseph
was, and oh, they hugged each other's neck and they swept a
good while, didn't they? And you know what sustained Jacob
for 17 more years? He was ready to go. at 131. He wanted to go. He told Pharaoh,
few and evil have been the days of my year, and I am ready to
go. But you know what sustained him
for 17 more years in this Egypt? He's with Joseph. He's with Joseph. Being with Joseph made it bearable. Being with Joseph made it life
worth living. and his brethren. So if you want
peace and comfort in your last days, dwell in the land of Goshen,
okay, with the Lord and the rest of us pilgrims. And that precious
possession called faith will grow and multiply exceedingly. And you have His promise that
He's coming back for all of us. He'll take us out of here. There's
nothing but dearth and death in Egypt. Oh my, John Newton wrote this
blessed hymn, you know it, How Tedious and Tasteless the Hours. He said, How tedious and tasteless
are the hours when the Lord Jesus no longer I see. Sweet prospects,
sweet birds, and sweet flowers have all lost their sweetness
to me. The midsummer sun shines but dim. Fields strive in vain
to look gay. But when I am happy with Him,
the Lord dissembles as pleasant as May. Oh, I am content with
beholding His face, my all to His pleasure resigned. No changes
of season or place would make any change in my mind. While
blessed with a sense of His love, a palace, a toy would appear,
and prisons would a palace prove if the Lord Jesus would dwell
with me there? Is that your feeling? So, you
might have 17 more years. If you're like 53, 17 is 3 score
and 10. If you're 63, then that's 80, that's 4 score. But you might
have 17 more years and how are you going to bear it? One way. The Lord says, with
these trials, He'll make a way to escape. What's that way? I'm the way. If He dwells with
us, it's bearable, isn't it? But it's still Egypt, and Jacob
wants out. He wants out. That's how you
know he's not of it. He wants out. He wants to go.
Verse 29 says, The time drew nigh that Israel must die. The time drew nigh. You know,
Ecclesiastes says there's a time to be born, and the Lord is the
one that determines that time. He said, I kill, I make alive. And then there's a time to die,
and the Lord determines that too. Go to Job 14. If you don't
know where this is, you need to Remember it. Memorize it. Job 14. The world calls this fatalism,
but it's not. It's Bible. It's truth. And it's blessed truth to God's
people that our comfort, our peace, is that our days are determined. The number of our months are
with the Lord. Job 14 verse 5 says, ìSeeing
manís days are determined, the number of his months are with
the Lord. Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass.î
And I'm so glad, aren't you? David said, my times are in thy
hands. We used to sing that song, didn't
we? My times are in thy hand. My God, I wish them there. I
want them there. And it's a good thing we don't
know the time of our death. It's a good thing we don't know
the time of our loved one's death, isn't it? We're never ready to
lose them. Or maybe ourselves until the
Lord says it's time, like Jacob. And it says the time drew nigh,
and he knew it was time. He knew it was time, and he was
ready. He said he must die, didn't he? The time that Israel must
die. It's appointed unto man once
to die, and Adam, all die. We must die unless the Lord comes. when we're still here. And it
says, the time drew nigh, the time drew nigh. And our Lord
said this, He said, His coming draweth nigh, and your redemption
draweth nigh. And oh, our death, if the Lord
doesn't come for us, all of us at the same time, our death draweth
nigh. Well, Jacob did say this, my
days have been few. 147 years though, Jacob. No,
that's few compared to my father's. But if you had asked all of them,
you know, you've read Genesis 5 before. It says that so and
so lived 900 years and he died. So and so lived 800 years and
he died. Lived 930 years and he died, Adam. Methuselah lived
the longest of them all, 969 years. He died. And if you'd asked them,
if you'd asked Methuselah, when he was 968, he would have said,
boy, the time has flown. Yes, he would have. Because it
is a vapor, no matter how long you live. It goes by that quickly. It goes by that quickly. The time draweth nigh. Coming
of the Lord, our redemption draweth nigh. The Lord is coming for
His people, and it draweth nigh. If you know the Lord, rejoice.
And again I say, rejoice. Some of you are smiling. And
he called Joseph, verse 29, he called his son Joseph, and he
made his dying request to his son Joseph. You know, Moses,
said, oh, that they were wise and would consider their latter
end. That we would talk about it and
be conversant with death, concerning death, and converse with our
family and our children about death. Because it's inevitable. It's certain. More certain than
taxes. But we need to be conversant
with it. 2 Peter 3. Go over there real
quickly. This is going to be short, this
message, but look at this. Here's another one of these Scriptures
that we need to commit to memory. 2 Peter 3 talks about our Lord's
return, the end of this world, as do all Scriptures. It talks about His return, that
we need to think about it and be ready for it. 2 Peter 3. Verse 10 says, The day of the
Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens
shall pass away. This is without controversy.
It's certain. And with a great noise. And the
elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also and the
works that are therein shall be burned up. This is not global
warming, people. This is the Lord burning this
world up with fire. Seeing then that all these things
shall be dissolved, when? Maybe tomorrow. Seeing then that all these things
shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in
all holy, or that's separate conversation, sanctified, heavenly
conversation? Our conversation, Paul said,
is in heaven from which we look for the Lord. We're talking about
it. It hastens His coming. Read on. In all holy conversation and
godliness, that is, you know, consecrated to Him, to know Him
and serve Him and get to know Him. Paul said, for me to live
is Christ. Looking for, verse 12, looking
forward to. and hastening unto the coming
of the day. You know, the more you think
about something, the nearer it appears to you. You go on vacation. I remember
my father-in-law once said this, you know, you're looking forward
to a vacation. And looking forward to it sometimes
is more enjoyable than the vacation. Because it's no sooner comes
than it's gone. Boy, where did that go? But while
you're leading up to it, you're just so anxious and you're just
so, I can't wait. And you're getting prepared for
it. You're getting excited for it, aren't you? And then it comes
and that first day, it's the greatest thing ever. Well, when
we look forward to and talk about and converse with one another
about the coming of our Lord, it hastens to us. It makes His appearing nearer
unto us. And it says in verse 13, we according
to His promise He promised us He cannot lie. We look for new
heavens and a new earth. Wherein dwelleth righteousness?
Wherefore, beloved, seeing you look for such things, be diligent.
Give diligence to make your calling and election sure. That's what
it means to be found of Him in peace without spot and blame.
So, go back to our text. So, the time of Jacob's death
drew nigh. He must die, and he knows it.
And he calls his son Joseph and he has a request to his son Joseph. He tells his son Joseph what
he wants done. And my father did just that too. He gave his request concerning
his burial, his funeral and so forth. As some of you have done
to me, I've asked you to do that. And you know we need to do that
with our children. We need to converse with our children about
it. Tell them, your old dad or your mother is not going to stay
here forever. And I'm looking forward to going
to be with the Lord. And honey, I'd sure like to see
you again. But you've got to know the Lord.
And we'll be separated forever. That's what we need to do. Talk
to our children. Be conversant with them. But
this is the gospel here. Here is the Gospel here. This
is every believer's plea and dying prayer to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Alright, this is a sinner's plea
to the Lord Jesus Christ. The time drew nigh that Israel
must die, and He called His Son, or rather, we call on the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and say unto Him, If now I have
found grace in Thy sight, O Lord, if I have found grace in Thy
sight, Oh, that I might be graciously accepted in the Beloved and be
found in Him, not having my own righteousness of the law, but
that righteousness which is by the faith of Jesus Christ. You know why Jacob and his sons
are here, don't you, Joseph? And that's why we are in the
New Kingdom. And he's pleading with Joseph
as we do with our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, if I found grace
in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh. Now
this was an old tradition. I'm not sure where
it started, but others did this. Abraham did it. Remember his
old servant? Put your hand under my thigh.
as being an old man. And Jacob, what he's saying to
his son here is, you're young and you're strong. Just pick
me up in your arms. Hold me in your arms. He's an
old, frail man. And he says here, put your hand
under my thigh. Cradle me. and deal kindly or
mercifully and truly with me. Have mercy upon me and tell me
truly. This is my request. Bear me not
in Egypt." And our request to our Lord Jesus
Christ is this, Lord, if I found grace in Thy sight, put, I pray,
Thy hand upon me Lay Thine hand upon me. Put Thine
hands under me, undergird me. Lord, pick me up in Thy mighty
hands. Cradle me in Your loving arms. And Lord, promise me, deal kindly
with me, have mercy upon me, O Lord my God, and tell me truly,
that You will not leave me in Egypt, that You will take me
out. Is that not our prayer? Have
mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness, according
to the multitude of Thy tender mercy. Blot out my transgression.
O Lord, pick me up. If I make it, Lord, You have
to carry me all the way. That's what He's saying. I can't
take another step. Hold me up and I'll be held up. Bury me not, I pray thee, in
Egypt." Here's the prayer of every son of Abraham. Verse 30,
I want to lie with my father. I want to have the faith of God's
elect. I want to die having a good report, like we read of all the sons
of Abraham, didn't we? I want to be married with the people of
God, die the death of the righteous with the fathers. And Lord, you
shall carry me out of Egypt. Thou shalt carry me out of Egypt.
He first asks it. And then he gathers strength
and he gathers assurance as Joseph puts his hand under him. And
as Joseph cradles him in his arms, old Jacob feels assured
and feels the strength of those powerful arms of his blessed
son. And he said, you shall carry
me out of here. I know you will. And bury me
in their burying place. And Joseph said, I'll do it. I'll do it. Did not our Lord
Jesus Christ say, if you ask anything according to My will,
I'll do it? What's His will? If any son of
Jacob believe on Him, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved. Call. Whosoever shall call on
the name of the Lord shall be saved. Whoever asks Me shall
receive. Whoever knocks, I'll open it.
Whoever seeks, they'll find. If you ask Me to take you out
of here, I'll do it. He delights to show mercy. And you know, it's just as He
promised back there in chapter 46. Look back there. Do you remember
this? He began promising this to Jacob
the day that He revealed Himself. The day that He revealed Himself
to old Jacob, the Lord began to make promises to him. And
we sing it all the time, how firm a foundation. What more
can he say than you, he said. We sing all those verses that
what he said to Jacob, what he said to Daniel, what he said
to all his people. Verse 3 of chapter 40, verse 2 of chapter
46, verse 2. God spake unto Israel in the
visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, here
am I. And God said, I am God, the God
of thy father. Fear not to go down into Egypt,
for I will be there. I will there make of thee a great
nation. I will go down with thee into
Egypt, and I will also surely bring thee up again. I believe
old Jacob is remembering that. He might have forgotten, but
when Joseph picked him up, he remembered those blessed words.
And he said, Joseph shall put his hand on thine eyes. And here he is, just like the
Lord said. Not one word of his shall fail. I will. But old Jacob says he
wants just a little bit more. Just a little bit more. Just
one word more. Verse 31, Jacob said, Swear unto
me. Promise me. And you know what old Joseph
could swear by no greater. He just swore by himself. There
was no greater in Egypt than Joseph. He had the power to do
this. He had favor with Pharaoh, didn't
he? Whatever Jacob asked Pharaoh,
Pharaoh granted. Whatever Joseph asked Pharaoh,
Pharaoh granted Joseph, didn't he? And he was Lord over all.
He just had to say the word. Pharaoh always heard him. And our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father always hears him and grants his request. And when he could
swear by no greater, his oath and his covenant and his blood. And so he swore unto him. Verse
31, Joseph said, I swear. I promise you. You have My name. You have My Word on us. I will
take you out of here and bury you with your fathers. I promise
you. My name is Joseph. And I'm Lord
of the land. And you're my... I love you.
And I will take you out of here. And that's what our Lord Jesus
Christ says to every single one of His children that trust in
Him. None of them that trust in Him shall be left behind. None of them. He swore on it.
We have exceeding great and precious promises whereby we escape. the corruption of this world.
We're not going to see corruption, people. You're not going to leave
us in Egypt. And look at what old Israel did. He bowed himself on the bedside. That's all I need to hear. I
reckon he smiled. I can die now. I'm going home. Joseph said so. Alright, stand
with me. Our Lord, thank You for the exceeding
precious promises of Your Word. And truly, all the promises of
God in Christ are yea and amen to the glory of God by us. We
give you all the glory and honor to the praise of the glory of
your sovereign electing love, mercy and grace, O Lord, to the
sons of Jacob, sinners, And we thank You, Lord, for the great
promises of Your Word. Lord, bring these back to mind,
these blessed promises, when we go out into Egypt, go out
into this world and become downcast and tempted and tried on every
side. All the snares and the pits,
Lord, speak to us. Bring Your Word back to mind. We're in the land of Goshen.
It's not this building, but we are in the Kingdom. present help
in time of trouble. We just need to call at any time. And You're near and dear to us
and You'll make a way to escape. Oh Lord, You know how to deliver
the godly out of temptation. So we ask that You keep us from
this world. Take this world out of us. And
Lord, someday, according to Your Word, according to Your promise,
take us out of this world that we might Live with Thee forever
in those who love Thy name. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.