Would you turn to Genesis 47?
I want to read verses five and six of
Genesis 47. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph,
saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee. The land
of Egypt is before thee in the best of the land. Make thy father and brethren
to dwell in the land of Goshen. Let them dwell." I've entitled this message The
land of Goshen. Now, I don't know whether any
of you all have ever heard that phrase before. My grandma said
it all the time. Land of Goshen. I heard that
so often. Land of Goshen. And I always
wondered what it meant. Well, I know what it means now. The Bible actually has a lot
to say about the land of Goshen. It was a strip of land in the
delta of the Nile River in northeastern Egypt. And it was the most fertile
land in Egypt. And it's where Jacob and his
family spent the last 17 years of their life. And it is where
the children of Israel would spend 400 years before the Exodus. That's a long history, 400 years
they would spend in this 40 mile strip of land in northeastern
Egypt before the Exodus. And the land of Goshen is given
to us to typify Christ our dwelling place, the best land. And I pray that the Lord will
use this message to cause us, to make us, to abide, to dwell
in the land. You know, I want the Lord to
cause me to do what I am to do. I want Him to cause me to be
in Christ. I want His grace to reign in me in that sense. Now,
the first thing that I would notice about the land of Goshen,
I've got several things I want to point out about it. It's referred
to several times in Genesis and Exodus. It's the best land. The land of Goshen. is the best
land. And Christ himself. Is the best. He's better. He's better than anything. He's
better than anyone. And he himself is the best, and
he is where we abide and dwell, and he's the only place where
we want to be. In the land of Goshen. In the Lord Jesus Christ. In
the best place. Paul the Apostle put it this
way, O that I may win Christ and be found in Him. Now there's
only one place I want to be. It's in the best place. I want
to be in the land of Goshen. I want to be in the Lord Jesus
Christ. What is this thing of being in
Christ? What does it mean, being in the
land of Goshen, being in this best place, in this place of
provision? Because this is the place you
were provided for. Remember, this is where all the food came
from. You'd starve to death if you weren't in this place. What
does it mean to be in the Lord Jesus Christ? We read that phrase
over and over again in the New Testament. What does it mean
to be in the Lord Jesus Christ? I've given you this illustration
before from the scriptures, but to me, it's the best. So I'm
going to use it again, turn to Hebrews chapter seven. Here's
what it means to be in Christ. Verse nine. And as I may so say, Levi also
who received tithes, remember he was the order of the priests
and people had to pay tithes to him. Now this I say, Levi
also who receiveth tithes paid tithes in Abraham, for he was
yet in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. Now
there it says, that Levi actually paid tithes before he was even
born, before he had any existence. It doesn't say it was just as
if he paid the tithes. It says he paid those tithes
while he was in the loins of his father Abraham. He was in
Abraham. Now, he had no existence, but yes, he did. He was in Abraham. And being in Abraham, when Abraham
paid those tithes, Levi paid those tithes. All that Abraham
did, you know, wherever Abraham went, wherever he walked, whatever
direction he took, you know who went with him? Levi. If he walked
up the steps, Levi walked up the steps. If he went down in
the basement, Levi went down in the basement. Wherever he
went, whatever he did, Levi did because Levi was in Abraham. He was in the loins of Abraham.
Now, if I'm in Christ, well, another example is A baby in a momma's belly. We
got somebody that knows something about that right now. A baby
in a momma's belly. Wherever you go, that baby goes.
Right there with you. And I'm in the Lord Jesus Christ,
where He is. That's where I am, and that's
where I find such security and safety being in Him. It's like
being in the house with the blood over the door. It's like being
in the ark. That's where safety is. That's where security is
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It has something to do with union.
I love to think about this union with Jesus Christ. Both He that
sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one. Not too closely joined together,
but one. That's what it is to be in the
land of Goshen, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, how do you get in
Christ? That sounds awful inviting, doesn't
it? How do you get in the Lord Jesus Christ? I sure want to
be in Him. How do you get in Him? Well, there's only one way
to get in Him. God's got to put you in Him. That's the only way
you can be in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's nothing you can
do to place yourself in Christ. Of Him, the Scripture says, are
you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption. The only way you can get in the
Lord Jesus Christ is for God to put you there. And you know,
that might leave you feeling helpless. Good. Good. I'm glad it does. Because if
you ever start feeling helpless, you're going to start crying
out for mercy. Every single time. Make God, oh, I can't get in
Him. There's nothing I can do to get
in Him. It's one who places you in Christ. Well, how do I continue
in Christ? How do I abide in Christ? You
know, there's so many scriptural references to abiding in Christ.
How do I abide in Christ? By looking to Christ. Here's how you abide in Christ.
Here's how you continue in Christ by believing on Him. That's the
only way you continue. You'll stay in Christ. You won't
leave. You won't stick a finger out
the window. You'll stay in Christ by looking to Him and looking
nowhere else. This is the best land. And this is the land I want to
be in. And you'll notice in our text,
that Pharaoh provided this land for Jacob and his sons. This
is the land of God's provision for the true sons of Jacob. And
I tell you this, I love my land. I love being in Christ. I really,
as the Lord is my witness, I don't want to be anywhere else. I don't
want to be viewed anywhere else. I don't want to go anywhere else.
Happy to stay right here. I'm not looking for an upgrade.
I'm not looking for a bigger house. There is no bigger house.
I'm already in the best. I got no way up to go. I'm already
at the top. I want to be nowhere but right
here in the land of Goshen, the best land, the land of the Lord
Jesus Christ. I turn with me for a moment to
Exodus chapter eight. The land of Goshen. is the place
of distinguishing sovereign grace. Looking at this chapter eight,
beginning in verse 20. And the Lord said unto Moses.
Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, lo,
he cometh forth to the water and say unto him, thus saith
the Lord, let my people go that they may serve me. Else if thou
wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies. Now notice that flies is in italics. I'm not sure what these swarms
were. It might have been the flies that drive us crazy. But
my margin says noisome beasts. I don't know what these things
were. Noisome beasts. They must have been horrible.
He says, if you won't let my people go, I will send swarms
of flies in thee, and thy people, and thy house, and the house
of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of these flies, and
also the ground whereon they are, and I will sever. Now that word sever, hold your
finger there and turn over to Exodus 11. Verse 7. But against any of the children
of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue against man or beast,
that you may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between
the Egyptians and Israel." Now, that word sever in the Hebrew
is the same word that's translated in Exodus 11, 7, put a difference. And here's what Goshen is. It's the difference. Now, look
what he says in verse 22, back to our text. And I will sever,
I will put a difference in that day, the land of Goshen, in which
my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, to the
end that thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of
the earth." Now you picture this, these horrible swarms of flies,
but in the land of Goshen, there's not a one. Look over in Exodus
9, verse 22. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail
in all the land of Egypt, upon man and upon beast, and upon
every herb of the field throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses
stretched forth his rod toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder
and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground, and the Lord
rained fire, hail upon the land of Egypt. Can you imagine how
horrible this was? So there was hail and fire mingled
with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it.
And all the land of Egypt, since it became a nation, and the hail
smoked throughout all the land of Egypt, all that was in the
field, both man and beast, and the hail smoked every herb of
the field and break every tree of the field. Only in the land
of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no You see, the hail of God's wrath
came down, but it did not touch those in the land of Goshen.
You see, Goshen is God's distinguishing sovereign grace. God's people
were in Goshen, and God made a difference between His people
and everybody else. Now, why isn't everybody in Goshen? Well, the Lord never intended
it to be, did He? just Israel. Why isn't everybody in Christ?
Because God didn't put everybody in Christ. Why are His people
there? Because God put them there. Goshem
was the difference between God's judgment and safety and security. Now, somebody may think, why
make an issue of this? Because God does. Is that enough
of a reason? Did you notice when I read that
passage of Scripture in Exodus chapter 11, verse six, he said
that you may know. God's making this issue. That
you may know how that the Lord doth put a difference, how he
separates between the Egyptians and Israel. This is God's distinguishing
grace. And, you know, it's precious
to me to be reminded that His grace alone makes me to differ. I'll tell you what, that rejoices
my heart because if I had to find a reason in myself that
would make me to differ, I couldn't come up with one. But thank God,
He separates. It's His grace alone that makes
the difference. What do you have? Who distinguishes
you from another? Who makes a difference between
you and another? What do you have that you didn't receive?
Every believer knows. I don't have to talk a believer
into this. You know that everything you got is what you received,
don't you? You know He gave it to you and you didn't come up
with it on your own. You believe that. Goshen is the land of God's
distinguishing, sovereign grace. Now, you're there in Exodus,
turn to Exodus chapter 10. Verse 21. I've often thought about this
and tried to picture it in my mind, verse 21. And the Lord said unto Moses,
stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness. over the land of Egypt, even
darkness, which may be felt. Now, can you imagine how dark
that must have been when the Lord made darkness to go all
over Egypt and you could not see a thing? Darkness that might
be felt. And Moses stretched forth his
hand toward heaven. And there was a thick darkness
all the land of Egypt three days, and they saw not one another,
neither arose any from his place for three days. Now, can you
imagine what this must have been like? But all the children of
Israel had light in their dwellings. And I don't know how this is,
This is a miracle. This is a glorious miracle. But
here we have this darkness covering Egypt. Everybody's just sick.
They were afraid to get up. You didn't see anybody for three
days. Can you imagine that in this thick darkness? Darkness
that might be felt. Everybody's scared to death.
But there's light in Goshen. You see, Christ Himself is the
light of the world. Remember, Goshen is the Lord
Jesus Christ. is being in him, and he's the
light. Now, he's the light in this sense. I see how a holy God can love
and embrace and love and justify me through the Lord Jesus Christ. I see how God can actually say
regarding me, and sinful as I am in and of myself, I see, brethren,
I see how God can say regarding this man talking to you, regarding
all of his people, he's holy, he's unblameable, and he's unreprovable
in my sight. Do you see that? Do you see how
God can love you for Christ's sake? Can you see how God can
accept you for Christ's sake? Can you see how God can hug up
to you and embrace you? Even though in yourself you feel
unclean and filthy, yet through the Lord Jesus Christ, I have
light as to how God can embrace and love and accept me. Isn't that wonderful light? You know when it says Christ
is the light of the world? He said, I am the light of the
world. I love that passage of scripture in John 8, 12. I'm
the light of the world. Let me tell you when he said it. He
said it directly after he looked at that woman who was caught
in adultery in the very act. And he said, woman, where are
those dying accusers? Has no man condemned thee? She
said, no man, Lord. He said, neither do I condemn
thee. Go and sin no more. I am the
light of the world. Now, the only way I can understand
how Christ could not condemn her and find her not guilty when
she was caught in the very act is through the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the light of the world. The land of Goshen is a land
of light. Look over in Genesis 47, verse 27. And Israel dwelt in the land
of Egypt, in the country of Goshen, and they had possessions therein. My possessions are in the land
of Goshen. Now, what are my possessions? Is it material stuff? Everything you've got is going
to burn. I can't even express the unimportance
of material things. I don't care how much money you've
got, it's all going to be burned. I don't care how little you've
got, it doesn't matter either. The clothes that you are wearing,
they're all going to rot and decay. The house you own is going
to turn to dust. Everything, I mean, it just,
materialism, material things doesn't amount to anything. You
know, our Lord said, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for
man's life doesn't consist in the abundance of things he possesses.
Now, I want you, isn't it freeing, even while I'm talking about
this, isn't it freeing and liberating to know that materialism doesn't
amount to a hill of beans? It's wonderful to know that.
I mean, it's just freeing. I mean, it's just stuff. My possession
is what I have in the Lord Jesus Christ. My possession is that
which I'm always going to have. You know, the stuff I have materially,
I'm not always going to have it. Job said, naked I came into
this world. And naked I'm going to return.
My possessions materially, that's not my possession because they're
just temporary. But what do I have eternally? I have the love of
God in Christ Jesus our Lord. I have the complete justification
of my soul. I have the forgiveness of sins.
I have acceptance. God accepts me. To think that
God accepts me. You know, when I hear preachers
talk about, won't you accept Jesus? It irritates me so much. I say,
well, that's not the issue. It doesn't matter. You accept? No. Will He accept you? That's
the question. I have complete acceptance. He
has made us accepted in the Beloved. I'm holy in God's sight. That's
my possession. That can't be taken away from
me. Now, these possessions that we have, that we truly, that
are ours, Everything regarding salvation, everything regarding
Christ Jesus, all the spiritual blessings we have in Christ.
He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus. That means I got them all. I got them all. The
reason they're my possessions is because they're never going
to leave. And the reason they're never going to leave is because they're
in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Nothing. shall separate us from
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now that's where
my security is. That's where my possessions are.
And look in this verse again, verse 27. And Israel dwelt in the land
of Egypt, in the country of Goshen, and they had possessions therein. That's where their possessions
were, in the Lord Jesus Christ. And look what it says next about
them. It says they grew and multiplied exceedingly. The land of Goshen
is the place of growth. They grew in the land of Goshen. Now, there is not one believer
who's not interested in this thing of growth. I want to grow,
don't you? I want to grow in grace and the
knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I want to grow
in the fruit of the Spirit. I want to grow to the glory of
God. I want to mature. I want to grow up. I want to
increase in my love. I want my love to Christ to grow.
I want my faithfulness to grow. I want my generosity to grow.
I want my graciousness and my mercifulness to grow. I just
go on down the line. I want to grow. Every believer
is interested in growth. And I'll tell you this, where
there's life, what is there? There's growth. Where you find
life, you will find growth. Now, my growth, where does that
come from? Does my growth come from reading
the Bible more? Does it come from spending more
time in prayer? Does it come from rigorous self-discipline
where I put down the flesh and say no to sin and just do everything
I can? Is that where growth comes from?
Let me tell you where growth comes
from. Growth comes from abiding in Christ. How do I abide in Christ? Look,
you want to grow? Do you want to grow in grace
and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Look to Christ. That is growth. You will grow,
not by your discipline, not by your efforts. And I'm not saying,
read the Bible all you can, pray all you can. I'm not saying anything
against these things. But I'm saying this, growth comes
by abiding in Christ. Growth comes by looking to the
Lord Jesus Christ, and when you try to grow, you know what you'll
do? You'll shrink. You surely will. You try to grow, you try
to make yourself grow, and all you're going to do is shrink.
Growth comes from looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
where our true growth comes from. Abide in Christ. We bear fruit
by abiding in the vine. Look in Genesis 45. Verse 10. And thou shalt dwell in the land
of Goshen. And thou shalt be near unto me. Now, this is Joseph. Telling
his brothers, this is what I want you to tell Jacob, my father. Thou shalt dwell in the land
of Goshen and thou shalt be near unto me. The only way I'm going
to be near is by dwelling in the land of Goshen. Thou, and
thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and
thy herds, and all that thou hast, and there in Goshen will
I nourish thee. For there yet five years of famine,
lest thou, my household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty."
Now, you remember at this time there was poverty throughout
all the land. I mean, you'd starve to death.
And it was up to Joseph as to whether or not you were going
to have any food. Joseph says to Jacob and his sons, you're
going to go into the land of Goshen, and that's where I'm
going to nourish you. That's where I'm going to feed
you. That's where you're going to
eat and stay alive during the famine. Where would they be nourished
and fed and preserved alive? In the land of Goshen. Now, here's my nourishment. Oh,
I would to God that I hear this. Well, I sure want to hear what
I'm saying. I want you to hear what I'm saying. My nourishment, what
causes me to live, what causes me to continue in Christ, is
simple faith in Christ. Abiding in Him. Looking to Him. Resting in Him. That's my nourishment. That's my food. Abiding in the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's what I eat on. The just
shall live by what? Faith. That's what I live off.
Faith. It's not my works. I can't live off my works. I'll
starve to death. The just shall live by faith.
Faith looks out of itself. It's a purely spiritual act resting
in the Lord Jesus Christ, resting in Him as my wisdom, as my righteousness,
as my sanctification, as my redemption, as my all. He's my all in all. Faith rests in Him. And that is my nourishment in
the land of Goshen. That's where we are nourished. And the land of Goshen is where
we leave what's really precious to us. Would you turn to Genesis
50? Now, this is after they're going
to bury Jacob. He's died at this point. Verse
seven. And Joseph went up to bury his
father, and with him went all the servants of Pharaoh, and
the elders of his house, and the elders of the land of Egypt,
and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's
house. They all were going back to Canaan because Jacob wanted
to be buried in Canaan. He didn't want to be buried in
Egypt. Only their little ones and their flocks and their herds
they left in the land of Goshen. Their children and their flocks
were their most precious commodities. Now, what is truly precious to
us We commit to Christ for the keeping
of it. You're as precious to me? Well,
I can say this with full conviction. We read of like precious faith. Faith is always precious. And I'm looking to Christ to
keep it for me. I can't even make myself believe. I can't
even make myself continue. I can't make myself abide. What's
truly precious to me? Now, you think of this. What's
truly precious to you? You leave it in the land of Goshen,
don't you? You look to Christ to keep it and preserve it for
you. You look nowhere else. The land of Goshen is where we're
embraced. Look in Genesis 46. I love this. Verse 29. And Joseph made ready his chariot.
and went up to meet Israel, his father, to Goshen, and presented
himself unto him. And he fell on his neck and wept
on his neck a good while." This is where Joseph first saw
Jacob after however many years it was. And he went and fell
on his neck and embraced him. Now, the Lord embraces me And I say this by faith. Not
even because I feel the warmth of his embrace right now. A lot
of times I don't at all. But I'm talking about what I
know by faith. Faith is not what you see. It's what you believe. Now, by faith in the land of
Goshen, the holy righteous God embraces me. And I am lovely
to him in the land of Goshen. I'm beautiful to him. I don't
smell bad. I am fit. I am fit for the thrice holy
God to embrace me in the land of Goshen. Joseph fell on his
neck. You remember when the prodigal
comes back home? What does the father do? He runs and what does
he do? He falls on his neck. And he
kisses him with many kisses. Now, this is where God embraces
me. And I've got to find a place
for him to embrace me, because that's out of Goshen. I can't
see where he can do anything but send me to hell. But in Goshen, I see where
he embraces and paws on my neck and kisses me. The land of Goshen. Now, here's an interesting scripture.
Look in Genesis 46. We're already there in verse
28. And he, Jacob, sent Judah before
him unto Joseph. Now, Judah, of what tribe did
the Lord Jesus Christ come from? You know, Judah. Well, he, Jacob,
sent Judah, a type of, well, it's the Lord, before him unto
Joseph to direct his face unto Goshen. And they came into the
land of Goshen. Now, here's something else I
need. I need my face directed to Goshen. I need my face directed to the
Lord Jesus Christ. I'll go in the wrong direction.
I need my face directed to Christ to stay in him. And this word
carries with it the idea of pouring like water. Like water pouring
and going into the sea. I want to pour like water into
the Lord Jesus Christ. Having my face directed toward
Him. I've got the wrong... You're
going to have to give me a second to figure out which... I've got
Genesis 41. I know it's not Genesis 41. Try Genesis 46. Yeah, Genesis
46. This is it. Verse 31. And Joseph said unto his brethren
and to his father's house, I will go up and show Pharaoh and say
unto him, My brethren and my father's house, which were in
the land of Canaan, are coming to me, and the men are shepherds. He's talking about his brother.
Now, Joseph is going to come to Pharaoh and say my brothers
are shepherds for their trade had been to feed cattle and they
brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have
and it shall come to pass when Pharaoh shall call you and shall
say what's your occupation? What do you do for a living?
That you shall say thy servant's trade had been about cattle. from our youth, even until now,
both we and also our fathers, that you may dwell. Now, in telling
him this, you're going to be able to dwell in the land of
Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians. Now, this is interesting, isn't
it? Joseph says, here's how you're going to get into Goshen. You're
going to come to Pharaoh and you're going to say, I'm a shepherd.
A shepherd is an abomination. to Pharaoh and to all the Egyptians. You see, the shepherds all hang
out in Goshen. That's where the cattle graze. And the way you'll get into Goshen
is by being an abomination to Pharaoh. You know, this is the
first time this word abomination is used. It's something that's
loathsome and disgusting. Do you know to Pharaoh, Goshen,
this beautiful land as far as where food came from, the scripture
yet points out it was an abomination to Pharaoh. Now, Goshen, and
this is what identifies it truly as Goshen, Goshen is always an
abomination to man. It's always an abomination to
man's religion. It always is. They never, never
accept it. Now, if the world loved our gospel,
We know we have the wrong gospel, don't we? And you chew on that. If the
world loved our gospel, we would know from that that we have the
wrong gospel. Now, here's the last scripture
I want to look at. Look in Genesis 45 once again. Verse 9. Now, this is after Joseph
has made himself known to his brothers. He says in verse 8, So now it
was not you that sent me hither, but God, and he hath made me
a father to Pharaoh, and Lord of all his house, and a ruler
throughout all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father,
and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made
me Lord of all of Egypt. Now you can see these are the
words of the Lord Jesus Christ as we read this. God has made
me Lord. I love that scripture in Acts
chapter 2 where Peter said, God hath made this same Jesus whom
you crucified, both Lord and Christ. God made Him Lord. Next
time you hear somebody say, won't you make Jesus Lord, remember
this, you can't make Him Lord. God made Him Lord. He's made
Him Lord. Now let's go on reading. He's
made me Lord of all Egypt. Now come down unto me. And this
is Christ's word to me and you. Come down to me, tarry not, don't
be waiting. Verse 10. And thou shalt dwell
in the land of Goshen. And thou shalt be near unto me,
thou and thy children and thy children's children, and thy
flocks and thy herds. And all that thou hast in there
in Goshen will I nourish thee, for yet there are five years
of famine, lest thou and thy household and all that thou hast
come to poverty." Now, the land of Goshen. Here's the word of
Christ. And this is Christ's word. It's
not my word. May God make this real. This is not my word. He says,
come down, not up, down. Come down to me. Don't wait. Don't wait on anything. Come into the land of Goshen.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Rest in Christ. Christ commands
you to do it. Don't wait. Don't wait for something
to happen. Don't wait till you learn more.
Don't wait till you understand more. Don't wait for some kind
of experience. Don't wait for a feeling. Don't wait until you
quit this or start doing that. Don't wait until you get your
life straightened out. Come down right now to the Lord Jesus Christ
and abide in Him and dwell in Him and you find all nourishment. Land of Goshen is a wonderful
place, isn't it? Land of Goshen is my Redeemer, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let's pray together.