Amen. So, we're up to Genesis 47. We're nearly finished in our Genesis Bible study and
we were in, obviously, Genesis 46, but it was a couple of weeks ago, having had a week off
last week, and we were in Genesis 46 where, if you remember, Jacob made the trip to Egypt
along with his sons, his daughter Dina, his son's children and some of their children.
The house of Jacob totaled 70, and we looked at the numbers there and how it seemed to indicate
that there was maybe one that didn't make the trip. We then saw Jacob stop first at Beersheba,
so he put God first, offering sacrifices before continuing the journey. He eventually had the
reunion with Joseph and Goshen, the land that he had earmarked for them, pointing out the
need for separation from the Egyptians, with shepherds being an abomination to them. And we
looked at that in depth. We're going to just have a quick recap. Verse 31, the end of Genesis 46,
said this, and Joseph said unto his brethren and unto his father's house, I will go up and show
Pharaoh and say unto him my brethren and my father's house which are in the land of Canaan
have come unto me and the men of shepherds for their trade has been to feed cattle and they
have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have. It shall come to pass when
Pharaoh shall call you and shall say what is your occupation that you shall say thy servant's
trade has been about cattle from our youth even until now. Both we and also our fathers that you
may dwell in the land of Goshen for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
And then Genesis 47 and verse 1 begins with this, where it says then Joseph came and told
Pharaoh and said my father and my brethren and their flocks and their herds and all that
they have are come out of the land of Canaan and behold they're in the land of Goshen.
I'm going to pray and then we're going to get started with this chapter. Father,
thank you for your word, thank you for this chapter of the Bible, Lord, and the points I've
decided to preach out of this, Lord, and hopefully they'll edify people, they'll help
people, there'll be a blessing to people here. Please just help that to be done, Lord, and
with me full of your spirit, Lord, and just preaching in the way that you'd want me and
help everyone to have attentive ears. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Okay, so back in Chapter 45,
okay, Pharaoh had told Joseph to send for his father and his household to bring them to Egypt,
right. Joseph, though, wants them separated to some degree in Goshen,
which is the best of the land according to verse 6. Look at verse 5, though, here where it says
in Genesis 47, 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 and if thou knowest any men of activity among them
then make them rulers over my cattle. So Joseph has directed them towards the best land for their
cattle. Goshen seemed to be on the eastern border of the Nile, I think bordering the Nile,
it was probably a very fertile land, it was lightly good pasture, but it was a little
separate, wasn't it, from the majority at least of the Egyptians. I say majority because
it seems that before they leave, and of course we're 400 years later at that point,
they are boring off their neighbours and things like that who are Egyptians, so I don't know,
I don't think it was just completely sort of, you know, it wasn't that it was just empty of
Egyptians. However, I think there's very few, maybe at this point there were none. It says in
verse 2, and he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
Now you go, why five? Well, I think bringing all eleven in might have been a bit awkward, I suppose,
I don't know which five he chose, we're not told here. So he says, and Pharaoh said unto
his brethren, what is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, thy servants are shepherds,
both we and also our fathers. And remember, they've been prepared to say this as well,
just to make sure they say this, that they can get this land of Goshen, but they are shepherds,
they're not lying. They said moreover unto Pharaoh, for to sojourn in the land that we come,
for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan,
now therefore we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. And Pharaoh spoke
unto Joseph saying, thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee, the land of Egypt is
before thee, and the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell in the land of Goshen,
let them dwell. And if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers
over my cattle. Now what does it mean men of activity, if you've ever wondered?
Well he's talking about men that are busy, basically, he's talking about men that are hard
workers, okay, that's what he's saying, men of activity, men that work hard, men that are
busy, men that get lots done, yeah. Now I don't suppose that Goshen was just sitting there
waiting for someone to make use of it. Pharaoh probably already had cattle there, it's the best
of the land, so I'm sure there was some cattle there as well. He basically said, well,
let me tell you what he didn't say, he didn't say find the cleverest men, did he? He didn't
say find the cleverest shepherds out there, he didn't say if thou knowest any men that are
most skilled, he didn't say if you know any men that are just the most charming and easiest
to deal with, he said if thou knowest any men of activity, so any busy men, any hard workers,
any type one workers, any rafters, people that just roll their sleeves up and get working, right,
and I know this has been a bit of a topic, I've preached about this a little bit over the last
several or so chapters, maybe a dozen chapters or so, seeing the example of Joseph as well with
this, but you can't really preach this stuff enough, okay, because it's something that we should
be provoked by regularly, we need it a lot of the time, because the flesh can be lazy, can't it?
The flesh can be lazy, but we shouldn't be lazy, okay, and if you want to progress
in life, you want to get place in life, if you want to succeed not just in the spiritual life,
but also in your secular life as well, you need to be men of activity, don't you?
They've just got there, and really there's already an opportunity for a new job here,
to an extra responsibility to who? To the hard workers though, to the hard workers,
to the grafters, now go to Proverbs 13, because you can't, Proverbs 13, you can have the most
skill, you can have the most intelligence, you can have the most knowledge in whatever field,
okay, but more important than any of that is someone with a good work ethic, and it really is,
isn't it? More important than any of that, if you really want to impress a boss, if you really want
to go places in whatever area, whatever area of life, and ultimately even with God as well,
you need a good work ethic, you need to put the time in, you need to put the graft in,
now Proverbs 13 and verse 4 contrasts the sluggard with the diligent, it says in verse 4 of
Proverbs 13, the soul of the sluggard desireth and have nothing, but the soul of the diligent
shall be made fat, and it's not talking about in a bad way there, it's talking about
them basically having plenty, the sluggard is someone lazy, and the diligent, just to remind
you what diligent is, it's someone steady in application to business, constant in effort or
exertion to accomplish what is undertaken, assiduous, attentive, industrious, not idle or
negligent, applied to persons, that's the dictionary definition there, further diligent,
and as an employer, or when looking for someone to get important things done, you want someone
diligent, don't you? You want someone diligent, going to put effort in, going to do their best
to do the best job, going to put the time in to do that as well, men of activity, not men
looking for shortcuts all the time, I don't know if you've been around people like that and just want the
easiest way out of anything, the quick job and everything else, not men looking for the easy
option in whatever area, because sluggards are a pain to deal with, aren't they? Okay, they are,
they really are a pain to deal with, that's why Proverbs 10 26 says there's vinegar to the teeth
and there's smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him, basically they're an
annoyance, they're irritating, they're a pain to deal with, people that are sluggards, just lazy,
that can't be bothered, that are just constantly finding an excuse out of things, they're a pain,
they're an irritation, and now more than ever, there seems to be a lot of sluggards around, don't
there? Nowadays they're just everywhere, sluggards everywhere, if you ever try to employ the young or
ever, I mean not just employed, obviously I used to coach a lot as well, and they come into
to the gym and to the, you know, club world coaching, they're just, most of them are just bone
idle, lazy, you know, and they just don't want to do like, they want to put the graft in, they want like,
you know, they've watched sort of fight sports on TV or something and they think,
oh what's the quick way of doing, they always want the quick fix, they always want the quick
way, the trick, the secret, instead of just grafting, you've got to put effort in, you've got to
put time and effort in, same when I used to, on my other business as well, trying to employ people
to do like landscaping stuff, they just say they like me half the time, you try and get these
youngsters, whether they're young or not, just trying to get people in, and so often they're the
types of people that as soon as they've stopped doing what you asked them to do, they just
stand there like this, it's like there's a hundred things you could do, you've just got to have that
mind to think, what can I do, and those people are few and far between, they really are, but that
doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to be like that, should we, that's something we should try to
be like, we should try to be diligent in everything that we do, now why are there so many
sluggards, I think it's probably a combination of entitlement, because there's a lot of entitled
people around, aren't there, just think they're just owed a living, they're owed everything, and
you probably have your own reasons why you think that is in this, in our world, the sort of you can
do anything you want to type attitude, isn't it, you know, they're told by teachers and everything
else, you could be anything you want, you know, so they're just sitting around going, well one day
it's going to happen, it's like, no, you could be anything you put effort into doing maybe, in fact
you can't be anything, but you could do things that you put effort into, but not just waiting
there for something, but I think the other combination that goes with that a lot of the time
is just bad parenting, not bad parenting, isn't it, and a lot of it is because of hands-off parents,
because you leave a child to go to school and to do their own thing, and when they're one of 30 or
whatever in a class, they don't have someone kind of encouraging that work ethic in them a lot
of the time, now some of them have it naturally, I remember at school there are some people that
just had a good work ethic with their work and other things, but a lot of the time they,
a lot of parents don't know what their kids have been doing half the time, some people might
naturally have it, a lot don't, and they need someone to encourage them and to encourage a
work ethic and get them grafting a bit, because you can choose in this nation to do nothing,
you can't choose just put your feet up, because what are they even doing, they can't even kick
you out of school nowadays, so I'm talking about school kids there, what do they even do, I mean
they can't really do much, they get appealed if they kick them out and they get let back in,
so they're, it's almost like their hands are tied, and then the problem is you've got these
kids who are just like, well why do I have to do anything, because nothing could really,
nothing's going to happen to me, and the lazy option is the fleshly option, it's the easy
option isn't it, so we as parents, we need to encourage a work ethic don't we, we need to
encourage kids to work, because if you noticed how young children, they want to work don't they,
and a lot of the time people are just, you know, they try and knock that out of them,
or because it's a bit of a hindrance sometimes when your toddler's trying to do a lot of jobs
and a lot of chores, it kind of, those things take 10 times longer right, so you kind of like,
oh don't worry, don't worry, and then it gets to the point where they're not really
used to doing anything anymore, it's harder, but I think from a young age you want to encourage
O6, want to get them doing stuff, try and find things that they are able to do, because
from young they seem to be quite happy to do it, and then you want to just keep encouraging that,
and keep instilling that work ethic, because otherwise they're not going to have it are they,
and I know when I look back at some of the kids that had to do absolutely nothing at home,
that didn't have to do a chore, that didn't have to do one thing at all,
a lot of the time they were the laziest, the ones that did nothing, that their parents
didn't have them doing anything, the ones that just had it all, that just didn't need to do a
thing, they were often just the most, and they're still lazy adults now, but we want to be diligent
don't we, and I think it starts from young, you want to try and encourage that in your kids
for young, now okay we don't want to go too far with that, and you don't want your kid to turn
into like just this workhorse who then resents life, resents home life and everything else, but
there is a balance, they should be doing jobs, they should be doing chores from young,
and the thing with it, with the kids who resent helping, resent doing anything,
here's the thing, what will they end up? They're just going to end up being a desiring sluggard
having nothing, so any kids out there, if you're listening now and you're thinking, oh I don't know
about this, am I going to go home to chores when I get in tonight or something, parents are
going to be like banging the pan in the morning and getting me up after this preacher,
well you know what, if that happens, good, good, because what will happen if you're not, if you're
sluggard, you're going to end up having nothing, because it says here the soul of the sluggard
desires then have nothing, laziness just leaves you with nothing, but a soul of the diligent should
be made fat, you need to be encouraged to be diligent, okay, and if you're not and if you're
sitting here going, well it's a bit late for me because I'm already an adult, well get some
diligence in you, pray for it, work for it, try and just keep busy and do stuff, battle the
flesh with it, get in the habit of being busy and doing stuff and it might start to stick with
you a little bit more, you can always make up for maybe a bad start in life. Something that I noticed
at Shaw Foundation and at Verity were just so many men of activity, just so many just busy
people, just doing stuff, like everyone's busy, you know, you go into the church, they're just
doing stuff, they're just men of activity, right, and that's something that, you know, I'd
like to get that work ethic going more and more and this as we grow as a church, because I mean
Verity is a huge church, right, can you imagine how much stuff there is to do and can you imagine running a
youth conference with like 70 odd teams plus all the parents, families and everything there, people
coming in to listen to the preacher in the evening, it's a big event, right, and what he needs
there and what he has there is just people that are just getting stuck in, I was watching some
of them and, you know, watching them just walk past, pick something up, tidies up that, changes that,
just, and they don't need to be up there, just busy, right, busy just making the church right and
everything else and it's a good thing to see people just rushing around getting things done, that's
an impressive thing to see and that's something we should all aim to be like, right, men of activity.
Verse 6 said here, 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, and if thou knowest any men of activity
among them, then make them rulers over my cattle, and if you can instill in yourself a good work
ethic or you can instill in your children a good work ethic, then opportunities will arise,
whereas if you're just a lazy bum or your kids end up being lazy brats, they ain't going to get
the opportunities in life, they're just not going to get them, because people see it quickly,
see it quickly, don't you, if you've ever employed someone, even if you haven't, if you've just
been in a workplace, you spot the lazy ones pretty quickly, don't you, it's pretty obvious
they're sauntering around, they can't be bothered, everything's slow, everything's half base,
and the opportunities won't come for them. He says in verse 7, Joseph brought in Jacob
his father and set him before Pharaoh and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Now, do you remember how the
under 40 year old Joseph said in Genesis 45a, so now, you can turn if you like, Genesis 45
and verse 8, so now is not you that sent me hither, this is what he's saying to his
brothers here, but God, and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house
and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. So not only was this likely a young Pharaoh,
but like I suggested, we're looking at chapter 45, perhaps he was saved with Joseph being a
spiritual father unto him, but getting him in the gospel. He's intent on providing for God's people,
he's bringing them into the best of the land, and now he's being blessed by Jacob as well.
Jacob's blessing this Pharaoh, who I think is a newer, I think it's a younger Pharaoh, but regardless,
I don't know, it still makes me think that. Pharaoh said unto Jacob,
in response it seems to be, Jacob blessed Pharaoh, he said, how old art thou? And you get the feeling
that he's probably in a bit of wonder or something, he's like, how old are you? I mean,
he's probably got, he's, oh, we see in a minute that he's 130 years old, so it seems like a bit
of a, you know, kind of question like that, maybe not, but verse 9 it says, and Jacob said unto
Pharaoh, the days of the years of my pilgrimage are in 130 years, few and evil have the days
of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my
fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. So Jacob feels like 130 isn't a long life,
which I suppose is true when you compare it to Abraham who died at 175, Isaac died at 180,
which by today's standards is a very long life, with not many making it to 100 really nowadays,
right? So this is a long life. The record in recent history, okay, whose age has
apparently been independently verified is someone called, I don't know if you pronounce it,
Jeanne or Jean Calment, who's of France, who lived from 1875 to 1997, so this is recent history,
which was 122 years old, 164 days. However, there is some debate actually, when I looked into
this and I was kind of looking into this person, it's a lady, an elderly lady who died in 1997,
there are some that debate and claim that maybe it was actually her daughter claiming to be her
in her late life, I don't know if that's true or not, I don't know, okay, maybe that's just
people wanting to poo poo it as people do in life, but the the oldest verified man ever is
Jiromon Kimura, he lived from 1897 to 2013 in Japan, he lived to the age of 116 and 54 days.
Now some people point to something to do with the pre-flood atmosphere, have you ever heard people
talk about this stuff before for the long lives, yeah, for the 900 odd year lifespans, but we're
now at this point over 600 years post-flood, so that doesn't make any sense because these guys
weren't living anywhere to do with that post, to that pre-flood atmosphere, okay, but they are living
long years still, aren't they? But we're seeing those years slowly decreasing, aren't we, as well,
so more likely is that those strong genetics have just got weaker and weaker alongside the degrading
fallen world that we live in, but of course there are periods in history where poor living
conditions, the resulting disease, war, etc, have massively reduced life expectancy in periods of time,
right, but that doesn't mean that suddenly we've got it all sorted now because when we go back,
you know, a few thousand years to here you've seen people living up until 180 and stuff, right,
so I think just generally things have decreased, but we've got probably better, you know, with the
way, and ultimately what did it come down to, really, in the West? My belief is it really came
down to the Word of God, and when people started taking, you know, taking, what's the word,
taking at least account of the Word of God and sanitation and, you know, for example, human waste
being outside of the town, out of where you're living, and buried aside, and sewage, and all these
sorts of things, and running water to clean things, etc, then we've seen health improve, and what
people like to do is they like to point to all the so-called great medicine that's made this
massive change in this country, but you know what usually makes a change is the improved
sewage out there, and then actually in the infrastructure that people put into maybe somewhere
in the middle of nowhere, which didn't have the Word of God on any of those things, they go out
and then they change things and clean things up, and things get cleaner, the disease reduces, and
then they go, see, medication has solved it, a lot of the time when you look at it, those medications,
and usually we're talking about jabs, were introduced after the disease rates plummeted
due to improved sanitation, things like that, but anyway, let's keep going. Notice here how he
called it a pilgrimage, which is used to describe a journey to somewhere sacred, okay, it's the same
word that we would hear used now, people talk about going on a pilgrimage, for example,
the muzzies to Mecca. Now turn to Hebrews 11, where was Jacob's pilgrimage to? There is nothing
sacred about Egypt, in case anyone was wondering, he's referring to his life as a whole, okay, he's
referring to his whole life as being a pilgrimage, and in Hebrews 11, look at Hebrews 11 and verse 8,
we see why there he's referring to his whole life as a pilgrimage, it says in Hebrews 11
by faith Abraham, when he is called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an
inheritance, obeyed and he went out not knowing whether he went. By faith he sojourned in the
land of promises in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs
with him of the same promise, so sojourned is to stay temporarily in a place that isn't your home,
okay, for he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Where's that
city? Well look at verse 11 onwards, through faith also Sarah herself received strength to
conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him
faithfully in promise, therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many
as the stars of the sky, and multitude as the sand, which is by the seashore innumerable.
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off,
and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth. So that city is a heavenly city, okay, the new Jerusalem, and it's
not just Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who were sojourners here though, okay, so it's not just
so all these old guys were, they're not the only ones that were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth, it's not just because they lived in tents, because in 1 Peter 2 11 Peter said
to believers like you and I, dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain
from fleshly lust which war against the soul. We're all on a pilgrimage, everyone here is on
a pilgrimage, we're all just sojourning here, we're just passing through as strangers,
because our home, our destination is a heavenly place. The world shouldn't feel like your home
basically, okay, and when you're in the spirit the world doesn't feel like your home, does it?
You should have your sights set on things above, okay, and with that therefore marvel not if
the world hate you, okay, because you're not one of them, you're not one of the world, you're a sojourner,
you're a passer-through, you're a stranger, you're a pilgrim, you shouldn't just be looking at,
I just love this so much, now don't get me wrong, we should get the joys and the blessings
that come from serving God, but the world itself, what the world has to offer should be
strange to us really, at least to our spirit, right, that renewed spirit, and if 130 years are
considered few, 70 to 80 years, which is probably the average life expectancy for all of us,
is even fewer, so maybe instead of what many people do, complaining every day about your temporary
home, because it's not your permanent home anyway, appreciate the job that you can do whilst
you're here, because this is how I see it, okay, you'll never be truly comfortable, you'll never be
happy with what the world has to offer, you're not, if you're saved, you know, ultimately you won't
be, even if you're not really serving God, ultimately something deep down, if you're saved,
you've got the Holy Spirit in you that's going to be getting vexed, like for example, even
righteous lot who didn't have the indwelling Holy Spirit was still vexed day to day,
let alone with the spirit inside, you should be getting vexed by this stuff,
you're never going to be truly happy, comfortable with what the world offers,
so you can either dwell on that and live out unhappy years trying to find contentment from
the world, which many people, you know, try and do, many saved people will just keep trying to
find the contentment from the world, trying to find the way that it's, you know, keep seeking
this, whether it's if I just had a bigger house, if I just had a better car, if I just had
better clothes, a better job, if I just had whatever it is, they're never going to be
really happy, or you can focus on the end of your pilgrimage, focus on things eternal, and spend
your time here working for God, and spend your time here getting the joy that can come from
serving God, because Psalm 32 11 says, be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous to shout for joy,
all ye that are upright in heart, so you can get joy, you can get pleasure, you can get that
enjoyment, you can be fulfilled, if you're here working for God, if you're just, if you're
accepting the fact I'm a sojourner, this isn't my home, this isn't where I'm going to be
forever, but I've got a job to do while I'm here, and I'll get the joy of serving God and
doing that job and everything else, but ultimately I'm not going to get that same pleasure
that maybe you might have felt like you got before you were saved, because once you got
saved you became a sojourner, you became a pilgrim, and ultimately, therefore, this isn't your home,
it's not your home, stop trying to make it, because people do, don't they, just constantly trying
to find a way of getting some enjoyment out of the world, whereas really, the real
joy will come when you're serving God, serve God, if you're saved, the only true long lasting
joy you'll get is in the Lord, okay, that's the truth of it. Verse 9 says, and don't get me wrong,
you might enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, but it's only for a season, you might get, oh well,
actually this is quite fun, you know, you get like the backslider who thinks, oh well,
actually I'm much happier now, and it's like, it doesn't last long, the sin lasts, but the enjoyment
doesn't, you know, the enjoyment goes quickly. Verse 9 says, and Jacob said unto Pharaoh,
the days of the years of my pilgrimage are in 130 years,
few in evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the
years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. I think he's talking about evil,
just, you know, he went through a lot, right, you know, what with the, all that crazy stuff
with his, with his father-in-law, we got, you know, what happened with Esau, we've got,
then going forward, you know, with Judah and watching what happened to his sons, and, you know,
there's been a lot going on, right, obviously he felt like he thought his son Joseph had died,
then he thought that, you know, Benjamin, it was kind of too late for, you know,
he was being taken off, he just had a lot of stuff going on. It says, says, and Jacob blessed
Pharaoh in verse 10 and went out from before Pharaoh, so he's blessed him, I think probably
again here, and Joseph placed his father and his brethren and gave them a possession in the
land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
So this is what Goshen became known as later, the city which the Hebrews built for the
later Pharaoh that oppressed them, okay, that's, that's Rameses, but I think it's the same place
he's referring to Goshen. You have to turn to Exodus 1 11 says, therefore they did set over
them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens, and they built for Pharaoh treasure
cities Pithom and Rameses. So that was what the city was, I think the whole area is just
being referred to as Rameses. Verse 12 says, where we are though, in Genesis 4 to 7,
and Joseph nourished his father and his brethren and all his father's household with bread according
to their families, and there was no bread in all the land, for the famine was very sore,
so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and the land of
Canaan and the corn which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
So he ends up gathering together all the money in the land where people are so desperate
for food. Okay, verse 15, and when money failed in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan,
all the Egyptians came unto Joseph and said, give us bread, for why should we die in thy presence
for the money faileth? And Joseph said, give your cattle and I will give you for your cattle
if money fail. So they're so desperate that they give their whole livelihoods over too,
and they brought their cattle unto Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses
and for the flocks and for the cattle of the herds and for the asses, and he fed them with bread
for all their cattle for that year. Now, meaning in exchange for all their cattle, I think here.
And when that year was ended, they came unto him the second year and said unto him,
we will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent. My lord also has our herds
of cattle. There is not all left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.
Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread,
and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh, and give us seed that we may live and not die,
that the land be not desolate. So they're now selling themselves to the government basically,
okay, to the king and his leader, them and their land, so that it's now total control.
Verse 20 says, and Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians sold,
every man is filled because the famine prevailed over them. So the land became Pharaoh's. Now,
people want to complain about government control here in the UK, okay, but people can still
own homes, okay, they can still own land, they can still own business, all right, yeah,
they might have to pay some taxes and stuff, but this is a different setup all together,
okay, this is completely different. This is basically a communist society, that's what it is.
It's a government owning the whole lot, with no private ownership of property, and look how
the people are then controlled by the state. Look at verse 21, and as for the people,
he removed them to cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to the other end thereof.
Now, it begs the question, couldn't Joseph have just given the people food,
provided for them in the famine? Now, ultimately, it did result in Egypt becoming the power that
it was 400 years later, and was destroyed by God in an amazing way. However, this wasn't an
example as to how a nation should be. For me, it's just a reminder that power corrupts,
because I think people look at, like, you know, like, we talked about this before, the sort of,
the Islamic view, where like, it's just like good and bad. Well, Joseph's a good guy,
everything he does is good, you know, this person's a bad guy, but that's not the truth here,
is it? I think what Joseph's doing is completely wrong, okay, and for me, this is someone who's
got power, and don't get me wrong, I'm sure he did all right out of Pharaoh for this deal,
okay, because I don't think he just kind of, it's all just given to Pharaoh, and he's like,
what a kind guy I am. I think, ultimately, this is just an example that power does corrupt. Even
a man of God like Joseph ends up holding the people to ransom in an emergency and taking
control for Pharaoh of their whole lives. Couldn't the state, who at this point had
basically gathered everything up, they'd had all this corn, they'd already been selling it
for probably a premium at this point as well, couldn't they have helped their people?
Isn't that what they're meant to do? And instead, they're basically buying their whole lives off them,
buying all their, or not even buying, taking all their land in exchange for some seed
for them to basically survive. And power does corrupt, doesn't it? And it's a good reminder,
because I don't know, some people, they like to, oh, if only we, you know, had someone
saved to get into government and get to the top and do this and do that. The reality of it is,
they probably just get corrupted like anyone else. That's just life, isn't it? We don't live
under God's theocracy anymore. And yeah, you know, we hope that we pray for, like, you know, godly laws
and things like that to work out, but you know, ultimately we're never going to have that,
you know, until the Lord Jesus Christ returns and then we're living under the rule and reign
of Christ. But here we see a saved guy, possibly, maybe even a saved Pharaoh, a saved king,
and his saved minister, prime minister or whatever you want to call him, basically just completely
stitching up the people in their time of need, yeah? But it does end up with a very powerful
nation at the end of that, but a nation that ends up getting crushed. Verse 22,
only the land of the priests bought he not, for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh
and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them, wherefore they sold not their lands.
So the priests got off, which adds to the thoughts that perhaps these were genuine priests,
like Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, priests of Midian, we looked at that before,
they seem to be getting a buy here from at least the saved Joseph and potentially the saved Pharaoh
here as well, they're the only ones that don't have to basically give their land.
Then Joseph said unto the people, behold I've brought you this day in your land for Pharaoh,
lo here is seed for you and you shall sow the land. It shall come to pass in the increase
that you shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh and four parts shall be your own,
for seed of the field and for your food and for them of your households and for food
of your little ones. And they said thou has saved our lives, let us find grace in the
sight of my Lord and we will be Pharaoh's servants. And Joseph made it a law over the
land of Egypt unto this day that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land of the
priests only which became not Pharaoh. So some say the beginning of taxation here, right,
but there were examples of nations serving other nations before that, paying some sort of
tribute I'd imagine. Genesis, you know, 14 says of the king of Sodom and else and others,
12 years they served Cheadle-Leomo and in the 13th year they rebelled. What does it mean
they served him? For me they were probably giving a tribute and stuff like that. I think
there was some form of taxing of whatever way at this, before this, but here it's not just
a tax system. The government own the land, they own everything and they're renting it back
out to them for a return. Okay, this is different to our tax system that we have now.
And seemingly choosing where they send them to work the land like I showed you before.
So they don't, they're being sent to where they want them to work. This is a communist system.
And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt in the country of Goshen and they had possessions
therein and grew and multiplied exceedingly. So it seemed as though they were also outside
of the system, doesn't it? Now Goshen is in the land of Egypt and it mentioned the priests
and then it didn't kind of mention them but it says that they had possessions therein and we've
just seen that these people have given up those possessions. So I don't know, you know,
maybe we're just having that add-on there about these guys as well, about obviously the house of
Israel here. Verse 28, and Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 17 years, so the whole age of
Jacob was in 100 fortune seven years. So still not a bad innings. Verse 29 says in the time
drew nigh that Israel must die and he called his son Joseph and said unto him if now I've
found grace in thy sight, put I pray thee thy hand under my thigh, deal kindly and truly with me,
bury me not I pray thee in Egypt. Now Abraham did the same thing when he sent his servant out
to get a wife for Isaac, if you remember, the hand under the thigh. We might think that's a bit
weird. We're looking at that going, what's all this about hands under thighs and stuff?
It basically was a kind of alternative to a handshake. It would bring someone very close,
eye to eye, making a promise. There's probably something a bit more about that than someone
just going, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I swear, you know, the point is, is that he's looking at
him, he's very close quarters. He said, but I will, but I will loathe my father's
nashat carrying me out of Egypt to bury me in their burying place. And he said, I will do as
thou has said, and he said, swear unto me and he swear unto him and Israel bowed himself
upon the bed, said. So he's pretty adamant that he doesn't want to be buried in Egypt
and seems appreciative of Joseph swearing it to him. And these guys cared about their
burying place, things like that. Now I want to get onto the pictures here because back in
Genesis 37, okay, the 17 year old Joseph pictured Christ in many ways. Okay. And he definitely did.
I mean, there's no doubt about that. There are many, many things I went through in that
chapter being delivered up for envy by his brethren who conspired to kill him. He's sold
by Judah for pieces of silver. And there was just all these similar, not just similarities,
they were pictures, okay. So he's picturing stuff in the death of Christ in chapter 37.
In chapter 39, so we had the break in chapter 38 for Judah and his family woes, but in chapter 39
we had Potiphar's wife, for me represented the temptation of the devil in the wilderness,
his being falsely accused, numbered with the transgressors. So we're seeing all these pictures
of Joseph representing Christ in chapter 40, the butler and baker representing for me the thieves
on the cross as well, being condemned with him. But then in 41 there's this switch to
Joseph then representing the Antichrist. So flip back to chapter 41 if you want.
With the new pharaoh for me now representing the devil instead of God, just in these pictures,
okay. So there's pictures here and there, not the whole thing. It doesn't, just because
there's pictures it doesn't mean, right, that's it. Every single verse has to picture it in
some way or another. They're just pictures, okay. And chapter 41 and verse 14 shows for me
some sort of representation of the two men known as the sons of perdition, like we talked
about before with Judah and the Antichrist. Said in verse 14, then Pharaoh sent and called
Joseph and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon and he shaved himself and changed
his raiment and came in unto Pharaoh. And that's what I believe we were seeing there,
with the seven years of famine representing the tribulation of wrath, Pharaoh representing the
devil giving power to Joseph representing the Antichrist. Verse 43 there said, and he made him
to ride in the second chariot which he had and they cried before him, bow the knee,
and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. So the pictures continued. In chapter 42
there are bits and pieces of brothers being in prison picturing the persecution of believers.
Chapter 43 they were an abomination to the Egyptians. The persecution continuing in
chapter 44. Chapter 45, it's just God's people that Joseph is first revealed to,
and for me that's a picture of the Antichrist being revealed to those at least in the know,
to the believers, with Matthew 24-24 saying, for there shall arise false Christs, false prophets,
and shall show great signs and wonders in so much that if it were possible they should deceive
the very elect. But it's not possible to deceive the very elect, okay, so we're the ones that
will clock it first, those that are living in that time. Now in chapter 46 we saw maybe a
picture of those enduring to the end being physically saved by God with the house of Israel
being brought into Goshen. Now here in chapter 47, look at verse 13, where it says,
and there was no bread in all the land, for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt
and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. And we've looked at this already,
but revelation 6-6 said, and I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts,
okay, this is sort of the starting of that end period, say a measure of wheat for a penny and
three measures of barley for a penny and see they'll hurt not the oil and the wine, and that was
talking about the famine that's to come in those end times. Verse 14 says, and Joseph gathered up
all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the corn
which they bought, and Joseph bought the money into Pharaoh's house. And when money failed in
the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came on to Joseph and said,
give us bread, for why should we die in thy presence? For the money faileth. And Joseph said,
give your cattle and I'll give you for your cattle if money fell. So money's failing at this point.
Verse 17, they brought their cattle unto Joseph and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses
and for the flocks and for the cattle of the herds and for the asses and he fed them with
bread for all their cattle for that year. Then verse 18 says, when that year was ended
they came unto him the second year and said unto him, we will not hide it from my Lord,
how that our money is spent. My Lord also have our herds of cattle, there is not
all left in the sight of my Lord, but our bodies and our land. Now what year is that
that it said ended? Well in Genesis 45 6, have a quick flick back there, Joseph reveals himself
to his brethren and says this, Genesis 45 6 says, for these two years have the famine been in
the land. Okay, so we're talking famine here with two years, they've done two years, these two
years have the famine been land and yet there are five years in which there should be neither
earing nor harvest. Now as we know those seven year period is covered by a three and a half year
period of tribulation followed by three and a half year period of wrath, okay, that's going
to come at the end of, you know, the end times for this world as we know it right now.
Now he sends off for his father and his household, his father stops at Beersheba if you
remember, yeah, they meet Pharaoh, they get settled in Goshen. Then verse 13 says, where you are
back in in chapter 47, sorry if you go back to chapter 47, so after he said we're two years in,
he sends for his father, they stop at Beersheba, they meet Pharaoh, they get settled in Goshen,
then it says, and there was no bread in all the land for the famine was very sore,
so that land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan faded by reason of the famine.
And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan
for the corn which they bought, Joseph bought the money to Pharaoh's house. And when money failed
in the land of Egypt, in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph and said,
give us bread for why should we dine in thy presence for the money failing.
Now, could approximately five to six months be a good estimate for the time gone since he
revealed himself to his brothers to now? I reckon six months is a good estimate, yeah,
he's revealed him, he's gone, he's then sent them off to get their father,
the father stopped at Beersheba on route, remember they've got to get everyone together,
they come with food and stuff, then they come, then he sent him off, he comes,
he gets settled in Goshen, he meets Pharaoh, etc. Then we've got this period where he's
gathering up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt.
So money fails, okay, at this point we're getting like a failure of money.
Then in verse 16 it says, and Joseph said, give your cattle and I will give you for your cattle
if money fails. So if it was about six months, we'd be two years, six months right now
into the famine, into this seven-year period, and they brought their cattle onto Joseph,
and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses and for the flocks and for the cattle
of the herds and for the asses, and he fed them with bread for all their cattle, for what,
for that year? And another year, what were we up to? Midpoint in the seven years, aren't we?
I reckon we're around midpoint in the seven years now, whether it was six months or whatever,
we're around midpoint, yeah? He then said, wherefore shall we die before thine eyes,
both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants
unto Pharaoh, and give us seed that we may live and not die, that land be not desolate.
And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians sold every man
is filled because the famine prevailed over them. So the land became Pharaoh's, and as for
the people who removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to the
other end thereof. So at the midpoint we now have a cashless society. That's what I see
there. Midpoint of seven years, cashless society. No man is able to buy or sell without
having sold themselves to Joseph and Pharaoh, basically. They can't do anything without
having done that because money's failed. To be able to get the seed, to be able to live again.
And in Revelation 13, if you turn there, Revelation chapter 13, now it's talking about,
at this point, it's talking about the false prophet giving power, giving power to, or having
power to give life unto the image of the beast, as in verse 15. Revelation 13, 15.
And he had power, so this is in this, at the, towards the end of this tribulation period,
he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, and the image of the beast should
both speak and cause as many as would not worship, the image of the beast should be killed.
And he calls the thaw both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a
mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, say
Phoebe, that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom, let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the
number of a man, his number is six hundred, three score and six. That's a cashless society.
When does that happen? We'll jump forward to chapter 14. We see the 144,000 and preparing to
return, and then verse 9 says, and the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice,
if any man worship the beast in his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand,
the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the
cup of his indignation, he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the
holy angels, in the presence of the lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever
and ever, and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast in his image,
and whosoever receive the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints,
here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a
voice from heaven saying unto me, write blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from
henceforth. Yea saith the spirit that they may rest from their labes and their works, they follow
them. This is just before the rapture, look at verse 14, I looked and behold a white cloud,
and upon the cloud one sat like unto the son of man, having on his head a golden crown
and in his hand a sharp sickle. So for me that's that midpoint, that's what we're
lining up here, that's what the picture's representing of that cashless society at that
midpoint, that midpoint of the famine being three and a half years, being a point which
is after the three and a half year tribulation time, pre-wrath, that's what the Bible clearly
teaches is a post-tribulation pre-wrath rapture at that midpoint of that seven years.
Who represents do you think the believers that don't receive the mark? Perhaps the priests,
you wondered that? Look at verse 22, back in Genesis 47, 22 says only the land of the
priest bought he not, for the priest had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh and did eat
their portion which Pharaoh gave them, wherefore they sold not their lands.
Perhaps, I don't know, but they at least didn't have to get involved in this cashless
system it seems, they still had their land, they were still okay. Then Joseph said unto the people
behold I have bought you this day, and by the way we're all kings and priests so that would
kind of work but whatever. Then Joseph said unto the people behold I've bought you this day and
your land for Pharaoh lo here is seed for you and you shall sow the land, it shall come to
pass in the increase, you shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh and four parts shall be your own,
for seed of the field and for your food and for them of your households and for food of your
little ones and they said thou has saved our lives let us find grace in the sight of my
lord and we will be Pharaoh's servants. Now that's representing them worshiping the beast
the dragon that gave power to the beast I believe and here's a thing that I think that's
probably more likely to be it'll be and of course it's a picture okay so it's not like
right has to be exactly how we say it played out in Genesis you know the final chapters of
Genesis however I think probably you can see people worshiping the beast and the image of
the beast if it means surviving or not if it means as far as they're concerned being able to
to get food and everything else I think that's probably more likely than
whatever else it is it'll be a worship because they're being basically kept alive sustained
by this world leader and Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day that
Pharaoh should have the fifth part except the land of the priests only which became not Pharaoh
so again just seeing that those priests are the ones that didn't and Israel dwelt in the land
of Egypt in the country of Goshen and they had possessions therein and grew and multiplied
exceedingly perhaps representing the 144 000 going forward I don't know maybe but that for me is
probably the end of the pictures of the end times I think that's kind of the end there it
stops at that halfway point we're not going to see the wrath okay well you're going to see the
wrath in 400 years plus okay but anyway um or pictures of the wrath of God anyway
now what to learn from it okay so rather than vaccines okay maybe there will be the
threat of starvation without adhering to the system okay that's what I think remember we see
that that that's one of those kind of horsemen the horsemen of the apocalypses are known as
is that famine I think that's that's kind of going to be more likely going to be a way of
controlling people and getting people to get involved in that beast system how would God's
people survive well as we saw in Matthew 24 13 but he that shall endure until the end the same
shall be saved you want to be physically saved in the end times which is what that's talking
about in Matthew 24 you need to endure how do you endure by preaching the gospel
yeah you ain't enduring you ain't been provided for if you're some
you know sit at home doing nothing christian you're going to endure until the end you
God will provide and will see you through it if you're enduring and you endure by preaching
the gospel and that's basically what it comes down to if you don't want to get your head
chopped off or whatever other horrible ways they'll have of killing you by that wicked
reprobate army doesn't sound too nice does it I mean you'll be more likely once you get
caught by them by doing a sword and falling on your sword than letting them have your body
all these reprobates but ultimately it's it's by by preaching the gospel isn't it and that for
me is is what we see there that's the picture there I believe and on that we're going to finish
in a word of praise well thank you for your word thank you for um you know all the many
lessons we've got out of the book of Genesis especially these last chapters and um and without
kind of making a goody and bady and stuff like that and just understanding that that you know
all these men of God they have failings they have issues they have problems sometimes and also
you know they can picture things in the time to come whether they're saved or not and
help us to just just understand the the pictures of things you want us to understand and
um and if I preach anything that's inaccurate today help people to just you know search the
scriptures and believe what your word says not what I say Lord but um help everyone to to uh
just just get home safe and sound this evening Lord to apply some of those lessons especially
about diligence Lord it's been a bit of a theme uh with the life of Joseph and onwards
um in these final chapters here help us to all apply that to our lives to be more diligent to
be harder workers be men of activity Lord in all that we do help us to all be like that Lord
um whether it's the men out at work uh whether it's the kids at home whether it's the mums
at home just help us all to just be busy whether it's the mums at work just all of us to just be
busy men women children of activity Lord and help us to um to put that into our lives uh for
the rest this week and going forward as well and to eternal Sunday just I'm proud of this amen