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Right, our men, we're up to Genesis 48, we're nearly through the book of Genesis and I'll just give you a quick reminder where we're at in Genesis 47, the house of Israel came into Egypt, some of them met Pharaoh, they were given the best of the land, Goshen, and Pharaoh even asked if there were any men of activity to rule over his cattle, we looked into that, what that meant to be a man of activity, we've spoken often about the amazing turn of events for Joseph, okay, from jailbird to ruling Egypt and even before that to being in a pit and sold into slavery and everything else, but what a change for all of Israel too, if you think about it, from famine and dealing with the seemingly crazy ruler for food, which is where they're at, you know, not long ago, to the best of the land, the free food they were being supplied for as well, the best of land for their cattle as well, Joseph alive, etc, so there was a big turn of events for them as well, Jacob, we saw he blessed Pharaoh and then we saw this eventual sort of weird communist type society being formed by Joseph, didn't we, and we looked at that with it culminating in money failing and a sort of cashless society, interestingly around the midpoint in this seven years of famine, we looked into that at depth last week as well, there were the priests that survived outside of the system, we saw that and looked at what that was a picture of, and then finally we see Jacob age and in this chapter and get Joseph to make a promise as to his eventual burial, so this is in verse 28, so have a look just quickly at Genesis 47 and 28, where it says, and Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 17 years, so the whole age of Jacob was 147 years, and a time drew nigh that Israel must die, and he called his son Joseph and said unto him, if nigh I have found grace in thy sight, put I pray thee thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me, bury me not, I pray thee in Egypt, but I will lie with my fathers, as thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place, and he said I will do as thou hast said, and he said swear unto me, and he swear unto him, and Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head. Then we start with Genesis 48 and verse 1 now, which says, and it came to pass after these sings, that one told Joseph behold thy father is sick, and he took with him his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim. I'm going to pray, and then we're going to get started. Father, thank you for your word, thank you for this chapter of the Bible, and the many truths we can get out of this chapter, Lord, and the interesting parts of it, the way it fits in, and the things we can learn from that as well. Please help me to preach those out accurately, clearly, boldly, Lord, full of your spirit, everyone to just really pay attention, be able to just focus on what I'm trying to show from this chapter and the surrounding chapters as well today. Just help everyone to just have a tent of ears, and Jesus don't pray, Amen. Okay, so I actually believe, okay, and I'm going to show this to you as we go through this shortly, but this passage here in this chapter that we're looking at actually took place several years earlier, and I'm going to show you that shortly, with the after these sings at the beginning here, where it says that it came to pass after these sings, referring to all the events of the famine, and like I said, I'll show you that shortly, but for now, I just want to look at these verses first. Joseph here wants to see Jacob, okay, and he brings his two sons along too. So it said it came to pass after these sings that one told Joseph, behold thy father sick, and he took with him his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim. So his father's sick, he's maybe thinking he might be dying, you know, he brings his two sons along, and one told Jacob and said, behold thy son Joseph cometh unto thee, and Israel strengthened himself and sat upon the bed. So he's sitting up to see his son Joseph, and Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said unto me, behold I'll make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people, and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. Now Luz is Bethel, okay, if anyone's wondering what where he's talking about there, flick back to chapter 28, and obviously keep a finger here, flick back to chapter 28 for the first of these blessings, okay. So Genesis 28, he's just said, behold I'll make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people who will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. Genesis 28 and verse 10 says this, and Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran, and he lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night because the sun was set, and he took of the stones of that place, this is on his way to Padan Aram at this point, and put them for his pillows, and lay down that place asleep, and he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth and top of it reached to heaven, and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it, and behold the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, my father, and the God of Isaac. Okay, here's the blessing. The land whereon thou lies, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed, and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south, and in thee, and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. So, pretty similar to what he's relaying in chapter 48 and verse 4. However, what he said in chapter 48 and verse 4 from the end of verse 3 said that he was blessed there, and he said, and said unto me, behold I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I'll make of thee a multitude of people, and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. The everlasting bit isn't clear here though, right? Okay, it's not clear, at least it's not he doesn't actually say those words. Look at verse 15, it continues, it says, and behold I'm with thee and will keep thee in all places, whether thou goest, or bring thee again into this land, for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, surely the Lord is in this place, I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, how dreadful is this place, this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone and he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of that city was called Luz at the first, so hence where we've just seen him talking about Luz is referring to Bethel. Well there's also the second visit to Bethel in chapter 35, so we're going to go to chapter 35 now, where God gave this similar blessing to him. So Genesis 35 and verse 6, it says, so Jacob came to Luz, this is after obviously having been in Padan around for all that time, which is in the land of Canaan. So again it's Luz, that is Bethel, okay, so same thing, he and all the people that are with him. And he built there an altar, and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared unto him when he fled from the face of his brother. But Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak, and the name of it was called Alon-Bakruth. And God appeared unto Jacob again when he came out of Padan around and blessed him. Here's this blessing again, and God said unto him, thy name is Jacob, thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name, and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God almighty, be fruitful and multiply, and nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins, and the land which I gave Aram and Isaac to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. So again, pretty similar to chapter 484, but still missing the everlasting possession part. 484, where we are in our text for tonight, said, and said unto me, behold I make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people, and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. So why did Jacob understand it as an everlasting possession, even though it wasn't clearly stated as either in those two blessings, because they're the two clear blessings, that's what he's referring to. Well back in chapter 17, and we're going to go back to chapter 17, his father Abraham was promised it as an everlasting possession. Genesis 17, it says in verse 1, Genesis 17, 1, and when Abraham was 90 years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abraham and said unto him, I am the almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect, and I will make my covenant between me and Ian will multiply thee exceedingly, and Abraham fell on his face, and God talked with him saying, as for me behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations, neither shall thy name anymore be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made thee, and I will make the exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee, and I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee and their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a god unto thee and thy seed after thee, and I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee the land wherein thou art a stranger, or the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their god. So as with Jacob, he's making the point that he's giving it to him as well as his seed, isn't he? Yeah, he said he's giving it to him unto thee and to thy seed after thee, but then he said it being an everlasting possession. So it's not just about those to come out of Egypt hundreds of years later. And then, so turn to Hebrews 11 now, turn to Hebrews 11, which helps us to understand this, and it shows that Jacob was very aware of what the promises were really about, okay, that's the point I want to make here, is that he's very aware of what those promises were really about, which is why in Genesis 48 he's relaying those promises as being about an everlasting possession. So he's explaining it as an everlasting possession while he's sort of summarising those promises. And I know we've looked at this, but I just want to look at it again at Hebrews 11-8, we looked at it last week I think, it says, By faith Abraham, when he was 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 promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac, and Jacob the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which had foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged her faith with her promise, and therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky, in multitude and as a sandwich, by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embrace them, and confess that they were strangers of pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country, and truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better country that is, and heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. The point is that they understood there was both a physical fulfillment, but more importantly that there was a spiritual fulfillment. They all understood that, okay? And with the new Jerusalem, that heavenly city being the ultimate fulfillment of that everlasting possession, okay? That's what it was about, which is what Jacob was emphasizing, and what he, Isaac, and Abraham were focusing on. Verse 15 there in Hebrews 11 said, and truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to return. So their mind wasn't on that physical land, okay? Or they, and you could say here Jacob, wouldn't have been in Egypt right now, would he? Or maybe he would have come to Egypt and then gone back there again, or something else. But that wasn't what their mind was on. They understood, he understood it was an everlasting possession. He understood that the possession was that heavenly city, right? Because the physical fulfillment of that land was for a period of time, right? Before that physical nation was destroyed and replaced by spiritual nation, which we clearly see in the Bible, which is just clearly relayed time and time again throughout the New Testament, yeah? And I think everyone here is probably pretty aware of that as, you know, it's not something that we've kind of, I don't know, I don't even know how they pull the wool over the people's eyes with this stuff. The everlasting possession is the heavenly city, which is why all of this pro-Israel stuff is just so crazy. It's completely nuts. And again, we're having a lot right now in the news, in the news media, and stuff like this. All of this, it's their, you know, it's their rightful place, it's their home, all these like so-called Christians en masse supporting it all. It's a bunch of majority Europeans trying to claim ownership of a land based on their wicked false religious beliefs. And it's completely bizarre. It's kind of out there. The whole thing is nuts. Keep a finger here in Hebrews 11, or keep something in Hebrews 11. We're going to come back there in a bit. And turn to Galatians 3. So all the while, being supported by a load of moronic Christians, all these people who believe this, these moronic Christians, in inverted commas, and just because I've been exposed to a little bit of this recently, they're everywhere. There's, you know, everything they're preaching with all these different names to try and sound like they know what they're talking about. All that weird stuff, like trying to like do all these Jewish rituals and everything else, while claiming to be Christians. It's completely, it's nuts, okay. Galatians 3.16 says it like this, Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith, Not unto the seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. So that promise goes forward to Christ. And who else? We'll look at Galatians 3.29, and if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs are gone to the promise. So if it really still applied to that physical nation, if those promises, those promises were actually about the physical nation, then instead of a load of Christ-hating blasphemous children of the devil there, by the way, where preaching the gospel is illegal in many places, and they get assaulted and attacked and all that stuff, it would be full of believers like us. That's what would be the case. If really, if people really want to like, you know, you know, dig in and go, no, all those old promises, everything, it is about the physical land and everything else, then we should all be getting the first plane out there, because we're saved. Because that's who now it applies to. Because we've just read, and if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. But it's not about the physical land. It's about the spiritual, it's about the spiritual promise, which is that heavenly city, the heavenly Jerusalem. And now we've got this ridiculous, anyone notice this false left-right paradigm they've got now, where basically you're either a Muslim sympathizer and basically anti your country and anti everyone, if you choose to even say anything and object to just bombing and displacing and attacking and murdering a load of innocent people out in that land, or you're on the other side where you're this patriotic, hey, we stand with the Jews and we hate Muslims. And it's like, that's kind of the options you seem to have, at least in this nation, as you've got all these crazy guys, you know, the, you know, the St George's Cross flag wavers, you know, which is, you know, they must be racist, right? Running around saying we stand with the Jews and everything else. So it's like, if you, if you, if you object to Muslims, that's kind of where they're trying to funnel you. To then supporting people that, let's be honest, it's a bit of a close, close kind of competition, but much worse than the Muslims. They're even worse than the Muslims. A load of wicked, blasphemous Zionist Jews. So you got that on one side, all your options are go to the other side. It's like, put your arm around a load of paedophile worshipping Muslims. It's like, well, how about we, can't we go somewhere in the middle? You're not allowed somewhere in the middle. That's kind of what they're trying to do, isn't it? That's like the latest kind of divide and conquer tactic. It's nuts. It's absolutely, and all these idiots are like, yeah, bomb the Muslims, we stand with the Jews. They're complete morons. Complete idiots. They don't have a clue. And, and some of these are at least, you know, professing believers who profess to believe, profess to believe the Bible is a word of God, it's a preserved word of God. And, and they honestly are trying to convince people that the word of God tells them that not only does Israel belong, that the land belongs to them, they're then like, they're taking these scriptures about, you know, the persecution of God's people and things like that, and trying to apply it to these people, to these people who hate the Lord Jesus Christ. It's nuts, isn't it? And then you've got, on the other hand, then you've got these people who are just sort of, well, yeah, no, they're going a bit wrong now, and we just love all the Muslims and everything else, and all the poor things, and we're on their side. It's like, yeah, but most of the Muslims in this country are a wicky bunch as well, or at least, at least the leadership there, and a lot, I mean, let's be honest, a lot of them, I mean, I don't want to lie, I'm not going to tie the whole lot with one brush, but I think it's pretty hard to get a Muslim saved, isn't it? And, and a lot of them seem to just hate Christianity, don't they? So you've just got this bizarre kind of, either side, well, the truth is always somewhere in the middle, and the truth in the middle is that they're all wicked. The Jews and the Muslims, at least those religions are wicked, what they're all doing is wicked, what the Jews are doing out there is wicked, but what the Muslims do in this nation is wicked as well, and all their grooming, and all their, you know, trying to Islami-ficate, or whatever the word is, all these different areas, everything else, the whole lot is a mess. It's an absolute mess, but what's the answer? Preach the Gospel, because you ain't going to win it politically, are you? Because they just set up these false left-right paradigms, you don't really have a choice. Where are we? So, 1 Thessalonians 2.15, though, says of these Jews, by the way, at the time, who are now, you know, obviously false Jews now, but, but, you know, they were still referred to as the Jews there, says, who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us, and they pleased not God, and they're contrary to all men. They're contrary to all men, yet you've got all these so-called Christians everywhere, just bending over backwards, to worshipping, Jews supporting, it's, it's completely unbiblical, it's ridiculous. Okay, anyway, and it's not just, by the way, they're contrary to just poor Palestinians who happen to live where they fancy living, okay, they're contrary to, well, really, everyone, all men, okay, in various ways that we've looked at previously. It's a wind-up, right, let's keep going now. Back in Genesis 48, though, Jacob is really reminding Joseph of both the Gospel and the things to come. Okay, so back in Genesis 48, he said in verse three, and Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Lutzen, the land of Canaan, and blessed me, and said unto me, behold, I'll make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I'll make of thee a multitude of people, and will give this land to thy seed after thee, for an everlasting possession. And now thy two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, which are born unto thee in the land of Egypt, for I came unto thee into Egypt, and mine, as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. So why Reuben and Simeon particularly? Well, turn to First Chronicles, chapter five, First Chronicles five, because Ephraim and Manasseh are going to usurp Reuben, and I suppose you could say the next in line, Simeon, being two of them, to be counted as the eldest, okay, with that double portion of the inheritance going to them. First Chronicles five, and verse one says, well, in First Chronicles five it's going into the genealogy, okay, but it starts with this in the parenthesis, is what we're going to look at, where it starts genealogy saying, now the sons of Reuben are firstborn of Israel, but then it adds this, for he was the firstborn, but for as much as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, and a genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright, for Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler, but the birthright was Joseph's. So Joseph receives that double portion, with his two sons each becoming a tribe, hence Jacob saying, there shall be mine. Now if you're going, well how does that work out, don't we now have 13 tribes? Yeah, but then Levi, if you remember, doesn't get the inheritance, doesn't get the land inheritance, so it gets divided into 12, okay, Levi is, you know, their inheritance is God, okay, but verse five said, and now thy two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, which are born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt are mine, as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine, and thy issue which shall beget us after them shall be thine and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. So any further children of Joseph, it seems, will count as children of Manasseh and Ephraim therefore, okay, as his part has been split into two. And as for me, when I came from Paden, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath, and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath, the same is Bethlehem. Now I think he's saying that that was the last child that he had, Benjamin, whose mother Rachel died in childbirth, okay, so that's kind of hit him, you know, that's the end, that was the end of his line of children there, but he's now inheriting those two kids, Ephraim and Manasseh as his. And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee unto me, and I will bless them. Now the eyes of Israel were dim for ages that he could not see, and he brought them near unto him, and he kissed them and embraced them. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face, and lo, God has showed me also thy seed. Now, what's a little strange here, and why I think that this all took place before the end of the previous chapter is this, okay, Jacob doesn't seem to have met Joseph's sons yet, but if you look at the previous chapter, so look at Genesis 47-28, it says, And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the whole age of Jacob was a hundred forty and seven years. So this is approximately now nineteen to twenty years since the famine started, with Jacob turning up around two and a half years into it, okay. Genesis 41-50 said this, look at Genesis 41 and verse 50. So just bearing that in mind, that we've just seen, we've just seen, sorry, let me just just quote that to you while you turn to Genesis 41. Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, okay, he turned up sort of before the midway point in the famine. So the whole age of Jacob was a hundred forty and seven years. So and then Genesis 41-50 says this, And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Azanath the daughter of Potipharah the priest of Ronbeir unto him. So this is when Joseph's rising to power. And Joseph called the name of the first born Manasseh, for God said he had made me forget all my toil and all my father's house. And the name the second called Ephraim, for God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. So he had these two sons before the years of famine came, said verse 50. So these boys would therefore have to be approximately twenty or so years old if this is at the end of Jacob's life. Is everyone following me? Okay, so he had these guys before the famine even started. Jacob turns up two and a half years, approximately into the famine, and he died seventeen years later. So they're about the oldest, has to be 20 plus years old now, yeah? Now not only does it seem to be the first time that they met, okay, as he just said, oh now I get to see thy seed as well at this point here. But look at Genesis 48-12, if you need a bit more convincing here. Genesis 48-12 says, And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. Which would be pretty strange for a couple of strapping 20 year old lads, okay? Maybe they were the shy types, I don't know, okay? But I don't think that's what's going on here. For me, the end of chapter 47 is a fast forward to his death. So the passage I read at the end of chapter 47 just earlier is a fast forward. So in verse 26, we've seen all the famine events and laws and orders end, okay, with verse 26 which says, And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, it's in chapter 47 verse 26, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part except the land of the priests only which became not Pharaoh's. Now then it's a new paragraph with a sort of quick summary of the end of his life and what happened at his death, focusing on the burial request at his death. Look at verse 27, it says, And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen they had possessions therein, and grew and multiplied exceedingly. Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 17 years, so the whole age of Jacob was 147 years. In the time drew nigh that Israel must die, and he called his son Joseph and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, but I pray thee my hand, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me, bury me not, I pray thee in Egypt. None of this is happening in this chapter, by the way, yeah, what we're reading about here in verse 29. But I will lie with my fathers as thou shalt carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place, he said, I will do as thou hast said. And he said, Swear unto me, and he swear unto him, and Israel bound himself upon the bed's head. And if this is a quick fast forward to his death, it would line up with the end of chapter 49 and the beginning of chapter 50, where Jacob dies with Joseph present. So I think what we've just read there happens, we don't see it obviously, we don't see it explained again or described again, because we've already been given a summary mentioning that this happened. But the end of chapter 49, we see Joseph is there, it says, When Jacob had made an end, chapter 49 of verse 33, and when Jacob had made an end of commanding his son, so this is after all those prophecies, all those things he says to them, but he also said commanding his sons. Now he gives them all these prophecies, but there's some sort of commanding that goes on as well, at the end of his life, he gathered up his feet into the bed and yielded up the ghost who was gathered unto his people. Now we've just seen Joseph being commanded to bury him in the family burial place, and in chapter 50 and verse 1 indicates that Joseph was present when he died, where you go straight into chapter 50 and verse 1, remember, didn't used to be chapter divisions, and verse 1 says, And Joseph fell upon his father's face, wept upon him and kissed him. So for me, what we're looking at back in chapter 40, and I hope you're still following, likely took place at some point after that dividing of the land attack system in chapter 47, which last week we showed was around halfway through the famine, which would make Joseph's eldest son Manasseh somewhere between three and a half and four or so years old, which would explain verse 12, And Joseph brought them out from between his knees. Because you're more likely to bring out a three and a half or four year old from between your knees than a 20 year old, especially not two 20 year olds, okay? And they weren't like some sort of really like backwards kids, because they do go on to have kids and families and everything else, I don't think that, you know, there was some issue there. Verse 12 says, And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. And of course, what seems like the first meeting with Jacob and his grandsons, that's what it looks like there, which then therefore leaves us needing to explain Hebrews 11, okay, which at first, and hopefully kept something in there, which at first glance could contradict all of that. So turn to Hebrews 11. I don't know if anyone's ever read this before and wondered or looked at it and thought, you know, the kids seem really young here, but maybe it's just me thinking that. But anyway, I want to explain it. So now notice the difference. When you look at Hebrews 11, we're going to look for verse 21, I want you to see the difference between the language of verse 21 and verse 22. And I'm going to get to a point with this in the end, by the way, in case you think, yeah, this is all going on a bit past the tavern, who cares. But look, look at verse 21, it says in Hebrews 11, By faith Jacob, when he was, notice it said, a dying. It didn't say when he died, just before he died, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph from worship, leaning upon the top of his staff. Now look at what happens with Joseph. By faith, Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel and gave commandment concerning his bones. Obviously, it's not talking about, you know, kind of he's died then said this, it's talking about it's as he's about to die. But with Jacob, it was when he was a dying, okay. So Joseph actions here being at the end of his life, as opposed to Jacob's in the latter part of his life, of what is some very old years, yeah. Now, if you think about it, okay, Jacob considered himself close to death or dying for a long time, a long time. Before he came into Egypt in Genesis 45, 28, when they sent the wagons to bring Jacob to Egypt, he said, And Israel said, It is enough, Joseph, my son is yet alive. I will go and see him before I die. Okay, so he was already thinking, it's close, it's coming up. We've just seen earlier that he then ends up spending seven, 17 years in Egypt. In Genesis 46, 30, when seeing Joseph for the first time in years, it says, And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive. Yet he lived for another 17 years. However, it was this 17 years later that he did die. So what can we get from all of this? Okay, so if you're going, okay, what was the point in all that? Well, what, I'll tell you a few things we could get, and I'm going to show you something else, is that none of us know when our time is going to come. No matter whether you feel like you're going to die, whether you don't feel like you're going to die, whether you feel like you're the picture of health and everything's great, you just don't know. You don't know when it's coming. You can set your house in order, and you can survive another 15 years. Okay, you can set your house in order, like Hezekiah, and that's something I want to show you here. Turn to 2 Kings 20. You can bank on 70 to 80 years of life. You can turn to 2 Kings 20. You can bank on 70 to 80 years of life, and it ends at any point, can't you? You could go, well, I've probably got a few more years yet to serve God. I've got a few more years yet to do this. I've got a few more years yet to do that, and the next thing you know, it's done. We don't really know, do we? We don't know when it is going to come, and we don't know how long it's going to last. We don't know how long, maybe, we're sitting there thinking, well, it's come to an end. I've done my bit. I've done those for God, and next thing you know, it's 17 years later. We don't know what's on the morrow, so all we can do is serve God whilst we can, the best way that we can. Every way you're able to serve Him, serve Him, because you don't know what's going to come. You don't know what's coming tomorrow. You don't know what's coming next week. You don't know what's coming next year. Jacob here was still prophesying, by the way, at 130 odd years old, and in the next chapter, we see him doing that at 147 years old, because what does he do at the very end of his life? He's prophesying. He's preaching of what's to come. He's prophesying the Word of God that God's revealed to him at 147 years old. This is a guy, for me at least, he's still being used by God, even 17 years after he thought he's about to die. For me, 17 years after, Joseph's turned up and he's sick, thinking he's about to die, and he's still being used by God much later. And aside from age, okay, there are many excuses that we probably legitimately have not to prophesy, and for us, how do we prophesy the Word of God for the majority of us here? It's by going out and preaching the Gospel, and there's many excuses we might have, right? But who knows how long we have? Who knows how long you have left? Who knows how long you have until it's over? Come tomorrow, when you look back and think, why didn't I go out last week and try and at least get someone else saved before I die? Why didn't I turn up to that soul when he died? Why didn't I turn up to that marathon? Why didn't I do that? Why don't I just do a bit more for God? Why didn't I talk to that loved one? Why didn't I talk to that friend? Why didn't I at least offer them, at least give them a chance of hearing the Gospel? It's never too late, okay, and it's never too late to start, and it's never too late to stop either, is it? In terms of, at least it's never time to stop, sorry, it's never time to stop. Where possible we want to keep serving God how we can. Now, in Genesis 48, for me, Jacob survived another 15 years, okay, being that he came to Egypt two years into the famine. So he came in two years into the famine, yeah, we see that we have these events which we looked at seem to last approximately a year and a half, and then at some point after that, so probably another couple of years down the line, we then it said after these things, and then we see this conversation he's having when he's sick and Joseph's come to see him. So he therefore, for me, from that point, he lasts another 15 years from being sick, yeah, approximately, right, give or take a few months. Well, look at the remarkable coincidence with the end of the life of Hezekiah here in 2 Kings 20, because I think those events, like I said, I think they're after the whole money failing, taking the land, renting it back, events which took over a year. So it's about 15 years that he lasted, well, look at 2 Kings 20 in verse 1. So Hezekiah was sick like Jacob is in chapter 48, seemingly unto death, like I think Joseph feared, and probably so did Jacob in chapter 48, hence him turning up with his sons. He prayed unto the Lord, Hebrews 11 21 said that Jacob worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff, he's at least worshipping the Lord at this point. Hezekiah ended up living for a further 15 years, just like I believe Jacob did as well. Cool coincidence, isn't it? So is Jacob here a picture of Hezekiah, perhaps? With Hezekiah's Israel also surviving a famine when besieged, if you remember, by Sennacherib and Assyria, then a few generations after this being carried away to the bondage of Babylon, with the same with the children of Israel eventually under the cruel bondage in Egypt. But what lesson can we take? So whether or not it's a cool picture there or not, I think it probably is, I think the word of God's pretty amazing like that, I don't think that's a coincidence, I don't think there's such a thing in the word of God, but regardless, what can we take? For me, when we put it to God, when we put it in His hands, He can do anything as well. So there's another lesson there. Hezekiah did that here, he put it in God's hands, and Jacob at least has carried on serving God and he's carried on, you know, he's giving out the blessings and everything at the point where he thinks he's sick unto death. He's worshipped God, we saw, that's what the New Testament sort of commentary on it in Hebrews 11 says, and when you do those sorts of things, he can add on to our years, and he can also take away from our years as well, when we put it into God's hands, and if we're putting our life in His hands, obeying Him, living for Him, whatever happens will turn out for the best in the end. So you might think it's coming to an end, I've got, you know, I don't have long left, I'm sick unto death, and the next thing you know, it's 15 years later. 15 years later, and your blessing and prophesying and everything else 15 years down the line, and same with Hezekiah here, he thought it was going to be over, the prophet comes to see him, he calls out to the Lord, and by the time he's gone out, he's come back in to say, oh actually, false alarm, you've got another 15 years. I think that's pretty cool, anyway. I don't know, I don't know if you agree with me, I hope you kept up with that, I know sometimes when you, you know, you have a trail of thought, but sometimes, you know, it's hard to relay it clearly, but I hope that made sense. Back in Genesis 48 then, with that in mind, in verse 13, it said, and Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. And just last point now, at least it shows you, look, there ain't errors in the Bible, there's not like, oh this just doesn't add up, it's not always chronological either, just don't understand that as well, okay, and there's no like, there's nothing in the Bible which says, right, every single event and every verse, every chapter is going to be in chronological order, it's for us to study it and examine it and work out what fits where and where it doesn't, and then a lot of the time it reveals, like, amazing coincidences like that and other things, when you start working out the time periods and things like that, but anyway. So Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh said, guide his hands wittingly from Manasseh was the first one. Don't miss by the way, well that Hezekiah's son is Manasseh, who then is on the throne after him, isn't it? And it doesn't go well for him, like Manasseh here ends up being in the shadow ultimately of Ephraim and the tribe to come. So Jacob basically, he's done a hand switch, okay, he's put his right hand on the younger Ephraim, it says in verse 15, he blessed Joseph and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. So notice how the angel here, with a capital, is another name for God. And specifically, which member of the trinity are we talking about here? It's the son of God. Son of God, he said, the angel which redeemed me from all evil. The angel with a capital A, which we don't often see, he's just basically, it's interchanged with God. He said, God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the angel which redeemed me from all evil. And we've been talking about as we're going through, you know, often when we see an angel, it's actually talking about the son of God, the messenger, therefore, you know, you could say of God the Father there, that God in the flesh on this world walking there, obviously, some might call it a pre-incarnate Christ. Well, it's the son of God who redeemed Jacob, okay, and everyone else saved from all evil, okay. Another word is ransomed, you might use, he paid the price scale. Here we understand, especially with our New Testament glass that it's referring to all eternal evil, okay, because he said here the angel which redeemed me from all evil. But remember in Genesis 4 to 7, 9, Jacob said to Pharaoh, he said the days of the years of my pilgrimage are in 130 years, few and evil of the days of the years my life been. So how was he redeemed from all evil? Because for me, there's been evil all throughout his physical life, according to his own mouth here. It's evil that he's been redeemed from, which is the eternal evil, the eternal punishment for his sins. So here again, it's just another picture of the Gospel, at least a mention of the Gospel. Revelation 5, 9, that of Turner says of those elders in heaven, singing of Jesus Christ, has sung a new song saying, they are worthy to take the book and to open the sils thereof, for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. So that redemption applies to all people everywhere that are saved. That's what he's talking about here. They're being redeemed from all evil. Okay, yeah, the Gospel is in the Old Testament. You just got to look for it. Verse 16 says, the angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads and let my name be named on them. And the name of my father is Abraham and Isaac and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. And he held up his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his father, not so my father, for this is a firstborn, put thy right hand upon his head. Now that would have been a normal practice, it seems, being the elder, the right hand being like, you know, your right hand man type thing, being the dominant hand, being the dominant child, being the eldest here. And his father refused and said, I know it my son, I know it. He also shall become a people and he also should be great. But truly his younger brother shall be greater than he and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. So this wasn't fulfilled in the size of the tribes, okay, with it varying whose was bigger around the Exodus and onwards. I think around the Exodus, I think Ephraim was bigger, then Manasseh becomes bigger when they're numbered later on in numbers. But it was fulfilled with the nation Ephraim going on to be even an autonomous nation in the end, as opposed to Manasseh. Manasseh who opted for the land, if you remember the east of Jordan, and ended up being mixed up with the surrounding inhabitants of the land and they kind of, they disappeared a lot quicker. Now how did he know all of this? How did Jacob know all this was going to happen? Well Hebrews 11 21 said, by faith, by faith Jacob, when he was a dying, not when he died, when he was a dying, and that went on for a long time, bless both the sons of Joseph, and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. So it was because he was a saved man of God being used by God, prophesying the truth of God. That's why, okay, he knew that by faith. And he blessed them that day saying, in verse 20 where you are, saying, in thee shall Israel bless, saying God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh, and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. And Israel said unto Joseph, behold I die, but God shall be with you and bring you again into the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword, with my bow. Now this seems to be the land that Jacob brought off Hamor, the father of Shechem. If you want to turn to Joshua 24, I'm going to show you this quickly. So he did buy some land off Hamor, the father of Shechem, and I'm trying to remember where it's several, quite a few chapters back now in Genesis when that happens. And Joshua 24 mentions this kind of being given to Joseph, where it says in Joshua 24 verse 32. And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried there in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for an hundred pieces of silver, and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. So it did seem to be a legitimate purchase, didn't it? But we've just read there in Genesis 48 and verse 22, Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. But he did seem to buy it, and when we see it happen, he seems to buy it with that hundred pieces of money. Here we've seen that it's described as hundred pieces of silver. So what's the deal with the sword and the bow? I kind of think maybe the sword and the bow allowed it to be a legitimate purchase. So he said which he said here in verse 22 of Genesis 48, he said, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. And when I say the sword and the bow allowed it to be a legitimate purchase, maybe just his strength and the fact that, you know, there was that group of them that obviously, you know, they could look after themselves to some degree, had like the at this point 12 sons now, well maybe 11 at this point, that sometimes having something, some sort of clout, something behind you maybe helps you not to get ripped off. I mean they weren't a great bunch, you know, the fornicating Shechem being described as more honourable than the house, than all the house of his father. And this guy had obviously defiled Dina and everything else, but he was the most honourable out of the lot of them. And sometimes, maybe this is my thoughts of this, sometimes seeing that you're not a pushover helps not to get ripped off in one way or another, doesn't it? Sometimes, you know, just the fact that you have a sword and a bow or the proverbial sword and a bow for us nowadays means that you're able to make a legitimate purchase, you're able to take something off someone to make that purchase with them not just refusing, not allowing you to buy it in the first place or treat or maybe ripping you off when it does happen, taking your money or something else. That's my thoughts on it, if you've got any other thoughts let me know afterwards. But that was Genesis chapter 49 and I don't know, for me that's some interesting stuff in there, sorry chapter 48, not 49, chapter 48. Some interesting stuff in there, I believe that, I think that did definitely take place early, otherwise it just doesn't make sense, with that little passage just at the end of chapter 47 just being a summary of the end of his life and then we go back to, you know, kind of a more chronological after that little passage. But again, I'd be interested in your views on that if you've got any thoughts on that. Stuff to take away from that, well the main thing for me to take away from that chapter is, well you don't know how long your life is, okay, none of us know how long a life is, Jesus could return any minute, I'm kidding, okay. No, we don't believe in a free trip rapture here, but we don't know, we don't know how long our lives are though, do we? We don't know how long things can quickly change in our lives, we don't know how long many events can just change in your life, it's not just about how long your life is physically, like a lot of people, maybe some of the younger people here, you feel a little bit kind of immortal or something when you're young, can't you, and as you get older you start to see more people die and experience more death and realise, yeah, life's not actually that long. But regardless, just your whole life can change, can't it? So much can happen in your life and change like that. So when we have the opportunity, we have the opportunity to prophesy, to serve the Lord, to preach the word, to preach the gospel, we want to take that with both hands, don't we? Because your health could change quickly, couldn't it? Your circumstance, your financial circumstances, the world circumstances. Think about when we had Covid and how quickly did suddenly the whole nation change, and for most, I mean a lot of people, the whole world changed, and for most, you know, they thought, well that's it, they couldn't go to church, they couldn't do anything for God, and you know, many, you know, we looked into it and found ways around that and loopholes, but it made things hard, didn't it? And who's to say it won't be even harder next time? And then it will be a case of actually, they've, you know, we've got whole issues with laws that have been, you know, slipped in there in the last, have a few years or something, where we're not able to actually meet, we're not able to get out without police issues and everything else. Things could change really quickly, can't they? So for me, the lesson from that chapter is that even when you think you're at the point of death or not, even when whatever your circumstance, or whatever's going on, just find a way to serve God, because you don't know how long you got. Even when you're at the point of dying, you're sick, and it looks like a sickness unto death, you could still survive for many, many years, and if you're here, you're on this earth, well, you've got a job to do, haven't you? And you go, what about the really old people who can't get out, and they can't preach the Gospel, they still find people to talk to, if you still talk, you can still preach the Gospel, can't you? I mean, we did, I remember in Covid, we did, when you weren't, you couldn't, you know, people just weren't opening the doors, they were hiding behind the peepholes and stuff like that. We put tables up outside, and I mean, that was a receptive time, wasn't it, brother Dan, back there? I mean, that was, I mean, I remember then, a few different people got involved from, maybe I remember Max was out as well, he's sitting there, and not to try and pick on people that did it, okay, just at the time, a few of us still knew each other back then, and we were like, yeah, let's try and, like, put up some tables and stuff, and that was a receptive time, but it could have been easy to have gone, look, we're not able, no such thing, can't get out and preach the Gospel, you know, no one's answering the doors, let's just go and sit up, put our feet up, and, you know, and hope that things work out in the next year or two for us to be able to preach the Gospel again. And again, I'm not trying to take credit for this, praise God that we were just inspired by other men of God and other people finding ways around it and stuff, and decided, yeah, let's find a way, set up some tables with some free stuff on it, outside shops in the States, where there are people who are allowed to go and hang out, and people just finding any way to get out of the house, and suddenly, you know, you had like queues of people when you hear the Gospel and stuff at times, and my point is, is that that would have been so easy to have gone, well, circumstances mean I can't preach the Gospel, but I don't, I think, look, where there's a will, there's a way, isn't there? And we need to take that with two hands while we've got it, because things could quickly change next week, next month, next year, a couple of years time. On that, let's finish in order. I thank you for your word, thank you for the lessons that we got out of that chapter, Lorde, and, you know, just as we look into that more and more and peel it back and understand the timeline of events, you know, the amazing pictures there, the amazing similarities, at least, with what happened at the end of Hezekiah's life, and also, Lorde, thank you for that, and also just the fact that we can also get from that, just to see that, you know, life doesn't end when we think it's going to end, life doesn't end when even, you know, we feel like we're, you know, our lives are about to end, and, you know, life ends when ultimately, you know, you decide it's the end, and until that point, we can, you know, find a way of keep serving, find a way of keep preaching the word, find a way of keep doing things for you, Lorde, help us to all do that, as we go into, you know, our later years as well, and inspire others to do the same, Lorde, and just help us to just always just find a way of serving you in any which way we can, like we saw Jacob do at the at the end of his life, he still carries on to go and preach those those prophecies at the end of his life as well, Lorde, help us get home safe for sound this evening, and to return for the Saturday marathon, and get many souls saved there, and then be in church on Sunday, in Jesus' name, pray all this, Amen.