[00:00:09] Welcome to Gracious Words. Gracious Words is taken from the Weekly Women's Bible Study
[00:00:14] taught by Cheryl Brodersen at Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.
[00:00:19] We're behold to glory God in the face of Christ. It shows us who you are. We're feeling who you are.
[00:00:35] God desires to bless our lives. Through the lives of Jacob and Joseph, we see that God always has a plan
[00:00:43] and is working in the background to lead us to His blessings.
[00:01:10] And now here is Part 3 of Cheryl's message titled Pilgrimage.
[00:01:19] Meanwhile, they are able to hold on to their livestock. They're not traded. They keep their possessions.
[00:01:27] Meanwhile, the tribe of Jacob multiplies. It grows. Here is the difference between pilgrims and residents.
[00:01:39] In the end, those who belong to the earth will owe all they have to the earth and find themselves slaves to it
[00:01:48] and making payments on all their labor for the rest of their lives. But those who are pilgrims enjoy the best of the land.
[00:01:59] They are fed. They're taken care of. They keep what God has given to them, and they cannot lose it.
[00:02:05] They flourish, growing, and multiplying. This is the difference between visiting Russia and living in Russia.
[00:02:15] That's the difference. When you go on a pilgrimage, when you go to visit a land, you're usually getting the best of the land,
[00:02:23] the best treatment, the best food. I remember visiting Jamaica and our tour guide was telling us how the crime is so bad in Jamaica.
[00:02:36] And I just looked at her and my eyes got really big and she said, oh, not for you. You're a tourist.
[00:02:42] We treat tourists so well. It's like an unwritten rule here in Jamaica that nobody hurts a tourist because we need your money.
[00:02:52] We want you to love Jamaica and to come back to Jamaica and spend money here. Now, we're only mean to each other.
[00:02:58] That's the difference between being a resident and a pilgrim. As a pilgrim, you get the best, not the worst.
[00:03:06] And everything is temporary. Jacob calls for an audience with Joseph, and he reminds Joseph that he does not belong in Egypt.
[00:03:16] I don't belong here. And when I die and when I'm buried, I want you to bury me in Hebron. I want you to bury me in the grave
[00:03:25] that my father and my grandfather are in. He wants to be buried in the land that he was promised.
[00:03:35] And he makes Joseph swear to this. Joseph is the person who can make this happen. He's got the connections.
[00:03:44] And so this is the request of Jacob to his son, Joseph. We go then to Genesis chapter 48.
[00:03:51] And in this chapter, Joseph is told that Jacob is sick. So Joseph makes his way, taking his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to see their grandfather.
[00:04:01] We don't know how long Jacob was sick. Remember, he's already 137 years. He might have been sick for five years, 10 years,
[00:04:10] he might have been sick for 15, 16 years. But as Joseph brings Manasseh and Ephraim in, it would seem that they must still be young, maybe even teenagers.
[00:04:21] Jacob shares his testimony with his son and grandsons. And he says, God Almighty appeared to me at Lez, which we know is Bethel,
[00:04:30] in the land of Canaan, and blessed me and said to me, Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and will make you a multitude of people.
[00:04:40] And give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.
[00:04:47] Jacob is telling his son and grandsons, I had an encounter with the living God. This is what put me on pilgrimage.
[00:04:56] It was these promises. He is telling his sons, his son and his grandson that he answers to the sovereign God who is almighty.
[00:05:10] And it's the sovereign God who has made these promises to him and who has accomplished every good thing in his life.
[00:05:20] And he is telling his son and his grandsons how good, how certain the promises of God are.
[00:05:31] And finally, this is an invitation to Joseph's sons into the blessing and promises of God.
[00:05:41] God Almighty is greater than anything that Egypt has to offer. Remember, these are the sons of the prime minister.
[00:05:50] They could have the best of Egypt. And what is Jacob offering them? A shepherd's life.
[00:05:58] A shepherd's life. He says, Come be shepherds with me, living Goshen with me. Why? Because God in serving God is greater than the best that Egypt has to offer.
[00:06:18] It's a tender moment as we read in verses 8 through 22. I love it when Jacob asks, Who are these? Being a grandma myself.
[00:06:28] You know that's sometimes what you say. When you haven't seen your grandsons in a while, you're like, Who is this?
[00:06:35] This can't be Judah. He's too tall. He looks too old. His shoulders have gotten too broad.
[00:06:44] This can't be Judah. And then, of course, Judah will be like, Grandma, of course it's me.
[00:06:53] Seen I a little thing that she is? Sure is sweet, but missing a few bricks.
[00:06:59] But that's what you do with your grandchildren. Who are these?
[00:07:03] On Ibekan's Joseph to bring them close so he can bless them. You see, again, the life of pilgrimage is a life that calls people into blessing and seeks to bless.
[00:07:17] So Jacob kisses them and embraces his grandsons. Note that at this time, Jacob is not called Jacob but Israel.
[00:07:26] He is called Israel because every time he's in pilgrimage, every time he's living by the goodness and promises of God, he is Israel.
[00:07:38] He is the one who is under the authority of God because when we are under the authority of God, we are on pilgrimage and we are seeking to bless and be a blessing every place we go.
[00:07:53] Israel's eyes are dim with age, and Israel said to Joseph, I had not thought to see your face.
[00:08:03] But in fact, God has shown me her offspring. God has gone beyond anything I ever expected.
[00:08:13] I thought the least of God. I asked the least of God, the smallest thing, but God has given me the greatest.
[00:08:26] I not only get to see you and all that God has done in your life, but I get to see my grandsons.
[00:08:35] I get to see Ephraim and Manasseh. If Jacob had not agreed to leave Canaan and take this one last pilgrimage, he would never have seen with his eyes the goodness of God.
[00:08:52] He might have stayed at home and heard about it, but he never would have seen it.
[00:08:58] Now on pilgrimage, he was experiencing the blessing of God.
[00:09:04] He was seeing Joseph with his own dimming eyes and his grandsons.
[00:09:11] He was holding on. He was embracing. He was touching. It was a sensory experience, seen, hearing, feeling, kissing, tasting, smelling.
[00:09:28] The blessing of God. Israel placed his hands on the boy's head. He puts his right hand on the youngest, Ephraim, his left hand on the oldest, Manasseh.
[00:09:40] He is reversing the cultural norm. Remember we've talked about this before. It was the oldest that was to receive the patriarchal blessing of the right hand.
[00:09:53] But here in this place, it is the youngest. Joseph tries to move his father's hands like, no, Father, you've got it wrong.
[00:10:02] But Israel prophetically says, no, Joseph, I have it right because God is going to bless both of these young men.
[00:10:13] But Ephraim is going to be larger and greater than Manasseh. And that's exactly what happened. The tribe of Ephraim was greater.
[00:10:24] In fact, the northern tribe, Israel, was often also called Ephraim.
[00:10:31] In fact, the name Ephraim came to signify all the tribes except the tribe of Judah and Levi.
[00:10:37] When someone would speak of Ephraim, they were talking about 10 of the tribes of Israel.
[00:10:45] Sorry, nine of the tribes of Israel. So we see this. We see that he is doing this prophetically.
[00:10:54] Then he blesses the sons of Joseph, testifying of God's faithfulness in the pilgrim life.
[00:11:01] Remember, God's blessing brings God's attention to the person being blessed and brings the person being blessed attention to how good God is.
[00:11:15] So he says, God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
[00:11:24] the angel or messenger of God who redeemed me from all evil blessed the lads, let my name be named upon them.
[00:11:35] On the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
[00:11:44] Jacob is asking God that his name, all the blessings that God has promised to Israel be given to these boys,
[00:11:57] that these boys be brought into the covenant, be brought into the promises, be brought into the land that God has given,
[00:12:08] the inheritance that God has promised, that these boys might have this.
[00:12:14] I believe that this blessing is also a prayer that these boys would have the right priorities and see the covenant of God as greater than anything that Egypt has to offer.
[00:12:29] In the Holy Spirit, he blesses the boys again saying, by you Israel will bless saying may God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.
[00:12:38] In other words, boys, God has great things for you.
[00:12:43] You know, to me this is so inspirational.
[00:12:46] Are we telling the young people, God has great things for you?
[00:12:52] Are we saying just do an integra.
[00:12:54] No!
[00:12:55] That's not the promise of great things.
[00:12:57] It's not found in us or in our natural abilities or capabilities or propensities.
[00:13:05] No, the greatness is found in a great God who loves to bless and do the total unexpected thing.
[00:13:13] This morning I was reading in Philippians chapter one where Paul prays over the Philippians that they might be filled with love
[00:13:25] in all knowledge and discernment, that they might be able to affirm and confirm that they might be able to approve the good that God is doing in others.
[00:13:38] Did you ever realize that God wants to fill us so full of his love that we will see his goodness.
[00:13:46] We will see his anointing on others.
[00:13:49] We will see the love of God and how he wants to spill it out on others.
[00:13:55] And that we will want to tell them how good God is.
[00:13:59] That sometimes people don't see the goodness that God is doing in them.
[00:14:03] Isn't it awesome that the love of God opens our eyes and we can say, oh my goodness, you are so amazing.
[00:14:12] Do you realize God is doing this and has done this?
[00:14:15] And I am seeing just the goodness of God in your creation, in what he did in putting you together.
[00:14:23] Oh my goodness, when we're on pilgrimage or like, oh aren't those mountains gorgeous?
[00:14:29] Aren't those flowers beautiful?
[00:14:32] You see, we're able to... oh aren't those people amazing?
[00:14:35] Aren't those women beautiful?
[00:14:38] You know, sometimes I go to another country like Hungary and I'm like, is every woman here just absolutely gorgeous?
[00:14:46] I mean it's just one of those things that you see.
[00:14:49] Australia too, man the women are gorgeous.
[00:14:51] But you're just like going, oh my goodness, look how beautiful this is.
[00:14:56] And we're blessing God in it.
[00:14:58] We don't live here but we can because sometimes when you're in it, you're not appreciating it.
[00:15:04] Because it's your everyday routine and you're a resident and you're just getting by and you hate the traffic.
[00:15:12] But when you're just passing through, you're like, oh their style of cars is so different than our style of cars.
[00:15:19] And the way they drive on the roads is so different than we drive on the roads.
[00:15:23] You see, you're on pilgrimage.
[00:15:25] You get to appreciate and point out all the beauty of the land, all the great things.
[00:15:31] So he speaks prophetically, oh my goodness.
[00:15:35] Isn't that what everyone wants?
[00:15:37] A grandpa who speaks the blessings of God over them?
[00:15:41] I mean I think of this like their other grandfather, he was a priest in Egypt.
[00:15:49] He was all full of pomp and circumstance and part of the elite and worship pagan gods.
[00:15:57] But here's this shepherd grandpa, the shepherd grandpa.
[00:16:02] The grandpa without any money but all of this affection, all of this love.
[00:16:09] The one who wanted to bless his grandsons, the one who said hey you want to play with a lamb or milk, a cow?
[00:16:15] This is the grandpa that they wanted to be associated with.
[00:16:20] You see, people are drawn to love and they're drawn to acceptance and they're drawn to grace.
[00:16:25] More than elitism, more than success.
[00:16:30] You know, I want to be the grandma that blesses my grandchildren.
[00:16:36] That is a blessing that affirms and confirms the goodness of God.
[00:16:42] In fact, I want to be a grandma to a lot of young people.
[00:16:47] I'm praying that somehow we can do vacation Bible school because that was like one of the best things I've ever done with my life.
[00:16:54] No wonder Ephraim and Manasseh chose to associate with Israel rather than Egypt.
[00:17:01] Here was the love, here was the promise, here was God Almighty, here was a future and an adventure.
[00:17:12] There is a promise for Joseph too.
[00:17:14] As Jacob says, behold, or Israel I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
[00:17:24] Your destiny, Joseph, is not Egypt.
[00:17:29] Your destiny is the promises of God.
[00:17:32] But Joseph knew what it was to have God with him, even in slavery and imprisonment and even in exaltation, the government of Egypt.
[00:17:45] Israel apportioned more to Joseph.
[00:17:47] Joseph would receive a double.
[00:17:50] He is the only son of Israel, Jacob, to have two tribes.
[00:17:57] The rest of them just had the tribe, the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of Gad, the tribe of Asher, etc.
[00:18:07] But he had two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim who became two distinct tribes in Israel.
[00:18:17] The only property that Jacob ever owned in Canaan would go to Joseph.
[00:18:24] Though Joseph could purchase anything with the wealth of Egypt, he could own any property in Egypt or Canaan.
[00:18:33] This little plot given to him in Canaan by his father was of greater wealth, of greater value.
[00:18:43] Do you have some potentially worthless trinket in your home?
[00:18:49] It's precious because it was a family heirloom, because it was passed on to you.
[00:18:56] I have this little pastor with this strange hairdo. It's a little tiny figurine.
[00:19:04] My mom had had it for years and it always looked like my Aunt Isi who was a preacher.
[00:19:10] She'd always wear a black robe.
[00:19:12] It reminded me of my Aunt Isi who had been a four square pastor.
[00:19:15] I loved it. It used to have its finger up and its Bible open like this as if it was preaching.
[00:19:23] I remember one day the little finger broke on it, so my mom decided to throw it away.
[00:19:27] I was like, Mom, don't throw it away? Can I have it? She's like, you want it?
[00:19:33] I'm like, yes! So there I have, as one of my greatest treasures, this little figurine with a broken finger.
[00:19:41] It goes like this with its Bible. And it's one of my favorite. It's one of the treasures.
[00:19:46] You know, if there's a fire, I'm going to go for that figurine on my computer because it's got all my pictures.
[00:19:51] But this is like one of the greatest treasures that I own.
[00:19:55] So for Joseph, it's this treasure which signifies the promises of God to his father that his father fought for and won.
[00:20:07] And this is of great value to Joseph.
[00:20:15] Through Jacob's life, we see the plight of a pilgrim. Things don't always go as planned.
[00:20:23] There is always the danger of trying to settle down and settle in because when we do that,
[00:20:29] we expect only comfort and ease on earth, and we seek to be enriched by the land rather than to enrich the land.
[00:20:39] We look at earth as the end rather than the journey. And when this happens, our days become few and evil.
[00:20:48] Jacob's life became few and evil when he settled down into his grief and disappointment in God.
[00:20:53] He stopped moving forward. He tried to settle in and his whole family began to starve.
[00:21:00] In fact, his whole inheritance was on the verge of extinction.
[00:21:06] However, when our hearts are set on pilgrimage, then even the valleys of weeping are transformed into spring, Psalm 84-5-7.
[00:21:16] Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
[00:21:22] As they pass through the valley of Baca, which means the valley of tears, they make it a spring.
[00:21:28] Side note, I just read that an average person sheds 30-40,000 gallons of tears a year.
[00:21:36] I don't know how that can be. You must be a crybaby, nevertheless. Back to this.
[00:21:40] The valley of weeping, that's enough to fill a pool though.
[00:21:42] They make it a spring. They go from strength to strength.
[00:21:46] Every one of them appears before God in Zion.
[00:21:50] Then in verse 11, the Lord God is a Son in shield. The Lord will give grace and glory.
[00:21:56] No good thing will he withhold from those who walk up rightly rather than grief paralyzing you.
[00:22:04] Rather than those tears being angry and keeping you from moving forward in the journey, in the sojourn,
[00:22:14] when our hearts are set on pilgrimage, even our grief can be turned by God into pools of refreshment for others.
[00:22:23] Pools that others can be washed and cleansed, refreshed and drink from.
[00:22:29] The pilgrim mindset transforms our whole manner of life and experience in life.
[00:22:36] It causes us to look for the goodness of God. It causes us to seek God's direction where we're going and where we are to go.
[00:22:47] It causes us to treasure his promises. It causes us to desire to bless and bring blessing and seek to bless others.
[00:23:01] It leaves us dependent on the goodness of God for all of our need.
[00:23:08] When life gets tough, when you glob your eyeliner or your clothes don't fit right.
[00:23:18] Remember this is just a sojourn. You have something far greater waiting for you in the place you belong.
[00:23:26] You were created for God and to be where he is.
[00:23:30] When I was young in the hippie days, we used to sing this song,
[00:23:36] This world is not my home. I'm just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
[00:23:43] The angels beckon me from heaven's open door and I can't feel at home in this world anymore.
[00:23:51] We're not meant to settle in or settle down. This is just a pilgrimage.
[00:23:56] And that's what the Bible said, blessed or oh how happy is the person whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
[00:24:06] Who realizes this is just a temporary stay. I'm here to bless and to find God's blessing and to be a blessing.
[00:24:16] That's the purpose of my time here. Not to settle in, not to get the best because you know what?
[00:24:25] My suitcases can't hold a lot of souvenirs. I'm just here to bless and to enrich others.
[00:24:33] Our time on earth is just a temporary stay. We have a heavenly home and eternity with God waiting for us.
[00:24:41] Having this perspective is vital to the Christian faith because it reminds us of our final destination and transforms our whole outlook on life.
[00:24:50] It allows us to take our eyes off ourselves and put them on God,
[00:24:55] treasuring our salvation, looking for his goodness, resting in his promises and relying on his faithfulness.
[00:25:03] We hope you have been blessed by today's Bible study.
[00:25:06] For more information about the Gracious Words radio program and the teaching ministry of Cheryl Brodersen, please visit our website at graciouswords.com.
[00:25:16] Coming up next time on the Gracious Words program, we'll look at the blessings of God as we continue our series, Our Great Creator in the Book of Genesis with Cheryl Brodersen.
[00:25:26] We do hope you make plans to join us. Again for more information, please visit our website at graciouswords.com.
[00:25:37] In wonder, wonder
[00:25:42] We will fall on our knees and surrender
[00:25:47] We surrender to you
[00:25:52] This program is sponsored by Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.
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