(Genesis) Genesis 46:1-3

Now, let me tie our strings together here. You'll recall that last time we saw that Joseph's brethren returned back to their father, Jacob, and gave a report that Joseph was still alive down in the land of Egypt and that he wanted his father to come down. Now, his father apparently had a notion of just going down and visiting him, and yet there was some reluctance and hesitation, I'm sure, to begin with.

God did need to appear to him, and He does here at the beginning of this 46th chapter. God needs to appear to him very definitely because God had instructed Abraham to stay out of Egypt, and Abraham got in trouble down there. He said the same thing to Isaac.

Now, the question is, should Jacob go down into the land of Egypt? Well, he needs a little more encouragement than just an invitation from his son Joseph and even from Pharaoh. He needs something that is more than a printed invitation. He needs to have a green light from God, and God's going to give that to him, of course.

And then there's another thing. The last time God had appeared to Jacob, He told him to go to Bethel and that that would be the place. Now we find this man wanting to go down and visit his son, and I'm of the opinion he only went down there to spend the holidays and come back home after he'd visited him, but he never returned except for his own funeral.

Now we read verse 1, And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. He took his journey with all that he had, and he came to Beersheba. And here's the amazing thing.

He offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. You remember the first time he left that land, going down to the land of Haran, and he came to Bethel? Was he looking for God? No, he thought he'd run away from Him. And he's not seeking the mind of God at all, nor is he asking for his leading.

What a contrast between Jacob and the servant of Abraham. The servant of Abraham never took a step without looking to God. Jacob took many steps and did not look to God.

He wasn't counting on Him at all and didn't need Him in his life. It took a long time for him to find out that wasn't the proper way to go through life, and it's not the proper motivation for living, especially if you're God's man. How many people today, Christians, they go through the entire week, and God's pretty much out of their program.

They make their own decisions, do what they want to do. Then they come to Sunday, and all of a sudden they find themselves very religious. And they're willing on Sunday to do God's will, and they think God's will is for them to go to church, maybe teach a Sunday school class, but they tell God goodbye Sunday night, especially when they turn on the TV and the rest of the week while God's not in the picture.

This man, Jacob, never looked to God, but now he is. He comes to Beersheba, that's on the way down, and he offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. Now, I tell you, he's coming to God.

Now notice, God is going to be gracious to this man and appear to him. Listen to this now. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob.

And he said, Here am I. And he said, I'm God, the God of thy father. Fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will there make of thee a great nation. Now, God promised that he'd make of Jacob a great nation down in the land of Egypt.

The question now is, did God do that? Well, if you want to turn over a few pages to the book of Exodus, first chapter, verse 7, listen to this. And the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly and multiplied and waxed exceeding mighty, and the land was filled with them. There was really a population explosion of Israelites in the land of Egypt.

What's the explanation? God's making good. I'm the God of thy father. Fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will there make of thee a great nation.

So God is making good that which he promised to him.