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Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP220026S
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00:01 Hello, I'm Jill Morikone and you're watching 3ABN Sabbath
00:03 School Panel. I can't believe that we are at the end of our 00:06 quarter on the book of Genesis, Lesson number 13, Israel in 00:10 Egypt. If you don't have your own copy of the adult Bible 00:14 study guide you can go to 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 00:18 and download your own copy to follow along with us. We want to 00:22 encourage you to grab your Bible and pens and notebooks and get 00:25 ready for this exciting study of the word of God. 00:29 ♪ ♪ 00:59 We are at the end of our journey together through the book of 01:02 Genesis. I cannot believe it. It's been an incredible study 01:06 and we're so grateful that you have joined us week by week as 01:10 we journeyed through these stories and the lessons that we 01:13 can learn for us today. On the panel with me is my family, your 01:17 family at home as well. To my left Pastor John Dinzey. 01:21 Delighted to have you here. 01:23 It's a blessing to be here. Depending on God's grace I'm 01:25 going to cover Monday: Jacob Settles in Egypt. 01:28 Amen. Shelley Quinn, the lady in the middle. So glad you're here. 01:31 I'm pleased. I love this lesson because it's all about the 01:35 prophetic insight of Jacob when he blesses Joseph's two 01:40 children. 01:41 Oh wonderful To your left Pastor Ryan Day. So glad you're here. 01:44 I am excited to be here and I have Wednesday's lesson, 01:47 Jacob Blesses His Sons. 01:51 Amen. Last but not least Pastor James Rafferty on Thursday's 01:55 lesson. Delighted you're here. 01:56 So good to be here and I do have Thursday's lesson, The Hope of 01:59 the Promised Land. 02:00 Amen. Pastor James would you pray for us as we up. 02:04 Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you again for this great 02:07 quarter in the book of Genesis and all the amazing insights 02:12 you've given us that show us what practical Christianity 02:15 looks like and how our hearts are touched by your heart, your 02:20 grace, your mercy, and then that flows out from us to others. 02:23 Sometimes it takes time and we've seen that in the 02:26 experiences of your people through the book of Genesis. 02:28 And now as we finish it up with Joseph, we recognize that there's 02:33 reconciliation in our own lives that can bring us joy and 02:37 happiness and peace and that can bring joy and happiness and 02:40 peace to your own hearts. So speak to us through these last 02:43 chapters we pray and those who are viewing and 02:45 we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 02:48 We're at the end of the quarter. This is lesson number 13 and 02:51 it seems like every time I read a book of the Bible, God shows 02:55 me something different. And I believe as I've been studying, 02:57 we've been studying together this time I've really been 03:00 impressed with the love of God through the book of Genesis. 03:04 We see God's love in creating man and woman and this earth for 03:08 us to enjoy. We see God's love in extending free will to us. 03:12 We can choose to follow Him or we can choose to reject Him. 03:16 We see God's love in the promise of redemption, that Messianic 03:19 promise, Genesis 3:15, in the Seed (capital S) the Messiah 03:22 who would come and redeem us from this world of sin that we 03:26 are in. We see God's love in preserving a remnant from the 03:30 flood and the rainbow of promise that covenant of preservation. 03:35 We see God's love in entering into covenant with Abraham, in 03:39 extending promises of land and descendants the coming Seed, 03:43 the Messiah to Abraham and his descendants. We see God's love 03:49 in spite of humanity's mistakes and the mess-ups that we have 03:53 discovered through this journey, this saga. We see God's love and 03:58 how He works redemptively in each person's heart and life. 04:03 I think specifically of Abraham and how he transformed the man 04:07 who was afraid to trust God with the promise of a son became 04:11 willing to sacrifice that son at the express command of God. 04:15 I think of the transformation in Jacob's life, the man who by 04:19 trickery and treachery, by cunning and deceit sought to 04:23 obtain spiritual blessings through carnal means. 04:26 He wrestled with God and prevailed learning utter 04:30 dependence on God. I think last lesson we studied Judah and the 04:36 transformation in his life, how he was a greedy man who sold 04:40 his brother. He became willing to become a slave himself so 04:44 that his other brother Benjamin could go free. The man who lived 04:48 a sensual pleasure centered life became willing to deny himself 04:52 pleasure, be willing to deny himself rights and personal 04:56 freedom in exchange for his brother's freedom. You know what 04:59 I see in the book of Genesis is a God who wants to work in 05:03 humanity's life, reconcile us back to the Father. That's what 05:07 He wants to do with my life and in your life as well. This is 05:12 part three of Joseph. We're looking specifically at Genesis 05:16 chapters 46 through 50, the very end of the book of Genesis. 05:21 And we pick it up our memory text Genesis 47 verse 17, 27, 05:29 I'm sorry, Genesis 47 verse 27. So Israel dwelt in the land of 05:35 Egypt in the country of Goshen and they had possessions there 05:38 and grew and multiplied exceedingly. 05:41 On Sunday's lesson, we have Jacob Goes to Joseph. Now I have 05:47 renamed this lesson Answers to Prayer at 130. Have you ever 05:53 waited a very long time for God to Answer a Prayer. Think about 05:57 Jacob. We discussed, Shelley brought out, separated 22 years 06:02 from his son Joseph. Twenty-two years thinking his son was dead. 06:06 Twenty-two years mourning that loss and then discovering at the 06:10 end, this was the end of Shelley's lesson last week, this 06:14 is the end of Genesis 45 verse 28. Israel said, It is enough! 06:19 He discoveries all of a sudden Joseph my son is alive. I will 06:23 go and see him before I die. Are you waiting for God to answer a 06:28 prayer in your life. The children of Israel waited and 06:32 groaned under Egyptian bondage and they prayed for deliverance. 06:35 Hannah waited and prayed for a child and she received Samuel. 06:39 Elijah prayed and waited for rain and it came with a deluge. 06:45 Esther fasted and waited and prayed for three days for the 06:48 king. The woman with the issue of blood, she waited 12 years 06:51 for healing. The blind man from John 9, he waited from birth 06:56 for healing. The disciples, they waited 120 days in the upper 07:00 room for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. What are you 07:05 waiting on? Psalm 27:14: Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, He 07:09 will strengthen your heart. We wait on God for strength. 07:12 Psalm 145:15-16 The eyes of all look expectantly to you. You 07:18 give them food in due season. We wait on God for provision. 07:22 1 Corinthians 4 verse 5: Therefore judge nothing before 07:27 the time until the Lord comes who will bring to light the 07:30 hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the heart 07:33 We wait on God to reveal hidden things and situations and what 07:38 is happening. Titus 2:13: Looking for that blessed hope 07:42 and the glorious appearing or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 07:44 We wait on the second coming of Christ. Psalm 33 verse 20: Our 07:51 soul waits for the Lord. He is our help and shield. We wait on 07:55 God to help us and protect us. Jacob waited 22 years and the 08:01 answer to his prayer arrived when he was 130 years old. 08:05 Joseph his son was alive. Looking at Genesis chapter 46 08:12 specifically today. I've divided it up into three sections. God's 08:16 promise, God's children, and God's reunion. So let's look at 08:22 God's promise from Genesis 46 verse 1. Israel took his journey 08:26 with all they had and came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices 08:31 to the God of his father Isaac. So Israel, Jacob, is leaving the 08:38 land of promise, the land given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 08:41 He's going down to Egypt and all of a sudden God shows up and 08:48 offers reassurance to him. We're in verse 2. God spoke to Israel 08:52 in the visions of the night and said Jacob, Jacob and he said 08:56 Here I am. So he said, I am God, the God of your fathers. Do not 09:00 fear to go down to Egypt for I will make of you a great nation 09:04 there. I will go down with you to Egypt. I will surely bring 09:08 you up again and Joseph will put his hands on your eyes. 09:13 God reiterates the promise that He had made to Abraham. You 09:17 actually, see a couple parallels that the lesson brought out 09:20 which I love between Abraham's call and Jacob's call when he's 09:24 leaving the land of promise going into the land of Egypt. 09:28 God told Abraham in Genesis 12 I will make of you a great 09:32 nation. God's telling Jacob or Israel here right now don't be 09:35 afraid to go down to Egypt. I will make of you a great nation. 09:39 God told Abraham in Genesis chapter 15 Do not fear. God told 09:46 Israel right here Do not fear. So God is making a promise. He's 09:51 leaving the land of promise, going into Egypt and God's 09:54 saying, I will be with you. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt. 09:58 Now we look at God's children. Now there's a whole bunch of 10:01 genealogy going on here. We won't read that. Of those who 10:05 went down to Egypt it starts first with the children and 10:08 grandchildren by Leah and the Bible says there were 33 in all. 10:11 Then it has the children and grandchildren by Zilpah, the 10:16 concubine. There are 16. Then the children by Rachel. There 10:20 are 14 in all. Interestingly I guess I never processed or 10:24 remembered it before, Benjamin had 10 sons. So that's a great 10:27 deal of children. Then we have Bilhah and the children or 10:33 descendants would be seven. Now the persons of the house of 10:37 Jacob were 70. Seventy indicates totality, all of Jacobs family, 10:42 went down to Egypt. Seventy indicates all nations. The 10:46 destiny of all nations is really at stake in this journey. Now 10:51 interestingly if you read Acts chapter seven, Stephen's defense 10:56 he actually said 75 people went down to Egypt. So that's 11:00 interesting because when I read it, it says 70, and Stephen said 11:03 there were 75. He was a Greek believer, he would have studied 11:07 the Greek Septuagint and the Greek Septuagint mentions 75 11:11 names instead of 70. So regardless of that Jacob and his 11:18 entire household went down to Egypt. Because the seed of 11:22 Abraham it's important for all of us what happens with the 11:26 children of Israel because through them will come the 11:29 the Messiah or came the Messiah because that would be past tense 11:32 now. Now let's look at God's reunion. This is the last 11:35 section from Genesis 46 verses 28 through 34. And this is very 11:41 interesting to me. If you pick it up in verse 28, I'm sorry, 11:45 Genesis 46:28. Then he, that's Jacob or Israel, send Judah 11:51 before him to Joseph. Now we see Judah almost taking on some 11:56 of those firstborn rights. You see that. We studied last lesson 12:01 about the repentance of Judah and now he's taking on what the 12:05 firstborn, he's going ahead of them. He's going to Joseph to 12:09 point out beforehand the way to Goshen, the best land of Egypt. 12:13 And they came to the land of Goshen. So Joseph made ready his 12:16 chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. Can 12:19 you imagine 22 years not knowing if your father was alive. 12:22 We often focus on Jacob's grief do we not? He thought his son 12:26 was dead and he's grieving also the son for 22 years. But Joseph 12:29 has been in exile. Joseph has been a slave and now elevated to 12:34 one of the second in command position there in Egypt. But 12:38 Joseph missed his father and after 22 years he's going to see 12:43 his father again. He made ready his chariot and went up to 12:46 Goshen to meet his father Israel and he presented himself to him 12:50 and fell on his neck and wept a good while. And Israel said to 12:56 Joseph, now let me die since I have seen your face because you 13:00 are still alive. We see the answers to prayer for both the 13:04 father and the son. After 22 years of separation they are 13:09 brought back together. They are reunited. Answers to prayer at 13:15 130. What was lost is restored. So know what you are praying for 13:20 today. Have you waited a long time for the answers to those 13:25 prayers? Are you wondering where is God? Why isn't He hearing me? 13:29 Do not lose heart. Do not give up. Because your God, our God, 13:37 loves to hear and answer prayers and our God wants to work 13:43 redemptively in each person's heart and in their lives. 13:46 Amen, amen, amen. 13:48 Well we now move to Mondays portion of the lesson. My name 13:54 is John Dinzey and the title of the lesson is Jacob Settles in 13:58 Egypt. And Monday's portion takes us into chapter 47 of the 14:03 book of Genesis. But I need to make reference to chapter 46 14:07 verse 34 because this sets up the stage for chapter 47. Notice 14:14 that it says: Then ye shall say thy servants are men, they have 14:18 been occupied with cattle from our youth even until now both we 14:23 and our fathers in order that you may dwell in the land of 14:27 Goshen for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians. 14:31 And this is what Joseph told his brothers that he would present 14:36 before the Pharaoh to say. Now there's a reason why this 14:43 counsel is given by Joseph to his brothers and we're going to 14:46 look at that in a moment. But here in Genesis chapter 47 14:49 verses one through six, let's read that quickly. 14:53 Then Joseph and told Pharaoh, my father and my brothers, their 14:56 flocks and their herds and all that they possess have come from 14:59 the land of Canaan and indeed they are in the land of Goshen. 15:02 They could not survive if they stayed in that land of Canaan. 15:06 And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them 15:11 the Pharaoh. These brothers are not named. Then Pharaoh said to 15:15 his brothers, what is your occupation? They were ready to 15:20 according to what Joseph told them. And they said to Pharaoh, 15:23 Your servants are shepherds both we and also our fathers. Notice 15:27 the respect they present to the Pharaoh. Your servants are 15:32 shepherds. And they said to Pharaoh, We have come to dwell 15:35 in the land because your servants have no pasture for 15:37 their flocks for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. 15:41 Now therefore please let your servants dwell in the land of 15:45 Goshen. Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph saying, Your father and 15:48 your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. 15:52 Have your father and your brothers dwell in the best of 15:55 the land. Let them dwell in the land of Goshen and if you know 15:59 any competent men among them, make them overseers or chief 16:06 herdsmen over my livestock. So here we have that this Pharaoh 16:10 is wise. Wise because he's asking take the cream of the 16:15 crop from among your brothers and set them as herdsmen, chief 16:19 herdsmen, of my livestock. And so you know he's looking for 16:24 talent. And if he sees talent in them, he puts Joseph in charge. 16:29 Very interesting concerning the dreams that God gave to Joseph 16:34 concerning his brothers. Joseph at this stage, he is over his 16:40 father and his brethren just as he had dreamed. Now the lesson 16:46 brings out a quote from Ellen G. White's writings, Patriarchs 16:47 and Prophets that is recommended for our reading. The whole book 16:52 actually, but let's look at p. 232, 233 actually. The lesson 16:56 brings out: Joseph took five of his brothers to present to 16:59 Pharaoh and receive from his the grant of land for their future 17:03 home. Gratitude to his prime minister, which was Joseph, 17:07 would have led the monarch to honor them with appointments 17:10 to offices of state, but Joseph, true to the worship of Jehovah 17:15 sought to save his brothers from the temptations to which they 17:20 would be exposed at a heathen court. So this was the wisdom 17:25 that God gave Joseph to say, say you are shepherds. Therefore he 17:31 counseled them when questioned by the king to tell him frankly 17:34 occupation. The sons of Jacob followed this counsel being 17:37 careful also to state that they had come to sojourn in the land, 17:41 not to become permanent dwellers there, they reserving the right 17:44 to depart if they chose. The king assigned them a home as 17:49 offered in the best of the land the country of Goshen. So we see 17:54 here that God prepared a place for His children in the land of 17:59 Goshen. There they would be separated from the rest of the 18:02 population where they could avoid the evil influences that 18:06 all of Egypt had. They were pagans. So there they could 18:12 thrive and have success. Now let's go here into Genesis 18:18 chapter 47 verses seven through ten. This is the time when 18:22 Joseph brings his father Jacob before the Pharaoh. 18:25 An interesting conversation takes place, very short, but 18:29 this is what happened beginning in verse seven. Then Joseph 18:32 brought his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh and Jacob 18:35 blessed Pharaoh. Hmm. Very interesting. And Jacob said to 18:40 Pharaoh the day...I'm sorry verse eight. Pharaoh said to 18:42 Jacob, how old are you? I'm not sure what appearance Jacob had 18:47 but that prompted the question. And Jacob said to Pharaoh, the 18:51 days of years of my pilgrimage are 130 years, few and evil have 18:58 been the days of the years of my life and they have not attained 19:01 to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days 19:05 of their pilgrimage. So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, notice that, 19:10 and went out from before Pharaoh Very interesting situation 19:16 because you see the Pharaoh is supposed to be the high priest 19:18 of his country so he's the one that's supposed to give the 19:23 blessings. But here we have Jacob blessing the Pharaoh. And 19:27 notice that Jacob didn't say as other people would probably 19:30 before the Pharaoh, Long live the king or live forever thou 19:35 Pharaoh. No, he recognized... This is very interesting. 19:38 There's this quote from Ellen G. White's writings I'd like to 19:40 bring out to you which is very interesting. Page 233: Not long 19:44 after their arrival Joseph brought his father also to be 19:47 presented to the king. The patriarch was a stranger in 19:50 royal courts, but amid the sublime things of nature he had 19:54 communed with a mightier monarch and now in conscious superiority 20:00 he raised his hand and blessed the Pharaoh. 20:02 That's in Patriarchs and Prophets. 20:04 Patriarchs and Prophets, page 233. Thank you. So Jacob 20:10 recognized his position as a prophet and blessing the 20:14 Pharaoh. And remember the title of the lesson is Jacob in the 20:18 Land of Egypt. But other things take place there and you have a 20:24 description of how Joseph managed some of the time of the 20:31 years of famine. Remember some time had passed even before his 20:33 brothers had come. Now the Bible gives you a few details of how 20:39 difficult this was. Beginning here in Genesis chapter 47 verse 20:44 13, it says: Now there was no bread in the land for the famine 20:51 was very severe so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan 20:53 languished because of the famine And detail is given that as time 21:00 passed the people would come to Joseph and Joseph says Okay we 21:04 will sell you for the money you have. After the money was gone 21:08 then they said, Well we don't have any more money. Well let's 21:13 talk about the cattle you have. So the cattle were sold to 21:17 Joseph for the benefit of the King. And then they said well we 21:21 don't have any more money, we don't have any cattle. All we 21:24 have is our lives and the land. Okay, that's fine. Let's take 21:28 possession of your land. Now this is very interesting because 21:31 back in those days, as you know, as kingdoms were forming people 21:36 would just come upon a spot. Hey, this looks like a good spot. 21:38 Why don't we settle here? And they would grow their crops and 21:42 you know raise their animals and they, first come first serve, 21:46 this is my spot and so Egypt did not necessarily own all the land 21:52 at this period of time, so Joseph very wisely, purchases 21:56 the land so that the kingdom or Pharaoh could be in control of 22:01 the land. So what happens next? They had no money, they had no 22:05 cattle, they have no land. They said well the only thing we have 22:10 is our lives. And so he said okay we'll take that too and so 22:14 at this particular time the kingdom of Egypt owned every 22:19 thing. But notice that after a period of time Joseph, after he 22:25 has all this, he brings seed to the people and says you grow it 22:30 and you keep four parts and give one part to the Pharaoh. Now 22:37 secures of course for the kingdom the things they need. 22:41 and so it was very wise. Now you look at that and you say it was 22:45 like a fifth portion. You look at that and you say wow that 22:48 seems like 20 percent, that's a lot! But back in those days 22:51 other kingdoms were charging 33 percent. So it's a reasonable 22:55 offer and you know what the people said? You have saved our 23:00 lives. They were grateful. They were grateful because now he's 23:02 also providing things for them. 23:04 The time is rushing so I have to go. I'm just going to skip down 23:09 to verse 27. When you get to verse 27 and onward you see that 23:15 Jacob asks or makes a request to Joseph and says Please do not 23:22 bury me in Egypt. Take me out of this place. He wanted to be 23:28 buried along with his fathers. So Jacob the last 17 years of 23:33 his life he faced much toil, I didn't cover that part because 23:36 he had few days. I mean he experienced a lot of trouble 23:41 The deceiver was deceived many times. Learned a valuable lesson 23:45 which is a lesson for us. If you practice deception, as you sow 23:49 you will reap. So I encourage you, follow the Lord, be 23:53 faithful and, you know, Jacob repented and the Lord blessed 23:57 his latter years with peace. 23:59 Amen. We see redemption again in that story. Don't go away. 24:02 We will be right back. 24:03 ♪ ♪ 24:09 Ever wish you could watch the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again 24:12 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:15 Well you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 24:20 A clean design makes it easy to find the program you're looking 24:24 for. There are also links to the adult Bible study guide so you 24:29 can follow along. Sharing is easy. Just pick share and choose 24:33 your favorite social media. Share a link, save a life for 24:37 eternity. 24:39 Welcome back to lesson number 13 Israel in Egypt and we'll 24:43 continue with Tuesday's lesson and my sister Shelley. 24:45 Thank you so much for the foundation that you have laid. 24:49 And I am Shelley Quinn and this is Tuesday's lesson, Jacob 24:55 Blesses Joseph's Sons. So what happens, Joseph comes, this is 25:01 at the end of Jacob's life. Joseph comes to the bedside of 25:05 his ailing father and I mean his lights are going out fast. His 25:09 eyes are growing dim. He's losing his strength. But Joseph 25:14 brings his two oldest sons, and that's Manasseh and Ephraim to 25:20 see their grandfather. And you know it's interesting as 25:24 grandparents often do or somebody when they're about to 25:27 die, Jacob summons the strength to sit up in bed and here's the 25:36 interesting part. You read in Genesis 47:9 the pessimistic 25:42 report that Jacob made to Pharaoh when he said how old are 25:47 you and he say Aw few and evil have been the days of my 130 25:56 years of my life's pilgrimage. But now as he approaches death 26:00 Genesis 48, let's look at verse 15. Hey, he's got a different 26:04 evaluation of his life. He recognizes that every day was 26:09 under God's control. So Genesis 48:15: And he blessed Joseph 26:15 and said, God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked 26:19 the God who has fed me all my lifelong to this day, the angel 26:29 who is redeeming...Now here he's talking about the angel of the 26:31 Lord with whom he wrestled and said Oh I'm not going to let you 26:34 go until you bless me. This was the pre-incarnate Christ who 26:39 changed Jacob's name, that was his biological name but He 26:45 changed it to the spiritual name Israel, one who has contended 26:50 with God and won. And he says So this angel who has redeemed 26:55 me. You know this is the first mention of God as Redeemer. 27:00 Amen. Isn't that interesting? You go back and of course we 27:04 think of Genesis 3:15 we use the word redeemer but in the Old 27:09 Testament this is the first mention...Who has redeemed me 27:13 from all evil. He said, Bless the lads, his grandsons. Let my 27:20 name be named upon them and the name of my father's Abraham and 27:23 Isaac, and let them go into a multitude in the midst of the 27:30 earth. This is a covenant blessing. God made his covenant 27:34 with Abraham, He renewed it with Isaac, He renewed it with Jacob, 27:38 and so that's why He's called the God of Abraham, Isaac and 27:42 Jacob, but you also here And the God of Israel. Israel can 27:48 refer to Jacob but it is also the nation that God renews His 27:56 covenant with them at the Mount of Sinai. So verse 5. I'm going 28:04 to back up. In verse five, the dying Jacob says to Joseph, Now 28:09 your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh who were born to you in 28:14 the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt are mine. As 28:20 _they shall be mine He adopts his grandsons. Ephraim 28:29 and Manasseh who are now adopted are going to receive the 28:33 of the first and second born in place of Jacob's first and 28:40 second-born sons who were by Leah. And that would be Reuben. 28:45 Reuben has been displaced if you will because of his sexual sin 28:51 with his father's concubine and then Simeon brought disgrace 28:55 upon his father when he and his brother Levi, when their sister 29:02 Dinah was raped they talked their father, they conned him 29:06 and told Jacob to have all the men of this village be circumcised 29:11 and that should have been a sign of covenant unity and what 29:16 they did was when all the men were circumcised and laying 29:19 around, then Simeon and Levi went in slaughtered every man. 29:24 They massacred and this brought disgrace on Jacob. So Joseph... 29:30 This is what I love. Joseph has his oldest son Manasseh, he 29:36 positions him at Jacob's right hand because he wants him, he's 29:42 the oldest, he wants him to get the firstborn blessing. Then he 29:45 takes Ephraim and he positions him at Jacob's left hand. But 29:53 Jacob calls the boys near to him and before blessing them he 29:59 embraces them and he kisses them Now I'm wondering...At this 30:03 point don't you think Jacob was thinking yeah I went through 30:07 this with my dad and I deceived him and I took the firstborn 30:11 blessing even when dad, you know I had the fur on my arms and all 30:15 of this stuff and my brother's clothes. But now what happens? 30:21 Jacob is going to do something really unique in a surprising 30:27 way. Jacob takes his right hand and puts it on Ephraim's head 30:32 He takes his left hand and puts it on Manasseh's. He's got them 30:38 crossed. And Joseph didn't like this. He tries to correct his 30:42 father. It's like no, no, no, no Manasseh's the oldest. Your 30:45 right-hand goes on him, dad. You know you're getting old and 30:48 senile. But Jacob refuses and here's what I believe. I believe 30:53 it was prophetic insight because Manasseh was going to become a 31:00 leader of the tribe but God's hand was on Ephraim to be a 31:07 leader of the nation. Actually the 10 northern kingdoms became 31:15 known as Ephraim. And his position in history is so 31:20 important that his name Ephraim became a substitute for Israel's 31:26 northern kingdom. Let me give you an example. Jeremiah 31:20: 31:31 This is the Lord speaking and He said, Is Ephraim my dear son? 31:38 Now he's not speaking of the boy, the son of Joseph. He's 31:49 speaking of the nation, the Northern Kingdom. See when God 31:54 calls someone His son this is a covenant term So God says, Is 32:01 Ephraim my dear son. He's talking about covenant son ship. 32:07 Is he a pleasant child for though I spoke against him, 32:10 against the northern kingdom I earnestly remember him still. 32:14 Therefore my heart yearns for him. I will surely mercy on him 32:19 says the Lord. So what we see here as Joseph brings his sons 32:26 to Jacob to be blessed Jacob has the insight...See I believe all 32:32 along Jacob was meant to get the firstborn blessing because Esau 32:37 was a rough character who didn't put any value on God's blessings 32:43 So Jacob got the...He was the younger of the two, but God 32:48 chose him for firstborn blessings and I believe God 32:52 chose Ephraim for firstborn blessings. So we've got now 32:57 Jacob; he's adopted these two boys and Joseph gets blessed 33:01 because of this, right? It's increasing a portion to Joseph. 33:06 But he's now praying for the Creator God, the God of the 33:11 covenant to identify with these children and for his new sons to 33:18 identify with God that they would not get into the Egyptian 33:24 culture and their pagan religions. And Jacob promises 33:30 Joseph that God would be with him, that he would bring him 33:34 back to the land of his fathers in Canaan. And here's an 33:39 interesting point that the quarterly makes. By referring... 33:44 as Jacob is giving all of this...by referring to the 33:49 experiences where God turns evil into good Jacob expresses his 33:55 hope that not only will God take care of the present lives of his 34:00 grandsons just as he did for him and for Joseph, but he also 34:06 thinks of the future when his descendants will return to 34:11 Canaan. Jacob kept in mind the promises of God who said that 34:17 through his family all the nations of the earth would be 34:22 blessed. 34:24 Amen. Praise the Lord. 34:26 Thank you Shelley for setting it up nicely for me because as she 34:31 had Joseph's sons that were blessed by Jacob and I have 34:33 Wednesday's lesson entitled Jacob Blesses His Sons. 34:38 (Ryan Day) And you know I heard someone say years ago that the 34:41 most important words are the words of a dying man. And in 34:45 this particular instance the lesson brings out pertaining 34:54 to the verses that we're about to go through, this is Genesis 34:57 chapter 49 verses 1 through 28. So we're going to take on almost 35:00 the entire chapter. But the 49th chapter is all Jacob. He is 35:04 going through each one of his sons and he's declaring a truth 35:10 about them and their character and of course ultimately ends up 35:13 blessing them all. But the lesson brings this out and I 35:15 think it's important for us to understand because when we go 35:18 through this, it's almost... Jacob's almost like a poet when 35:23 he's declaring these different truths pertaining to the 35:26 character and the future of, you know, of his sons and their 35:29 descendants. It's quite interesting that you know you 35:32 could take this literal and think oh he's declaring a truth 35:35 about what these guys are going to do but in this case, we have 35:39 to understand that the lesson brings out, it says: The text 35:41 goes through the future line of each of these men, speaking of 35:44 the sons of Jacob. These are not predestinated fate, so get that 35:48 in your head, these are not predestinated fate as if God 35:52 willed that each of these would face what they faced. Rather 35:56 they are expressions of what their characters and the 35:59 character of their children would bring about. God's knowing 36:03 for instance and it gives an example here that someone will 36:05 kill an innocent man is a radically different thing than 36:08 God having willed that the killer do it. So it's just 36:12 bringing about that this is not necessarily their fate or their 36:15 future but rather the character behind these individuals. 36:18 So we're going to start in Genesis chapter 49 verse 1 and 36:22 he addresses his firstborn. Reuben first. And so notice what 36:26 he says here in verse...let's start with verse 1, yeah. 36:29 It says And Jacob called his sons and said gather together 36:31 that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days. 36:36 Gather together and hear you sons of Jacob and listen to 36:40 Israel your father. You can imagine they're gathered 36:43 together and listening because they know these are probably the 36:47 last words of their father. And he addresses Reuben first. 36:49 Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my 36:54 strength. The excellency of dignity and the excellency of 36:59 power. But then he says: Unstable as water you shall not 37:03 excel because you went up to your father's bed, then you 37:07 defiled it. He went up to my couch. And he moves on to Simeon 37:11 Actually, I should say Simeon and Levi. Notice how he brought 37:16 those two together. He didn't address them individually but 37:19 you know those two they kind of sealed up their history together 37:22 when what they did in the Dinah situation. So he addresses them 37:27 together. He says Simeon and Levi are brothers, instruments 37:31 of cruelty are in their dwelling place. Let not my soul enter 37:35 their counsel. Let not my honor be united in their assembly for 37:38 in their anger, they slew a man and in their self will they 37:43 hamstrung an ox. Cursed be their anger for it is fierce and 37:47 their wrath for it is cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and 37:52 scatter them in Israel. So far it doesn't sound like we're off 37:54 to a positive start here. It doesn't sound like much of a 37:58 blessing. But once we get down to the end of this chapter, we'll 38:00 see that he does end up blessing all of his sons. Because you 38:02 know Jacob's a parent even though he's addressing the truth 38:06 behind the characters of these individuals. This is somewhat of 38:09 a rebuke and a reminder of what they have done. Of course the 38:12 blessing that he's going to give later on is going to be a 38:15 reminder of the man he wants them to become, he wants them 38:18 to be. In this case, I think any parent no matter what the faults 38:22 or the previous past issues were with the children all parents I 38:27 believe, or goodhearted parents, want their children to be 38:32 Jacob's heart is in the right place. But nonetheless, he's not 38:35 holding back. He's telling the truth about what these young men 38:38 have done. Now he goes on to Judah. And Judah, only second to 38:42 Joseph has the longest address and Judah's address when we 38:45 start reading through this tell me...I'm can just almost see you 38:49 nodding, nodding your head because as you read through this 38:51 this is very prophetic. This is a Messianic prophecy, to be 38:55 honest. Because through Judah we know would come to Christ, you know 39:00 through the tribe of Judah. So it's interesting. Notice what it 39:02 says in the beginning of verse 8 It says: Judah you are he whom 39:06 your brothers shall praise. Your hand shall be on the neck of 39:10 your enemies. Your father's children shall bow down before 39:13 you. And you'll notice here Judah is a lion's whelp, a prey 39:18 my son. You have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a 39:21 lion and as a lion who shall rouse him? A scepter shall not 39:25 depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until 39:30 Shiloh comes. This is another word for Shalom or peace until 39:35 peace comes. And to him shall all the obedience of the people 39:38 binding his donkey to the vine and his donkey's colt to the 39:42 choice vine. He washed his garments in the wine and his 39:46 clothes in the blood of the grapes. His eyes are darker 39:49 than wine and his teeth whiter than milk. All of this is very 39:54 Messianic in the very words and the very expressions that he's 39:58 using. This is speaking of Christ. This is speaking of the 40:00 peace that would be brought through the lineage of Judah you 40:04 know from Jesus Christ himself. As I was reading this Isaiah 40:07 nine and six, and I think the lesson even brings this out 40:09 Isaiah 9:6,7 speaking of Christ that great Messianic passage 40:13 For unto us a child is born and to us, a Son is given and the 40:17 government shall be upon His shoulders and His name shall be 40:20 called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, 40:23 Prince of, there it is, Shalom or Shiloh, prince of peace. It 40:29 goes on to say in verse 7: And of the increase of His 40:31 government and peace, there it is again, and peace there shall 40:35 be no end. Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom 40:38 to order it and to establish it with judgment and justice and 40:41 from that time forward even forever the zeal of the Lord of 40:44 hosts will perform this. And in the Spirit of Prophecy just 40:48 again making a simple point to what we just read about Judah 40:52 she says this in Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 236. This is the 40:56 lion, king of the forest, it is a fitting symbol of this tribe 41:00 which, again, came from David and the Son of David, Shiloh, 41:05 the true Lion of the tribe of Judah to whom all power shall 41:08 finally, bow and all nations render homage. So this is very 41:12 prophetic and Jacob is calling this out to Judah we're back 41:17 here looking...we're forward looking back going Aw. This was 41:20 very prophetic and now he was actually giving a Messianic 41:23 prophecy speaking of Jesus Christ coming. Now he goes on to 41:27 Zebulun shall dwell in the haven of the sea. He shall become a 41:33 haven for ships and his border shall adjoin Sidon. Issachar 41:38 is a strong donkey lying down between two burdens. He saw the 41:43 rest was good and that the land was pleasant. He bowed his 41:47 shoulder to bear a burden and became a band of slaves. Then he 41:52 moves on to Dan. Dan, you'll see in a few minutes when we get 41:58 to Revelation as I reference Revelation, Dan is removed from 42:00 the list because Dan didn't go on to do what Dan was supposed 42:02 to do. And so it goes on to say though, Dan shall judge his 42:06 people and one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent 42:09 by the way, a viper by the path that bites the horses heals so 42:13 that its rider shall fall backward. I have waited for your 42:17 salvation O Lord. And then of course on to Gad. Gad, a troop 42:20 shall tramp upon him and he shall triumph at last. Bread 42:25 from Asher shall be rich and he shall yield royal dainties. 42:30 It goes on to Naphtali. It says: Naphtali is a dear let loose and 42:36 uses beautiful words. This is very poetic as you're going 42:39 through them. I mean, he had a sharp mind in his latter moments 42:43 of life to be able to come up with these beautiful words. And 42:46 then he moves on to Joseph. Joseph is a fruitful bough, a 42:48 fruitful bough by a well. His branches run over the wall. The 42:54 archers have bitterly grieved him shot at him and hated him 42:57 but his bow remained in strength and the arms of his hands were 43:02 made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. (From there 43:05 is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), by the God of your 43:08 father who will help you and the Almighty who will bless you with 43:12 blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies 43:15 beneath, blessings of the breast of the womb, blessing of your 43:19 father have excelled in blessings of my ancestors up to 43:23 the utmost bough of the everlasting hills. They shall 43:26 on the head of Joseph and on the crown of the head of him who was 43:30 separated from his brothers. Joseph went through some stuff 43:34 as we have clearly stated but now you know in his time of 43:37 trouble now in his father's latter days as he's now coming 43:41 out of all of that trouble and he is seeing his family 43:43 reunited. He gets perhaps the biggest blessing of all as you 43:47 see the word blessed, blessings, blessings, blessings being 43:51 repeated because Jacob wanted to bless his son of which he was 43:53 separated from for more than 20 years. And so in this case he 43:56 moves on to his youngest son Benjamin and it's quite 43:59 interesting because Benjamin's as interesting. Benjamin is a 44:02 ravenous wolf. In the morning he shall devour the prey and at 44:06 night he shall divide the spoil. I couldn't help it but my mind 44:09 went to 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 8 where he's talking about 44:13 Lucifer, right, who is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may 44:15 devour. In this case, I don't think that necessarily applies 44:18 to Benjamin. But it's talking about the strength, the power of 44:21 Benjamin and the tribe of Benjamin was certainly that. 44:24 But then verse 28, and I'm running out of time here. In 44:27 closing it says: All these are the 12 tribes of Israel and this 44:31 is what their father spoke to them. And even thought he had 44:35 some negative things to say about some of his sons, here 44:38 comes the blessing. It says: And he blessed them. He blessed each 44:42 one according to his own blessing. Praise the Lord for 44:46 that blessing while those men had their own faults their names 44:50 would reach far and beyond all the scriptures, even into the 44:52 very last days where the 144,000 shall be spiritually coming out 44:57 of those tribes, my brother. 44:59 Amen. Amen, thank you Ryan. I am James Rafferty and I have 45:03 Thursday's lesson, The Hope of the Promised Land. And I'm 45:06 picking up right where Ryan left off. We're in verse 29 of 45:09 chapter 49. We're going to take if from verse 29 all the way 45:13 through chapter 50. I love it what you were saying there. You 45:16 know, God predicts but God doesn't necessitate us 45:20 fulfilling these descriptions. For example, Levi was scattered 45:25 among the tribes. That was the curse that Levi and Simeon 45:28 received. God turned that into a blessing when the Levites stood 45:31 faithfully for the 10 commandments, for Moses there at 45:36 Mt. Sinai and they were scattered still but they were 45:38 scattered as priests. So we don't need to see this as a 45:44 negative. Got many times reveals to us our character so that we 45:48 can make changes through His grace. So we can improve through 45:51 His grace. And then basically Jacob says you know, He charged 45:55 them, verse 29, he said to them I'm going to be gathered to my 45:59 fathers in the cave. I want to be buried in the cave in the 46:02 field of Ephron the Hittite. And this cave is in the land of 46:07 Canaan. This is a powerful last wish. You know you were talking 46:11 Ryan about these last wishes you know that we ask when we're 46:15 dying and the most important things to us. Well the most 46:17 important thing to Jacob is that he would be buried in the land 46:21 of Canaan, not in the land of Egypt, that he would be buried 46:24 with Leah in the cave that he purchased, verse 32. And this is 46:30 really speaking to us in a sense of the promised land. You see 46:34 the literal land of Canaan was a symbol of the promised land. 46:37 of the eternal inheritance that we are given through Jesus 46:42 Christ. And so basically what Jacob is saying to his sons is 46:46 listen, Egypt is providing for us right now and this is where 46:50 we kind of have to hang out. This is where we have to be you 46:52 know. We have to kind of...but this isn't really our future. 46:55 This earth isn't really our future and this earth is 47:00 temporary and so we need to be thinking about Canaan. We need 47:03 to be thinking about where we're going to end up and what God has 47:06 promised to us and I want our minds and our hearts to be there 47:09 God is going to bless us while we're here, but we need to 47:11 be there. In fact, I love that because you know in the New 47:14 Testament in Ephesians chapter 2 it says we're sitting in 47:16 heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And in Hebrews 11 it says, We're 47:20 strangers and sojourners on this earth. You know and when you 47:23 think about even Jesus talking in Luke 16:8 He talked about how 47:27 the people of this world are wiser than us, you know. When 47:32 you think about, you know john you were sharing this whole idea 47:35 of the Egyptians you know, first of all their money and then they 47:40 gave all their animals and then they gave all their land and 47:43 then they gave themselves and they were happy to do it because 47:46 you saved our lives. And here Jesus Christ has saved our lives 47:50 and not only for this but for eternity. And we kind of 47:53 sometimes are kind of unhappy to do it. You know. We should be 47:56 giving Him everything we have and everything we are, ourselves 48:01 our land or everything and be happy about it because he saved 48:05 our lives for eternity. And this was what Jacob wanted to close 48:09 out with. As he's ending these blessings he wants to remind 48:12 them of the promises of God. The promised land, Canaan, 48:16 that's where I want to be. That's where my heart is. 48:19 That's where I want to be buried. And then it goes on. 48:22 There are three points in this lesson that are really powerful. 48:24 That's the first one the lesson brings out this idea of being 48:29 buried in Canaan which is a type of the heavenly. And then it 48:32 talks about what happens when Jacob dies. What happens when 48:36 Jacob dies basically is that the brothers fear that Joseph hasn't 48:44 forgiven them. And this is what happens you know when you carry 48:48 guilt year after year after year You don't confess your sins, you 48:52 don't give your sins to the Lord You don't just let Him have them 48:53 and you carry that. You have a hard time believing that you're 48:59 forgiven, right? So you know. I mean Joseph forgive them 49:02 before they even came, really he did. But he still tested them 49:05 right? But he...God had helped him forgive. But they, they had 49:13 a hard time with that, you know. And so Joseph has to speak to 49:14 them and he has to just encourage them. Listen I have 49:17 forgiven you. I don't hold anything against you. Verse 17 49:22 of chapter 50 So forgive I pray thee now the trespass of thy 49:28 brethren and their sin for they did unto thee evil and now we 49:31 pray thee forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of 49:34 thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. Why do you 49:39 think he wept? He wept and he said I'm not...verse 19: I'm not 49:44 in the place of God. I'm not in the place of God. You did evil 49:48 against me but God...verse 20... God meant it unto good to bring 49:52 to pass as it is this day to save much people alive. This is 49:55 a whole type of the plan of salvation. Friends, God is 49:58 calling us to forgive. Jacob had to forgive. Now think about that 50:03 Jacob realizes after 22 years of carrying this burden it probably 50:06 shortened his life because you know Abraham lived for 175 and 50:10 Isaac lived for 180. He said and I didn't live as long as them. 50:12 I'm about ready to die and I'm 130. So all that weight of 50:17 sorrow that he carried and when he realized his children had 50:20 done this to him, he had to forgive them. Jacob had to 50:26 forgive them. And of course Joseph had to forgive and of 50:29 course Joseph's brothers had to forgive. But the most difficult 50:32 forgiveness that they found was to forgive themselves. And that 50:36 is the hardest thing for us to do sometimes, isn't it? You know 50:42 to actually know that we have been forgiven and to accept that 50:44 forgiveness. And this is such a powerful lesson that it's 50:48 brought out when you contrast Genesis 49, just going back a 50:51 little bit to Dan, right, who's missing in Revelation 7. God is 50:56 sealing us into His forgiveness. The Holy Spirit is sealing us 50:59 into this forgiveness, into the everlasting gospel and the 51:02 forgiveness that we find in Jesus Christ. And those people 51:05 who hang on to unforgiveness become critical, they become 51:10 judgmental. The word Dan means to judge. Daniel means God is 51:14 judge. God is judge. So the Dan is one who judges. He can't let 51:19 go of that judgmental spirit. He's like a serpent in the way 51:23 an adder in the path that bites the horse heels so the rider 51:25 falls backwards. So in spiritual reality and experience Dan is 51:30 not in Revelation 7 because that character can't be sealed. It's 51:33 not that people in the tribe of Dan aren't going to be in heaven 51:36 that's not the point. The point God is making is the character 51:38 of those who are going to be sealed. Manasseh is there. 51:42 Manasseh replaces Dan because the word means to remit or to 51:45 forgive or to forget. Let it go. And so God is saying, let that 51:50 stuff go. I'm going to let it go you let it go and therefore when 51:54 we see Revelation, we compare it to Genesis chapter 49, we see 51:59 that correlation we realize wow God is speak...we want to argue 52:03 is the 144,000 literal or is it symbolic, you know. Well let's 52:07 get a little deeper than that. You now that's just on the 52:10 surface. Let's get deep into the characteristics because all 52:12 through Revelation we're talking about character 52:14 development, the character of the dragon and the character of 52:15 the Lamb. That's what we're talking about ultimately, right? 52:18 And that's what Jacob wants to impress upon his children and 52:22 that is also what Joseph wants to bring to the front. In fact, 52:25 Joseph really is revealing Christ in a sense. Because he's 52:30 saying, please, you've got to know, I've forgiven you. I've 52:33 forgiven you. This is what Jesus wants us to know through Joseph 52:36 I've forgiven you. Please don't, please believe that. Please 52:42 don't experience unbelief in the fact that I've forgiven you. And 52:44 here's the last lesson and this lesson is in verse 24: And 52:47 then Joseph said unto his brethren, I die and surely God 52:51 will visit you and he will bring you out of this land unto the 52:54 which he swore to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. And Joseph took 52:59 an oath...verse 25...of the children of Israel God will 53:02 surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones from the land 53:06 from hence. Can you imagine that I mean when we think about a 53:09 skeleton, when we really want to get scary and down you know we 53:12 put the skull up, you know people have the skull and the 53:14 skeleton and the bones, we're like yeah! you know. And Joseph 53:18 was saying I want you to take my bones out of here. My bones 53:20 don't belong in Egypt. Right? This reminds us of 1 Corinthians 53:25 chapter 15, you know. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 God 53:29 says that the last enemy that is going to be destroyed is death. 53:33 I love this. Death is an enemy and God's going to destroy it. 53:36 Verse 26 of 1 Corinthians 15: Then he says...verse 51...Behold 53:40 I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep but we shall all 53:43 be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last 53:47 trump, for the trumpet, shall sound and the dead shall be 53:50 raised incorruptible and shall be changed. For this corruption 53:53 must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on 53:57 immortality. So when this corruptible shall put on 54:00 incorruption, this mortal shall put on immortality, then shall 54:02 be brought to pass the same that is written that death is 54:06 swallowed in victory. O death where is thy sting, oh grave 54:09 where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin and the strength 54:12 of sin is the law but thanks be to God which gives us the 54:15 victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. We've got to love this 54:20 because basically, this is what Joseph is talking about. Say my 54:24 bones are going to be reunited with me someday and I want them 54:30 to be taken to the promised land because my heart and my hope 54:36 are set on Canaan which again is a type, a representation of the 54:42 new heavens and the new earth. This lesson study closes out 54:46 with Revelation chapter 21 verses 1-4 and points us, 54:50 directs us to the hope that we have. The hope that is so 54:53 glorious that of course it demands our hearts. It demands 54:57 our goods, it demands everything we have and everything we are, 55:02 our soul, our might, our strength. Everything is calling 55:06 us to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. 55:08 Amen, Praise God. Thank you so much. What an incredible lesson. 55:12 What an amazing quarterly as we've studied the book of 55:16 Genesis. I think you all so much Give you each a moment to share 55:18 something about this week. Pastor Dinzey. 55:21 Yes. You know Genesis chapter 47 verse 9 Jacob said that the 55:26 days of his pilgrimage are 130, few and evil days, he said. But 55:30 like us we should as well do as he did and trust in the Lord 55:36 because we are also pilgrims in this world. And 2 Corinthians 55:41 4:17 says this light affliction is working for us a far more 55:45 eternal weight of glory. We should not look at the temporal 55:48 things. We should look at the things that are eternal. 55:51 You know it's interesting because that scripture is when 55:53 he first came down to meet Pharaoh, rather pessimistic. 55:57 Aw, few and evil are my days. And a totally different 56:01 evaluation in Genesis 48 verse 15 when he's dying he's 56:06 recognizing God's been in control all along. He says, Oh 56:09 the God who has fed me all my lifelong to this day. The angel 56:13 who has redeemed me from all evil. So remember that our 56:20 perspective needs to be based on faith in God and what He's 56:28 done in our lives. 56:29 Amen. The answer to sin in the book of Genesis is the Lamb and 56:32 the answer to sin in the book of Revelation is the Lamb. And I 56:37 just want to be one of those as it says in Revelation 14:4: 56:40 About midways there it talks about these are they or these 56:42 are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Let us be that 56:46 Amen. Genesis chapter 50 verse 21 says: Now, therefore, fear ye 56:54 not. I will nourish you and your little ones and he comforted 56:58 them and he spake kindly unto them. This is Joseph talking to 57:01 his brothers who are afraid that they haven't been forgiven. God 57:04 wants to nourish us. God wants to speak kindly to us and He 57:07 wants us to nourish others and to speak kindly to others. The 57:09 gospel is practical and it's powerful. 57:11 Amen. Thank you so much, Pastor James, Pastor Ryan, Shelley and 57:15 Pastor John. What an incredible lesson. What a joy it's been to 57:18 journey together through the book of Genesis. I'm reminded of 57:23 the hall of faith. Hebrews chapter 11 and so many of the 57:27 characters that we have studied in the book of Genesis show up 57:31 here in Hebrews chapter 11. And we see that they died in 57:36 faith not having received the promise but having obtained afar 57:39 off. So the beautiful thing is that they looked forward with 57:44 eager expectation for a better country, to a better land, 57:48 knowing that Jesus will right this world and we can spend an 57:52 eternity with Him. Join us next quarter. This is our third 57:57 quarter where we study In the Crucible With Christ. 58:02 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2022-06-27