Chuck Smith emphasizes God's encouragement to Jacob, reminding him of his new identity as Israel, which means 'governed by God.' Despite Jacob's fears about going to Egypt, God reassures him of His presence and promises to make him a great nation there. The sermon highlights the importance of recognizing our new identity in Christ and trusting in God's plans, even when faced with uncertainty. Jacob's journey to Egypt symbolizes the faithfulness of God in fulfilling His promises, as he is reunited with his son Joseph, showcasing the emotional depth of family and divine providence. Ultimately, the message encourages believers to embrace their identity in God and trust in His guidance through life's challenges.

Oh, let the Son of God enfold you With His Spirit and His love Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul Oh, let Him have the things that hold you And His Spirit like a dove Will descend upon your life And make you whole God spoke to Israel in the visions And he said, Jacob, Jacob And he said, here am I And so in a night vision he heard his name being called Jacob, Jacob But that was his old name, God had given him a new name Notice it says, Israel took his journey And came to Beersheba And God spoke to Israel Israel is his new name, it means governed by God The Prince of God But God, when He calls him, doesn't call him by the new name Why? Because he's acting after his old nature The name Jacob means heel catcher Or one who passes you by tripping your heel Jacob, Jacob And he said, I'm here, and he said, I am God The God of your father In the Hebrew it is, I am El, the Elohim I am God, the God of your father Do not fear to go down to Egypt That very command indicates that that's why he stopped, he became fearful God said, don't fear, don't be afraid to go down to Egypt For I will make of you a great nation there Now God had promised to Abraham he was going to make his descendants Just so many you couldn't count them God had promised to make a great nation That promise was then given to Isaac and now to Jacob And God is repeating it, I will make of you a great nation there I will go down with you to Egypt The promise of God's presence with him And I will surely bring you up again It's not a one-way ticket, it's going to be a round trip And Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes So these are the things that God promised, I'll be with you I'll make you a great nation while you're there, I'll be with you I will bring you back again and Joseph will put his hands upon your eyes That put his hand upon your eyes is a reference to death When a person dies his eyes usually stay wide open And so what you do is you take and pull the eyelid down over the eye And sometimes put a bit of cotton on it there to hold it down And that was the final act of love that you did for your loved one In death was to bring the eyelid down over the eye Joseph will be there when you die He'll be the one to minister to you in this way It is interesting that when a person is dying They so often want those that they love And those that are close to them to be by their side in death And of course with Jacob his desire no doubt was to have his son Joseph Near him in death and God assures him such will be the case He'll be the one who pulls your eyelids down over your eyes So Jacob arose from Beersheba And the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob their little ones and their wives In the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him So they took their livestock and their goods which they had acquired in the land of Canaan And they went to Egypt Jacob and all of his descendants with him And so it gives the names of Jacob's sons First of all those that were born by Leah And the names of their children and in some cases grandchildren And then the sons of Zilpah who was Leah's handmaid And their children And then the sons of Rachel verse 19 And her two sons Joseph and Benjamin And their children And interestingly enough Benjamin was a pretty prolific guy he had 10 sons Interesting also is that in the most part the girls are not mentioned only the one girl Dinah Who was in an earlier incident and so her name comes up for mention And then a granddaughter is mentioned but there are no doubt were girls too but they didn't count In those days They count today believe me So All of the persons verse 26 who went with Jacob to Egypt That came from his body that is all of his descendants not counting the girls and the wives of his son were 66 persons Now the sons of Joseph who were born in Egypt were two And so all of the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were 70 now 70 is a good round figure that Is a number that relates often to Israel And you'll find often that God sort of rounds numbers off Into symbolic numbers and 70 is a symbolic number for Israel It is interesting that Moses appointed 70 elders To oversee Israel Later when Jesus sent his disciples out he sent out 70 disciples to go to minister to the house of Israel In Daniel chapter 9 the angel said there are 77 that are determined upon the nation Israel And so 70 is a number that relates to Israel And it could be that when Jesus said to Peter you should forgive 70 times 7 That again it could be a reference to God's forgiveness and love And all for Israel if she'll just turn and repent she'll find forgiveness even yet Until the 70 times 7 it's a number that does relate Symbolically to Israel in the scripture Now God said that he would make of him a great nation there When 400 years later they came out of Egypt There were 600,000 adult males over the age of 20 So it is estimated that there was probably between 1,600,000 and 2,000,000 people Who made the exodus with Moses God made of him a great nation in the 400 years you say oh that sounds impossible Well if you take the age of Jacob at the time that he was married And the number of descendants he had by the time he went to Israel It was a 6% per year increase in the population of the family Now if you had 100 people and you had a 5% per year increase in population In 225 years you'd have a population of more than 2,000,000 So in the 400 years it is quite likely I mean there's no difficulty we should say it was not quite likely it did happen And without difficulty it doesn't take that big You get into what they call exponential type of growth And so the thing begins to really mushroom When you get into those exponential type of conditions The 5% a year will compound tremendously I mean in the compounding of it So 70 that went down, 600,000 adult males over the age of 20 who came out 400 years later Now he sent Judah who was the one who volunteered to take Benjamin's place earlier And Judah is beginning to assume a position of authority within the family Within the other brothers He seems to show more responsibility in all than the others Reuben is unstable as water, Simeon's got a hot temper And so he sends Judah down ahead of them to let Joseph know That they're on the way And to direct him to the area of Goshen Now Goshen is the area in the Nile Delta It was rich agricultural farmland And that is the area where Jacob and the family were to settle It was about 900 square miles in that area of Goshen And so they came to the land of Goshen and Joseph got in his chariot And he went to Goshen to meet his father Israel And he presented himself to him And he fell on his neck and he wept for a good while Here is this emotional dramatic scene Joseph, whom Jacob loved so dearly, he thought he was dead At one time he cried, all things are against me He didn't know the plans that God had And as they're there weeping on each other's shoulders Just hugging and it's just almost more than Jacob could believe The son that I thought was dead is not only alive but here I'm seeing him And it's just a beautiful, beautiful picture here And Israel said to Joseph, now let me die Since I have seen your face because you are still alive And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household Now I'm going to go up and tell Pharaoh And I'm going to say to him, my brothers and those of my father's house Who were in the land of Canaan have come to me And the men are shepherds For their occupation has been to feed the livestock And they've brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have And so it shall be when Pharaoh calls you and says, what is your occupation? That you shall say, your servant's occupation has been with the livestock From our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers That you may dwell in the land of Goshen For every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians Now it is true that in the Egyptian art That has been uncovered by the archaeologists Shepherds are always very dirty looking and usually crippled and all And they were looked upon with scorn by the Egyptians You see Egypt at this time Had the highest culture of any place in the world And here's a bunch of hick farmers Coming into this cultural area And the culture of Egypt looked down upon Shepherds, they were an abomination They didn't want anything to do with them No doubt in God's plan To keep his people separate from the Egyptians He allowed in the process of time this Feeling in the hearts of the Egyptians towards shepherds So that there would be no intermarriage or intermixing But God could keep a pure race and a separate race Though living in the land of Egypt But it kept a separation Otherwise Pharaoh would have said well come on moving in And there could have been a mixing of the races And surely the family of Israel would have been Swallowed up into the Egyptians And that would have been the end of the story And so to keep the separate race That he might one day bring the Messiah through this race He had placed in the Egyptians this abhorrence Towards shepherds, they were an abomination So Joseph said now look When the Pharaoh meets you guys And says well what kind of work do you do Just tell him we're shepherds That'll turn him off and you can have the land He'll be glad to let you stay here in Goshen And so Joseph went and told the Pharaoh And said my father and my brothers and their flocks And their herds and all they possess They've come from the land of Canaan And indeed they are now in the land of Goshen And he took five of his brothers And he presented them to Pharaoh And Pharaoh said to his brothers What's your occupation And they said to Pharaoh Your servants are shepherds Both we and our fathers So they said to Pharaoh We have come to sojourn in the land Because your servants have no pasture for their flocks Notice they didn't say we've come to dwell Or we've come to stay We've only come to sojourn The Bible tells us concerning the fathers Abraham and all That they dwelt as strangers and pilgrims For they were looking for a city Which had foundation Whose maker and builder is God And they confessed That they were just strangers and pilgrims on this earth I don't belong to this earth I'm just passing through I'm a stranger, I'm a pilgrim here It's really sort of sad When we start feeling at home In this corrupted society Boy I'll tell you More as I read the newspaper and watch TV I realize I'm an alien I don't belong in this mess I'm a stranger and a pilgrim here I'm just sojourning, I'm passing through And one of these days I'm going to pass on And I'm going to find that city that I'm looking for Whose maker and builder is God And I'm going to dwell in the house of the Lord forever And so they said We've just come to sojourn in the land Because we've run out of pasture For our flocks The famine is severe in the land of Canaan Now therefore please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph saying Your father and your brothers have come to you And the land of Egypt is before you Have your father and your brothers dwell in the best of the land And let them dwell in the land of Goshen You can have any place you want If they want Goshen, fine And if you know of any competent men among them Then make them the chief herdsmen over my livestock Give them a good job with the government If you know any guys that are competent Well at least they insisted on competent ones in those days Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob And he set him before the Pharaoh And Jacob blessed Pharaoh Now that's something Here's the guy who's the king of the greatest nation of the world And here comes in this old man who's just a shepherd And he blesses him Now we are told that Melchizedek blessed Abraham And surely the lesser is blessed by the greater This old shepherd that God had chosen to be the father of the race That would bring the Messiah into the world Is greater in the eyes of God than the king Over the greatest empire in the world of that day And so Jacob blesses the Pharaoh Pharaoh said to Jacob, how old are you? Obviously an old man at that point And Jacob said to Pharaoh The days of the years of my pilgrimage Notice I'm a stranger in a pilgrim here I'm just a pilgrim The days of my pilgrimage are 130 years Few and evil have been the days of my years Notice he says there are just a few years Well yes, compared with eternity You know if any of you lived to be 130 years old When you get to that point You have your 130th birthday And the press is all there to You know, ask you the questions How do you live so long? And get your secret for longevity and that whole bit As you look back over the 130 years You'll probably say, short time You know, the older I get, the faster time goes It seems like time is just Somehow accentuating as far as speed Now I read a scientific explanation of that I don't know that I like it, but It said that when you're a child Your body metabolism is going so fast That it seems that time goes slow And that is true, when I was a little kid Man, it was eternity from Christmas to Christmas And that's the way I measured the years I mean it wasn't New Year's to New Year's It was Christmas to Christmas And birthday to birthday But they say as you grow older And your body metabolism slows down Then it appears that everything is going faster Well, I better get some Geritol or something Because my metabolism must really be Barely turning over at this point Because time just seems to be going so fast And so think of what it would be Maybe by the time you're 130 Man, your metabolism would be so slowed down That it seems like it is racing at this point Few have been my years And evil I haven't had a good life Man, I've had a lot of hardship A lot of problems It wasn't easy So Jacob is confessing Few and evil have been the years of my life But I've not attained the years of the life of my fathers In the days of their pilgrimage Again, seeing that life is just a pilgrimage Don't belong here I'm passing through There's an eternity that I am living for And looking for The person who lives for the now is a fool The wise man lives for eternity Jesus said don't lay up your treasures here on earth They can be ripped off Lay up your treasures in heaven The eternal treasures The eternal kingdom And so His grandfather Abraham lived to be 175 His father lived to be 180 So I'm 130 But man, that's nothing compared to my dad and my granddad I haven't attained to the years of my father Pharaoh was probably really startled at his age Because 130 then would be equivalent to 130 now I mean, you meet someone who's 130 years old You'd be sort of awed He went on living for another 17 years He was 147 when he died We'll return with more of our verse-by-verse study Through the book of Genesis As we continue to follow the actions of Jacob As he is brought in before the Pharaoh And we do hope you'll make plans to join us But right now, I'd like to remind you That if you missed any part of today's message Or perhaps you'd like to order a copy For that special friend or loved one You can do so by simply contacting One of our customer service representatives And they'd be more than happy to assist you With the ordering details Simply call 1-800-272-WORD And phone orders can be taken Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time Once again, our toll-free number is 1-800-272-9673 And for your added convenience You can order online anytime When you go to TheWordForToday.org And while you're there Be sure to browse through the additional resources That include Bible studies, commentaries, CDs, DVDs And so much more Once again, that's The Word for Today Online at TheWordForToday.org And for those of you who still prefer to write You can use our mailing address Which is The Word for Today P.O. Box 8000 Costa Mesa, California 92628 And be sure to include the call letters of this station With your correspondence And now, on behalf of The Word for Today We'd like to thank all of you who share In supporting this ministry With your prayers and financial support And be sure to join us again next time As Pastor Chuck Smith continues His verse-by-verse study Through the book of Genesis That's right here On the next edition of The Word for Today And now, once again Here's Pastor Chuck Smith May the Lord be with you now And watch over you this week May He fill you with His Spirit May the love of Jesus Christ Just abound In all things towards you And may you be blessed of God As you walk in fellowship with Him May God, by His Spirit, increase your faith As you study the Word And may you grow up in all things in Christ Come into a real maturity In your walk with Him Beginning to experience the fullness Of God's power, love, and blessing Upon your life as you live in fellowship with Him In Jesus' name Get ready to study the Bible in a whole new way The Word for Today is pleased to present Pastor Chuck's Genesis Commentary In e-book format This digital edition contains So much more than a printed book Not only do you have access To Pastor Chuck's in-depth commentary This e-book allows access To enhanced research studies By renowned Christian scholars instantly Highlights include Hebrew and Greek word definitions As well as images of Historical maps and places Just by clicking or touching your screen An online dictionary Plus highlighting, note-taking, and bookmarking And everywhere Pastor Chuck shares Where he learned or studied something You now have access to those very same notes We invite you to come along On this futuristic study In the book of Genesis To find out how to download Pastor Chuck's Genesis Commentary To your electronic device Please call The Word for Today At 800-272-9673 Or to watch a video presentation Visit us online at TheWordForToday.org This program has been sponsored by The Word for Today In Costa Mesa, California