January 15, 2023 Sunday Worship Service

Call to Worship John 17:21a
Hymn JBC # 1 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty!
The Lord’s Prayer
Offertory Prayer
Scripture Genesis 47:27～31
Prayer
Sermon “Jacob’s will”
https://youtu.be/YLY5_Z1yK5E
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 26 We praise You, O God, our Redeemer
Doxology JBC # 671
Benediction

In today’s Scripture passage, Genesis 47:27～31 is given a subheading [Jacob’s will] in the Japanese “New Interconfessional Translation Bible”. In here, is a scene when Jacob who is believer of God, entrusts his own desire to his son Joseph when he was about to leave his life on earth.
Let us briefly look back at the lifetime of Jacob and his son Joseph thus far. Jacob was born as the younger twin brother of a twins, between Isaac his father and Rebecca his mother.
As these siblings grew, the younger brother Jacob was borne an extreme hatred and anger from his older brother Esau.

The reason is, Jacob took away the “eldest son’s birthright” that his older brother Esau should get (Genesis 25:27～), and still also took away the “blessing” that his brother Esau should receive from their father Isaac ( by deceiving their father Isaac as well) (Genesis 27: 18～).
Jacob left his hometown to flee from his older brother. Then he went to his uncle Laban’s (older brother of Jacob’s mother Rebecca) place, and he worked for Laban for about 20 years.
Eventually, Jacob went back to his hometown, met up with his brother Esau and reconciled. After that, the story of Genesis shifts focused on the story of Joseph as the center, one of Jacob’s sons.
Joseph was the second from the youngest among his brothers. Their father Jacob loved Joseph more than his older brothers. It was because Joseph was a child born between Jacob and Rachel whom he loved.

Joseph’s older brothers were born between Jacob and Leah, Rachel’s older sister, also between Jacob and each of Leah and Rachel’s maids.
With such a complicated background, also with Jacob being partial to Joseph, the rest of his brothers hated Joseph. (Genesis 37: 3～4)
Eventually, Joseph is sold from his hometown, Canaan to Egypt by his brothers (to be exact, by merchants).

Joseph was continually protected by the Lord God as he experienced various matters in Egypt. Before long, Joseph was given the role of the person-in-charge to rule the nation next to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
Then at that time, famine occurred in every land, and even the region of Canaan where Jacob’s tribe lived suffered severely from it.
However, since it was anticipated beforehand in Egypt that famine was coming through Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, food was abundantly stored in Egypt.
For their families to survive, Jacob’s sons come to Egypt to buy food. And there they were reunited with their brother Joseph whom they had abandoned in the past.

And with Joseph’s advice, their father Jacob and all other brothers’ families moved from the region of Canaan to Egypt and lived there.
It was such a great joy to Jacob having met once again his son Joseph whom he thought had passed away. Moreover, through such a marvelous guidance of God, Jacob’s family could flee the famine and outlive.
Jacob was 130 years old when he moved from Canaan to Egypt and lived there. And as we read today’s passage (Genesis 47:28), Jacob lived for 17 years in Egypt up to 147 years old.
Today’s passage is a scene where Jacob having realized that his death drew near, wishes something to his son Joseph.

A time will come when everyone of us will certainly die, a time when we leave our life here on earth. In preparation for death that will surely come, we come to think that it is important to always consider seriously about what is necessary or “how do we want to leave our life”.
In here, Jacob wishes something to his son Joseph. Let us listen once again to the words of Jacob.

29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”

Jacob’s wish was “Do not bury me here in Egypt when I die. Carry my remains out of Egypt and when I rest, bury me at my ancestors’ grave”.
“Ancestors’ grave (place where his fathers are buried)” refers to the graveyard that was originally bought by Abraham for his wife Sarah, whom to Jacob is his grandfather.
It is written in Genesis 23 that when Sarah, Abraham’s wife died, he bought [Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre ～ both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field] as a graveyard to bury his wife, Sarah.
Abraham buried his wife Sarah in a cave in the field of Machpelah. And Abraham himself, also his son Isaac died and was buried in the same grave.

And Jacob wished “When I die, I want to be buried in line the grave of my forefathers”, and he entrusted that desire to his son Joseph.
In my opinion, the desire “I want to be buried in the same grave with my forefathers” was also to Jacob a testimony of faith “I too, lived and believed the same Lord God that my forefathers (Abraham and Isaac) believed and was protected by Him”.
Isn’t it be a desire “I am grateful that I believe the same God, have lived and was protected, and I want to be buried in the same grave with my ancestors as the final testimony of my faith”.

And Jacob tells Joseph “…promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness (in doing that)”.(v. 29)

Jacob asked Joseph to fulfill that matter with sincere kindness and faithfulness, with love to his father and faith to God. “It’s not just doing it by obligation, but I want my wishes to be fulfilled with sincerity.”, must have been Jacob’s pure desire.
I believe that to honestly and clearly convey verbally what we think or our own desire is not an easy thing to do.
However, to ask people to do something, if we wish other people or our family to “do this for me”, it is important to tell it verbally after all.
Since there are cases when it is hard to convey (tell rightly) our thoughts or wish verbally, there must be sometimes that we cannot say well what we want to tell, it’s possible that misunderstanding arises.
Still, it is my desire that we keep in mind that it is important to tell the other person verbally (lovingly), and to listen carefully to the other person’s opinion too as an important matter as our own.
By repeating such an effort, by being open to each other’s mutual honest feelings, we can deepen our understanding for each other.

And there is one more important reason concerning faith why Jacob desired when he dies, to be buried not in Egypt but in his own forefathers’ grave at his hometown.
That is, “Jacob believed God’s promise to the end”. Before coming to Egypt, Jacob was given a promise from God [I will surely take you back from Egypt].
In the beginning of Genesis 46 is depicted a scene where Jacob and his clan, being told that Joseph was successful in Egypt and lives, start on a journey towards Egypt.
At that time in Beersheba, God appeared before Jacob (Israel) in a vision and told him as follows.

3 “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 4 I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.” (Genesis 46:3~4)

“God will bring me back from Egypt (to hometown, Canaan)” ～ Jacob believed that promise of God to the end.
“When my life ends here on earth, though I turn into remains, I want you to bring back that remains to Canaan, my hometown”, “By doing so, I want by your hands to fulfill the promise that God made to me” ～ in my opinion, such meaning could have been contained in Jacob’s will back then.
That Jacob’s will is addressed to us too at present, and I think it conveys as follows.
That is, “God’s promise is realized in His great plan though it surpasses our thoughts or the frame of each one’s human life”.
It means that “we are made to live and protected in God’s great plan and guidance, surpassing our thoughts or a person’s human life”.
The time will come when everyone of us will certainly leave his /her life here on earth. At that time, if we can think that “my life was protected by God at all times, and I could live in God’s great plan”, I believe that it’s truly happy and a blessing, victory.

In the New Testament period, when the Lord Jesus Christ who was crucified and died, buried in the grave, had the victory over death and resurrected sent His disciples for a mission, He told them as follows.
[I am with you always, even to the end of the age] (Matthew 28:20) ～ that words of Jesus Christ in whom God became man uphold us at any time beyond time and place.
We are not alone. In a true sense, we are never lonely. It is because God, the Lord Jesus Christ promises “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”.
　Some of you may be about to embark on a new path. Do not be afraid. God is with us, who promises, "I will always be with you and I will surly bring you back.”
We live in faith to that promise that God, the Lord Jesus Christ who gave up His life on the cross for our sake “will always be with us”, and so let us tell that faith with joy to other people as well.
As we receive the hope ahead of our life here on earth, trusting Him and relying to God, Jesus Christ who is with us, let us spend our daily life of faith this week as well.