Why do I take this opportunity of saying how much I have enjoyed this week at the Park of the Pands? Enjoyed the fellowship with all of you. Especially did we enjoy knocking Andy right out of the shuffleboard court and making him lose. He doesn't like to lose at shuffleboard so he should sing all the better tomorrow night. But we have to enjoy this week. We'll appreciate a place for your prayers. We've got to hurry home tomorrow. We have a youth rally on tomorrow. We'll have about three hundred young folks gather together. Tom Taylor from Carly Hill where it's a little beyond Philadelphia. Tom's coming down. At least he's there. He's been there all week having meetings and he'll be speaking to the young folks tomorrow. And we have Bible quizzes for them and other things. The country that goes on for four solid hours with them. two hours in the forenoon, two hours in the afternoon. So we appreciate your prayers. Now we come to our last study in the life of Jacob. May I introduce it tonight by telling you of an incident some years ago I was down in Devonshire, South Devon in England and we were taken one day on tour. And on that tour they took us to what they call a pottery. I'd heard a lot about potteries but I'd never been in a pottery up till that time. I'll never forget going into that pottery. The ladies were all dressed up with their summer best on, you know, month of July. That's when you get the summer in Britain, July. Wednesday sometimes, occasionally on Thursday. They had their summer best on and us men folks were just dressed as usual. went into this pottery and the first little place we came into it looked filthy, dirty, muddy, great big heap of dirty clay lying there and two men with great big overalls over them and they were taking spades of this clay and taking handfuls of it and then you pass through a little bit and here was the man at the wheel and if you didn't watch well you got splattered with brown mud so the ladies spent very little time there they drew in their garments and these days they wore dresses not just little limitations and they they moved through very quickly and as men folks we were rather interested we didn't mind whether we got splattered or not we were interested in the man working on this wheel with this big lump of clay. Just a dirty piece of clay and he had water dripping on it and he's fashioning the clay. Then you got through into the other section where these little vessels were and they had to go through a kiln, a noven, you know, in the heat and get burned. Then you went from department to department and then you came to a place where there was someone sitting there in an artistic way, they were putting on the coloring, the paint and so on. And then the thing had finally to be glazed and went through another oven, process after process. Then we came to the final room, the display room. Us men folks hurried through there because that was where they were selling them. And we went and stood outside and waited on the women coming out and kept our hands in our pockets. These women, they all came out with something. But they spent little time watching the lumps of dirty clay. But, oh, they did want the vessels that they could take home and put on display. Now, that impressed me that day. And it made me remember what I had studied about Jacob then, and I've never forgot it. When I introduced you to Jacob on Sunday night, I took you into that first department where we saw him just as a lump of dirty clay. We've been watching him night by night as the potter has taken him and has fashioned him into a vessel. We've seen him beginning to take shape, little by little, as he's been turned on the wheel. We have seen him go through the oven. The oven of affliction. Through the fires of affliction. Tonight I trust we'll see the decorations put on. And finally we'll view him tonight in the display room. The vessel that God saw in the beginning. You see when the potter starts with a piece of clay the potter knows what that vessel is going to look like in the end. God knew exactly what Jacob would look like when he was finished with him. And you and I trust tonight shall see him as the vessel on display, the man that God intended him to be. Now trust will be able to take it and apply it to herself. Now last night we finished up with Jacob in a very, very strange position of a heavy trial coming upon him in chapter thirty-five. But you will remember now that he loses Joseph. Joseph is going down to look after his brethren or to see how they're getting on and you know the story of how he suffered at the hands of his brethren. Now will you look at a few verses at the end of chapter thirty seven to get the connection now with Jacob. Genesis thirty seven. Verse thirty-one, and they took Joseph's coat and killed a kid of the goats and dipped the coat in the blood. They sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, This have we found. Know now whether it be thy son's coat or no. And he knew it and said, It is my son's coat. An evil beast had devoured him. Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. And Jacob rent his clothes and put sackcloth upon his loins and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him. But he refused to be comforted. And he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him. You see, his trials are not through yet. Three times in chapter thirty-five he went to the graveside. conducted funerals perhaps. Now in chapter thirty-seven he's been deceived by his own son and his own sons deceived him in the same way as he had deceived his father. He deceived his father in relation to the favorite son. They have deceived him in relation to his favorite son. He used the kid of the goats to deceive his own father. His sons used a kid of the goats in order to deceive him. He took the favorite son's coat and put it on in order to deceive his father. They took the favorite son's coat off and brought it back in order to deceive their father. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. If a man rolls a stone up a hill, it will come back on him. Jacob is being paid back, you would say, in his own coin. But he's not through yet. He's being fashioned. He's being shaped. He's going through the oven of affliction. Now, we'll pass over chapter thirty-eight. That has to do with Judah. And there's a very painful chapter. Chapter thirty-nine has to do with Joseph. Because that's where Joseph shines in all his beauty. But now let us come over and look at the end of chapter forty-one for a moment. Chapter forty-one and verse fifty-six. And the famine was over all the face of the earth. And Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold unto the Egyptians. And the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries. came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn because that the famine was so sore in all the lands. Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, why do you look one upon another? And then of course from there on you know the story of how his ten sons went down to Egypt. And they had to tell Joseph whom they didn't recognize at the time. They called them the man of the land. And they admitted to him that they had another brother at home. He said, if you come back for corn, bring that brother with you, and I'll believe you. If not, you'll be treated as spies. Now, when they come back, they tell their father. Look at verse thirty-seven of chapter forty-two. Or verse... Thirty-six. Verse thirty-six of chapter forty-two. And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children? Joseph is not. And Simeon is not. And he will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me. And Rubin spake unto his father, saying, Slave my two sons, if I bring him not to thee. Deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. And he said, My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead. And he has left alone. If mischief befall him by the way in which he go, then shall you bring down my gray hails with sorrow to the grave. Plain words, he's saying to them, Luke, I know the famine's severe, but I've lost Joseph, my favorite son. Now you've left Simeon down there as a hostage. I can't part with Benjamin. He's the son of my right hand. I just will not allow Benjamin to go down to Egypt. I'll write your face with it. Either you let him go, get corn, or else what will we do I'm going to suggest to you that Jacob is reaching now the lowest ebb he's passing through the furnace look at verse eleven of chapter forty three for a moment verse eleven of chapter forty three and their father Israel said unto them if it must be so now do this take of the best fruits in the land in your vessel, and carry down the man a present, a little balm and a little honey. Spices and mir, nuts and almonds. Take double money in your hand, and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carried again in your hand, peradventure, it was an oversight. And here's the verse. Take also your brother and arise. Go again unto the man, and God Almighty, give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved. Pause here a moment. Picture the old man Jacob now, standing at the door and watching the ten of them go away. There's only ten because Joseph's down in Egypt and Simeon's down in Egypt. They've kept him there as a hostage. The other nine are taking Benjamin with them and he watches the ten of them go away. May I suggest once again he's left alone. He doesn't know what's going to happen this time. I wonder what did he do all the time they were out of his sight. We're not told because the story takes up here and it takes them down and Joseph takes the prominent place again with his ten brethren. I wonder what was Jacob doing all the time that these boys were away down in Egypt. He couldn't see Benjamin. No doubt he was worried. May I suggest something. You say, I'm reading between the lines, yes, I'm reading between the lines. What would you have done? I suggest that the words here, he said, and God Almighty give you mercy before the man. He's thrown back on God. And while his sons were away, I can picture Jacob going in and going into the quietness of his own room, getting alone with God. pouring out his heart to God and committing the whole matter again on the strength of the covenant. You see there's nothing he can do about it. He's got to rely here on God. And then notice what he sent down. In the midst of his trial he said take a little balm and a little honey. Isn't that strange? Here's a man who has gone down to the very lowest depths of trial. He has really gone through the furnace. Now he says, take the best of what we've got. There's been a famine in the land, but we're still a little. Take the best of the fruits that we've got. A present to the man. And a little balm. And a little honey. Now I'm not stretching it any when I remind you that balm is that which heals and soothes and honey is that which gives sweetness and strength. And out of the depth of his own trial he's able to send to another man whom at this time he didn't know who the man was, but it was Joseph. And he's sending him a little balm that would soothe. and a little honey which would sweeten and strengthen. Have you ever noticed this? Usually, the people who have passed through the deepest trials themselves are the people who are able to bring the best soothing and sweetening message to others. You've noticed that, haven't you? When you were in trial, who was it that came along and helped you? Who was it that came along and spoke the word that would soothe and the word that would sweeten? I think it fits in beautifully with the teaching of the New Testament, where it says, Blessed be God, who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort others with the same comfort wherewith we are comforted of God. The man who went through trial was the man who could send the balm and send the honey to someone else. This was the turning point I suggest to you in Jacob's life. The true turning point. And now he commits the whole matter to the Lord. Now look at the end of chapter forty-five for a moment. The end of chapter forty-five, verse twenty-five. they're coming back now and they went up out of Egypt and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father and told him saying Joseph is yet alive and he is governor over all the land of Egypt and Jacob's heart fainted for he believed them not by the way could you blame him for not believing them he himself had been guilty of telling lies to his father when he was a young man And his sons told him a lot of lies. He didn't know when to believe them. And the things they told him now he couldn't take it in. Jacob's heart fainted for he believed them not. And they told him all the words of Joseph which he had said unto them. And when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived and Israel said it is enough Joseph, my son, is yet alive. I will go and see him before I die. You see, the change has taken place. You see, Israel is beginning to speak now. He is the expression of the new man, the prince with God. Oh, it's Jacob who says, you're going to bring me down to the grave with gray hairs mourning. But Israel says, it is enough. Joseph is yet alive. And then he takes his journey down and he meets Joseph and Joseph's boys. And instead of having lost a son, he has gained two grandsons. The table certainly has turned. Now I want you to go to chapter forty-eight. And just before we read this, let me remind you that Joseph was seventeen years of age. When he went out that day to go and see how his brethren were getting on, he went down to Egypt and it would appear that he was about ten years a slave. Then he was put in prison when he was approximately about twenty-seven years of age. I take it he was stabbed to years of age when he stood before Pharaoh. And the famine had been in the land for two years before his father came down. So Joseph, if you count it up, thirty years of age when he stood before Pharaoh. But you remember they had the seven years of plenty, which would bring him up to about thirty-seven, and then two years of famine. Why, he's a man thirty-nine years of age. And his father hasn't seen him since he was seventeen. For the first seventeen years of his life, Jacob looked after Joseph. Now for the last seventeen years of Jacob's life, Joseph is going to look after his father. You see how again whatsoever a man saw is, that shall he also reap. He heaped the very best on Joseph for seventeen years. Joseph is now going to put the very best on his father for the last seventeen years of Jacob's life. He's going to spend those last seventeen years down in Egypt, but they're going to bury them up in the land. Now, chapter forty-eight, I want you to notice the character of this man in his latter years. And it came to pass after these things that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick, and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and one told Jacob and said, Behold, thy son Joseph, cometh unto thee, and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan and bless me. Now look at verse eleven. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face, and lo, God has showed me also thy seed. Look at verse fifteen. And he blessed Joseph and said, God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did what? The God which fed me all my life long. until this day. Look at verse twenty. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God, make thee as Ephraim and as Menasseh. And he said, Ephraim before Menasseh. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die, but God shall be with you and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword. and with my bow. Now let me suggest that in the reading of these verses, notice how Jacob speaks of God. He says, God Almighty appeared to me. God has showed me also thy seed. God before whom my fathers Abram and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me. God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh. God shall be with you. Here is a man now whom I suggest to you is characterized by faith. In his early days he was characterized by sight. He was moved or propelled along by the things of his own mind and his own cleverness. But now here is a man that reckons with God and he brings God into every circumstance of life. He's not talking of his own cleverness now. He's saying, it was God that appeared to me at love at the first. It was God that appeared to me that night when I was sleeping there and that became Bethel. It was God that's done all this and now God has showed me your seed. The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did what? It was God that fed me. You see, he's bringing God into reckon all the time. And the person that reckons with God is walking by faith, not by sight. Now that's just as it should be. If Jacob wasn't guided by faith to begin with, when his mother said to him, now boy, you'll listen to my voice. You do what I tell you. Jacob listened to his mother who led him wrong, and then he thought his own cleverness would get him through. But there's been a change wrought in the man now. He's been through the furnace. Oh, he's been well decorated. The pattern has been burned well in. And here he stands in his closing days as a man of faith and reckons with God. As he looks back over the days of his pilgrimage, he says, it's God who has done it. Faith has been developed in the man. May I suggest there's something more here. In verse fifteen he says, And he blessed Joseph and said, God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did what? The God which fed me all my life long unto this day. Oh. He is grace. Grace looks back and gives God thanks. You know, there's one thing we've told in the Bible that we have to be very careful about. That is, we've not to be unthankful. I know that they talk today about a generation gap and all this nonsense, but I don't accept it. I'll be very frank with you. There was a custom in our house that when we sat down to the table we wouldn't dare to put our hand forward to take anything until thanks had been given for the food and if it so happened that we were there and my father wasn't there my mother would make each of us say what we called the grace may have been a very simple one but it was simple enough for us to learn when we were little children we had at least to say thank the Lord for this food Before ever we would have been allowed to take anything. We were taught to give thanks. Then if we asked for something in the home, there was two words we were taught. When we asked for something, we were taught to say please. And when we got it, we were taught to say thanks or thank you. If we didn't say please, we didn't get it. But if you got it and didn't say thank you, it was taken back. It's the way to do it, isn't it? You see, that teaches you to be thankful. Be thankful. And I think it's a good thing if as we grow up and especially we profess to trust the Lord that we'll have hearts that can give thanks. There's a little verse I often quoted and it says, A thousand blessings, Lord, thou dost impart. One blessing more, I ask from thee a thankful heart. Now here's a man who can give thanks. Now it takes grace to give thanks. Here's a man who looks back and he says, From the very start it was grace. It was grace that planted my feet in the right path. It is grace that has preserved me and brought me thus far. It is grace that shall plant me on that heavenly shore. It was grace that laid the foundation. It's grace that puts up the superstructure. It's grace that shall put on the top stone. It's all of grace. By grace are you saved through faith that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. And as you go on, my grace is sufficient for thee. It's grace all the way. He is grace. The man has developed now in his life. Faith and he records on God. Grace, he looks back and he gives God thanks. It's God that did this. There's another thing developed in this man. Look again at verse sixteen. And the angel which redeemed me from all evil blessed the land. and let my name be named on them, on the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. You see, Joseph gets a double portion here, and his two sons come in, and they take a place in the nation as representative tribes. But I want you to notice the words here, bless the lambs. This is love. Love looks out now and blesses others. You remember Jacob was a man who was always thinking of blessing, but he was always thinking of blessing for himself. Bless me. I will let thee go until thou hast blessed me. Right from chapter twenty-seven onward, Jacob was always looking for blessings for himself. Me. I think it was Spurgeon who used to tell of the old men who prayed, God bless me and my wife, my John and his wife, these four and no more. Amen. That's some folks' ideas. They're bounded in by that. Just bless me and mine. Jacob was like that to begin with. But you see, he's developed. A lot of changes have taken place. And now he's looking out and he's stretching out his hands on others. And he's saying, oh, God, bless the lads. Let this blessing go out to others. That's love. You know, some folks get quite annoyed when they see God's blessing coming upon others. I tend to understand people that profess to be Christians being jealous. I must admit I don't understand it. I don't understand preachers being jealous of one another. I've never been able to understand this, but they are. Why should we just want blessing for ourselves? If God's blessing comes upon others, shouldn't we give thanks for them? Isn't it a good thing to get down on your knees and ask God to bless others? That's what Jacob's doing here. And if this true love is developed in us, will be quite anxious to see others blessed not only anxious we'll be praying for it God bless others that's what he's doing here love looks out and blesses others it's perfectly true of course that he crossed his hands when he blessed these boys you remember he laid his right hand on the hand of Ephraim and his left hand on the head of Manasseh and Joseph didn't like it. Joseph said, Oh no, Dad, you're making a mistake. This is Ephraim and this is Manasseh. He says, I know it, I know it. But you see as it's been pointed out, this was the cross blessing. And by being crossed, he brought the right-handed blessing upon Ephraim who was the younger of the two. He's learned the lesson, hadn't he? that God is quite able to look after his own affairs and the elders shall serve the younger and the right-handed blessing went to Ephraim and the other blessing went over to Manasseh but nevertheless he wants them both to be blessed God bless the lads Jacob then in his closing years displays this great grace of love there's something else here look again In verse twenty one, And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die, that God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Well, there's hope. How did he know this? How did he know this? He's down now in Egypt, and he spent about seventeen years down here. And Joseph has been down there since he was a lad of seventeen. But now his old father is saying to him, Now look Joseph, it's perfectly true you've got on all right down here. And you've looked well after me, but this is not the end. I want you to remember there's a promise. And after I die, God shall be with you and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. There's a promise to be fulfilled. You have a prospect before you. This is not your abiding place. There's a land of promise up there. There's hope. Hope looks onward and takes courage. Now let us apply these things to ourselves. Isn't it true that in our Christian experience there should be the development of faith in our lives? Even at the beginning of our Christian experience, our faith may have been a little bit shaky. It should get stronger and stronger as we go on. Until you reach your closing years, we should be strong in faith. Not only so, if we don't show too much grace to begin with, it's something that should be developed in us. And here's something that should be in our Christian characters. Something should be evidenced. to others that we have been growing in grace. Growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the teaching of the New Testament. So there's to be growth in grace and if we grow in grace we'll know how to give God thanks for all things. Then there should be the development of love, that great grace that knows no bounds. Can it be measured? And that love should be developed so that we're able to look out and try to bring blessing to others. But what about our hope? You remember when Paul was writing his letter to the Thessalonians, these three things were specially mentioned. Their faith, their hope and their love. And he sent Timothy to see how they were doing in the midst of their fiery trial that they were going through. And it would appear to me that when Timothy came back to see Paul, that his message to Paul was this, so far as their faith is concerned, that's all right, they're strong. So far as their love is concerned, that's all right, they're displaying a lot of love to one another. But so far as their hope is concerned, someone has upset them. They're not too sure about this. They are not too sure because they are passing through such a trial and someone has told them that their loved ones who have died in the persecution are going to miss the glory of the coming of the Lord. Their hope has been upset. And so Paul wrote that famous epistle, the first epistle to the Thessalonians, to establish them in their hope. And in every chapter of first Thessalonians you will recall he mentions the return of the Lord. Till he comes to that classic passage in chapter four, where he says the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God, the dead in Christ shall rise first. We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord, wherefore comfort one another with these words. This was to establish them and to strengthen them in their hope and to bring a lot of comfort to their hearts. I wonder... Is it possible in these days in which we live that a lot of God's people are beginning to get shaky with regards to their hope? I hope not. I trust your hope is strong. Here was a man who in his dying moment, this is Joseph. I've spent the last seventeen years of my life, as it were, down here in Egypt. Remember, you're not going to bury me here. However, God is going to visit you after I die, and he's going to take my descendants out of this land, and he'll keep his promise to them, and he'll plant them in the promised land. And beloved, it's over nineteen hundred years now since the Lord went away. And on the last night with his disciples he said, I go to prepare a place for you and I'll come again. I'll receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also. He's characterized by hope. So you see those graces developed in this grand old man. He had a very stormy day, but he is a glorious golden sunset. to a stormy day. He's displaying now faith. He's displaying grace. He's displaying love. He's displaying hope. And he's got all this confidence. And there's one yet we must add. Now I want you in these closing moments of this meeting to turn over to Hebrews chapter eleven please. To get the crowning benediction. Hebrews chapter eleven Look at verse twenty one By faith Jacob When he was a dying Blessed both the sons of Joseph And worshipped Leaning upon the top Of his staff You know I'm going to admit to you If you look at your Bible That that word Leaning there Is in italics I admit that And the tell me in the King James Version, when a word is in italic, that's to show that there was no word in the original to take the place of this word. It's put here to make sense to the passage. But even without that word there, you can get the picture. And he worshipped upon the top of his staff. The Roman Catholic translation says that he worshipped the top of his staff. Isn't that silly? Yes, even Ronald Knox with all his wisdom says that he worshipped the top of his staff. Because he said on the top of his staff there would be a little carved image and he would bow down to that. That's not the picture, beloved. Here's the picture of a grand old man and in his closing moment he's going to worship. He's going to give God, God's portion. What is he doing? He has dragged his feet, as it were, out of the bed. And he's asked for his staff. What would that staff remind him of? With this staff I came over. There's Jordan, huh? One staff. He came over with a staff. That's all he had. He seems to have held on to this staff all his days. And now in his closing moment, He takes his staff. He has blessed the two sons of Joseph. And now he drags his feet out of the bed. And he takes his staff. And I picture that old man leaning on his staff, bowing his head in an act of worship, ready to commit himself to the Lord. What a picture. of the man that God wanted him to be. It took years, of course, years of testing, years of training, sometimes tragedy, sometimes trial, but now the years of triumph. We see him showing the grace of faith and then grace itself and then love. speaking of his hope and then bowing in worship. Oh God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come. We often sing that, don't we? I think if Jacob had known that, he would have sang it. Our shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal home. Jacob came to the end, a grand old man. I trust that our studies in the life of Jacob this week have proved helpful to us. Some of the things we haven't had time to go into in detail, but when you sit down to reread and re-study the book of Genesis, you study about Jacob, I trust you remember some of these things and take courage. While we all bow together, perhaps, Sir Brother, Mr. Willie, commend us to God in prayer.