Good morning and welcome to the house of the Lord this morning. If you're visiting with us this morning, we extend a special welcome to you. And as we've gathered to worship our God, we prepare our hearts to hear from him, from his word as he leads us by his Holy Spirit to worship him in spirit and in truth this morning. If you're watching online this morning, we welcome you also. As we come into His presence, we read a call to worship from Psalm 105. I'd ask you to stand as we do that. In Psalm 105, we read these words, Seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his presence continually. Remember the wondrous works that he has done. Congregation, in whom is your help? He greets you this morning. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age according to the will of our God and Father to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Let's turn in our hymnals to number 95A, O come before the Lord our King. We're going to sing those five stanzas of number 95A. O come ye, O come ye, O come ye, His faithful song, His joyful sound, His praise proclaim. Almighty God, the Lord it is, Exalted over all the earth, to stand, to live beyond all that they see, creator of the world they see. and we are proud. He leads our souls in righteousness broad. He so safely leads us in the way, for God has O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ♪ May he that you above him love ♪ ♪ As did your fathers to love ♪ ♪ With every heart his holy praise ♪ ♪ And with him all his sacred ways ♪ ♪ To whom we'll pledge loyalty ♪ In that song we are reminded that the people did not heed the Lord they put his mercy to the test and we're reminded too that in our daily living we often do that as we turn away from God calls us to and want to live for ourselves and so we need to remember his will for our lives. What is it that he would have us to do and then we need to remember too that we are forgiven or we need forgiveness of our sins and can find that in his son. Listen to these words from Romans 12 this morning that pertains to God's will for our lives. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, but fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him something to drink, for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. And do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." That's the charge. Something that we remember, it's easy for us to be tempted and then to fall into that temptation. We want ourselves first. We want to set ourselves up. We're called to even befriend or to show kindness rather to our enemy. that they would recognize that we're different, that we are those who have been transformed by the Spirit of God. We're those who are to love our family. Sometimes it's hard to love those that we know best. We get together and there's frictions from past hurts or past grievances. We're called to forgive or called to set those aside that we might walk together in Christ. And so, as we reflect upon the failure to do that, so often we remember that our God must deliver us from our sin and that He must declare us forgiven of that sin. And He says in 2 Corinthians 5 this morning, that for our sake God made him that is Christ to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God declaration is given in the word that as we look to Christ as we trust in him and Claim Him as Lord and Savior that in Him we have the righteousness of God imputed to us and the forgiveness of our sins. And then that call to move forward in that newness of life to live for each other. Our response is the song, Christ our hope in life and death. That is our confidence as we are those who look to the Lord and seek in him all our forgiveness. You'll see that insert in the bulletin, Christ our hope in life and death. We'll sing those three stanzas. It is the home of the brave, Christ the Lord, Christ the Lord. It is the home of the brave. Who would lead us to Thee? And our prayers if we should sing, O sing alleluia! Our hope springs eternal, O sing alleluia! And ever be with us. In our great Redeemer's blood, Lord, how great Thou didst rise! Since our God has so rejoiced, Since the grace of His Son was bestowed, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. As we mark the day, we lift the glass to rejoice, this year and ever be true. We now turn to the Lord in time of congregational prayer. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for protecting us through another week. For many, this has been a week of loss. We hear of so many hardships. We hear of fires raging in Canada, of devastation caused by fire in Hawaii. We hear of hurricanes coming up the West Coast. We have requests from brothers and sisters to pray as fears grow over what they will find when they return to their homes or what is coming by way of storm. There's corruption in our government, violence in our streets, threats to our freedom. Lord, that is why we need to stop. to pause. That's why we come here on Sundays. Truthfully, Lord, this is often how our thoughts build, how our prayers begin. Looking at all the troubles and trials and thinking of all the difficulties before us and we start with them right away as we come into your presence, so often. But Lord, we know that we should begin by remembering that you are Almighty God. Loving Father, protector of your people, forgive us for rushing into your presence and crying out with all of our concerns and fears and allowing them to dictate our emotions. Forgive us, Lord, when we don't begin with who you are. when we don't begin by reflecting on the fact that you are our Father in Jesus Christ. That you are the same yesterday, today, and forever. One who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in love, and will not hold your anger forever. One who will show grace and mercy. One who is with us wherever we go. Lord, as we hear about that this morning in your word and the life of Jacob, remind us of that in our own lives, that what he experienced, we too experience and can experience, that you are with us in our distress, that you are with us wherever we go. We thank you for this day to rest from all of these other things. Not that we forget what is happening. Not that we pretend we don't live in a fallen world. but that we might come and focus upon you, remembering your faithfulness and your promises. When we go into the hospital or get a diagnosis that's not what we had hoped for, when we get discouraged, we can become fearful. Grant us peace, grant us strength. Your strength is made perfect in our weakness. Today we pray for Grace and for John and for Beth and their different needs. For Beth, as she meets with the doctors this week and dealing with treatment for John as he hopes to return to rehab, we ask, O Lord, that you would continue to strengthen him, that he might return, that We're thankful that all the tests came back and were negative. There's no heart issue. There's still this concern with blood pressure that keeps him from pushing ahead in therapy. We ask, O Lord, that you would work in that. Be with Grace, too, as she's back in the hospital. We ask, Lord, that you would give her what she stands in need of. We can think of other things that cause us to fear. Perhaps we're going back to school or we've just gotten back to school and as we enter a new year there's concerns about the academic rigor, the challenges, the friendships, the relationships. We pray for the new school year, for all those who are returning, for the teachers, the students, that together we would keep in mind that common call, that common goal to be pointing one another to you, whatever stage of life, remembering that you are the one who guides us through all of our experiences. We thank you for the break that we've had from the pace of the school year this past summer. As that comes to an end, we pray that that time may have helped us to get proper priority back into our lives. Lord, we need time with you each day. Keep us. Draw near to us. Lead us to draw near to you that we would not lose sight of where our life is to be found. Help us to love as we have just been challenged to do so. To love one another and to care for those around us to see the needs and to want to meet those needs. Help us to live in harmony with each other. To associate with the lowly, never to be wise in our own eyes, but to trust you that you would make our paths straight. We would not repay evil for evil or with evil. Lord help us to point people to you. We pray for the church today as it gathers all around this country and around the world. We think of so many needs that are evident and we pray this morning for Reverend Chris Coleman in the church plant in Vancouver, Washington. We thank you that there has been growth there in the leadership and that there have been elders ordained. We give thanks along with them for the space that they have for worship. We pray, Lord, that you would provide a more permanent place for them to worship and to grow as disciples of yours. Lord, as we look toward the coming week and installation of new officers, we pray your blessing upon them, our elders and our deacons. That as they have been elected, that you would work in them a confidence that by your help, with your help, they might be able to serve here in a way that would bring honor and glory to you and be good for the body. As we listen to you this morning, help us to set aside all of our distractions, all of our plans, and all of the other things that will be there tomorrow. Help us to rest in you. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's turn in our hymnals to number 121, selection B. 121B. To the hills I lift my eyes. Jacob's been wandering, he's been through many different circumstances and what he remembers and what we need to remember is that The Lord is faithful, the hills look up to the Lord, those enduring fixtures, features of geography looking to the Lord for he has made them and as he has made them he has made us and he will continue to be with us. So we're going to sing and reflect upon that, number 121B. To the hills our native land, let some love for thee arise, from the waters of our land. Through the hill-trimmer rise thee. We will guide and protect thee. Sing this hymn for peace. Suffers now and will ever cease. Thy protector is the Lord. Sing for peace. ♪ In the summer moons just light ♪ ♪ Watch your mother by day and night ♪ ♪ He will ever lead us home ♪ ♪ One more run he will control ♪ ♪ In the moment by the way ♪ ♪ He will lead, he will lead ♪ I invite you to turn in God's Word this morning to Genesis chapter 35. Genesis chapter 35, last week we looked at a very sad period in Jacob's life. His leadership was weak, his focus was off, and yet the Lord did not reject him. As we're going to see this morning, the Lord came to him and spoke to him and Jacob responded, what we're going to see is something of a dialogue today as God speaks and Jacob responds, God speaks, Jacob responds, and then we see that God has the last word and his word is good. We want to think about that this morning and his faithfulness. In the last chapter, chapter 34, God is not mentioned by name through that sordid affair and the passage this morning, he's mentioned more than 11 times. He is present, he has not left Jacob, not forsaken him, and Jacob is enabled to see and to testify to God's unending faithfulness. It's something of a passage I guess we could use for old year's service. We're often reflecting on the year gone by or maybe it's at an anniversary or maybe it's at a birthday or something like that. Well, think about it in that way and don't leave that just for special occasions. We ought to be reflecting regularly on God's unending faithfulness. Let's listen with those thoughts in our minds to God's word this morning. Genesis 35 verse 1. God said to Jacob, arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau. So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone. And so they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem. And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. And Jacob came to Luz, that is Bethel, which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. There he built an altar and called the place El Bethel, meaning God of Bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. And Deborah, Rebecca's nurse, died and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Alon Bakuth, Oak of Weeping. God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Patanerim and blessed him. And God said to him, Your name is Jacob. No longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name. So he called his name Israel. And God said to him, I am God Almighty, be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you. And God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel. Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, Do not fear, for you have another son. And as her soul was departing, for she was dying, she called his name Ben-Oni, son of my sorrow. But his father called him Benjamin, son of my right hand. Rachel died and she was buried on the way to Ephrath, that is Bethlehem, and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day. Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and Israel heard of it. And now the sons of Jacob were 12. Sons of Leah, Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel, Joseph, and Benjamin, the sons of Bilhah, that is Rachel's servant, Dan and Naphtali, the sons of Zilpah, that is Leah's servant, Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Patanirim. And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. So far the reading of God's own holy word. May I add his blessing to the reading and proclamation of it this morning. Dear people of God, as we come to the end of the narrative of Jacob's life, his story is very colorful. There's a lot of things in his life that we don't want to repeat. We certainly don't want to spend more time than we need to on his life, but I imagine that if our lives were written for the whole world to see for thousands of years, perhaps we might be a little bit less than excited about that idea. I know I wouldn't want my thoughts and words and deeds recorded for the world to see and yet God has them recorded for us and he shows us who Jacob was. Jacob was a thief, Jacob was a deceiver, Jacob was a fearful man. The account of his life as it comes to an end ends on something more positive. It ends on Jacob's testimony of God's faithfulness. Before he dies, we have this interaction between God and Jacob to show that he is the one who is to succeed Abraham and Isaac as the one who is the head of God's people. The focus is not on Jacob's greatness in this passage, but rather God's faithfulness. His presence made a difference in Jacob's life and his presence, that is the Lord's presence, makes a difference in our lives as well. That conjunction that we often use, but God in the scriptures is before us again. Jacob had shown himself unfaithful to be a leader of God's people, but God came down to him and spoke favorably to him. That's what we need to be reminded of. God and his promises, God and his faithfulness. It reminds us of Ephesians 2 where Paul writes that we're dead in sin and under condemnation, but God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love for us, has claimed us as his own, making us his treasured possession. Well, let's see how that plays out here in Genesis 35 for Jacob and for us as we look at God's Word together. God comes down to Jacob. tells him to go to Bethel and to meet him there, to draw near, to make an altar. He doesn't come down to Jacob in judgment, but rather comes down and saying, I want you to worship me. Listen to verse 1. He says to him, Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau. Worship in my presence, live in my presence. What should the effect of God's coming near be upon us? We should proclaim His grace and His mercy. We should dwell there and turn from sin to grateful obedience before Him. Paul speaks of that in the New Testament when he says in Ephesians 4 that as we come to Christ, as we know Christ rightly, not only do we put our faith in Him, that's what it means to know Him rightly, but it means to live in Him, to put off the old and to put on the new. We see that picture here in what Jacob says to his household. He says, put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves and change your garments. Put that old, those old ornamentations, that old way of life off and put on that which is in keeping with a new commitment to the Lord. If we don't walk in this way, Our lives will not know peace. That's how Jacob experienced it. That's how we experience it. The core of our life is to worship the one true God. Sin had made it necessary, you remember, for Jacob to leave home. Yet in the midst of his wandering, God promised that he would be with him and bring him back. That's the story of the Bible. Sin led to our first parents being forced out of the garden, out of paradise, and yet the Lord promised that he would make a way for them to come back and to return to that place of fellowship, that place of warm embrace, of acceptance. He is the one who does that. It's the picture of our lives. Sin leads to our wandering, but God promises us each week, each day that he's made a way for us to return to him. The way is open. As we wait for the fulfillment of that redemption, we are to worship him and not turn to the left or to the right. Children, what led to Jacob's misery? We can think of a number of things, right? Lying, fear, trying to control one's own life. But that is not the way we're to go. We're to fight against such sin. We're to fight against lies and fear and to trust in God, for that's the way of peace and joy. God comes down to us, he does so in reminder of the assurance of pardon. We have that in worship, don't we, each week? A reminder that we've been forgiven of our sins. Those in the recent past, those in the distant past. Those that we will commit for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one whom he has placed upon the altar as the sacrifice for our sins. How does Jacob respond to the Lord? He responded not only personally, but he responds for the family. He tells them to turn from false gods to the one true God. Put away those gods, purify yourselves, change your garments. What should the effect of God's coming near be upon us? As I've said already, we should be changed. We should be turning from sin and turning toward what God would have us to do. That's why at times we read that God's will for our lives, a positive reminder of what God wants us to do, how he wants us to live, to love and to care and to to depend upon him. Paul speaks of the way of true faith that leads to fruitful living. The attitude is seen in Jacob as he gives that call to his household. He resolves to more than words. He moves to action. He buries all that was connected to false gods and takes his family to Bethel and builds an altar there. Confession you see brothers and sisters is not a one-and-done in the Christian life. Well. I've made my confession I've made my profession I now now now I can just go forth and know that well. I did that It's true. It's important even commanded for us to Confess our faith, profess our faith before one another and before the Lord. But after we make confession of our faith in Christ, the whole of our lives is a constant turning from sin toward God. It's a constant repenting as Luther said. Each day is another day of trusting in Christ and bearing fruit and keeping with our new life in him. That's the question we have to ask ourselves then from time to time. What idols do I need to bury in the ground? I know some places, perhaps for an illustration, the pastor would say, okay, I want all of you to bring up all the idols that you have. We're going to put them in a pile here and we're going to look at them and we're going to, after church, we're going to pick them up and we're going to throw them out on the burn pile. What would that look like? What things are keeping you from serving the Lord? What are the allegiances? What are the loves? What's consuming your time such that you say, I don't have time for this, I don't have time for that? What's more important to me than my relationship to God? We need to turn from sin and from false allegiances and Jacob says it right here. He says, bring all of those items. And we're going to bury them, we're going to get rid of them. We're to turn away from these things. And then to take that time, not with a new idol, not with a new way of consuming our time, but to serve the Lord. Okay, what am I going to do? I'm getting rid of this, what am I going to replace it with? How is that new? that new life and those new priorities going to look in my actions. The picture that we have here is breaking with sin and committing to live for God. We don't have much about Jacob after this point. In fact, very little. We have him on his deathbed talking to his sons in chapter 49. But it appears here as though God wants us to know that Jacob is growing, he's maturing, he's moving in the right direction. We see some things that are happening as a result of his sons in the chapters ahead of us here. But Jacob is moving forward, confidently breaking with the past and wanting to live for the Lord. Not perfectly, to be sure. but in a way that ought to lead us to reflect upon our lives. God comes to him, comes down, and Jacob then responds in obedience. And then God reaffirms his promise. Jacob goes up to Bethel, and there the Lord meets him and reaffirms his promise. Listen to verses 10 to 12. Your name is Jacob. No longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name. God said to him, I am God Almighty, be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you and I will give the land to your offspring after you. I don't have a separate point for this, but I want you to notice something. God says to him, be fruitful and multiply. Well, Jacob's old. What does that mean, be fruitful and multiply? We oftentimes think, well, that means having more children, that means filling the earth. But in this context, what it means is be a leader in your home. as one who's older, to reflect upon before your children, before all those around you over whom you have influence, to be a leader and point to them, testify to them what God has done. That that might be carried on, that that testimony might be seen and it might be heard and that it might transform those who come behind. May your number increase, the psalmist says elsewhere, those who have faith in the Lord. Jacob was in the line of blessing. How wonderful that must have felt to him after all that had transpired in his life that the Lord came to him and said, you are Israel. You are the one who struggled with the Lord and has prevailed. I have heard your call. God reaffirms his promise to be his God and to bless him. There again is that assurance of pardon that the Lord has laid on our Savior, the iniquities of us all, that in Him we might know the Creator of the world is our Father. He's made covenant with us. sealed by the death of his own son. And Jacob rightly sets up a pillar and offers worship there. And we know later in the history of Israel, what do they do? They set up that Ebenezer stone, which means thus far has the Lord helped us. This reminder again of God being with them. Jacob goes on to declare God's faithfulness. He sets up this stone. So again, I want us to see the importance of this. There's word and there's deed. There's word and there's action. Jacob says something, but he also does something in keeping with that confession. It shows that those words mean something. We need to remember that in our lives. It's one thing to say something and to go back and do what we've always been doing, but instead to say something and then say, now it's going to be different. We're going to move forward. Things are going to look different. Priorities are going to be different. Jacob. takes action, sets up that pillar. He sees the end in sight, the place of rest. The messiness of life was not over. There were matters that would still grieve and anger him. Yet with eyes of faith, Jacob took hold of the goodness of God and spoke of it to his family. His testimony is simple yet wonderful. Verse 3, Let us arise and go to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone." It's a testimony of the saints. We often see it. People will put plaques in their home. As for me and my house will serve the Lord. They like the Joshua quote, but this too is a good quote. The Lord has answered me in my distress and he has been with me wherever I have gone. God's not just the God of Bethel. You remember what he said chapters earlier. Surely God was in this place as though he was some sort of a God in that particular location. But now he's saying God has been with me wherever I have gone. He's not just God of a particular place, but he's a God of all things and controls all things. That doesn't mean that his control does not mean that there will not be times of distress. Jacob acknowledges that. The psalmist acknowledges that when he says, he has heard and answered me in my distress. He cried out to the Lord. He struggled with the Lord and his new name, Israel, meant the one who struggles with the Lord and prevails. So those struggles do come. How do you struggle at times and how do you respond to those struggles? What do you do? Do you recount all of the past as a reason not to trust the Lord or to remain in the ungrateful or perhaps bitter spirit that you have? When the Lord came near to Jacob, What could he have said to the Lord? Well, say you're with me wherever I go, how come you didn't reconcile me to my brother Esau quicker? How come I couldn't see my mother before she passed away? Why? Why did my uncle deceive me? Why were the years of service for Laban so hard? Why did you let Shechem mistreat my daughter? Why did you let my sons ruin my reputation? I want us to think carefully about this. Jacob does not rehearse all of those things. He doesn't hang on to the past. He's not stuck there. He's not bitter. He says, God answers me in my distress. He's been with me wherever I have gone. He recognizes God's faithfulness in keeping him and bringing him home. It's a wonderful testimony that the older believers can share with those who are younger. When we're in the middle of life, things get a little, we lose sight of that and we forget how God is in control, how he's with us. takes some years of living to look back and to be able to say, the Lord has been good. We're blessed to have multiple generations in this church where that interaction can take place. We need that testimony. God has said he would keep me and he has. He's been with me wherever I've gone. Young parents, when the stresses of raising children in the digital age lead you to worry or the thought of tuition bills for school hitting the pocketbook worry you or you worry of the changing morality in the world. Talk to the older saints who can testify that God is good. He's been with me in all the distresses and through all the troubling times wherever I've gone. That's the testimony that we share. It's a testimony that the older can share, but I trust that we all can share in different stages of our lives. It doesn't mean that when we have children we can say, well, God will work it all out. I've heard the testimonies. God's going to work it all out. Now I'm going to go do my thing. No, we're called to instruct. We've already seen how Jacob's poor leadership has led to a number of Difficulties in his life, and we certainly don't want to repeat that bad example we are to teach our children showing by word and deed what God looks like and Putting God first, what does that look like? Those disciplines must be developed now. They don't just show up when life slows down and How do you grow older gracefully? Well, the hymn says it well. You counter many blessings. You name them one by one by recounting the faithfulness of God in all of life. And Jacob says it this way, I want to worship the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone. We've seen God's word and work, Jacob's response. Now for our final point this morning, I want us to consider how God's word remains and he has the last word and it is a good word. He endures forever and will not forget his promises. Why do I state it that way? Well, because as we come to the end of the narrative of Jacob's life, we see death drawing near. Three deaths are recorded as Jacob's life draws to an end. Deborah, his mother's nurse, dies. Rachel, his wife, dies. And very soon his father, Isaac, dies. Reminds us of the cycle of life. We live and then we die. But in the midst of this, a son is born, Benjamin, and we have a list of the sons of Jacob reminding us that life does carry on. And above it all, God is unchanging and his promise is being worked out through all of these circumstances. seen in some of the details that we read of there in these closing verses, which seem unnecessary to the story. I don't know if you noticed that, but there's some details here that seem almost unnecessary to the story, but they have a way of pointing us forward to think about what God was going to do in the future, reminding us that in this moment, God was with them. Let's look at them together for a few moments. We read of Rachel's death, but not before she gives birth to her son, and she names him Ben-Oni, the son of my sorrow. She is dying and she names him son of my sorrow, but Jacob calls him Benjamin, son of my right hand. Now there's a lot of background when they would receive directions in that day, they would face east. So the son of the right hand meant the son of the south. He was born in the south, but there's more going on here. The son of the right hand was also the place of honor. in that culture. And so, though his wife named the son, son of my sorrow, he named the son, son of my right hand, giving him honor, declaring that he would honor this one. He would occupy a special place in Jacob's heart. As we think about that, we think about that imagery throughout the scriptures, and I'm not going to unpack it all this morning, but where does the Lord Jesus Christ sit? He sits at the right hand of the Father. He is the one who's honored. He is the one who receives honor from the Father. In the Psalms we read, the Father says to the Son, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool. That imagery is seen here in this passage and known to the people who are reading and hearing this passage read in their Israelite history. Further, we read that Rachel is buried in Bethlehem. God's Son would also be born in Bethlehem where Rachel was buried in this place where the people of God would remember her death. They would also recognize that there would come in that place one who would die but who would rise again to be received by the Father to his right hand to open the way of life for those who believed in him. It's an amazing reality when you think about how this book, God's word is written such that it holds all these pieces together as you think about it and look more deeply. Well, as the story of Jacob the patriarch comes to a close, we're given details which explain to us how Judah is going to receive the blessing as well. We will catch up in just a moment to Judah, but we know how he plays a role in the history of Israel. Well, how did we get there? Reuben's the firstborn. Why isn't he the one that receives the blessing? Well, it's recorded for us here, he does a very, he acts grievously against his father, verse 22. Jacob later explains that he is therefore not the one who will be carrying the blessing. We've already seen Simeon and Levi. What did they do? They did that which was also disgraceful and a bit of rage of revenge, a cruel revenge in killing all the people of Shechem. They are not the ones through whom the blessing would come. The next in line then is Judah. The writer wants us to understand why he takes the place of honor and Jacob declares that he will receive the honor later in chapter 49. What do we remember about him? Well, he becomes spokesman for the brothers when they go down to Egypt. When they go down for a second time to get food for their father, when Joseph tests the brothers to see if they would give up Benjamin, he says, no, no, you may not take Benjamin or our father. He will, he'll die from the grief. He's already lost one son. He's not, he could not possibly lose another. I will take his place. Judah says I will be in his place. But do not take Jacob's son, Benjamin. When Jacob's near death, he speaks blessing upon Judah, declaring that the brothers would bow before his offspring. Hundreds of years later, David, who came from the tribe of Judah, would become king of Israel. Eventually, Jesus the Messiah would come from this line. shows the astounding control and care of God over the history of His people. That's what I want you to see in all of this. These seemingly insignificant or even maybe unnecessary or strange details are all in God's plan. He's controlling them all so that His plan that He works sovereignly will come to pass. Oh, there's so much in life of Jacob. so much in our lives that we do not want retold. But the faithfulness, the graciousness of the Lord to redeem must never depart our lips. Death will come to us all unless Christ returns first. But the point is this, while generations come and go, God endures forever. He shows himself that he's not just there in the beginning, this book of origins, but he is there through the whole scope of the lives of his people. He has the last word and his word is Jesus, the word of life for all who believe. When we reflect upon God's promise and work, We can say with Jacob, the Lord God answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone to the very end and forever. To this, all God's people of all ages can say, Amen. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we see your hand in all of the details. The explanations given in your word that we cannot fully plumb the depths of your ways. We dare not try to tell you what to do or whether you have acted justly. We cannot do that. We recognize that you give us sufficient information to reflect upon your wondrous providence. As we'll see in the weeks to come in the life of Joseph. Lord, we are those who live in earthly sojourn for a number of years. And in that sojourn, we pray that you would. Be ever working in our lives such that we can say you have answered in our distress. But you have been with us wherever we go. May that be seen in our words and in our deeds, that you would be honored and glorified in your people. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Oh God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come. Number 222. reflecting on his eternality and his wondrous control. We're going to sing stanzas 1, 2, 3, and 7 as we stand to sing 1, 2, 3, and 7 of number 222. Lord. From heav'n who has made you our God, to endless years now sing. O come, O come, O come, Emmanuel, Let's pray. Father, as we reflect upon your Word of promise and your work of grace and mercy We're aware of how that It's also in our testimony and we pray for word and deed ministries They address needs all around the world Pray that you would provide for their finances and for leadership and for organization of all those worksites and coordinating with all those who are locally present, those who are present in those locales. We ask that your name would be honored and glorified and the generosity and the integrity and the energy that is exerted to spread your word far and wide. We pray this for word and deed as we take offering for them now in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay. do Please stand to receive God's parting blessing. The Lord who calls you in and the Lord who sends you forth send you forth with this blessing. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Amen. blessings flow. Praise him, all creatures, here below. Praise him, all who meet him.