Turn to Genesis chapter 46. As you do, I'll ask a question or two. Has anyone ever let you down, made a promise, said they would do something with you or for you, but in the end they didn't follow through on the promise? Or have you ever been the one who didn't keep your word? Maybe you meant to, but things happened unexpectedly and you couldn't. All of us have been both, let down and the ones who have let others down. What if God were like us? What if he promised things, perhaps even with good intentions, but either couldn't or wouldn't bring them to pass? Does God's word ever fail? We know the answer, right? We know the right answer is no. God is faithful. God's word never fails. God always does what he says. But I ask the question to myself and to you all, do you and I really believe and live in light of that? What God says, he will do, no matter what things seem to look like. No matter what difficulties we may face at the moment, God has made promises that he will surely keep. And when we believe that, we think and live differently than when it's just a piece of information, just a statement that we make, God is faithful. Is our joy and our hope diminished when life doesn't go the way we think that it should? Or do we sometimes fail to recognize or even be thankful for the evidences of God's faithfulness, which is the subject of Genesis chapter 46. There are two evidences embedded in the text of Genesis 46 that God is faithful. He always keeps his word and that is meant to encourage his people of all ages and even us tonight as we sit here. God will keep his word. Two evidences of God's faithfulness to his people and his promises. In Genesis 46, in Genesis chapter 46, we see now the sons of Israel heading down to Egypt. Remember, Joseph has revealed himself to his brothers and asked them to come down, and this is the move down to Egypt. What we've seen so far in chapter 45 is that God used Joseph to restore and preserve the sons of Israel. He granted Joseph compassion for his brothers, and he granted Joseph the position to prosper them in Egypt. Remember, he's the prime minister of all Egypt, and now he's asked them to come down. And now we see in chapter 46 that God brings all of Israel, the entire little nation, micro-nation if you will, a family that is a nation, He brings them down into Egypt to serve as an incubator for this little nation so that it would grow. Ultimately, the Word of God would come through that nation, and our Savior, Jesus Christ, came because of what God did here. So our first evidence of God's faithfulness in chapter 46, verses 1 through 7, God confirmed his will through his word to Jacob. Let's read the first seven verses. So Israel set out with all that he had and he came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, here I am. He said, I am God. the God of your father, do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will surely also bring you up again, and Joseph will close your eyes.' Then Jacob arose from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They took their livestock and their property, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him, his sons and his grandsons with him, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt." So we see now this move of this family down into Egypt, and it's an evidence of God's faithfulness. Let's unpack that. Verse 1, Israel slash Jacob set out in faith, and he sought to worship the Lord and seek the wisdom of God. Verse 1, it says, so Israel set out with all that he had. Israel, remember, that's another name for Jacob. But it's usually used in the text of Genesis when he's acting as the leader of the family and when he's walking in faith. So Israel set out with all that he had. Remember in chapter 45, at the end of the chapter, when the sons came back and said, Joseph is alive, it says in verse 26 that he was stunned and that literally his heart grew numb. He almost had a heart attack. His heart grew numb, for he did not believe them. But when he saw the evidence and he heard the words of Joseph, Joseph said, tell them that I've been sent here to preserve a remnant, to bring deliverance to Israel. So when he saw the evidence of Pharaoh's carts, and he heard Joseph's words, this is verse 27 of chapter 45, it says that the spirit of their father revived. So he's revived, and then in chapter 46, verse 1, Israel set out with all that he had. So he packed up camp with everything he possessed, and he went towards Egypt. But the rest of the verse seems to imply that he desired to know for certain God's will. Because God says, do not fear to go down to Egypt. Look at verse 1. He says he came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. Beersheba was 25 miles southwest on the way to Egypt. In fact, it was probably the last main stopping point before you go into Egypt. And if you remember, Beersheba is actually the place where Abraham dwelled when God said, sacrifice your son, when he tested him. and they went to Mount Moriah, and then they came back to Beersheba. Isaac dwelled in Beersheba in Genesis 26, verse 2, and God told him, do not go down to Egypt. So, interestingly, Isaac's son Jacob stops in Beersheba, and he sacrifices to God, the God of his father. The God of his father had told his father not to go to Egypt, Now he's going down to Egypt, but he seeks the Lord in worship. There seems to be the point. And perhaps he remembers about his grandfather and the near disaster that happened in Egypt, Genesis chapter 12, verses 10 through 20. There were a lot of reasons not to go to Egypt, and he stops at the last place before you go to Egypt. It's still in the Promised Land, and he worships God. Verse 2, when he worships God, God reveals himself, his person and his plan. Verse 2, it says, God spoke to Israel in visions of the night. That word vision is used back in Genesis 15 when he told Abraham to go out and look at the stars in a vision that he would multiply his descendants as the stars of the sky. Now he spoke to Israel in the same manner. And this is the last recorded revelation of God to the patriarchs in the book of Genesis. Notably, he calls him by his name, Jacob, his birth name. So God spoke to Israel in visions of the night, but he said to him, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, here I am. It's the same way that Abraham answered the Lord when he said, Abraham, Abraham, called from heaven. Later Moses at the burning bush would say, here I am as well. So God was addressing Jacob and why evidently there was at least a temptation to fear going down to Egypt as verse 3 reveals. He says, I am God, the God of your father, do not be afraid. to go down to Egypt. So he reveals his person. He says, I am God, literally in Hebrew, I am the God, the God of your father. I'm the true and living God, the God of your father, which is a phrase used many times in Genesis, especially to Jacob. He reveals his person to him, and then he says, verse 3, his plan. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. So circumstances, as he interprets it, his son Joseph is alive, he's prime minister of Egypt, Pharaoh has sent his own carts to bring him down. Certainly it would seem right to go down to Egypt, but he stops in Beersheba where God had told his father not to go to Egypt, and he seeks the Lord in worship. And the Lord confirms through his word what his will is. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt. Why? For I will make you a great nation there. It's the same promise. He told Abraham, I will make you a great nation. He told Isaac, I will make you a great nation. And now he tells Jacob, don't be afraid. Go down there, for there I will make you a great nation. So now we find out that it's his plan. Somehow in Egypt he would make Israel this great nation. Egypt would be the incubator or the womb in which God would use to nurture this little nation, this little family. Why? Egyptians loathed shepherds. Israel was a family of shepherds. So they would be set apart. There would be no intermarrying with the Egyptians as there were with Canaanites. And so they would have to survive as this family and grow there, and God was using Egypt. Note the promise, verse 4. So the plan, don't fear, go down to Egypt, I will make you a great nation there. Verse 4, I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again. Now, years and years before, Jacob had heard God's promise that, I will be with you, and I will bring you back to this place. Do you remember that at Bethel? When he had the dream of the staircase or the ladder that extended into heaven, and God stood and told him of his blessing and his care, and now he hears the same promise. He says, go down to Egypt. So you notice that Israel is walking in faith. Jacob has his fears about going to Egypt, so he seeks the Lord, about what is wisdom here. Abraham hadn't done that, and it was a near disaster in Egypt. Isaac was going that direction, and God said, don't go down there. So he says, I better seek the Lord. And God confirms it with his words. The promise of a great nation is still coming. I'm going to do it there. Just notice the personal pronouns in verses three and four. I am the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I will surely go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again. There seems to be a wider use of you, not just you personally, but you as a nation. The implication is there that this goes beyond just Jacob. So God is assuring Jacob that he would be faithful to his word, to Jacob personally, to his immediate family, and to this promise of a nation. Now, verses 5-7, the seed of Israel all traveled to Egypt. So there's his point. God was directing this. Verse 5, then Jacob arose from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him." So instead of saying the sons of Israel carried Israel, which would be a little bit difficult in the speaking and hearing of it, the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob in the wagons. He was an old man at this point, 130 years old, and they traveled down to Egypt. Verse 6 says they took their livestock and their property which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his seed literally with him. So every descendant from Jacob went down into Egypt. All his seed went down with him. Verse 7, his sons and his grandsons with him, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his descendants he brought to Egypt. So we're told that Jacob had daughters, plural, and granddaughters, plural, but there are only two mentioned in the genealogy that follows. But God confirmed his will through his word to Jacob. So what do we see? All of these chapters have been talking about God's sovereignty and his providence. There's a famine, so God directs them through the famine and through providence and through a divine working in history to bring them down. But still, it seems it's just circumstances. And so Jacob goes to the Lord and he worships the Lord at this final spot. Is this your will? And God confirms his will through his word. And God says, I'm going to be faithful to my earlier promises. So when we go to his word, we look at the circumstances of life. We may interpret them a certain way, but when we seek the Lord, he confirms that his promises already revealed will come to pass. So he reveals his faithfulness through his word. But secondly, tonight, there's a genealogy in verses 8 through 27, and it's a list of names. This genealogy is put here to show us that God was faithful to his word. Why? Who were the original recipients of the book of Genesis? the nation of Israel, right? They read this and they realize we've been in Egypt for 400 years. 400 years is a long time. And then you start to read, God planned this. He said that he would make us a great nation there. And then you read a list of 70 names. 70 names are all the people that went down to Egypt. And now look at us. Just exactly what God said he would do, he did. That's what we see now in verses 8 through 27. Let's look at them. Verse 8, now these are the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt. And then it begins the list with Reuben, Jacob's firstborn. Interestingly, they're separated into two major groupings, Leah's sons and her maid, and then Rachel's sons and her maid. Let's look at them. The sons that are born to Leah, Jacob's sons through Leah. Verse 8, the sons of Reuben. It says, Reuben, Jacob's firstborn. Verse 9, the sons of Reuben, Hanak and Palu and Hezron and Carmi. So Jacob's firstborn had four sons. So now think of this. Reuben and his sons numbered five in this genealogy. There were five persons that go down to Egypt from Reuben, including Reuben. Numbers 121 says that when they came out of Egypt, there were 46,500 men that were 20 years and older who came out of Egypt from the tribe of Reuben. Five went down, 46,500 came out. In Numbers 26, 57, 40 years later when they retook the census, there were 43,730. A new generation from five men. Verse 10, the sons of Simeon, Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Yachin, and Zohar, and Shaal, the son of a Canaanite woman. Notably, that's mentioned here. Again, Israel was in danger of becoming just another Canaanite offshoot if they stay there. But God is bringing them down to Egypt through providence, and now confirmed by his word. But Simeon had six sons. There are other genealogies in the book of Numbers and 1 Chronicles. And there are a few sons missing. They don't mention Ohad in those genealogies. And the reason seems to be is likely Ohad had no children. So when there are discrepancies in later genealogies, you have to see that those genealogies were put there to chronicle the offspring that came from them even further. But here he's just saying these men were the ones that came down to Egypt. So Simeon and his sons numbered seven when they went into Egypt. Numbers 123 says 59,300 men 20 years and older came out of Egypt from the tribe of Simeon. So from seven came 59,300. 40 years later, however, the Simeonites were only at 22,200. But just remember what God said when we read each one of these tribes. Look at 46.3. God said, do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. Seven go down, 59,300 come out. Verse 11, the sons of Levi. The sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. So those are four, including Levi. Numbers 147 says that the Levites were exempted from the first census coming out of Egypt because they were civil servants and they weren't in the army, so to speak. They weren't men that were going to go to battle. But Numbers 2662, the census taken 40 years later, said that there were 23,000 Levite males one month old and upward. So the Levites, their census was taken for the one month old and upward. But four went down into Egypt, 23,000 came out. I will make you a great nation there. Verse 12, the sons of Judah. It says the sons of Judah, Ur and Onan and Shelah and Perez and Zerah, but Ur and Onan died in the land of Canaan. So now they're listed in the Judah genealogy. Remember chapter 38, which we studied some months ago, that Ur and Onan were evil in the sight of the Lord and the Lord took their life. And then, interestingly, only with Perez, not with Zerah, is a further genealogy given, and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. So now there's interesting, Judah has this other line that they're focusing on, which the book of Ruth will pick up, and later leads to David, and later leads to our Savior Christ, Matthew chapter 1. But for now, let's look at some more details. Judah and his seed numbered six. So there were six, including Judah, that went down into Egypt. Numbers 127 says that 74,600 men, 20 years and older, came out of Egypt. Six went down and almost 75,000 came out. In fact, 40 years later they'd increased and there were 76,500 of the new generation. Verse 13, the sons of Issachar, Tola, and Puvah, and Yob, and Shimron, Issachar and his seed numbered five when they went down to Egypt. Numbers 129 says that 54,400 men 20 years and older came out from the tribe of Issachar. I want to repeat this over and over again. The most of any of these sons was 11 that went down with his children and grandchildren. And they came out in the tens of thousands 400 years later. Because God said, I will make them a great nation there. Do not be afraid. Verse 14, Zebulun. The sons of Zebulun, Sered and Elan and Jalil. So Zebulun, there were four. Zebulun and his three sons went down into Egypt. Numbers 131 says that 57,400 men who were 20 years and older came from the tribe of Zebulun. And in fact, 40 years later, the new generation numbered 60,500. I will make you a great nation there. Verse 15, notice the summary, says, These are the sons of Leah whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram with his daughter Dinah. All his sons and his daughters numbered 33. Now that we see how a Jewish genealogy is made in this case, notably, the sons of these men weren't born in Paddan Aram. But the sons were born in Paddan Aram, in Haran. And so, grandsons are counted as being in their fathers. So this is the nation that came from Aramea, so to speak. They were wandering Aramean, as he's called in another place. Notice it says in verse 15, all his sons and daughters, plural, numbered 33, but we only have a record of one daughter, Dinah. And she's the subject of Genesis 34, if you remember, and that tragedy at Shechem. The figure of 33 descendants of Jacob from Leah could possibly be used to verify that there have been daughters, plural. Why? If you actually add up the names in the list, you get 34, including Dinah. But if you subtract Ur and Onan, because they died in Canaan, you're left with 32. Six sons, 23 grandsons, and likely two great-grandsons, and Dinah, because of the word daughters plural. So in other words, he lists, and he has 33 here, but when you add them up, there's 34 minus the two that died in Canaan, and so now you have 32. So evidently there's an unnamed daughter in the actual final accounting in verse 15, but we come up with 33. It's clear that Moses wanted to encourage the original audience of the utter faithfulness and the incomprehensible power of God. Think of it. Jacob's sons by Leah went into Egypt with 33 and they came out of Egypt with over 300,000 men, not including women and children. 33 people. over 300,000 men 20 years and older, which means that likely most of them were married and had children. Close to a million people came from 33. God is saying, I promised I will make them a great nation there. Look what I've done. Everything that I promise will come to pass. Well, let's go on to the sons born to Zilpah, Leah's maid, verse 16. It says, So you've got the sons of Gad, they numbered eight, including Gad, when they went down to Egypt. Numbers 125 says that 45,650 Gadites, 20 years and older, came out. Men, do not be afraid to go down to Egypt. I will make you a great nation there. Verse 17, the sons of Asher. The sons of Asher, Imnah and Ishva and Ishvi and Beriah and their sister Sarah. And the sons of Beriah, Heber and Malkiel. So Moses here lists four sons of Asher, a daughter, and evidently two grandsons when you look at some of the other lists. So Sarah, the sister of Asher's sons, is mentioned. No reason is given for her inclusion, but she's counted in the total that's given later in the verses. Possibly she was the only female offspring of Zilpah, or maybe she was the only one who didn't marry. Because if a female married, she became part of that tribe. But Asher and his seed numbered eight when they went down into Egypt. Numbers 131 says that 41,500 men came out. Eight turned into 41,500. And then 40 years later, the new generation, they had 53,400. Amazing. I will make you a great nation there. Verse 18, Now these are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave his daughter Leah, and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons. Interesting. I don't know exactly what to make of it, except for you see that Hebrew genealogies are symmetrical. They planned them, and they worked them in such a way that there's a symmetry to them. Because if you actually count up the names, minus Er and Onan, Leah had 32 people that went down, and then her maid had 16, half. And we'll see Rachel, had 14 and her maid had seven. So there's this symmetry that is also placed in the overall structure of the genealogy. Well, let's look at the sons of Rachel now, verses 19 through 22, starting with Joseph. Verse 19, the sons of Jacob's wife, Rachel. Now here's a variant, a deviation from the regular formula. Only Rachel is called Jacob's wife. She was his beloved wife, and she was the one he had agreed to marry originally. And so in this particular genealogy, she alone is called Jacob's wife. Joseph and Benjamin are born. It says, verse 20, So Joseph was alone when he went to Egypt, Ephraim and Manasseh were born to him there in Egypt. Numbers 1, 33 and 35 says that 40,500 men came from the tribe of Ephraim and 32,200 men came from Manasseh. So out of Joseph came 72,700 men. Joseph went down alone and 72,700 came out. Amazing. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt. I will make you a great nation there. Verse 21, the sons of Benjamin. The sons of Benjamin, Bela and Beqir and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Mufin and Hupin and Ard. So ten sons of Benjamin are listed here and it should be noted that Benjamin was likely only in his mid-twenties when the sons of Israel came to Egypt. So it's possible that there were either multiple births. You know, there are twins in the family. There were either multiple births or multiple wives, which is also a possibility. Or perhaps, as Hebrew 10 says, it's counting some in the loins of Benjamin that came actually born in Egypt during Jacob's lifetime. We don't know for sure. But what we do see here is that there were 11 that went down from the tribe of Benjamin, right? 11 men. Numbers 137 says that 400 years later, 35,400 came out of the tribe of Benjamin. And then another 40 years later, a different generation, there were 45,600 Benjamites. I will make you a great nation there. Verse 22, summary of Rachel, says, These are the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob. There were 14 persons in all. 14 went down, and 10,000 upon 10,000 came out, because I will make you a great nation there. God said it, and it happened. Now, Rachel's maid Bilhah, verses 23 through 25, it says, the sons of Dan, now you notice it's a genealogical designation. Sons, plural, but there's only one listed. Dan only had one son that he brought down into Egypt, Hushim. In Numbers 26, he's called Shuham, a variant. Dan and his seed, number two, when they went to Egypt, 400 years later, 62,700 Danites came out of Egypt. Two went down, 62,700 came out. Because the Lord said to Jacob, do not be afraid to go down to Egypt. I will make you a great nation there. The sons of Naphtali, verse 24, the sons of Naphtali, Jaseel, and Gunai, and Jezer, and Shalem. Naphtali and his seed were five when they went to Egypt. Numbers 143 says they were 53,400 when they came out. I want to saturate us with this seemingly redundant list of numbers. Why? Because a handful of people go down and God fulfills his word and literally millions came out. Verse 25 tells us the summary of Bilhah's sons. These are the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and she bore these to Jacob. There were seven persons in all. So interesting, although again I don't know what to make of it, Leah, though it lists 33 officially when you count the names and you subtract the The two that died, there were 32, and her maid had 16. Rachel had 14 offspring that went down, and her maid had seven. So there's this beautiful symmetry within the actual genealogy. Now where I find that interesting is it gives me a little bit of insight into Hebrew genealogies. And when you turn to Matthew chapter 1, it has an interesting statement at the end of Jesus' genealogy. In Matthew chapter 1, I'll just read it for you, after he gives the genealogy of Jesus Christ. the son of David, the son of Abraham, the son of Isaac, the son of Jacob. At the end there in verse 17 it says, So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah fourteen generations. So there is something about a genealogical symmetry that communicates something to the ancient Hebrews. Not that I have full insight into that, but I found it interesting to make that connection. We'll come back to Genesis 46 and let's look at the summary verses 26 and 27. 26, all the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt, his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob's sons, were 66 persons in all. And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. All the persons of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy." Now, let's try to reconcile some of the numbers here. So verse 26 totals the seed of Jacob that willingly migrated to Egypt, either in person or in the loins of their forefather, as Hebrews 7.10 puts it. If you add up the figures listed in verse 15, verse 18, verse 22, and verse 25, you get 70 people. If you add up all the names listed in the genealogies, you get 71, including Dinah. But verse 26 says that there were only 66 persons who made the trip. The simplest explanation has to be that since 71 names include Ur and Onan, and Joseph and his two sons were already in Egypt, that makes 5. 71 minus 5 is 66. Now, the 66 persons from Jacob migrated from Canaan to Egypt, not including the wives of Jacob's sons. But then verse 27, the even number 70 is used to summarize the migration. So 70 would include Joseph and his two sons, and most likely Jacob himself. So you've got 66, Joseph, 67, his two sons, 68, 69, and Jacob makes 70. So there were 70 of Israel that came down, a nation of 70. Why is the number 70 significant? In Genesis 10, there were 70 nations that descended from Noah. All humanity came from these 70 nations. According to Deuteronomy 32.8, God planned it. Listen to what it says. Look at Deuteronomy 32.8. This is a song that Moses wrote. Notice the statement that he makes. In Moses' song, he says, when the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of men, he set boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. Perhaps God, in his foresight and his sovereignty, had planned for 70 people to be that nation of Israel to go down into Egypt, and he divided up the world into 70 nations to match the number of his people. Not only that, there were 70 sent out in Jesus' day, right? 70 is an important number to the Hebrews. I was told by an acquaintance of mine who is in leadership at New Trimes Mission, that if an indigenous people group is going to survive as a distinct people group, listen to this, and not go extinct, they need at least 70 people to be a self-sustaining people group. In other words, they reach unreached peoples and they learn their languages and they're little tiny tribes sometimes in South America and other places. And I asked him, how do you all gauge a distinct people group that will sustain itself and not die out? And he says, a tribe has to have at least 70 people to sustain itself and the intermarriage to happen so that it grows and doesn't become extinct. Interesting, whatever we make of it, but we see that a nation of 70 went down into Egypt, a nation of Israel. And as I said earlier, in Egypt, the Hebrews were an abomination to the Egyptians socially and religiously. In other words, they couldn't associate with Israelites, with Hebrews. And so it's perfect. This little family, this little micro-nation of 70 go down to Egypt and they're isolated religiously and socially so that they can grow into this nation. The book of Numbers tells us that Israel went down here listed at 70 people. They came out 400 years later with over 600,000 men old enough to fight, not including Levites, women, and children. So less than a hundred people became a nation of likely two million. Because he said to Jacob, I will make you a great nation there. Now think about it. Israel receives this. They're standing on the edge of the promised land and they're facing people that are giants, that are more numerous. They have chariots, they have fortified cities, and they're a bunch of slaves just becoming a new nation. And they're supposed to go in and fight these people and take the land? And God says, read my word. Everything that I have promised has come to pass. They went down with 70, and you've come out millions. You have a huge army because of my faithfulness. Now, beyond this, Genesis 15, 13, God said to Abraham, know for certain that your seed will be strangers in a land that's not theirs. Here is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. This genealogy of 70 going down to Egypt and being strangers in that land that's not theirs, that fulfills the word he gave to Abraham. When he gave that promise to Abraham in Genesis 15, he was 85 years old and didn't have a child. Two generations later, there's 70 that go down. Four generations later, there's 2 million. Because God said, I will make you a great nation there. God was faithful to confirm his will through his word, and God was faithful to his promises to Abraham. Romans 15.4 says that these things were written for our instruction so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. You persevered in listening to all these names and seeing me compare it to the figures of the book of Numbers because it was meant to give you hope. If God can take a little family that was on the edge of destroying itself and make it into the nation that He promised it would be, and eventually bring about our Savior, and we sit here thousands upon thousands of years later, worshiping Him and listening to His Word because of what He did in those days with those people. Will He not fulfill every word that He has promised to us? What are some promises to us as we end? Romans 10, whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Hebrews 13, 5, I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you. What can man do to me? 1 Peter 5, 10. After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. After you have suffered for a little while, he will complete the work that he started. Romans 8 comes to mind as well. This momentary light affliction is nothing to be compared with the glory to be revealed. John 14, 2 and 3, I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am you may be also. Romans 8, 31 through 37. If God did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not freely give us all things with Him? Who is the one that condemns us? No, God is the one who justifies us, right? Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. John 3, verse 3, when He appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him just as He is. And finally, Revelation 21. Let me read it to you, starting in verse 4. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be any death. There will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain. The first things have passed away. And he who sits on the throne said, behold, I'm making all things new. It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things. I will be his God and he will be my son." Eternal perfection. A world that is so indescribable that it can only be described by what it's not. And it's not like here. No more death, no more crying, no more pain, no more sorrow for everyone who trusts in Christ. That's the promise of God. We learn from Genesis just like we learn so many places in the scripture. But what we've seen tonight in a genealogy so obscure to us is that God always keeps his word. He's coming back. Hold tight. Keep the faith. Be steadfast, immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord. Your faith is not in vain. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for names in a list. Lord, we just praise you for the names in this list. We praise you for the numbers of the scriptures. We praise you for the promises that you've made, that you've shown, that you've been faithful to. And we thank you for the promises that we have that give us hope. Lord, I ask that you would encourage every soul that has listened to this message to be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in your work. Thank you for your word and thank you for your faithfulness. Amen.