A GREAT NATION? – Genesis 46:8-34 – Providence Community Church Sermon

Matthew 13:31-32 records a brief yet descriptive parable of the nature of the kingdom of God: “...the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” Just like the tamarisk tree we imagine standing 200 years after Abraham planted it in Beersheba, what begins in the sovereignty of God's purposes as a small or seemingly insignificant thing can grow in due time to fill the world with His glory. When Jacob offered sacrifices in Beersheba, his tribe numbered less than 70 and they were compelled by the trial of famine to leave the land of their heritage behind. With their livestock driven in front of them and all of their nomadic belongings packed in ox carts, they are trudging south to find provision in Egypt. No one unfamiliar with the promises of God would have described this clan as a great nation at the time and certainly no one would have recommended this relocation as a good national policy for growth and dominance. Nevertheless, God would be glorified and His word vindicated in due time as his unique plan continues to unfold. Noting these events as formative and significant in the history of national Israel, Moses places a book mark on these moments in the form of a genealogy. These are the seedling generations who will flourish in Egypt until Moses leads forth a great nation back to the promised land 4 centuries later.