"SWEET WORDS OF COMFORT" (Pastor Tom Henry) ~ 11/4/25

“And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel…and said Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt….I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.” (Genesis 46:1-4)

Jacob’s sons had recently returned from Egypt with glad tidings for their aged father. His beloved Joseph, who had been reported dead, and for whom he had long grieved, was alive. Not only so, but he had been exalted to a position of great power in Egypt, second only to the King. At first Jacob did not believe their report. (Ch. 45:26) But as his sons told him more, and that Joseph had sent for him, even providing servants and wagons to bring him and all that he had, “When he saw the wagons,” his spirit revived. “And Israel said, it is enough Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.” Jacob was clearly reluctant to go down into Egypt, and that for a number of reasons. He was doubtless hesitant to leave the land of covenant promise. (See Gen. 28:13) Not only that, but he knew well that his father Isaac had been warned of God not to go down into Egypt. (Gen. 26:2) This explains why he “offered sacrifice unto the God of his father Isaac;” and why God so identified Himself: “I am… the God of thy father.” (Vs. 1, 3) In spite of the compelling reasons for his reluctance, there was one overriding incentive: the dearest person on earth to him was there - his well-beloved son, Joseph, was alive and he would go and see him before he died.

But he had not traveled far until he was overcome with doubts and fears. (VS. 3) This is not unusual, since we are all prone to second guessing or questioning if the Lord is really leading us. But with Jacob there was a particular reason for his doubts and fears. Notice, he came to Beersheba. Two things were cause for pause. First, this was the southernmost border town of the promised land - a few steps, and he is in Egypt. Second, Beersheba is “the well of the oath or covenant.” “Am I to leave the land of covenant promise?”

Jacob needed some reassurance, not from his sons, but from the Lord. What did he do? “He offered sacrifice to the God of his father Isaac.” He sought the Lord, and he received of the Lord sweet words of comfort. We will notice three things that should bring comfort to our souls when doubts and fears come over us in our Christian walk. Through Jacobs experience we see, first, that the Lord knows the root cause of our doubts. It is striking how the Lord addressed His fearful child using his name of weakness, even repeating it twice: “The Lord said to Israel, Jacob, Jacob.” Israel was the name of his strength, his new nature. (See Gen. 32:28) Jacob was his birth name. The “prince with God” was still hindered by the “supplanter.” Every Christian has a dual nature, “the old man,” and “the new man.” Paul described the warfare that existed between the two in his own life. (Rom.7:19-23) Let us daily put off the old man and put on the new man. (Eph. 4:22-24)

We are comforted, secondly, by the fact that the Lord knows what concerns us even without our saying it. Notice, before Jacob said a word, the Lord answered, “Fear not to go down to Egypt.” Then the Lord added, “I will go down with thee into Egypt.” He never leaves us alone, but especially when we are fearful, He is there to take our hand. The Lord knows what we have need of before we ask. He certainly knows our fears, and He is able to relieve them. Let us bring our burdens to the Lord in prayer, not to inform Him, but to express our trust in Him.

Notice, thirdly, that the Lord knows how to quell our fear of dying. “Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.” Jacob’s greatest fear was that he would die in Egypt. Joseph would later sware that he would not see his father buried in Egypt. (Gen. 47:29-31) If our Lord does not come for us soon, we too must die here in Egypt (Egypt typifies this world). God’s promise to Jacob is ours in a much greater way. Our greater Joseph, the Lord Jesus Christ, takes away our fear of dying. We have a living Savior Who is always with us. He will be with us when we come to cross Jordon. He will not only go down with us, but He will surely bring us up again, first in spirit, then in body, all the way to the heavenly Canaan where He is.