Graduate Level Grace
A Study in the Life of Joseph
Forgive from the Heart
August 20, 2023 • Jan Vezikov • Genesis 50
Audio Transcript: This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston, or donate to this ministry, please visit http://mosaicboston.com Heavenly Father, we thank you for your holy scriptures. We thank you for the Book of Genesis, the book of beginnings, we come to the end of it today. A book that begins with a garden and perfect peace, with Adam and Eve walking with you in the cool of the day. It ends with two deaths. It ends with two coffins. And we pray that today you remind us that because of our sin, because of our rebellion, we are sinners by nature and by choice. Death is in the world and death will come to each one of us if the Lord should tarry. And Lord, I pray you make us the people that meditate upon death. As hard as it is, it is an important spiritual discipline to think about. How do we want to be remembered? What kind of legacy do we want to leave? And Lord, we thank you for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We thank you that your son lived the perfect life, walked with you perfectly, never sinned, fulfilled the law of God from the heart. You loved God, and you love neighbor, Jesus, so much so that you offered yourself up on the cross in order to redeem us. And we thank you Jesus that you did not stay dead and we thank you that through your resurrection, you have conquered Satan, sin, and death. And in your death, we see the death of death itself. And make us a people who trust in your word and recognizing that when we believe in you, repent of sin, we are granted eternal life. It's eternal life that begins now and continues through all of eternity. And Lord, we thank you for the lessons that we have learned from the life of Joseph, from the life of Jacob, as we remember their faith and their faithfulness, we also recognize that there were times when they were faithless. And still because they were yours, because they were your elect, you remain faithful to them. And Lord remain faithful to us. We trust in that promise and give us grace. Grace to have our sins forgiven and grace to then extend forgiveness to others when they sin against us. We thank you for the reminder of how important unity is in the church of God and I pray that you unite us, recognizing that the blood of Jesus Christ and the unity that he gives us triumphs over anything that could potentially divide us. We pray that you bless our time, the Holy Scriptures, Holy Spirit, we love you, we welcome you, and we pray that you deepen our love for you as we meditate upon your word. And we pray all this in Christ's holy name. Amen. We're continuing our sermon series called Graduate Level Grace, actually ending it today. A study in the life of Joseph. Today we're in Genesis 50. Next Sunday is our annual vision sermon. So if you are looking for a church, if you are church shopping, definitely come back next week and we, by the power of God, hopefully will show you of the importance of a gospel proclaiming church, a faithful church in a place like Boston. And then after that, we will start a brand new sermon series through the Gospel of Mark. We're calling it Kingdom Come: The Gospel of Mark and the secret of God's kingdom in which we'll meditate. And what it means is that Jesus is king and what it means that we are part of his kingdom, that we have been transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved son, and what it means to be kingdom minded. Today the title of the sermon is Forgive from the Heart. The Book of Genesis, the book of beginnings, begins with life. God creates life and he creates humanity and everything is perfect and shalom. And then the Book of Genesis ends with death, two deaths actually, the death of Jacob and the death of Joseph. And you say, what happened? It started in such a promising way and such a promising note and it ends with death. And the answer is sin. The answer is, rebellion and rejection of God's reign and rule ushered in death. And Jacob here we're told is buried in the Promised Land as a testimony to the promises God has made in the past. And Joseph's body is put in a coffin in Egypt as a testimony to the fact that he believed that God would bring his promises to pass in the future via the Exodus. And both these godly men die in the Lord, which is a great blessing. Revelation 14:13 says, "And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Blessed indeed," says the spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them." Blessed is to die in the Lord. To die as a believer. Blessed is to die well and to have your funeral be a celebration of your life. Blessed it is to live in such a way where people do want to come to your funeral, and people do have many a good thing, a blessed thing to say about your life. My wife and I, we took a vacation, a trip last summer to Vail, Colorado. And my goodness, it was incredible. Vail is so beautiful. And we're sitting on the porch outside of the hotel room and we have this incredible mountain view and everything's perfect, the food was perfect, the views were perfect, everything's perfect. And when everything's perfect, the Slavic in us, we come from a Slavic background, the Slavic in us wants to be reminded that there is pain in the world. And we decided it would be wise to partake in one of the most painful exercises you could possibly partake. And my wife asked me, she said, "And when I die, what will you say at my funeral?" And then I was like, hold on, I got to think about it. And then as I'm thinking about it, I'm like, okay, what would I say? Many a good thing. I'm going to save it till her funeral. And then I said, "What are you going to say about me at my funeral?" And it was so beautiful and so heart-wrenching, heartwarming, we're just weeping. We're just sitting here and beautiful, weeping. But it was a wonderful reminder of the fact that we will die. And then if you reverse engineer how you want to live in order to be remembered in a positive way, well, how should you live? And I've done many a funeral and I will tell you it's a world of difference when the person that dies dies in the Lord, than a person that had nothing to do with God or there was no evidence of faith in God. People kind of say the same stuff, but you know it comes from a different place when the person was truly a believer secure in the hands of God. What do people say at funerals? Well, the person is now in a better place. If you're a believer or not, everyone says the same thing, even at an unbeliever's funeral. No one wants to say, "Yeah, this person was a pagan and wicked had nothing to do with God." No, they say, "They're in better place." Well, we are to prepare in life for death in order for those words to be true. In the Book of Numbers, Balaam was hired by Balak to curse Israel, but he ends up blessing them, and this is what he says in Numbers 23:10, "Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his." Let me die the death of the upright. In chapter 48, we saw Jacob's greatest act of faith, as singled out in the Hall of Faith Hebrews 11, when he blessed the sons of Joseph, when he crossed his hands, which is an incredible example and actually prophecy of the cross of Jesus Christ. But in Hebrews 11:22 in the Hall of Faith, it says that what Joseph does in this chapter was Joseph's greatest act of faith. Hebrews 11:22 says, "By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones." Joseph, on his deathbed, spoke of the exodus, of the promises of God concerning the exodus, and he demanded to be buried back in the land of Canaan, although he realized it's going to be centuries before the people of God are led out of Egypt. From all appearances, Joseph had at this time by the end of his life, already been an Egyptian through and through. He was an Egyptian from the day of his captivity when he was 17 to when he was elevated to prominence in the Egyptian court at age 30 and he married an Egyptian woman, followed Egyptian laws, carried an Egyptian name. But his dying words show that he had been a stranger in the midst of it all. His citizenship was not in Egypt, it was in heaven. Though he ruled in Egypt, Egypt did not rule in him. He was in the world, but he was not of the world. No worldly influence or power or authority or success distracted him from his faith in God. And as truly as his fathers who would dwell in tents, he too felt like he had no continuing city here. He continued to believe in God and his promises, and he continued to look by faith into the future. Before we look at Genesis 50, just one verse right before to set the context. Jacob on his deathbed blessed his sons, and then Genesis 48:33, it says, "When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and he was gathered to his people." Jacob's body was still in the room, but his soul was gathered to the people of God and he was reunited with his fathers. As Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am." And then the Pharisees were like, what are you talking about? That's blasphemy. And he said, "Have you not read? God says I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God is not the God of the dead but of the living." Three points to frame up our time as we walk through the text, a father celebrated, a family reconciled, and a promise believed. So first of Father celebrated. Genesis 50 verse one. "Then Joseph fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him for seventy days" Before Jacob took the trek to Egypt with all of his family, he asked God, "God, are you going with me?" And God met him and said, "Fear not. I will go with you and I will bless you. And your son Joseph is going to close your eyes in death." The other brothers were certainly present at the deathbed of Jacob and they too grieved the death of his father. But Joseph's grief is highlighted here. His love for his father is highlighted here. His affection for his father. He's weeping over him. Why? Because first of all, he stood closer to his father than the other brothers. And also he is experiencing a pain accentuated by the fact that he had lost years of relationship with his father. There's grief, but then there's restrained, godly grief. Joseph is weeping, and after he is done weeping, he then goes into action. Why? Because his grief is like that of a believer. We grieve but not like those without hope. Joseph knows that he too will go to be with his father in the presence of God, just like Jacob did. Joseph here is 56 years of age when his father Jacob died. If you remember, he was 17 when he was sold into captivity by his brothers. And then he was 30 when he rose to prominence in power and in Pharaoh's Court. And then there were seven years of plenty and then two years of famine. And at age 39, his family moved to Goshen. And then Jacob spent 17 years, the last 17 years of his life, with Joseph, just like Joseph had spent the first 17 years of his life with his father. It says that the Egyptians wept for Jacob for 70 days. And this is really important because the Egyptians wept for Pharaoh. When a pharaoh would die, the king of Israel, the Egyptians would weep 72 days. So here we have a feeble shepherd who was revered almost as highly as royalty. Why? Because of his son. Because his son saved the people. And the people recognize that apart from Joseph and his wisdom that God gave him, they would've ended up dead. And sometimes fathers provide for their children early on and sometimes children ended up providing for their parents. I tell my girls this, I have four daughters. I remember when my oldest for the very first time, she was like nine, she washed my car. And I was so pumped and I was like finally, a little ROI. A little return on investment. But we do. We pour into our kids and as we raise the children and recognize the children by God's grace will care for us in our old age. There is no burial recorded in scripture quite as honorable as this with such a wealth of detail. And Joseph commands the physicians, it says, to embalm his father. Not the mortuary priests. His wife was part of the priest cast in Egypt, but it's not the priest that come in and do the embalming. No, it's the doctors, the physicians. Why does Joseph do this? First of all, he wants everyone to know we're not doing this for religious purposes. There's a practical purpose here. The practical purpose in embalming Jacob is to transport his body into Canaan, the Promised Land, just like Jacob had commanded Joseph and the son. So the pagan embalming procedure is used by the Lord God here. So Jacob and Joseph are the only two Israelites of whom the scriptures tell that they were embalmed, not for religious value, but strictly for feasible transportation. Genesis 50 verse 4, "And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, "My father made me swear, saying, "I'm about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me." Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return. And Pharaoh answered, Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear." Joseph being the wise administrator that he is, he understands how the political court works. Although he's second in command to Pharaoh, he understands authority. He understands he's in authority, and he understands he's under authority. So he doesn't want to pull rank. And he understands that Pharaoh would be apprehensive about letting such a trusted official go with his whole tribe, his whole family back to the land of Canaan. Especially given that Joseph knew sensitive information about Egypt and the inner workings, and such clandestine information would be very valuable to the enemies of Egypt. So Joseph understands he needs Pharaoh's clearance, so he asks. Joseph is given his request to go back, and on top of that, he's given a large entourage to escort Jacob for the internment. It's a massive funeral entourage. Hundreds of people made up the retinue. In verse 7 it says, "So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. The text emphasizes that the children, the livestock, were left in Goshen, to emphasize the fact that they felt so secure in leaving the children, the little ones in Goshen. That's how much God had blessed the people of Israel. He'd given them security, he'd given them land. And we see the entourage led by Joseph, and it's almost a mini rehearsal for the ultimate homecoming of the children of Israel out of Egypt via the exodus. And actually the route they took was the same exact one as Israel would take centuries later after the Exodus. In verse 10, "When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a great and grievous lamentation, and he made a mourning for his father seven days." The Egyptian custom of those days were where when you get to the place of burial, the point of burial, you take another seven days of lamentation. So we're up to 77 days that people lamented the death of Jacob. And this is important. I think this is important for us because we live in a society that idolizes youth and we don't respect people in their older age and we don't think about honoring them and their death. We don't think about honoring them after their death. And this morning my dad, he sent me a text message, iMessage from Estonia, he's in Estonia right now, my country of origin, and he's there with my mom. And he takes a pilgrimage almost every single year. And every time he goes to Estonia, he goes to the cemetery where his mom is buried and where his grandparents are buried. And they take care of their little plot of land, put flowers there. And I remember when I was younger, I was like, that's kind of silly because they're in heaven, right? We believe that they're in heaven, their souls are in heaven. But he's doing it as a way to honor them. Honor their remembrance, and honor their sacrifice for him and for us. And this is important, I think it's important for us to really celebrate those who came before us and to honor them and their death and honor them after their death and the memory of them. And this is what the Lord Jesus told us in the celebration of the last supper. He said, "Do this for what purpose? Do this in remembrance of me." Every time we take the cup and the bread, we're remembering the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and his sacrifice and resurrection. Verse 11 of chapter 50, when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians," and therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim. Abel-mizraim means mourning of Egypt. Verse 12, "Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah to the east of Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Efron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father." So Jacob's sons take over here in the very final and most intimate part of the service. They are the ones that bury their father. They are the ones that lay him in his final resting place for his body. And the emphasis in the text is his sons, all his sons are unified in that. They obey the commandment of their father. Perhaps for the first time, all 12 of them are unified in obedience of their father. We see them as submissive, dutiful, faithful. They're truly changed men. And then that whole family goes back to Egypt, goes back to Goshen. And now the question is, well, how then will they live? Now that Jacob's influence as the patriarch, as the loving father on all 12 sons. Are they going to live in unity and reconciliation? And the text says yes. Point two is the family reconciled. Verse 15, "When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him." So they sent a message to Joseph saying, "Your father gave this command before he died: Say to Joseph, please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you." And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. So the brother is realizing their father is dead, understandably they're worried. And they're wondering, was he nice to us just because of dad? He's been benevolent to us, but is the benevolence just a mask for malevolent intent? Was he really just harboring resentment and biding his time? So they sent a message to Joseph. They don't go personally just yet. First they want to test the waters. Who do they send? Most likely they sent the youngest son Benjamin because he was loved by both sides of the family. And when Joseph hears this message, he weeps. Why does he weep? Because if these words are true, that Jacob said this, then he's weeping over the fact that his father Jacob did not trust him, did not trust his intentions, did not trust his words. If it's not true, if Jacob did not say this, then Joseph is weeping over the fact that his brothers still don't trust him. And there was no ground for mistrust. Joseph's forgiveness had been without condition. To have his sincere motives questioned was painful, especially after 17 years of care and provision. And you got to stop and you got to wonder, why would they question Joseph after 17 years of his love toward them and word indeed? Well, most likely they're projecting their own guilt on him. Most likely they haven't dealt completely with their guilt and their sin. And most likely they're thinking, okay, if we were sold into captivity by Joseph, and if we were in power over him, and now that dad's not here to protect him, what would we do? And in their sinfulness, they think, you know what? We would probably make him pay for his sins. And that's why it's so important in this message. They say, "Please forgive the transgression." They use the word transgression. They use the word sin, and they use the word evil. They recognize that they've transgressed, not just against God, but against his brother. They've sinned, not just against God, but against their brother. They've committed evil, not against just God, but his and their brother. And what do they call themselves? Forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father. For the first time the text tells us that they confess allegiance to the God of the universe. He's our God, not just the God of our Father. They repent and Joseph is weeping. So they got the message that Joseph is weeping. In verse 18 it says, "His brothers also came and they fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants." But Joseph said to them, "Do not fear for am I in the place of God. As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones." Thus he comforted them and he spoke kindly to them. Their sorrow and their repentance is genuine. It's sincere. That's why they come on the heels of the messenger and they offer themselves to Joseph as slaves. And we got to pause and just say it's incredible how God worked in this family, how he's been growing this family. We see spiritual growth and maturity. We see the brothers humble themselves before their younger brother, a sibling they once hated. And they confess their sin and wrongdoing and they prostrate themselves before their brother just as Joseph once dreamed. Why is this emphasized in the last chapter of the book? Well, because finally this family is healed. Finally, this family is united. Finally, this family understands the grace of God. I don't know about your family situation, your family of origin, your current family. But I will tell you this, that apart from grace, you cannot have a true united loving relationship that's going to last the test of time. We need grace. Why? Because we're all sinners and we sin against one another. The forgiveness of Joseph gives is a full forgiveness, and it reminds us of the forgiveness of Joseph's antitype, the greater Joseph, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. And we can be assured of this, that when we repent of our sins and trust in Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven completely. The forgiveness is permanent. And we are forgiven for the penalty of our sins forever. For those who are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation. And when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross and he bore the sins of sinners, he satisfied the divine justice for those for whom he died. Consequently, heaven can bring no new charges against those for whom the Lord has paid a full debt. God does not require the debt to be paid twice. The saved are safe and secure thanks to the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. But there are seasons when we doubt this, are there not? Are there seasons in your life, dear believer, when you wonder, did Jesus completely forgive me? Am I truly secure in the hands of God? Or have I lost my relationship with God? And those seasons, for the true believer, those seasons are helpful, because those seasons cause us to wonder, why? Why do I have these doubts? The scriptures are clear that those who believe in Jesus Christ have eternal life immediately. It begins now and continues through return. Most likely we have those doubts because there's current sin in our lives. And then we've got to pause and say, what do I do? Well, you've got to repent of that sin and turn from it and turn back to the Lord. Go back to the cross of Jesus Christ. And we through our life of obedience of faith are to confirm that our election is true. And Joseph says, "Do not fear for am I in the place of God." Do I have the right to judge you? I'm not God over you. I have the power to judge you, but I don't have the right to judge you. And he reminds them that God is the ultimate judge and all wrongs are to be righted by him. Friend, when you are wronged by someone, what is the first inclination of your heart? Most likely it's to seek vengeance. And the Lord says, "No, no, no. When you're sinned against, remember vengeance is mine. I will repay," said the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5:15," See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. "Joseph continues says, "As for you, you meant evil against me. But God meant it for good." And here we have a classic statement on the doctrine of providence and specifically God's concurrence. And that doctrine means that God can override, he chooses to override the evil consequences of the wicked to bring about a blessing. And the holy God overrides our sin while simultaneously remaining unsullied by it. One commentator says that God handles sin sinlessly. What could I do to interfere with God's plan even if I desire to do so is Joseph's sentiment. God is the ultimate governor of the universe. And it was the similar sentiment of Joseph back in chapter 45 when the brothers started the process of reconciliation in Genesis 45:5. "And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and the ruler over all the land of Egypt." You sold me, but it was God who sent me. God is a holy God, he's not the author of evil. He's holy, and therefore no holiness proceeds from him. But God does determine that evil exists in the universe in order to accomplish a greater good that would exist if he had not determined that evil should exist. Why? To manifest His glory through justice and grace, god determines that sin exists in the universe. And to really grasp this, it's important to meditate on the question, who crucified Jesus Christ? Who crucified our Lord and Savior? If you look at John 18 where Jesus is in the garden in Gethsemane, he told his disciples to pray, stay awake, be watchful. The flesh is weak but the spirit is strong. And the disciples fall asleep and then the soldiers are there. And then Judas points out who Jesus is. And Peter out of nowhere is awakened. And then Peter takes out a sword and he attempts to cut off the head of one of the servants that came. And he was still asleep, a little groggy. He missed the head and only nipped the ear. And then Jesus healed the guy. And then Jesus said in John 18:11, "Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup that the father has given me?" Well, who crucified Jesus Christ? Oh, it was the father's plan. The Father gave him the cup to drink. What was the cup? Is the cup of suffering and the wrath of God. But then in Acts 2 after the day on the day of Pentecost when Peter gets up and he preaches the first evangelistic sermon, 3000 people got saved. But this is what Peter preached. He said, "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it." And then later in the text it says that the people heard this and they recognized their responsibility. They were cut to the heart and they say, "What do we do?" And Peter said, "Repent and believe in Jesus Christ. There's no question about the responsibility of wicked men who put our Lord to death." They're responsible for their actions, but it's simultaneously true that God predetermined that this wickedness should take place. So God's providence is over everything, even over evil, and he has the power to turn the greatest evil into the greatest good. How do we know this? Well, because what was the greatest evil in the history of the universe? The greatest evil was wicked men putting the son of God to death. And then that greatest evil God transformed into the greatest good through the resurrection of our Lord so that anyone who trusts in the Lord will be saved and preserved and given life, just like the good that came out of the evil of Joseph's brothers selling him was the preservation of God's people. Third is a promise believed. This is Genesis 50 verse 22. "So Joseph remained in the Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years." Now, this is important because between verses 21 and 22, 54 years intervene of the brothers living together. They all remained in the Egypt, he and his father's house. And again, the emphasis is on the whole family. They've been healed, they've been united, they're living in shalom. They're living in complete reconciliation. Why is this important? Because of so many brothers and family members that couldn't get along in the Book of Genesis. Adam and Eve's children, Cain and Abel, couldn't get along, couldn't get reconciled, and Cain kills his brother Abel. Abraham has two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, who did not dwell together. Isaac has two sons, Esau and Jacob, and they parted forever. So the book of beginnings ends with Jacob's 12 sons, who are mired in conflict, in a personal relational conflict, and now they're living together in unity. There's no disunity, there's no division, there's no dissension. They've forgiven one another. They saw healing and now they're loving one another and loving neighbor as self. Psalm 1:33 says, "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes. It is like the do of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore." We know what it means to not get along with others, to be at odds with others, even with Christians. Especially Christians, dare I say. We've sinned against others and others have sinned against us. And that's why it was so important, at the Last Supper, Jesus Christ, this is his final charge to his disciples before the crucifixion. What does he do? He gets on his knees, he takes a basin on water, he takes a towel, and he starts washing the feet of his disciples. What is he doing? He's saying, this is love. Love is getting on your knees and washing the filth of your brothers. Recognize there is filth and recognizing that it needs to be cleansed and recognizing there needs to be humility for this to happen. For true love and true community and true spiritual family to be established. And then he says the following in John 13:34, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Jesus is saying, this is how important love in the Christian community is. The watching world wants to know, do you believe? Do you truly believe what you say you believe? Do you truly believe in grace? Do you truly believe that your sins are forgiven? Is your heart transformed, so now you forgive one another? This is the greatest apologetic. The world sees this. The world is moved by this. Because there's nothing outside of the Christian Church that comes even close to this kind of community. And that's why this is the greatest point of attack of Satan. If Jesus is saying that unity is the greatest apologetic to the watching world, when brothers and sisters love each other in the church, what's Satan want to do? He wants to kill that apologetic, he wants to kill that testimony, by causing disunity in the church. And we are to be reminded that the blood of Jesus Christ, which unites us, has a unifying power that is stronger than anything that will pull us away from God or pull us away from another. And I say that because there are seasons in life where our love for one another is put to the test. I don't like watching the news. It's all terrible. I've unplugged from the matrix. I'm not on social media. And I'm hearing rumors of another lockdown coming. I don't know, rumors. When I heard that recently, it just took me a flashback back to 2020 and 2021 and the strife within the church. And I just want to say to you, dear church, just recognize that the unifying power of the blood of Christ, which washes us from all sins, which recognizes that we are all degenerate and we're all disgusting before God, we're all depraved in our sin. We are all wrong somewhere. And just putting down our own ambition, our selfish ambition and saying, you know what? My love for my brothers and sisters is a bond that is greater than anything else that could divide us. And the watching world, I'm telling, the watching world finds that incredibly meaningful and powerful. In Genesis 50 verse 23, "And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation. The children also of Machir, the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph's own. " The age to which Joseph attain shows us how the span of human life was slowly shortening. Isaac lived 180 years, Jacob, 147, and Joseph here 110. Perhaps it's the hardness of life. Perhaps something was already changing because of sin in the world, changing in the environment. But during these years, he was blessed with seeing his grandchildren. In verse 24, "Joseph said to his brothers, "I'm about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of the land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." And then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here. So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin In Egypt." I die, but God will visit. Joseph doesn't expect his brothers to bring him, as soon as he dies, to bring his coffin or his sarcophagus back to the land of Canaan, most likely because he realized that the political circumstances have changed. When Jacob died, Joseph was in a position of influence to bring him out. And by the end of Joseph's life, Israel doesn't have the same influence in the court of Egypt. He was put in a coffin in Egypt. This is how the Book of Genesis ends. The book opens with life and it ends with death. It opens with a garden and ends with a coffin. Why? Because of sin. Sin entered the world. And as the decades and centuries wore on, the became heavier and the mummy case must have begun to symbolize the futility of the hope. Joseph promised us that we will leave. Abraham was told that we will leave the captivity and land of Egypt, and there he lay for over 300 years until the last day finally when his hope and confidence long deferred was vindicated. The God who makes promises, fulfills his promises. And scripture says that Moses, as he's leading the people of Israel out of Egypt, he remembered the words of Joseph and they carried out his coffin. And then actually for 40 years, the coffin accompanied the people of Israel wherever they went until finally in the days of Joshua, the bones of Joseph were buried in Shechem. Each of the testaments, the Old Testament and the New Testament, ends in hope, with reference to the future. The Old Testament ends with the hope of the Messiah coming, the king of kings, the one that will save, the one that will redeem. The New Testament begins with the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the king of kings, and the New Testament ends with the second coming of the Messiah. Scripture speaks of the death of a believer as sleep. When a person sleeps, they are alive, they're resting, and they expect to wake up. But scripture doesn't teach soul sleep, it teaches body sleep. The body is in place, wherever it's buried or cremated, and the spirit goes to be with the Lord. So the person is alive, resting from his labors, awaiting and awakening. Body left here, soul in the presence of God. And then those who sleep will be awakened, that's their bodies being resurrected with Christ in a glorified sense. Perfect bodies that will not die. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 comments on this, "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this, we declare to you by the word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not proceed those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words." So the body shall be raised from the dead. It shall be made like the Lord Jesus Christ's own glorious body, and shall rejoin the spirit in the resurrection. How can we be sure of this? How can we be sure that there is a resurrection? How can we be sure that our bodies will be resurrected and we will spend eternity with God? Well, we can be sure of this because we have no idea where Jesus Christ's body is now. Actually we do. It's not buried here. If Jesus Christ's glorified body is in heaven, now see it the right hand of God. And this is profound. If you study any other world religion, you realize that the followers of that world, they know where the founders are buried. They know where the body is. Just like Abraham and Jacob, they wanted their descendants to know where the bodies are so that they will be remembered. Jesus didn't leave his body. And this is the beauty of Christianity. And this is one of the great proofs for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus truly remained dead, then his followers would do everything possible to know where his body was buried to revere him. No, thankfully we don't have Jesus' bones. We have an empty tomb. The tomb is empty. And I love the fact that the tomb of Jesus Christ was where? What was the location of the tomb? It was in a garden. I love how God does that. Genesis begins with a garden and it ends with a tomb. And then when Jesus Christ comes, he fights Satan in the garden Gethsemane, where he's tempted to not take the cup of God's wrath. And then he finally says to the Lord, "Father, not my will but yours be done." And then he goes in the arduous journey of the cross and the Via Dolorosa and he takes the cross upon himself and on the cross he takes our sins upon himself. He suffered. He was crucified. And he was buried in a tomb, in a garden. And God is saying that there's a place of death, but it's a place of resurrection and it's in a garden. And I love when Mary goes to see Jesus on the resurrection Sunday. She sees him, but she mistakens him for what? She mistakens him for whom? She mistakens him for a gardener. I love that. I love that. A resurrected Jesus, he's mistaken for a gardener. Why? What's he doing? I don't know. He's probably weeding the garden around the tomb and he's like, oh, no one's taking care of this place. But it's a sign to us that God, through his resurrection of his son, that's the validation. That's the proof that we too by faith in Christ will be resurrected. Jesus Christ says to the disciples, "I go and I prepare a place for you, a truly Promised Land for you," in John 14. And he says, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I'm going. Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes through the Father except through me." This is an implacable truth of the universe, that the only way we can go to God, be reconciled with God, is through Jesus Christ. He is the way, he is the truth, and he is life itself. Joseph looked to the exodus. He looked forward to the exodus. And why was that important? Because the people of God were redeemed out of captivity and they were saved from the angel of death because of the blood of the Passover lamb. On the night before they were redeemed and brought out of the exodus, they took a lamb and they slew the lamb, and then by faith they painted the blood of the slain lamb over their door and were delivered from death and then from Egypt. And all of this was to point to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. Jesus Christ is the one that leads us out in the new Exodus. 1 Corinthians 5:7 says, "For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." So the people of Israel, they had to act upon their faith. Do we believe the words of God when he says that you have to kill a lamb and you have to paint your doorway with the blood? Do we believe it? Then you have to act on it. We have to do it. And then they were saved. In the same way, how can we be redeemed from our sin through the blood of the lamb of God? You have to believe it, and then you have to act upon it. How do we act upon it? We repent of our sin. Lord, we have transgressed. We have committed evil. We have committed sins. Lord, that sin, that evil, the penalty for all of that was laid upon you. That's why you were slain. So we believe and then we reorder our life around that belief. Bible trivia question, did Moses ever see the Promised Land? Oh, look at you good Bible scholars. God prevented him from seeing the Promised Land because of his stubbornness and sin. But then on the Mount of Transfiguration in Luke 9, it says, "Moses met with Jesus." Where? In the Promised Land. And what do they talk about? Luke 9:28, "Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem." And the word for departure in the original is Exodus. What did Moses want to talk about with Jesus? He wanted to talk about the Exodus. Moses, the great Moses who led the people of God in the exodus through the Red Sea that was parted, wanted to talk with Jesus Christ about the new exodus that was going to be accomplished in Jerusalem where on the cross, that we are led from the captivity to our sin. From condemnation for our sin, we're led through the Red Sea of the blood of Jesus Christ that was poured down on the cross and by grace through faith. When we repent of sin, the Lord forgives us and he frees us. Praise be to God. And as we await in faith and hope of our exodus to the Promised Land, we too, by God's grace, are reminded from this text that we are to seek to live in harmony and peace with one another, forgiving and being forgiven. Matthew 6:14, Jesus says some incredible things. He says, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." It's incredible because he's saying, this is how fundamental forgiveness is in the Christian life. If you truly believe that you have been forgiven by God, a holy God, an eternal weight of penalty, well, how will you not then forgive those who sin against you? Matthew 18, it says that Peter came to Jesus and he said to him, and I'll close with this because these are some weighty words. He said, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times? And Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times." Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master awarded him to be sold with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, "Have patience with me and, I will pay you everything." And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him saying, "Pay what you owe." So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you. He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. And when his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, "You wicked servant. I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." If you truly understand how much you have been forgiven by God at the cross, how could you withhold forgiveness from another? So meditate on the words of Christ from the cross. Father, forgive them, for they do not what they do. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for a blessed time in the Holy Scriptures and the Book of Genesis, the book of beginnings. Lord, we thank you that because of your son Jesus Christ, we have access to grace. And Lord, I pray that we never take your grace for granted. And as we receive your grace, I pray it transforms us to be a people who are quick to forgive when others sin against us. And Lord, continue to bless this church, continue to unify our hearts, to bring us into cohesion around your will for us. And we do pray that as we love one another, because you have first loved us, the watching world will be mesmerized. How is it that these people truly love one another? And I pray that you give us grace to then deflect all the glory and honor to you and say, it's only because of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and whose name we pray. Amen.
The Greatest Act of Faith
August 6, 2023 • Jan Vezikov • Genesis 48
Audio Transcript: This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston, or donate to this ministry, please visit http://mosaicboston.com Heavenly Father, you are blazing in your holiness, and we thank you that you are tender in your love, and we thank you for the holy scriptures in which you reveal your will to us, and we thank you that you reveal yourself to us. Lord, as we meditate on a text of one of your saints approaching death, I pray, Lord, minister to us, remind us that we are mortal, that we will die, but it's not our souls that die, it's just our bodies. Lord, I pray that as we meditate on death, that you give us an extra portion of the Holy Spirit to think about these things seriously and sober-mindedly, so that each one of us is prepared today to meet you. For those who do not yet know you, Lord, I pray give them a desire to know you, give them a desire to know if these things in the holy scriptures are true, give them a desire to know is Jesus God, and give them the desire to wrestle with you, Jesus, to wrestle with your claims and to wrestle with your person. I pray that as they do, that you meet them, and that you bless them, and that you walk with them. For those who are not yet Christians, Lord, save them today and usher them into your kingdom by giving them the gift of the new birth. We pray all this in Christ's name. Amen. We are continuing our sermon series called Graduate Level Grace, A Study in the Life of Joseph. We are nearing the end of it., As we near the end of it, the story goes from Joseph primarily to now Jacob. The title of the sermon today is The Greatest Act of Faith. The narrative here shifts from Joseph to his father, Jacob. The text slows down, and it does so deliberately to focus our attention on a man's last days. We've seen the life of Jacob, and we've learned many truths, and now we get a glimpse into how he prepares to die. The lesson here is that we ought to think about death. Do you think about death? You should. Few things in life teach us how to live in a more profound way than meditating upon death. Once in a while, the Lord reminds you that you're going to die. Sometimes it's through a near death experience. This week, or it was last week, I was on Bible Gateway. On Bible Gateway there's the Google Ads, and they target you. They're always kind of funny for they think they got me with this ad. They didn't get me. But then I'm preparing this sermon on death and the ad that comes up, I see this gentleman in the ad, I'm like, "What are they trying to sell me?" Then at the bottom I see it's an ad for Depends. It's a product called Depends. If you don't know what Depends are, you're lucky and probably young. Now I'm getting targeted with these ads. Unfortunately, with every day we are getting closer to death and we are to prepare. Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 says, "A good name is better than precious ointment and the day of death than the day of birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. For this is the end of all mankind and the living will lay to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter. For by sadness of face, the heart is made glad. And the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." And as Jacob approaches his death, we see that his faith is never stronger. It actually grows. How he behaves himself in this chapter, what he says, what he does, the posture of heart, this text is marked as his greatest act of faith in all of scripture. Why do I say that? Because of what Hebrews 11 says. If I was writing Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith, this is the greatest saints and the greatest act of faith. If I was writing that chapter about Jacob, a little paragraph about his greatest act of faith, what would I choose? What act would I choose? Most likely it's that one occasion where he wrestles with God and it says that he wrestled with a man who then it turns out to be God. Theologians call this a Christophany, an appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. He wrestled with Jesus Christ and he wouldn't let go and they wrestled all night. If you know anything about wrestling, it's exhausting. That's why most matches are six minutes. He's wrestling all night. He's saying, "Lord, I'm not going to let you go until you bless me." I think the Lord was letting him win. I think that's what was happening. Then the Lord Jesus just touches his hip, bop, something happened and then the rest of his life he walked with a limp. He had the blessing of wrestling with God himself. Or was it the occasion where he has another vision in Bethel where he sees a staircase between heaven and earth and he sees angels ascending and descending on the staircase of God? The Lord had some incredible moments with Jacob to test his faith, to grow his faith. But in Hebrews 11, the act of faith that is pointed out, that is singled out as the greatest act of faith in Jacob's life was this Hebrews 11:21, "By faith Jacob when dying blessed each of the sons of Joseph bowing in worship over the head of his staff." Perhaps we wouldn't have chosen this incident, but God, the Holy Spirit did. Why is this his greatest act of faith? Well, what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 says, faith. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. The conviction that the most important things in life, the most meaningful things in life are not seen. The most important things in life are spiritual, they're invisible, they're immaterial, and in many ways they are future things. Jacob's greatest act of faith comes in his last days. This is a great vision for life, knowing that if the Lord is giving me life, today could be the day of my greatest act of faith. You may have peaked physically, but certainly while you're still alive, you have not peaked spiritually. II Corinthians 4:16, "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." May this be true for you and for me. The context of our chapter here in Genesis 48 is that prior to coming to Egypt, Jacob stopped in Bathsheba and he worshiped and he made sacrifices to the Lord. He was wondering, "Lord, are you with me? Are you going to Egypt with me?" The Lord appeared to him and said, "Do not fear. I will go with you and Joseph will close your eyes with his hand as you die," a tender promise there. And three times in these last chapters, Joseph comes to the bedside of Jacob. Today. We're looking at the second such occurrence. Jacob is facing death, but he's not doing it with fear. He's doing it with faith. Three points as we walk our way through the text. First, the greatest act of faith is sharing the faith. Second, share the faith by sharing your faith. And third, salvation is by grace through faith. First, the greatest act of faith is sharing the faith. By sharing, I mean doing everything you possibly can to transmit the faith, to compel, to persuade, to teach, but then also to live it out. Because faith in many ways is taught, but also in many ways it's caught, like in the parable of the great banquet, the Lord says, "Go out to the highways and the hedges and compel people to come in that my house may be filled." This is what the Lord Jesus Christ told us in the great commission, "Go out and make disciples of all people." I had a conversation after one of my sermons recently and I was asked, "Are you trying to make America a Christian nation?" It was a very loaded question. I said, "Look, I'm trying to make people Christians and people from all nations. That's my job. We are called to convert." She said, "Are you trying to change people's minds about..." "Yes, oh yes. Yes we are. Yes, that's our mission, that's our job." She's like, "But don't they get offended when you're telling them they're wrong?" I'm like, "At least they're paying attention. Now we can start a relationship and actually deal with the things that cause offense, but this is our job." Why do we do this? Because we care for people's eternal destinies. We care for people's eternal souls. We want people to live an eternal bliss and glory with the Lord Jesus Christ forever. This is what the text shows us that Jacob does with his sons and what they do in Egypt. Genesis 48:1-4, after this, Joseph was told, "Behold your father is ill." So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and it was told to Jacob, "Your son Joseph has come to you." Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed and Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me and said to me, Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply, and I will make of you accompany of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession." It says He summoned his strength and he sat up in bed. He rallies his strength. It's a dose of fresh strength that comes with purpose. He knows he's got to get up. He knows he's got to do this thing that the Lord is calling him to do, to bless Joseph's sons. The first thing he remembers is that God appeared to him. "God almighty appeared to me," he says. Loses the old name for Bethel. And God appeared to Jacob twice in Bethel, 20 years apart. The first time when he was leaving the Promised Land, and then when he was coming back to meet with Esau. God appears to him twice. And then he says, "God Almighty appeared to me and he blessed me." In his last moments, in his last days, he wants to be remembered for what? For this. For God. For his relationship with God. He's saying, "Son, whatever you remember of your father, remember God Almighty. May God Almighty appear to you. May God reveal himself to you. May God bless you." And you can feel the authenticity of Jacob's faith in his voice. It's almost palpable as he's trembling, the gravitas, the seriousness. How does he want to be remembered by his grandsons? Like this, believing, worshiping, prophesying, praying over them, blessing. He's loving, he's affectionate, he's personal, he's tender. This is the greatest legacy that we can leave to our children and then to the people around us. The greatest legacy that we can leave, the greatest inheritance that we can leave, be a father or a mother to our children, or just as a believer to those who are not yet Christians, it's the knowledge of the Lord. Children, I want you to know God. I had a personal relationship with God. You too can have a personal relationship with God and this is the best thing for you. The greatest thing you can do for your children is to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The greatest thing you can give them is teaching them that God is the greatest blessing. A relationship with God is the greatest blessing. So to worship him, to glorify him, to thank him is the greatest blessing for our souls. Scripture teaches us that whoever doesn't provide for his household is worse than an unbeliever. And yes, that has to do with material provision. We are to provide for the bodies that God has entrusted to us, but how much more so is it imperative to provide for their souls? Why was this event considered Jacob's greatest act of faith? Because he believed and he believed so authentically and sincerely that his faith was transmitted to the next generation. It was transmitted to his sons and then it was transmitted to his grandsons. What's fascinating here is that Ephraim and Manasseh, the grandsons of Jacob, they didn't receive a direct revelation from God. God did not speak to them. No. This is how God chose to reveal himself to them through the testimony of their grandfather. What's fascinating is that God does not speak out loud audibly for another 400 years after Genesis ends, until he finally speaks to Moses in the burning bush. So Jacob is transferring the promises of the covenant to his son and to his adopted sons, both with his words and with his life. Psalm 78:1-7 says, "Give ear, oh my people to my teaching. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might and the wonders that he has done." He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to our children, that the next generation might come to know them and might know them and the children yet unborn and arise and tell them to their children so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments. One of the beauties of sharing your faith is once you start speaking your faith out loud, you begin to realize your gaps in knowledge or your gaps in faith. The more you share your faith, the better you become at it because God gives grace of knowledge to those who share. This is a promise that's given to us in Philemon that we can know God deeper, the things of God in a more profound way and the path to that profound knowledge of the faith, that depth of faith is sharing our faith. Philemon 1:4-6, "I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. And I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ." Well, you can't share what you don't have. So if you are to share your faith, you got to say, "Do I really believe this? Am I living as if I believe this? And why does he have to pray for effective sharing of your faith?" Because sharing your faith is more effective when your faith is real. So he's praying for their faith to be ignited in such a way that they can't but share it. And as they share it, the more you share your faith, the deeper and fuller your knowledge of every good thing becomes the more effective you are. We are to share our faith at every opportunity we can and we are to use... In Genesis 48:5-6, the text continues. "And now your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine as Ruben and Simeon are. And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance." So Joseph comes in with his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Manasseh is the oldest. He says, "Your sons, Joseph, are mine." In what sense? In the sense that he's just their grandfather? No, because then he wouldn't have to say it. That's just understood. No, he says, "Now they're mine in the same way that Reuben and Simeon are mine." Reuben and Simeon are his real biological children, but in a sense Jacob displaces them with his grandsons. Why did he do that? Because of Reuben and Simeon's sins against their father. I Chronicles 5:1-2 comments on this, "The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son. "Though Judah became strong among his brothers and the chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph." So here, Reuben and Simeon through their sin, have squandered the blessing of the birthright and they squandered the blessing of their father. There's many a lesson here. The very moment you come to the Lord Jesus Christ and you repent of sin, he forgives you for the penalty of sin. But often in life there are sins that when you commit you will bear the consequences of that sin for the rest of your life. Through sin, we do squander blessings. That's what happened with these guys. Therefore by adopting them, Jacob is making them leaders in the tribes of Israel. Therefore, there were not just 12 tribal figures in Israel, there were 13 because Joseph is given two places as his great honor with Ephraim and Manasseh. Then Levi was the tribe that belonged to the Lord and they ministered in the tabernacle. So the land was divided amongst the 12 tribes, which included the sons of Joseph. Joseph's two sons here, their dad's still alive, they're introduced into the heirship of their father, Joseph, who's still living. They become joint heirs with Joseph. This is very relevant to us because the moment you trust in Jesus Christ, he becomes your Lord and Savior. We become joint heirs with Christ. His inheritance becomes our inheritance. His righteousness becomes our righteousness. We share as the sons of God and the firstborns right in the privilege of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so what is Jacob doing? He's imputing something to the sons of Joseph, and this is how grace works. We repent and we turn from sin and we trust in Jesus Christ and his blood sacrifice on the cross in our stead, substitutionary atonement the moment you believe you become joint heir and you are adopted into the family of God. This is exactly what happens when sinners through faith are counted reckoned righteous by virtue of the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're adopted into the family of God. God is our father. Jesus is our older brother with his righteousness, inheritance imputed to us. This is important to know, that just by virtue of you being a human being, that's not enough to be a child of God. We do not enter the kingdom of God through natural birth. Therefore, there are human beings who have not yet trusted in Jesus Christ. They're outside of the kingdom of God and they are not children of God. This for many people, this comes as a surprise because we've been taught God loves everybody and you don't have to do anything about it. You're just a child of God. That's not true. If you're living as an enemy of the cross, by not trusting that Jesus Christ had to die for your sins, that this was absolutely necessary for your salvation, you are not born again. And if you're not born as a child of God, a scripture says that you are child of the enemy. Jesus even said to the Pharisees, "Your children of Satan," harsh words to melt hard hearts so people repent and turn to Christ. Jesus is clear about this in John 1:11-13. "He came to his own and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Imagine that. No matter what your family status, no matter what kind of family, faith background you have, no matter what your pedigree religiously speaking, no matter what you have done, no matter the sins that you have committed, no matter how you much you've transgressed God's law, no matter how much you've spat at the honor of God, the very moment you come to Lord and you receive him, "Yes Lord, I receive your grace. Lord, forgive me. Pardon me, Lord. I repent of my sin." The very second you believe in him, receive him, you will be born again. That's the promise of God and you're born into the family of God. Genesis 48:7 continues, "As for me, when I came from Paddan to my sorrow, Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is Bethlehem." Joseph, the firstborn of Rachel, is standing before Jacob and reminds him of his mom, Rachel. He includes a comment here. Then verse eight, when Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?" Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons whom God has given me here." And he said, "Bring them to me please that I may bless them." Now the eyes of Israel were dimmed with age so that he could not see, so Joseph brought him near and he kissed them and embraced them. I love that verse, that very end, just to see this man, this great man of faith, him in his most intimate moments. What does he... He's affectionate. He's affectionate with his children. He's affectionate with his grandchildren. Here just a word of reminder, in particular dads are... And to anyone to whom this perhaps doesn't come naturally, do you hug? Do you embrace? Do you kiss? Do you bless your children? This should be the natural rhythm of your lives. I have four daughters. It's so easy to be tender with them. They're so sweet. My third daughter is eight. Ekaterina is her name. We call her Ekat. She texts me sometimes from her mom's phone and she said, "Dad, this is Ekat." I know it is Ekat because she's got the emojis, what are they called? She got that game going. She's a little kissy and she always includes a dog at the end because she's trying to get a dog from us still. And then I respond with what? I heart it and I send little kissy things. But this should be the natural rhythm of our lives to love and to love tenderly and to love affectionately. This is a reminder that grandchildren are a blessing. Proverbs 17:6 says, "Grandchildren are the crown of the aged and the glory of children is their fathers." This was a blessing upon Israel. Psalm 128:6, "May you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel." And then verse 11 of Genesis 48, "And Israel said to Joseph, I never expected to see your face and behold God has let me see your offspring also. Then Joseph removed them from his knees and he bowed himself with his face to the earth and Joseph took them both, Ephraim on his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand and brought them near to him." What's Joseph doing? Joseph understands how hugely important this moment is. Jacob, as the patriarch of the family, is also the priest of the family. His blessing is important because it's effectual. Ephraim, the younger son, he directs toward Jacob's left hand. Manasseh, the older son, he directs toward Jacob's right hand. Throughout scripture, the right hand is considered the place of honor and the place of greatest blessing. That's why Jesus Christ, the resurrected Christ, right now is sitting at the right hand of God the Father. Verse 14, "And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the hand of Ephraim, who was the younger and his left hand on the head of Manasseh crossing his hands for Manasseh was the firstborn." Now this right here throws Joseph for a loop. We'll get to what he does. What's happening is that Jacob is breaking societal norms. The firstborn who's blessed by the right hand gets a double share of the inheritance. For example, Joseph got the double share of the land by virtue of the fact that he got the blessing that should have gone to Reuben or Simeon. And Judah got the double portion of authority while Joseph got the double portion. That's supposed to go to the oldest. The oldest gets a double portion. Everything that the other children get, the oldest is supposed to get double that, double share of the inheritance. But Jacob here crosses his hands, and the Hebrew it's sakal, to lay crosswise. Joseph isn't happy about this, but he waits to interject knowing how solemn the moment is. This brings us to point two, share the faith by sharing your faith. Verse 15, "And he blessed Joseph and said The God before whom my father's Abraham and Isaac walk, the God who has been my shepherd, all my lifelong to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys and in them let my name be carried on in the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." So he's blessing the sons of Joseph, but the text tells us in verse 15, "He blessed Joseph." He blessed Joseph by praying a prayer of blessing upon the sons of Joseph. What's the text communicating? It's communicating that the greatest blessing he can give Joseph is to bless his grandchildren because the greatest blessing a parent can receive is to see their children being blessed by the Lord. Does this sound like a man who thinks death is the end? No. He knows that God is going to be with them after he passes on to be with his fathers in heaven. This whole prayer is full of hopeful immortality. The prayer is triple pronged. It's a triune blessing. He talks about God and then he talks about God, and then he talks about the angel. He mentions three persons, the God, the God, and then the angel, which is Christ. In verse 16, he uses the singular. He says, "You," singular, "God bless these boys." This isn't a full revelation of the trinity, but it's certainly in accord and consistent with the trinity. First, Jacob calls the Lord his shepherd with emphasis on the Lord's holistic provision. As a shepherd, he knows intimately, in depth he understood what it means that the Lord has been shepherding him. He knows the Lord as a good shepherd has been with him in good times and has led him through the valley of the shadow of death. This is how the psalmist speaks about our relationship with the Lord. The question as we read this text is, is God your Lord? Is God your shepherd? Do you follow Jesus Christ as your shepherd where he tells you what to do, understanding that everything he tells us is for his glory and our good? Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in path of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me and your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Jacob hasn't been the best sheep. He's been stubborn in many ways in many seasons of his life, but he knows, "The Lord, the good shepherd has been with me." He says the angel, "The angel who redeemed me from all evil." Who's he talking about here? "The angel that redeemed me." Well, how can an angel redeem? The only way redemption was done is through a blood sacrifice. What is he talking about here? Well, this is a prophetic text about Jesus Christ. The word for redeemed is the same word that's used in the context of the kinsman redeemer, Goel, in the story of Ruth and Boaz. He says, "I have lived an evil life in many ways, but Jesus Christ whom I wrestled with, he tamed me." "He broke my hip. The rest of my life, I was walking with a limp as a reminder of the fact that he is God and I am not." In many ways he wrestled with Jesus Christ in the same way that we are called to wrestle with Jesus Christ. If you are not a Christian, if you're not sure what you believe or if you are a believer, I am just telling you most of the people in your life are not believers. We're going to finish this sermon series and then we're going to do a one week of vision, Lord willing, and then we're going to start a sermon series through the Gospel of Mark. We're calling it Kingdom Come, Gospel of Mark and the Secret of God's Kingdom. The intention of that whole series is we want to introduce people to Jesus Christ, to his teaching from the holy scriptures, present it as best as we can that there is reason to believe. And then give people an opportunity to wrestle with Christ yourself. If you want the greatest blessing in life, and that's to know God and be known by God and to have all your sins forgiven, the responsibility is on you. It's not on me. It's not on Christians. We do the best we can and we share our faith just like Jacob is sharing his faith. Remember 17 years before this text, he met with Pharaoh and Pharaoh said, "How many are the days of your years?" And he said, "The days of my years have been evil and few." Even to Pharaoh, he was already sharing his faith. "My life has been evil, Pharaoh, but I have been redeemed by the angel who is Jesus Christ. I have wrestled with him. I have known him, and I have had my evil in my sin redeemed." When you do that and when you trust in the Lord, and when you believe that Jesus took your evil upon himself in order to redeem us, in order to give us grace, well that puts everything into perspective. He does share his faith here. As we share the faith, we are to share our faith and share the moments in life where, you know what, this was evil that I did. I have transgressed God's law, but God saved me. God gave me grace. And because God gave me grace and I'm so sure of it, he's redeemed me. He's taken off the shame. He's taken off the guilt. He's given a new purpose in life. He's done that for me and I am more wicked than you could ever imagine. He can do that for you as well. That's what he's doing. Then point three is salvation is by grace through faith. Verse 17, "When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. And Joseph said to his father, Not this way, my father. Since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head." Well, this is the law of primogeniture, it's called. It's the cultural norm that the oldest was supposed to be more blessed, but Jacob himself broke that manmade law by supplanting Esau, Ishmael, and we see the other examples. Ishmael was the firstborn, but it was Isaac through whom the seed would come. Reuben had lost the blessing of the firstborn. Judah is the one through whom the seed will come. And so here, Ephraim is firstborn. His firstborn rights among the tribes Israel are over that of Manasseh. Ephraim was blessed. The successor of Moses, Joshua, came from Ephraim, which is a big deal. But why does he do this? Why does that happen and why does that happen in scripture all the time where it's like this guy is expected to be blessed above and beyond and then God just crosses his hands? Well, the point is that nature does not necessarily inherit the things of God. We don't inherit blessing through our physical body or through the things that are physical. If the oldest always necessarily inherited the blessings, we might get the idea that blessings come from our nature. God reverses things over and over and over again to remind us that if God is going to bless people despite their sin, it has to be by grace and by grace alone. The first Adam was rejected while the last Adam, Christ has the firstborn rights by virtue of a saving work on the cross. We're not blessed because we do good works or hold some high position in society. We're blessed by God's sovereign grace. If we're blessed, we're blessed because God chose to bless us. In I Corinthians 1:26, "For consider your calling brothers, not many of you are wise according to the worldly standards." Not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption so that as it is written, let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. Praise be to God that Jacob crossed his hands, and praise be to God that God the Father sent his son Jesus Christ to go to the cross. That's the ultimate cross of blessing. Whereas like Jesus, you did not deserve our curse. You did not deserve to die like that. You did not sin. We sinned. I deserve to be on that cross, not Jesus Christ, the blameless Son of God. But God crosses everything at the cross. He takes our curse so that we could have the blessing of God. It's so good because it's true. All of this is true. God, so to speak, crosses his hands and bestowing his blessings, giving them to those who in our eyes are least worthy of them and least likely to receive them. God is responsible for the blessing of man and he blesses sovereignly. Joseph says, "No, no, no. Father, no. Father, do I have to remind you I am the vice president of Egypt? Father, not like that." That's what he's saying. "It's not fair." That's what Joseph is saying. "This isn't fair, this isn't the way." But the Lord doesn't do what we deem fair. He does what his will determines should be done and whatever his will determines should be done is right. What's right? What's fair? It's what God decides. This is one of the reasons why Jesus gave us this parable in Matthew 20 where he talks about grace and that the owner of grace, that's God, can do whatever he wants with grace. Matthew 20:1-16 says, "For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. And after agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, You go into the vineyard too and whatever is right I will give you. So they went going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour he did the same thing. And about the 11th hour, he went out and found others standing and he said to them, Why do you stand here idle all day? They said to him, Because no one has hired us. He said to them, You go into the vineyard too. And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, Call the laborers and pay them their wages beginning from the last up to the first. When those hired about the 11th hour came, each of them received the denarius. And now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. On receiving it, they grumbled at the master of the house saying, These last worked only one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. But he replied to one of them, Friend, I'm doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go, I choose to give to this last worker as I gave to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me or do you begrudge my generosity so the last will be first and the first last? Do you begrudge my generosity?" That's exactly what Jacob is saying, "I am giving out the blessings." By the way, he was filled with the Holy Spirit as he was doing it. H chooses to bless the younger over the older. Verse 19 of chapter 48, "But his father refused and said, I know my son. I know. He also shall become a people and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations." Perhaps this is why this moment is considered Jacob's greatest act of faith because he hears the word of God. He hears God speaking in his heart and he acts on the basis of it even in the face of displeasure-filled counsel from his prime minister son. Verse 20, "So he blessed them that day saying, By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh. Thus, he put Ephraim before Manasseh. Then Israel said to Joseph, Behold I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow." You in verse 21, "God will bring you out of Egypt." That's plural. Joseph and all of his descendants will come out. This land that he's giving him was the land of the Shechemites. Jacob had purchased a plot of land from Shechem and he now bequeaths this to Joseph and his sons. He promises that "God will be with you. No matter what happens, Joseph, when I pass, in the same way that God has been with me, may he be with you and your children and your children's children. May God be with you." This is what makes heaven heaven. It's the place where God will be our God and we will be as people and in fellowship. It begins here. "I will be your God and I will be with you, my people here on earth." Isaiah 59:21, "As for me, this is my covenant with them says the Lord. My spirit that is upon you and my words that have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth or out of the mouth of your offspring or out of the mouth of your children's offspring, says the Lord, from this time forth and forever more." As we close and as we transition to Holy Communion, a question before us is do you fear death? That's really a good test of how strong your faith is. Do you fear death? I was at my gym last Saturday, it was like 95 at 9:00 AM and it was a hundred percent humidity. I go to this old school boxing gym where air conditioning... I asked the guy one time, "Is there air conditioning?" And he just laughed in my face. It was one of those places on a Saturday workout. It was a 90-minute workout. This guy that shows up regularly and we know each other, he's like, "Dude, after work, I almost died. I think I almost died. That was the closest I've ever been to death." I just looked at him. Any opportunity I have to Jesus juke someone and bring in the gospel, I do it all the time. I said, "Well, good thing I'm ready to die." I said it like that in a way that caused him to pause. He's like, "What do you mean?" I was like, "I am ready to die right now after this workout. That would be easier I think than driving home after this thing." He's like, "What do you mean? Do you go to Valhalla?" Because he thinks I'm a Viking. Long story. I call him the Italian Stallion. He calls me the Vike. That's true Brother Lilo. I was like, "No, because I believe in Jesus Christ." He's like, "Believing in Jesus Christ keeps you from dying?" I was like, "In a sense. Death is just a transition." It's just a corridor for the believer in Christ. You just transition from living here and now to living in the presence of God. And the promise is given to us that when we believe in the gospel that we can have eternal life that begins now. Why can we believe in that promise? Because Jesus Christ on the cross, he didn't just vanquish sin, he also vanquished death. In the death of Christ we see the death of death itself. I'll close with this and then we'll transition to Communion. I Corinthians 15:50-58, "I tell you this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." "Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written. Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your victory? Oh, death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, the movable always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." Every first Sunday at Mosaic, first Sunday of the month, we celebrate Holy Communion as was commanded to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, for whom is Holy Communion at Mosaic? Holy Communion is for repentant believers in Jesus Christ. If you have not trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, we ask that you refrain from this part of the service. It'll do nothing for you. Instead, meditate on the gospel. If you even today repent of your sins, you are welcome to partake. If you have not received the elements, please raise your hand and one of the ushers will hand them out. In the meantime, would you pray with me over Holy Communion? Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love that you lavished upon us and sending your son Jesus Christ. And Jesus, we thank you that you lived the life of perfect obedience to God, the Father and everything, and you loved God and you loved neighbor as yourself perfectly. And you loved us so much so that you gave yourself as a blood sacrifice for our redemption. We thank you Jesus, that you didn't stay dead, but you conquered death itself as you triumphantly rose from the grave on the third day. We, Lord, repent of our sins corporately, and we repent of our sins individually. Lord, forgive us. Forgive me. Lavish your grace upon us and upon me. Lord, continue to sanctify us by the power of the Holy Spirit and draw many to yourself. We pray all this in Christ's holy name. Amen. There's a top and a bottom lid. If you take the bottom lid off the bread is there. On the night that Jesus Christ was betrayed, he took the bread and after breaking it, he said, "This is my body broken for you. Take, eat and do this in remembrance of me." He then proceeded to take the cup and he said, "This cup is the new covenant of my blood. Take, drink and do this in remembrance of me." Lord God, we thank you for your promise where you said that to all of those who come to you, with humility and contrition of heart, though our sins are like scarlet, you will make us white and pure as snow. Lord, I pray that you give each one of us that purity of heart. We thank you for the promise that those who are pure in heart shall see God. We pray for the gift of purity of heart and we pray for ever deeper revelations from you and revelations with you. Continue to bless our worship service Lord, and fill our hearts with joy, and help us sing with everything we've got to the God of the universe who's worthy of our worship. We pray all this the beautiful name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Wise & Innocent
July 30, 2023 • Jan Vezikov • Genesis 47
This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston, or donate to this ministry, please visit http://mosaicboston.com Father, we thank you for the gift of holy scripture in which you reveal to us your mind, your will, your purposes. Lord, you long to bless us, and I pray that you make us a people that long to be blessed, and care about your blessing. We thank you for the greatest blessing that we can have as a relationship with you, to be reconciled with you, to have our evil redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, we come to your holy scriptures with trembling, and contrition of heart, recognizing that this is the posture of heart that you bless. And Lord, we fear you, and we recognize that to fear you is to love you. And to love you is to fear you to stand in awe, and reverence before your glory, your majesty. And Lord show us that the beginning of wisdom is to fear you. We are people who are naturally inclined toward evil, and folly. And Lord, as you redeem us from our evil, we do ask that you also save us from our folly, and make us a people who are good, but also who are good at life guided by your wisdom. Holy Spirit, we pray that you bless us today with your presence. And also, Lord, take these words, and apply them to each one of us specifically only as you can. We pray all this in Christ's holy name. Amen. We're continuing our sermon series called Graduate Level Grace Study in the Life of Joseph. We are today in Genesis 47, and the title of the sermon is Wise and Innocent. A few years back, the Brookings Institute named Boston as one of the knowledge centers of the world. And by this they mean that Boston is full of very intelligent, highly productive people, talented, and they come here to get more knowledge, and that knowledge is taken to the world. Knowledge is great. We're told knowledge is power, we're told, and scripture agrees. Proverbs 18:15 says, "An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." But acquiring knowledge for the sake of knowledge is never enough. What do you do with that knowledge? That's what matters more. Can you skillfully execute upon this knowledge when necessary in the real world, and real time with real life consequences, and implications? And it doesn't matter how great of a game plan you have, if you can't execute in the real game, well then, it meant nothing. So, scripture does call us to knowledge, but to something more than just knowledge. It calls us to wisdom. And if knowledge is power, then what is wisdom? Well, wisdom is a superpower. In Matthew 10:16, Jesus tells his disciples before sending them out to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. He says, "Behold, I'm sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." Wise and innocent. And Joseph is marked by this razor sharp discernment, and strategic execution. The great Puritan, Thomas Watson. He said that, "The godly man acts both the politician, and the divine. He retains his ingenuity, yet does not part with his integrity." And one of the beauties about wisdom is you can grow in wisdom how through practice, and through training. Hebrews 5:14 says, "But solid food is for the mature for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." And in our text today in Genesis 47, we see Joseph exercising this divine wisdom, and he does so in order to provide in four points to frame up our time as we walk through the text together first, Joseph provides for his family. And by doing so, Pharaoh is blessed. And then Egypt is blessed, and Israel is blessed. First, Joseph rides for his family. With shrewdness, and wisdom, Joseph sets out to accomplish his objective. His objective as his family moves from Canaan, his father, and his brother's multitude of people, hundreds. His goal is to provide prime land for them so that they can continue to prosper despite the famine that's still in the land. And in Psalm 105, 16 through 22, it's a Psalm that comments on the story of Joseph. It says, "When he summoned a famine on the land, and broke all supply of bread, he" that's the Lord, "Had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. The king sent, and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free; he made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions to bind his princes at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom." So, meaning all the suffering that Joseph went through, he went through with a purpose. God gave him a purpose to teach wisdom to whom? To Pharaoh, to Pharaoh's court, and then also the elders of Israel. Wisdom comes as a gift from the Lord for all who ask humbly. Scripture says, "Is there anyone lacking wisdom?" Well, just ask of the Lord, Isaiah 30:21, "And your ears shall hear a word behind you saying "This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right, or when you turn to the left." And this is what Jesus promised. He's a good shepherd. And he said, "My sheep hear my voice." And Jesus' voice teaches us how to follow God's moral law but also how to walk in wisdom. Psalm 25, eight, and nine, "Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way." To get the context of Genesis 47. I'm going to read the paragraph right before this is Genesis 46:31, Jacob, the brothers are before Joseph, and Joseph has a game plan, and he's coaching them. He's coaching his family's audience before Pharaoh, here's what you say, here's what you don't say. Here's how we are going to present ourselves in order to get what we want. Genesis 46:31, Joseph said to his brothers, and to his father's household, "I will go up, and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, 'My brothers, and my father's household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me. And the men were shepherds for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have." "When Pharaoh calls you, and says, 'What is your occupation?' You shall say 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers in order that we may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians." There are five more years left of the famine. And Joseph is thinking not just about himself, not just about his immediate family. He's thinking as a provider for his extended family. He understands that God has put him in this position, and God wants him to use his power, use his position in order to bless others. And he begins to think about the wider family, and he's thinking as a patriarch, and this is how a patriarch thinks, not how can I be most comfortable? Not how can I live a comfortable life, and have people serve me? No, a patriarch thinks how comfortable can I become with discomfort to serve as many people as possible? How can I leave a lasting legacy? How can I serve my family, and my descendants for generations? How can I provide for their needs both materially, and spiritually? And even with Joseph's approval, he knows that he could have just given them Goshen, and you guys can have that land, but he also understands that taking these men who are of fighting age, bringing them into Egypt is going to raise eyebrows, and it's going to give ammunition to Joseph's enemies in Pharaoh's court. No, he needs to get clearance from the very top, from Pharaoh himself. He needs Pharaoh to speak, and say, "Yes, you can have this land." It's only with the king's word that Joseph could protect himself from the charge of nepotism. So, he has the foresight to anticipate this, and craft a strategy with the proper precautions. So, he wants to focus on the fact that Egyptians did not like shepherds. Shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians. Why? Because they probably felt that they were part of an impure cast. So, here you got to pause, and say, "Why would Joseph lead with this very unflattering information?" Here's my family, and their shepherds, which are an abomination. Won't people say you're from this family, you're related to these people? Well, he realized this was the best move to get the best land for his family, and also they'd be living in this land with autonomy which would allow them to grow their families, and grow their faith in the Lord. So, Joseph here he is taking a massive risk, and he's going out on a limb, but he's doing it because he understands he needs to provide for his family. So, that brings Genesis 47 verses one, and two. "So, Joseph went in, and told Pharaoh, 'My father, and my brothers with their flocks, and herds, and all that they possess have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.' And from among his brothers he took five men, and presented them to Pharaoh." Which five did he pick? Most likely brought Benjamin. Which six did he overlook? We're not told. Most likely operating out of wisdom, he's bringing the most unintimidating looking guys before Pharaoh, and he does say, "This is my father, and these are my brothers." He's not ashamed of his family. He proudly introduces them to his boss, which is very much like Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ our Lord, and savior, scriptures tells us he's our older brother, and as our older brother who welcomes us into the family of God, he provides adoption for us by his blood. Well, Jesus is unashamed to call his brothers, Hebrews says, Hebrews 2:10, "For it was fitting that he, for whom, and by whom all things exist, and bringing many sons to glory should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies, and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he's not ashamed to call them brothers saying, 'I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise." Joseph tells Pharaoh, they're already in the land of Goshen. He has them camp out in the prime real estate, which is really smart. They're already there, and the text continues. Verse three, "Pharaoh said to his brothers, 'What is your occupation?' And they said to Pharaoh, 'Your servants are shepherds as our fathers were.' They said to Pharaoh, 'We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants flocks for the famine severe in the land of Canaan. And now please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.'. "Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Your father, and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father, and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock." Pharaoh asks about the occupation question just as Joseph had anticipated, and the wisdom, Joseph has been studying his boss for nine plus years. He anticipates the moves, and they say we've been shepherds for generations. Yes, it's an abomination in your eyes, but we've been doing this for years, and the emphasis here is on sojourn. We've come to sojourn, meaning there's no talk of permanence. This is temporary, and just as Joseph needed him to do, Pharaoh confirms publicly, Israel can have the best of the land. Not only that, he goes beyond, and he says, "If you know anyone that could take care of my animals, my livestock, you can put them to work", which is just incredible favor from the Lord. Especially, as you read at the end of the chapter, the people of Egypt, and the people from of all the other countries, they ran out of money, currency. So, they start bringing their livestock, and their animals to Pharaoh, which meant this was a wonderful work opportunity, and this is how the Lord often works with us. Not only does he long to bless us, he longs to bless us in a shocking way, a way that's unexpected. For example, Ephesians 3:20 verse 21. "Now to him who's able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask, or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church, and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." More than we can ask, or even think, or even imagine. In Genesis 47:7, "Then Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh." The blessing isn't recorded, but most likely it's a customary greeting before a king, something like long live the king, which is partially perhaps why Pharaoh asks Jacob's age. But here you see this contrast. A simple, old shepherd is standing before a powerful Egyptian monarch, and spiritual gravitas meets political gravitas. Yes, Pharaoh is an incredible person of power, but Jacob is an incredible person of spiritual power, and the character of the saint surely made an impression on the king. Although Jacob didn't have a crown of gold, he had a crown of glory. You say, "What's a crown of glory in scripture?" Well, Proverbs 16:31, gray hair. "Gray hair is a crown of glory. It is gained in a righteous life." Our culture idolizes youth, and dishonors people in their old age. And this is wrong. Leviticus 19:32 says, "You shall stand up before the gray head, and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord." My grays have been coming in around my temples. I keep it nice, and short. In my beard, they're coming in. I don't have a full crown of glory just yet. So, you don't have to stand up completely in my presence, but maybe a head nod, or something. But we are to respect older people, and we do pray for the Lord to continue to send us older people to teach us wisdom, and teach us the ways of righteousness. And you see what dignity now marks Jacob, what a contrast from the day when he bowed himself seven times before Esau. But here there's no cringing, there's no fawning. He carries himself as a representative of God. He carries himself as an ambassador of the most high. He is a son of the king of kings. And in fact, the scene actually conveys the impression that Jacob is actually greater than Pharaoh no matter how great Pharaoh is, because who's doing the blessing? It's Jacob. And Hebrews 7:7 says, "It's beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior." So, the feeble patriarch blesses the mighty monarch, and in verse eight it says, "Pharaoh said to Jacob, 'How many are the days of the years of your life?" How many are the days of the years of your life? Not just how old are you, not just how many years have you lived? What an interesting turn of phrase. How many are the days of the years of your life? The emphasis here is on the individual days that go up, and that make up the total of your life. It's a great way to think about life. Why? Because today is all we have. Today is all we're given. Someone said days are long, and years are short. So, we are to think about daily. Today, am I living for the glory of God? Today, am I serving God, loving him, and loving people? I had a brother come up to me after the service, this was his second service ever. Second time in church ever. He came up, and he's like, "I could've gone to the club last night. Instead, I stayed home, and read chapter 47." Much better use of your time, brother, much better use of your time. Genesis 47:9. "And Jacob said to Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life. They have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning." And you see this phrase repeated sojourning. What does that mean? It means a pilgrimage. Jacob understood that life is a journey. It has a beginning, and it has an end. And for the people of God, every single moment that we're alive is a moment of sacred significance. As a matter of fact, everything in a believer's life is sacred except for sin. Sin is the only thing that a secular in the life of believers. Do you view your life like this? It's a pilgrimage. Hebrews 11:13 through 16, "These all died in faith not having received the things promised, but having seen them, and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers, and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they're seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared for them a city." Philippians talks about our citizenship, Philippians 3:20, "Our citizenship is in heaven. And from it we await a savior of the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." The apostle Peter in First Peter 2:11 says, "Beloved, I urge you as sojourners, and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evil doers, they may see your good deeds, and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to the governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil, and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God that by doing good, you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a coverup for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." And this is exactly what Jacob is doing, what Joseph is doing, what they're emulating. Jacob says, "Few have been the days of my years, and they've been evil." Why use the word evil? Well, he's emphasizing that his life has been hard in many ways. From his flight to Mesopotamia, from his brother Esau, his miseries at the hand of Laben, he wrestled with an angel, and then scripture says that it was actually God himself most likely Christophany. He wrestled with Christ, and Christ touches his hip. And then the rest of his life he walked with a limp, the rape of his daughter, Dinah, which led to the bloody revenge by Simeon, and Levi, and his beloved Rachel's death, his eldest son's power seeking incest, and his favorite son's apparent death. Evil have been his days, he says, and few. At 130 years old, he says, "Few are my days." Well, Abraham lived 175 years, Isaac 180 years. Few, and evil was the unadorned truth. Martin Luther said the theologian was made by three things, oratio, meditatio, and tentatio. Oratio is prayer, meditatio, meditation on God's word, and tentatio means trial. And what he meant was that theologians are made by praying, and meditating God's word, and then also through pain, and suffering, and afflictions that give you a perspective on life, and God. And this characterized his life. I wonder, do you have a vision for long life? Do you have a vision to live a long time, a healthy life? And if so, to do what? Is it to just enjoy your retirement, and your twilight years? Or is it to care for people, care for your family? Is it to care for God's family? I have not given this much thought in my twenties, and my thirties, but I'm 40 now, and now I'm giving this more thought. And I do have a vision for a long life. And I like Caleb in the Bible. Caleb in the Bible, he goes to see the promised land when he's 40. And then God made the people of Israel wander in the desert for 40 years for disobeying him, and disbelieving. And then Caleb at 85 goes to Joshua, and says, "Hey, man, I'm going to take that mountain over there, and I'm going to lead the charge myself." And Joshua's like, "What are you talking about?" And Caleb says, "I am as strong today at 85 as I was at 40." So, I'm actually working out more now because I'm 40, and this is the benchmark I got to at least maintain the benchmark so that at 85, Lord willing. But there is something about a purpose like when you have a vision to live a longer life, you care for yourself, you care for your body. The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. But you got to make sure it's not just selfish, because living for yourself is never enough to make the impact that God has for us. Ephesians 5:15, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil." What a great filter for our calendars, and what we do with our time. Is this the best use of my time? Genesis 47:10, "Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh." Do you think Jacob's blessing on Pharaoh was meaningful to him, to Pharaoh? I think so. Here stands before him, an aged saint who walked with the Lord faithfully in worship, and service for years. He didn't do it perfectly. He's a sinner. He's lived evil days. He knows. But scripture teaches that the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Meaning the more you grow in righteousness, and experiential righteousness, the more powerful your prayers become. The King James says, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." And as Jacob prayed over Pharaoh, no doubt Pharaoh has never heard a prayer like this, a prayer to Yahweh. Pharaoh received that blessing, and he was blessed. Pharaoh first blessed God's people with his generosity speared Joseph promoted him, and then personally invites the family of Joseph to Goshen, sends them grain to preserve them, wagons, to transport them. And when they arrive, they're receive royally. Pharaoh blesses the people of God. And God in return blesses Pharaoh. Genesis 12:3, God promised Abraham, "I'll bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I'll curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Text continues, Genesis 47:11. "Then Joseph settled his father, and his brothers, and gave them a possession of the land of Egypt, in the best of the land in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with food according to the number of their dependents." In the Hebrew that were dependents is little ones according to their little ones. Joseph provided. And that's the emphasis on the text. And this should be the ambition of every godly person in particular godly men, men as heads of household to provide for your family, and to provide the best that you can for your family, which is actually an outward working of our faith. First Timothy 5:8 says, "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever." Well, what's the connection between provision, and our Christian faith, where our Christian faith at the heart of it is a father who provides. God, the Father provides us with life, and he sustains us, and he cares for us. He sends Jesus Christ to procure salvation for us. God is a God who provides, and therefore his children, believers are to be people who provide, who receive his blessing, and become conduits of blessing so that the blessings that we receive are cascaded to the people around us, and beyond. So, in the throes of a deepening world, starvation, God prospers his people. So, Joseph provides for his family. And then we see that Pharaoh is blessed. This is point two, Pharaoh prospered as Joseph affects this plan that nationalizes the land, the livestock, and then turned Egyptians into tenant farmers. Genesis 47:13, "Now there was no food in all the land for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt, and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, and exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, 'Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes for our money is gone.' And Joseph answered, 'Give your livestock, and now we'll give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.' So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year." "And when that year was ended, they came to him, in the following year, and said to him, 'We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord's. There's nothing left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we, and our land? Buy us, and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh, and give us seed that we may live, and not die, and that the land may not be desolate". Tenant farming becomes the norm with Pharaoh providing the seed, verse 20. "So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh's. As for the people, he made servants of them from one end of Egypt to the other. Only the land of the priests he did not buy for the priest had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh, and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them. Therefore they did not sell their land." So, in short order, all of Egypt except the pagan clergy were serfs. So, Pharaoh becomes greater than he could have ever imagined. Prospered thanks to Joseph. Point three, Egypt is blessed, blessed in terms of what? Well, they were on the brink of starvation, and now they're provided for. So, Genesis 47:23. "Then Joseph said to the people, 'Behold, I have this day bought you, and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land, and at the harvest you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own as seed for the field, and as food for yourselves, and your households, and as food for your little ones.' And they said, 'You have saved our lives. May it please my lord we will be servants to Pharaoh.' So, Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt. And it stands to this day that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's." They said, "You have saved our lives may please my lord, we will be servants of Pharaoh. You've saved us, therefore of course we will serve you." And they understood this in political terms, and they understood this in real life. And how much more so does this apply to us as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, you saved us. Jesus, you paid it all. Jesus, of course to you, I owe everything. And this is how the great saints talked about the relationship with the Lord, the Apostle Paul. In his letters, he introduces himself I Paul in Apostle. And then he says over, and over, "I'm a doulos", and the Greek is, "I'm a slave. I'm a slave of Jesus Christ, and I serve him willingly. Why? Because he served me. He saved me." The royal serfs are taxed 20%, which was normal percentage back then, and 40% was not uncommon in Mesopotamia. The happy result of all of this was that Egypt thrived, the coffers were overflowing, bolstering the economy, and the people didn't complain about it. Joseph was Egypt's national hero. Without him, they'd all be dead. Joseph was led by the Lord. And scripture does teach that the closer you walk with the Lord, the more the Lord reveals his mind to you. The closer you walk with Christ, the more Christ reveals his mind to you. Well, what's Christ's mind like? Well, he's all knowing. And the Colossians Two, one through three comments on the treasures of wisdom found in Christ, "For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged being knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding, and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden, are the treasures of wisdom, and knowledge." And the emphasis here is on the mystery. And that it is hidden. It takes effort. It takes work to study God, study his scriptures, and to walk with him. And if you study the gospels, you see that Jesus Christ applied this shrewdness, this wisdom in particular with his enemies. And he had many enemies. Enemies came to him, and they said, "John the Baptizer, you got to stop him. What is he doing? He's proclaiming the kingdom of God." And Jesus says, "Is baptism of John, of God, or of man?" Well, if they said of man, then all the people would've rejected him, because they saw the power of God. And if you say from God, well then you can't argue against that. Remember when the woman who was caught in adultery was brought to Jesus by the Pharisees? What does he say? He who is without sin cast the first stone, and they all walk away. Incredible wisdom. When the Pharisees came to him, and they questioned his divinity. And Jesus said, "Look at Psalm 1:10. What does David the Psalmist write as he is inspired by the Holy Spirit? He writes, the Lord said to my Lord, sit my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." And Jesus said, "How is David's son also David's lord?" And in that text he reveals the Trinity, the Pharisees when they came to him, and said, "Should we pay taxes to Caesar?" They want to catch Jesus so that Caesar, and the Roman authorities would arrest him. And Jesus said, bring me a coin. They bring him a coin. And he says, "Whose inscription is on this coin?" And they said, "Caesar's." And Jesus said, "Well give onto Caesar, what is Caesar's onto God? What is God's?" And the inscription, and the Greek his, icon image. So, this coin has the image of Caesar, give that back to Caesar, and whatever has the image of God, give that unto God, and he's calling them to obedience, or a question about the Sabbath. Can we do good works on the Sabbath? And Jesus said, "Which of you who has a sheep if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it, and lift it out?" And obviously we can heal on the Sabbath as Jesus did. Standing before Pontius Pilate, "Are you the king of the Jews?" And Jesus said, "You said that I am the king of the Jews." Leaving Pilate silent. Incredible wisdom as we study Christ, as we study how we operate, and as we walk with the Lord daily. Point four is Israel is blessed. This is verse 27, Genesis 47, "Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they gained possessions in it, and fruitful, and multiplied greatly." They settled, they gained possessions, and they were fruitful, and multiplied greatly. They were fulfilling the great mandate that was given to Adam in Genesis 1:28. And it was given as a blessing, and God bless them. And God said to them, be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And then after God sends the flood, and then Noah, and his family come out of the ark, God repeats this, and he repeats this twice, in Genesis 9:1 "And God blessed Noah, and his sons, and said to him, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth." And verse seven, "And you'll be fruitful, and multiply, increase greatly on the earth, and multiply it." God loves people, and God wants more people, more people who are created the image of God, and are redeemed by Jesus Christ, and are adopted into the family of God. I had a gentleman at the gym ask me, and he found out I have four. I shock people all the time. I'm like, "I have kids." They're like, how many? "There's four." And they say, "Four?" And I always say, "Four daughters." And they're like, "Four daughters?" Same conversation every time. And he said, "How much do kids cost?" And my response is, "Well, they cost as much do you spend on them? That's how much they cost." But the principle is that the Lord does provide. And one of the things I told them, I was like, "Look, how much do you spend on going out? How much do you spend on entertainment? Well, here's the beauty of having kids. You just don't have time to go out, and they become your entertainment. And then you're like, actually this is a much better investment of my time, and money." The Lord provides for them. And that's the emphasis of this text. Someone could have said, "Jacob, why are you procreating? Why are you having so many children? How are you going to feed them all? Especially when a famine comes." But you see how the Lord blesses them. And Israel's prosperity far outstrips that of the average Egyptian. It's astonishing, but the citizens of Egypt lost their money. They lost their cattle, they lost their land. And all the time the children of Israel are over in the land of Goshen. They don't lose their money, they don't lose their land, they don't lose their livestock, or cattle. As a matter of fact, they became more, and more fruitful while the citizens of Egypt became servants of Pharaoh. And that's God's way of taking care of God's people. What Israel experienced in Egypt was a forced foretaste of the ultimate blessings of Canaan when the land, and its fatness would be theirs. And here I do just want to pause, and apply this to us. Joseph used his power, and he used his influence to bless his family. And we need to think about this in terms of our immediate family, our flesh, and blood, but also in terms of those who are not yet our family, those who don't yet know Jesus Christ. The Lord teaches us that when we repent of our sins, we become part of the family of God. So, evangelism is welcome people into the family of God. Hey, I've been saved by grace through faith. I am now a child of God, not because of anything I've done, but because of the work of Christ. And so I want to tell you about grace. I want to tell you about the fact that Jesus Christ saves people if you just ask, and receive the gift. And Jesus does teach us to think about being good stewards of everything he has given us in order to help people meet the Lord in order to gain eternal life. And Jesus does it by sharing this parable that's very curious upon a first reading. But as we meditate on it, incredible spiritual truths. In Luke 16, "He also said to the disciples, 'There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him, and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management for you can no longer be manager. And the manager said to himself, 'What shall I do since my master's taking the management away from me, I'm not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I'm removed from management, people may receive me into their houses. So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly, and write 50.' And then he said to another, 'How much do you owe?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, 'take your bill, and write 80.' The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness." "For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings."So, Jesus commends this manager for his shrewd use of the vanishing opportunity before him. The manager understands my window of opportunity is going to be gone soon. And he begins to give these people discounts on what they owed the master while he still had power to do so. And the lesson for us is our time is limited, our money is limited, and we need to be thinking like good managers, like good stewards of what God has given to do what? To love people. He says, "Make friends with your wealth." People love generosity. People love generous friends. And when we're generous with time, and money, that opens up opportunities to talk about more meaningful things, and talk about the things of God. And he says, "When your wealth fails, when your health fails, well what's left is eternal souls." And he says, we are to think about it like that. And here also as we're talking about resources, a few comments on work. Jacob's sons were shepherds ordinary working men. And although their choice of vocation seemed an abomination to the Egyptians, there was nothing unworthy about their trade, but there was actually honor, and glory in their toil. And the capacity, and opportunity for work is a gift from God, whether the work is mental, or manual. And I grew up with my dad who was, he started a painting business as an immigrant, and I remember he would drop me off at college in his painting truck, and it pains me to say this. I said, "Dad, can you just drop me off like half a mile away from campus? I don't want anyone to see that my dad, the painter is dropping me off at college", which is terrible. That's a terrible mindset where we do rank people's worth depending on what kind of work they do, if they work with their hands, it's almost as if they're lesser. And that's not true. Scripture actually tells us that we are to aspire to work with our hands. First Thessalonians 4:9 through 12, "Now concerning brotherly love, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers through throughout Macedonia. But we urge you brothers to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders, and be dependent on no one." So, we are to work, and we are to work, and think about working in a way where we are not dependent on other people. St. Paul funded his ministry by making tents, and this idea of being dependent on other people as the culture becomes hostile toward Christians, or to those who are faithful to the faith. Well, this idea of being dependent on someone for a salary, or for your livelihood, well this is a conversation that needs serious thought. Colossians 3:17, "Whatever you do in word, or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." In the verse 23 of that chapter, "Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord, and not for men. Knowing that from the Lord you'll receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." First Corinthians 10:31. So, whether you eat, or drink, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Genesis 47:28, "And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 17 years. So, the days of Jacob, the years of his life were 147 years." Joseph had spent 17 years with his father Jacob in the beginning of his life. And then Jacob spent 17 years at the end of his life with his son Joseph, and then in Genesis 47:29, "And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph, and said to him, 'If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh, and promise to deal kindly, and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place. He answered, 'I will do as you have said.' And he said, 'Swear to me'; and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed." Jacob here binds Joseph doubly. Twice he says, "I want you to promise this." Why was this so important to Jacob be buried in the promised land, the land of Canaan? Well, there's a declaration of promise. He believed that God would bring them back, and he wanted his family already to see that. And this was the symbol Jacob going to die, and we're going to bring his body to be buried in Canaan. Jacob was a man who cared about God's blessing, not just on his life, but he cared about God's blessing on the lives of his children, and his children's children. And that's why he makes Joseph promise. Jacob from his early days knew that God's blessing meant everything to the point where he even connived a away to get his father's greatest blessing when he stole it from Esau. And the text tells us that Esau did not value God's blessing. And we as people of God, we are to value God's blessing. We're to long, "Lord bless me, Lord bless my family, bless my family's family. Lord bless us." Remember Jacob even wrestling with the angel who was God himself. And he says, "I'm not going to let you go until you bless me." So, we are to value God's blessing, and God's greatest blessing is redemption. God's greatest blessing that he offers us is a relationship with God, forgiveness of our sins. Here in this text before Pharaoh, he said, "My days have been few, and evil", but perhaps he had some years to meditate on that in the land of Egypt. And in the next chapter in Genesis 48, as he's blessing the sons of Joseph, verse 15, "And he blessed Joseph, and said, 'The God before whom my father's Abraham, and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them, let my name be carried on, and the name of my father's Abraham and Isaac, and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." Verse 16, the angel, that's the angel that he wrestled with. It was a God man, most likely Christ himself. He has redeemed me from all evil. Yes, there were days in my life he recognizes where it was evil, where I have done evil because I am evil, but he redeemed me. And that's the greatest blessing that Jesus Christ offers us. That when we come to him, and when we repent of our sins, when we acknowledge, "Lord, I have done things that are evil. I have transgressed your law. I have lived selfishly, I have lived as if I'm my own God. Lord, forgive me." John 10:10, Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." Not only is Jesus the good shepherd, but Jesus is also the only way to heaven. Jacob had another dream where he saw a staircase, and he saw the angels of God ascending, and descending. And then Jesus commenting on that dream says the following in John 1:51. "And he said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you'll see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending, and descending on the Son of Man." Jesus Christ is the only staircase to heaven, the only staircase to God. The cross of Jesus Christ is the only means of attaining the greatest blessing that God offers, and that's himself. God offers eternal life, which is a relationship with him by grace through faith. As Joseph provided a place for his family in Egypt, Jesus provides a place for us in heaven. He told the disciples, "I'm going to go, and prepare a room for you." The wisest thing in the world you can do today is to accept the free gift of eternal life by repenting, and believing in Jesus Christ, and his sacrifice for you when he died for you, when he bled for you, when he was buried for you, when he was resurrected for you, when you believed that that's what he did for you, that your sins are paid for, your eternal life is secure. I'll close it with Matthew 11:28, an invitation from the Lord Jesus Christ. "Come to me all who labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle, and lowly in heart, and you'll find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Let us pray. Lord Jesus, we thank you for this invitation. We thank you for your shed blood on the cross. We thank you that you, you used your position, and your power, and your influence, and you used it to serve us.
Glorious Reunion
July 23, 2023 • Jan Vezikov • Genesis 46
This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston, or donate to this ministry, please visit http://mosaicboston.com Heavenly Father, as we come across this beautiful text, where we see a father and a son reunited after decades of being apart. Lord, I pray that You, today, focus our attention on how incredible the moment will be when we meet You in heaven, when we see You face to face, when we walk with You as Adam walked with You in the garden. Lord, we are also reminded that there are many enemies of your family, enemies of the family. And I pray, Lord, from this text, remind us about how precious humans are, remind us how precious the family is, how precious children are. And Lord, we thank You for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, we thank You that despite our sin, despite our transgressions against You, and against one another, You offer us grace even today. We thank You that You loved us so much that you died for us when we were, yes, sinners, and we thank You so much that You continue to love us even when we do sin. We pray for that grace, I pray, apply it to us today. Lord, also, in the same way that Jacob spoke to You and You spoke to him, he met with You and You met with him, I pray, meet with us today. By the power of the Holy Spirit, speak to us in a way that our souls need to hear, not from a person but from You. And we pray all this in Christ's holy name. Amen. We’re continuing our sermon series entitled, Graduate Level Grace, a Study in the Life of Joseph. Today, we are in Chapter 46. The title is, A Glorious Reunion, where we see Jacob, who is 130 years old at this time, feeble Jacob, meeting his son Joseph, who has been prime minister of Egypt. Joseph is in late 30s, early 40s. And we see this glorious reunion. It's a reminder to us of the incredible promise of God that every child of God will one day soon see God face to face. We will see Jesus Christ face to face. 1 John 3:2 promises, "When he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." And what a glorious reunion that will be. We long for the coming of Christ. We pray for it. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Today, our text before us narrates this glorious reunion, certainly not nearly on the same scale as our physical reunion with Christ, but certainly beautiful, certainly heartwarming, and hope infusing. Imagine living for two decades thinking your beloved son was dead or worse. And then, you're given an opportunity to meet him and you realize that this was all part of God's plan from the very beginning. And it didn't make sense until this culmination, until this moment. But from the perspective of this moment, everything just makes sense. What Jacob learned was his life was not his own and his life was not about him. Joseph learned this as well. This whole story is about God who longs to bless not just this family, but the nations of the world through this family. And for that blessing to come, this family needed to be reconciled with God, reconciled with one another, and then through them would be sent Jesus Christ. And only through Jesus Christ can our relationship be restored with God, because we in and of ourselves are estranged from God, estranged and alienated. To fight off our natural tendency to read every scripture with its main character syndrome. We are reminded here from this story that God has greater plans for our lives than we could ever imagine. And here what this text does is it answers two main overarching meta-narrative questions. How did Israel end up in Egypt? How were they enslaved for 400 years? Why did all this happen? Well, it happened according to God's plan. And then God sent Moses to tell Pharaoh, "Let my people go." And God promised to Abraham that he would make his family into a nation. And that nation is formed in the crucible of oppression and adversity and slavery in Egypt. And this is what God was... he promised Abraham this from the beginning. "I am going to allow the people to be enslaved." And during that time, God prepared the land of Canaan and he prepared the people of Israel. This is Genesis 15:13 through 16. "Then the Lord said to Abraham, 'Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in the land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for 400 years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that you serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.'" So as the family of Abraham is removed from the land of Canaan, with them goes God's common grace on the people of Canaan and with the last of a godly witness removed from the land that Canaanites take their sin and their evil to its logical consequence, and then are ultimately consigned to judgment via the invasion by Israel. So that's the introduction and three points for our text. First, is Israel Moves to Egypt. Second, The Family of Israel and three, Israel and Joseph are Reunited. By Israel here, this is the name that God gave Jacob as he renamed him and redefined his identity. And so they're used interchangeably in the text. So first, Israel Moves to Egypt. This is Genesis 46:1-4. "So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, 'Jacob, Jacob.' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then he said, 'I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I'll make you into a great nation. And I myself will go down with you to Egypt and I will bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.'" So Israel, formerly known as Jacob, offers sacrifices to God. God speaks to him in a vision and he's called Israel here to emphasize that it's not just a personal decision and it's not just a family decision. This is a national decision, and because God promised, "I will make of you a great nation." Perhaps Jacob hesitated leaving the promised land without the Lord's explicit permission. His whole family has been told that this is the promised land, "Don't ever leave." And it's a huge deal to uproot and transplant your whole family. And the fact that his whole family, hundreds of people the text later tells us were willing to follow his leadership, shows us that he has grown as a father and as a leader in his household. If he is to leave, there is much to be sacrificed. If Jacob is to leave the promised land, he's going to leave the grave of his wife, Rachel. And this is probably one of the hardest decisions of his life. And he's lived a life of many hard decisions. And so he's seeking assurance. "God, are you going with me? God, is this your plan? God is this your will?" And before he makes that decision, he goes to a place that's very meaningful to him, a place where God has met him often. He goes to Beersheba. Beersheba is 26 miles south of Hebron and marks the southern boundary of usable land. It's the last stop before Egypt. Beersheba is where Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech. This is where he planted a tree, this is where he lived. Abraham did after God stopped him from sacrificing Isaac. This is where Isaac built an altar later in life, and the Lord appeared to him. And Jacob was also familiar with Beersheba because after he left home when Esau was pursuing him, this was his first stop on the journey of Laban's house. And this is where God wrestled with him. Scripture says that, "He wrestled in prayer at night with an angel," and then it said that God met him. So most likely this is a theophany and a physical manifestation of God. Maybe it was Christ himself. This is where he had a stone for a pillow. And then he saw a staircase toward heaven with the angels of God ascending and descending. This is where God made a promise to him originally in Genesis 20:15,\ "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." And one of the beauties of reading a historical narrative is we see the progression in a person's life. We see the character development not just in terms of fictional character development, but in terms of the integrity of this man. Jacob had finally learned to put God first. This wasn't true of him when he was younger. God had taken his beloved Rachel, God had taken his beloved Joseph. And when God disciples his children, this is usually how he does it. He goes for the most sensitive parts in our life. He goes for the most sensitive parts of our heart, the place that we will call, my precious. Lord, I give you all except for this. Lord, this is the only part I keep off limits. Is there an object or a person around which your heart has wrapped itself more than any other? Something or someone who rises to God's rival in your heart? Well, that's what God often deprives us of and this is what happened with Abraham. Abraham, "Here's your son, your long awaited son, your beloved son, sacrifice him." God stopped him. And this was a story with Jacob. There were idolatrous relationships in his life. There were misprioritized things in his life. And here finally we see that Jacob has grown. God tested him with Benjamin, "Will you continue your idolatrous favoritism sacrificing the family for Benjamin or will you release him to the Lord?" And Lord Jesus taught us this principle in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you." What were all these things in that context? It's our physical needs. Our physical needs, although important, are not as important as seeking the kingdom of God. Is this a priority in your life? And although Jacob hasn't seen Joseph for nearly 22 years, he stops. You're thinking, "I haven't seen my son in this long. I'm going to do everything to get to him as quickly as possible." No, he stops the expedition to do what? To worship God, the God of his father's Abraham and Isaac. When going through a season where you are before a critical juncture, before a critical decision, when you are in doubt, what are called to do from this text? We can learn, we're to worship in a time of worry or anxiety or doubts or stress or upheaval or uncertainty. What does Jacob do? He pauses to make time to worship God. And he makes sacrifices to God. He humbly offers sacrifices because he understood that no one can approach God except on the basis of a blood sacrifice. We've all sinned and scripture teaches that the penalty for sin is a shedding of blood. And before Jesus Christ, they did that through the animal sacrifices. But praise be to God today, we can come to God on the basis of Christ's sacrifice. We don't have to shed blood on the basis of Christ, shed blood on Calvary's cross, we come to him. By offering sacrifices, Jacob is worshiping God because there's no true worship of God without sacrifice because what does it mean to worship? Worship is significantly more than just singing. Singing is an integral part of it, but worship is you're loving God. You're showing God that you're loving Him and to love anyone and including God takes sacrifice. And we are to sacrifice. We are to sacrifice time. We are to be religious, so to speak, about our relationship with the Lord. You've heard this often and I've said this often, Christianity is not a religion, It's about a relationship with the Lord. And I wholeheartedly agree with that as long as you understand your relationship with God. And God has expectations and God makes mandates on us. People are religious about what they find to be important. You're religious about what you find to be most important. Food, health, fitness, education, career, money. You make time for what matters. The question is, are you religious about your relationship with God? And this is why it's important to have a day where you devote to the Lord, the Sabbath day. It is a commandment. And God gave us this day, a day of rest to religiously worship God from the heart because that's what builds our relationship with the Lord. And often I've heard people say, "Well, yeah, you know church isn't that important. What's most important is my relationship with the Lord. And if I do sin, there's grace," and et cetera. Yes, God forgives all of our sins. The moment you come to the Lord, you presenting your sin, God forgives you of past, present, and future. But for what purpose? Why does God forgive us our sins? So we continue to live for ourselves and go along our merry way? No, it's so that we grow in awe and reverence of God. For example, Psalm 130:3, "If you, O Lord should, mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared." We should stand in great awe and wonder and astonishment that God would forgive me of my sins without a blood sacrifice of an animal. How? How could this be possible? Well, what did it take? It took the death of his beloved son. So yes, Lord, I worship You. I love You. Thank You. I'm here to serve. What is your will? Lord, I fear You and I'm in awe of You. So the Lord here meets Jacob and he uses the old name twice. He doesn't call him Israel. He calls him Jacob, and he says it twice. A sign of love, a sign of affection, and God meets Jacob here for the seventh and last recorded time. Jacob makes a sacrifice to meet with the Lord. And the Lord responds and he meets him. And this is a principle the scripture teaches us, approach God, come close to God and he will come close to you. In particular in times where you have to make a decision that is going to impact the trajectory of your life. So, friend, do you make it a practice of inquiring of the Lord before making life altering decisions or do you make the decision and then hope that the Lord blesses it? Here we see the pattern that before Jacob goes on this expedition, moves his whole family, uproot all of them, he meets with the Lord. So important decision like, Lord, should I move? Lord, where should I move? Lord, whom should I marry? Lord, should we have children? When should we have children? How many? The more important the decision, the more important the juncture in life, the more crucial it is to seek the Lord's face and the Lord's will. We don't discern God's will by presenting burnt sacrifices. Praise be to God. Instead, we discern God's will by presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice to the Lord. This is how we discern God's will. For example, Romans 12:1-2, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." God, what's your will for my life? And his response is, "Worship me. Worship me holistically. Worship me by presenting your body as a living sacrifice." I said, "Lord, whatever you call me to do, whatever sacrifice it takes, I'll do it." And once you do this, that humble posture of heart puts you in a place where God begins to work out the details of the plan. And the more momentous the decision, the more important to seek certainty through worship, through sacrifice. And then the Lord guides us. For example, Psalm 25:8-9, "Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and he teaches the humble His way." Psalm 32:8-9, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like the horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with a bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you." The words of Jesus Christ where he calls himself the good shepherd and he says, "His sheep, believers, hear His voice." John 10:1-4, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheep fold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him, the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he is brought out all his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice." Jacob responds, and when he hears the voice of the Lord, he says, "Here I am." And if you're in true and full fellowship with God, that's the natural state of your heart, Lord, here I am, Lord, speak to me. What would you have me do? This is the Lord's last recorded revelation until God speaks to Moses four centuries later. So God here makes a weighty promise to Jacob and to Jacob's descendants, he says, "Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt," and here's why, "for there, he says, "I will make of you a great nation." And he says, "I will go down with you into Egypt and I will bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes." So God makes it clear that this move is about significantly more than just temporary reprieve from the famine. This was God's definite plan to turn this family into a nation from whom the God man, Jesus Christ, would come and provide redemption for all of the elect from this nation and from all nations. "I myself will go down with you." Do we have a promise like this? There are moments in life where you need this promise, the promise that Jesus gives us in the great commission of Matthew 28:20, "Behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age. Behold I am with you always." This is reassuring, especially when you begin a new season in life or especially if you perhaps move to Boston, you're new. In between service, I met a college student entering his freshman year. I could tell by his eyes he's excited, he's excited. And when I told him I was like, I invited him to my community group. I was like, "You need spiritual family. I've seen this too often, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed freshmen showing up and they get eaten alive by this city. You need a family, you need a community. You need people around you that point you to Christ and say, 'Look, the Lord is with you. The Lord is with you, so live accordingly.0" Genesis 46:5-7, "Then Jacob set out from Bathsheba and the sons of Israel carried Jacob, their father, their little ones and their wives and the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. And they also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt. And Jacob and all his offspring with him, his sons and his sons' sons with him, his daughters and his sons' daughters. All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt." Point two is, The Family of Israel. And here the text gives us an expanded list of descendants of Jacob. I'm going read the genealogy. And you're like, "How does Pastor John know how to pronounce all of these words?" I will tell you, I'm making it up on the fly because I was taught in seminary when you get to a list like this, you say it with confidence and you say it quickly and no one really questions you. But I think it's an important this genealogy because there's people and their image bears of God, and God loves people and God loves families and God loves children. And these texts are here to remind us that we are to orient our lives around loving people and loving family and loving God's family. So Genesis 46:8-18, "Now these are the names of the descendants of Israel who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Reuben, Jacob's firstborn and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman." "The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shalah, Perez, and Zarah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan); and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. And the sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Yob and Shimron. The sons of Zebulun: Sared, Elon and Jahleel. And these are the sons of Leah whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dina; altogether his sons and his daughters numbered 33. The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggai, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli. The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Beriah and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. And these are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob, 16 persons." Some of these grandsons were born in Egypt already, and Hebrew genealogies didn't usually mention daughters. And I've had this conversation with my daughters. Whenever we get to genealogies as we do in Bible study, like, "Hey, why is it just guys? Why are the men mentioned and not all of the women?" Obviously Jacob had sons and he had many daughters. Well, because the man wasn't just an individual, the name of the man it's not just about the guy, it's about the household. The man is a representative of the household because the man is the head of the household, meaning that God is going to hold the man responsible, the husband, the father, for the household. And this should inform the way that we think through family. Why is Serah mentioned? Most likely, perhaps she wasn't married and she was still part of her father's household. Genesis 46:19-22, "The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin. And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, and the daughter of Potiphere, the priest of On, bore to him. And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard. And these are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob. 14 persons in all." So we see Benjamin, who most likely he's the youngest son and most likely he's in his 20s now, or he may be younger. And 10 of his sons are mentioned and most likely these are his future offspring. It's not he had 10 sons already. And they're included here because of the fact that they were in Benjamin when Benjamin entered Egypt. The theological language is, they were in his loins. And this language is used in the book of Hebrews in the chapter on Melchizedek. Which just informed us that God views us from an internal perspective and God views our decisions from internal perspective. Sometimes we think that what we do in this life, in this body doesn't make much difference outside of us or outside of our little circle of influence. But from God's perspective, nothing that a believer does is secular except sin. Everything that we do is sacred. And so I bring this in from Hebrews 7:1-10, where there's the story of Melchizedek and Abraham meets him, and Abraham worships God and sacrifices 10% to Melchizedek. And the text comments that Levi, who was with Abraham at the time was also giving that tithe to Melchizedek. So look at the text with me. Hebrews 7:1-10, "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him, Abraham apportioned a 10th part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. See how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a 10th of the spoils! And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers though these are also descended from Abraham. But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithe from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises." "It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom is testified that he lives. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him." Well, what an interesting turn of phrase. Well, this shows us that from God's perspective, he sees the whole thing. And theology like this needs to expand our thinking. And in particular, in a day and age where young people are just taught to live for yourself, actualize yourself, focus on career, focus on money, focus on pleasure, focus on luxury, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, focus on a good time. Where texts like this remind us, look, God does give us good gifts and oftentimes he does bless us with good times. But God wants us to think about legacy, think about generations, think about how we live today impacts not just us and the people around us today, but centuries to come. And texts like this are important. And we do emphasize at Mosaic, the first commandment, which is the great mandate. This is Genesis 1:27-28, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female, he created them. And God blessed them. And said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" So this genealogy and the many in scripture reveal how God plans to bless the world is through the family. God builds his kingdom through the family, the father, mother and children, and then the families build the community. And God promised to bless the nations of the world through his family and the family unit. And I just say that to emphasize the fact that we are to care for families and we are to love children. I love seeing children at Mosaic and this is why we emphasize so much on Mini Mosaic. We want to disciple our beautiful children. These are eternal souls, these are the future of the church, they're going to impact the world for centuries. So I just say this because in the heart of God, God wants people to love children and wants people to love family. I don't know how that works out in your life. I ask for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, but it is an orientation of life. For example, Psalm 1:27, "Unless the Lord builds the house and those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. And it is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil for he gives to his beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." By God's grace, I have four little arrows. Pink. They're pink arrows. Four girls we have, and man, they're sharp. We are sharpening them. They are going to fly far, hopefully not too far. Genesis 46:23-27, "The sons of Dan: Hushim. And the sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem. And these are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and those she bore to Jacob, seven persons in all. And all the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his own descendants, not including Jacob's son's wives, were 66 persons in all. And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him and Egypt, were two. And all the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were 70." Was the number precisely 70? Here it says 66, but that doesn't include those who died in Canaan, Ephraim and Manasseh. 70, it just represents fullness, totality, completeness. And the emphasis here is on all of Israel went down into Egypt. The list stands in stark contrast with the multitude of people that Moses led out of Egypt 400 years later, most likely there were 2 million plus of them. And so God grew this family into a nation and He often tells them, "Do not get proud of your numbers, do not get proud of your power, but trust in the Lord." Point three is, Israel and Joseph are Reunited. And this is verse 28. "He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. And then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel, his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said to Joseph, 'Now let me die since, I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.'" First, we see that Jacob tells Judah, remember Judah? Judah's the one that sinned with Tamar, just egregious sinner, but he repented and he rebuilt his trust with his father. So now his father takes him, not Reuben, the oldest, but he takes Judah and sends him to prepare the way before him. That's a tremendous hopeful verse right there. And Joseph comes riding in style. He looks like an Egyptian, dressed like an Egyptian, has his state chariot probably with an entourage of servants. Jacob must have hardly recognized him. And we see them with one of the most beautiful reunions in all of scripture. So haven't seen your son for decades, and now you see him. And Joseph fell on his father's neck and he weeps and he weeps and they are consoled. Not many words are spoken, no words are needed and at times like this, when feelings are so deep. Jacob's son, whom he bewailed and lamented over for years is now in his arms. And Jacob finally speaks and he says, "I'm ready to die. I've seen my son. I'm ready to die." And similar sentiment to that of Simeon and Luke chapter two, when Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the temple, and Simeon who's been waiting his whole life to see the Messiah. It says in Luke 2:28, and he said that, "He took him in his arms and blessed God and said, 'Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you've prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.'" Genesis 46:31, "Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, 'I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.' When Pharaoh calls you and says, 'What is your occupation?' you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers' in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.'" We see Joseph's wisdom at work here as an administrator, as a politician. He coaches his family on what to say and how to say it to Pharaoh so that they get what they want. What do they want? They want the best land in all of Egypt and Goshen, luscious pasture land for their flocks. And they would be secluded from any pressure of the Egyptian culture. But in order to get that land, they have to tell Pharaoh and the Egyptians that they're shepherds, which is unflattering. The Egyptians viewed shepherds as an abomination and that was the lowest of the low. But Joseph says, "We're going to lead with this. Tell Pharaoh this and nothing else so that you get this land." And by God's grace, that's what happened. It's incredible how the Lord provides for this family here, but he does this after decades of exposing their sin, decades of exposing their evil. And by God's grace, he gets them to this place where they're presented before Pharaoh and their needs are met. Joseph serves in this text as a prototype of Christ, saving his family, being put in a position where he can save his family just like Christ was. Christ was put in a position where he can offer salvation to us. But in order to provide salvation for us, Christ had to be forsaken by the Father. When Jesus Christ took our sin upon himself, God, the Father had to turn his face from God, the Son. For the very first time in all of eternity there's a separation in the communion between father and son. The beloved son was forsaken by our loving father. Why? So that the father could extend his love and forgiveness to us and make us sons and daughters. Psalm 22 is one of the most powerful prophetic psalms in all of scripture. A messianic Psalm. Jesus quotes liberally from the Psalm, from the cross. It begins like this, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer. And by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you are fathers trusted; they trusted and you delivered them. To you, they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame." How can a holy God provide deliverance for sinful, idolatrous, rebellious, and grumbling people? Because he offered up his son, Jesus Christ for us. Psalm 22:6-8, "But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; They make mouths at me; they wag their heads. 'He trusts in the Lord. Let him deliver him: let him rescue him, for he delights in him!'" Yes, the Father does delight in the Son. He said that at Christ's baptism, but on the cross, he turned his face of delight away and Christ, what did he experience? Only the wrath of God. Psalm 22:16-18, "For dogs encompassed me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. They stare and glow over me; they divide my garments among them and for my clothing, they cast lots. They've pierced my hands and feet." Centuries before crucifixion was even invented as a form of capital punishment, the text predicts that Christ's hands, Christ's feet would be pierced. There's another story in scripture about father and son reconciled, although in an inverted way, with the son coming to the father. And that's a story of the prodigal son. In Joseph's case, he was the one watching and waiting for his father. In the story of the prodigal son, what's most striking, and the story is the son knew the father's will completely, the son knew the father's love, experienced it completely. And from early on he was raised in a loving home. He was taught the right way, he was provided for. And yet despite all the father's love, the son rebels. And finally, the son comes to his senses. He repents in his heart. And then he repents before his father in Luke 15:17 says, "But when he came to himself and he said, 'How many of my fathers hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger. I will arise and go to my father and I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.'" "And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I've sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate." "My son was dead and is alive again," prophetic words in the life of Joseph, prophetic words in the life of the prodigal son, prophetic words in Christ. Christ died and he was buried and was raised on the third day. As you meditate on the gospel, it's hard to figure out what's more amazing. Is it that Christ loves us so much that he would die for our sins? Or is it that Christ continues to love us even after we continue to sin? Is it Christ dying on the cross when we didn't deserve it? Or is it Christ continuing to love us despite of our unloveliness? And when I call people to repentance, I do want to mention, it's an invitation. Repentance is an invitation to come and have your sins forgiven. Have not just the penalty of your sins forgiven, but even the traces of sin in your life, God wants to remove through the process of sanctification. If God calls us to repent, it means he's willing to forgive, It means he's willing to welcome us home. The last couple of weeks I was on vacation, sort of, turned into a staycation. Our daughters, we sent them to overnight summer camp. And this is the first time we sent all four, all four of my little arrows, we shot them to summer camp for two weeks. It was tremendous. So my wife and I, we had the place all to ourselves and we're like, "What are we going to do?" And then my wife looks at the hallway and she's like, "You know what? I think the hallway could use a fresh coat of paint." And I was like, "Oh, oh, no." And then I painted it and it looks so good. I'm pretty good at painting. I grew up painting with my dad, Vlad, my dad, Vlad has a business called Vlad's Painting, if your house looks bad, don't get sad, call Vlad. So I grew up doing that. So I painted the hallway and my wife was just pouring on the praise because she knows that's going to keep me going. She's like, "Look at your lines, they're so perfect. Look at the walls. Look." And then she's like, "The living room. I think we should do..." So two weeks later, every single square inch of our place is repainted except the floors. And then we got back to church and Pastor Andy said, "How was your vacation?" And my wife, she says, "It was great, we spent two weeks repenting," because she has a Ukrainian accent. And then Pastor Andy looked at me and he is like, "Good, good." And I was like, "No, we're repainting." But I'm telling you, there's a connection, painting is very similar to repentance, if you do it well. There's bad painting where you just cover up everything, fresh coat and that's it. And then there's good painting, what makes good painting is the prep work. You got to sand everything down, you got to get... we had a wall next to one of our beds that was just covered in boogers. I will not mention. So you got to scrape it all off. And that's kind of how I view the Christian life. The Christian life is yes, you're welcoming Jesus Christ into your life, but Jesus doesn't just forgive you and just say, "Okay, keep living any way you want." No, Jesus loves you too much to leave you the way you are. He brings his grace in. And little by little sands things down, fixes things up and patches things up. And when you get the end product, it's just gorgeous. In this life, we're never going to get away completely from sin, although we grow in sanctification. But there will come a day when we will have glorious bodies in the new heavens and the new earth, where we will have the glorious reunion with God, where we'll walk with God as Adam did. We'll dwell with God, who will be amongst us. And this text is a hopeful text. And I'll end with this, Revelation 21:1-8, "And then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven, and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.'" "'He'll wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former, things have passed away.' And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I'm making all things new.' And he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.' And he said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage and I'll be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.'" So, friends, today, repent, believe, receive the grace of God and walk with the Lord taking up your cross daily as you follow Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. And let us do it with love and joy and delight with the God, our Father. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are a loving God. We thank you that you delight in us, not because of our righteousness or our goodness or our holiness, but because of the righteousness of your son, Jesus Christ. Christ, we thank you that on the cross you were willing to be forsaken by God, the Father, in order to offer to us reconciliation. Yes, in and of ourselves, Lord, we are sinners and alienated from you, but we ask for forgiveness. And we ask for your grace. And, Lord, for if there's anyone who's still far from you, I pray, draw them to yourself. And I pray, Lord, draw them home, home to a loving relationship with God, our Father. Lord, continue to use us powerfully as believers and as a church to draw many who are far from you to the family of God. And we pray all this in Christ's name. Amen.
The Chisel of Grace
July 16, 2023 • Tyler Burns • Genesis 45
This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston or donate to this ministry, please visit http://mosaicboston.com Church, welcome. I'm glad that all of you are able to be here to worship with us today. As I always like to say, it's great to hear all the conversation that's going around, and we are able to continue those conversations after service as well. So take that opportunity, remember that we still love and care about each other after service and talk to each other afterwards. But if you don't know me, my name is Tyler. I am the teens and hospitality director here at Mosaic Boston and as always, whenever I get the chance to be up here, it is my honor and my privilege to be able to deliver the word of God to us today. So as Pastor Andy mentioned, we are continuing our sermon series, Looking at the life of Joseph in the Book of Genesis. Today we will be in Genesis 45, but the sermon series that we are going through is called Graduate Level Grace. The reason for this is we're trying to have a deeper, better understanding of God's grace, what it is, how it works, and how it applies to our lives. And so there's a bunch of sermons online, I encourage you to listen to them if you miss them or study the texts and the chapters that have come ahead. It is a narrative arc. It is historical events, real true stories, but it is an arc and so each chapter builds and builds on each other. So for the real quick summary, last chapter, pastor Andy preached on chapter 44, and we saw the story of Benjamin, the youngest brother, being found guilty of stealing a silver cup from this Egyptian ruler, who they did not realize was their brother Joseph, that they sold into slavery. And as he is being condemned for this crime and being forced to become a servant, his brother Judah steps in and pleads for his life and says, "Please take me instead, let my little brother go." And that was the cliffhanger we were left with last week. And we are going to see what is Joseph's response to his brother's plea for grace, to his brother's plea for mercy. So that's where our story picks up today, in Genesis chapter 45. But before we read, will you pray with me over the preaching and reading of God's word? Heavenly Father, lord, we are so thankful and amazed that we get to be here and worship and praise Your name today. We thank You that You have lavish grace upon us that we do not deserve, so that way we can be in Your presence, have a meaningful deep relationship with You. So in this time, teach us from Your words, speak to us from Your scriptures, help us to better understand Your grace, Your love, Your compassion, and how it applies to our lives today, so that we thank You and we praise You in Jesus' name. Amen. Alrighty, so we are in Genesis 45, and as I mentioned, it is a historical story. It is real, but it is a narrative. And so as we read through Genesis 45, I want everyone to be paying attention to the story, to the characters, to the arts. If you look for a point in the story without understanding the story, you're going to miss some things. So as we read, I want you to just pay attention to what is the story? Where are we going from here? So Genesis chapter 45 verse 1, it says this, "Then Joseph could not control himself before all of those who stood by him. He cried, "Make everyone go out for me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me please." And they came near and said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. For God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and Lord of all the house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me Lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen and you shall be near me, you and your children, and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds and all that you have. There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.' And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here." Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all the brothers and wept upon them. After that, his brothers talked with him. When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, "Joseph's brothers have come," it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: load your beast and go back to the land of Canaan, and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.' And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, 'Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'" The sons of Israel did so and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. To each of them, he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin, he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, "Do not quarrel on the way." So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. And they told him, "Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them." Excuse me. I needs some water. Excuse me. "But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, 'It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.'" This is the reading of God's holy and error-infallible, authoritative word, may He write these eternal truths upon our hearts. We are going to spend our time in two points today. Two points better than the three, because we'll get out of here in two thirds of the time. Well, we'll see how the Holy Spirit moves, I'm not promising anything. But two points today. The first point is Grace that Guts Guilt. And the second point is Grace that Corrects. So as I mentioned earlier, we start this story with the predicament. Joseph's brothers are guilty before him. What is Joseph going to do? And what we see Joseph's responses, 1 one through 3, where it says, "Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, 'Make everyone go out for me.' So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to the brothers." He's so emotional about what has just happened that he makes all of the Egyptians go out. He's like, "I don't want any of you here. It's just me and my brothers." If you're the brothers, you're like, "Oh, that's kind of scary. There's no witnesses. There's no one here to see what's about to happen." And then it continues, "And he wept aloud so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it." He is uncontrollably weeping. If you've been in the presence of someone who's uncontrollably weeping, you're often like, "I don't know what to do. I don't know what's going on. I just got to be here and see what happens." And then he says to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" This is the first moment that they recognize it is their brother Joseph, who has been ruler or leading the Egyptians and leading them for their food and supplies, And so what is their response, the brothers? It says, "But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence." Dismayed. The word literally means fearful, trembling. They are shaking in fear of what is about to happen. Why? 22 years ago, they sold their brother into slavery. And for 22 years, they lied about it and thought they got away with it. And then all of a sudden, "Oh! He's right here. We got caught." And not only did we get caught, he has now had 22 years to build up anger, to plan out his revenge, to think of the best way to torment them when they get back. But it's worse than that, because Joseph was their little brother, but he's not their little brother anymore. Joseph is the second most powerful man in the world. At this point in time of history, Egypt is the most powerful empire. So much so that all the surrounding nations are in desperate need because of the famine and they're all flocking to Egypt for help, "Help us, help us, help us." And in our text it says that not only that, but Joseph is as a father to Pharaoh. What does that mean? It's a statement about being a highly esteemed, a really trusted advisor. So, what do you call the second most powerful man in the world who gets to tell the most powerful man in the world what to do and he listens? You call him the most powerful man in the world. And so what we see here is the brothers recognize their transgression. They recognize the predicament that they are in, they are caught in their sin. But now it's not their little brother, it's the man with all the power to do whatever he wants with them, that stands before them. It's kind of terrifying. At a moment's notice, Joseph can say the word and they'd be killed. At a moment's notice, he could say the word and they'd be thrown in jail. Whatever Joseph wanted to do with them, he could do. And as we'll see throughout the rest of the story, what one of the main highlights here is that the way the brothers relate to Joseph is often how we relate to God. I don't want to make too much of this, but it is important. God is the most powerful, all powerful God of the universe. We have sinned against Him. We have done wrong. Scripture tells us the wages for our sin is death. So God in all His power could do whatever he wants with us. The question is, do we react like these brothers when that reality sets in? Are we dismayed? Are we fearful? Are we trembling before God because of His power, because of what He could do, because of our guilt before Him? Now I bring this up to say that we'll see how the story progresses because this is not the end. But I want to ask if it wasn't you before God and it's just the brothers before Joseph, how would you hope that Joseph reacted to the brothers? I don't know about you, maybe you're better people than I am, but I love revenge. Revenge movies are some of the most popular and moneymaking movies that there are. There's something sinful, but it's natural. I think it's naturally sinful within us that we love revenge movies. After first service, I was talking to some brothers and sisters and our worship leader, Caleb, pointed out, I believe rightfully so, that it's a warp twisted view of God's justice. We want justice, but we take it too far and we make it vengeance. But anyway... And this is just so popular in our society and especially in media. And so recently, I had a week of vacation, where I got to travel and I was very thankful for that opportunity. And I had 11 hours of travel time, during which I was like, "I'll watch some movies." And a movie that was recommended to me a lot, and just to be clear, I'm not recommending this movie, it was recommended to me, I was like, "Let me see what the hype is all about," it's called John Wick. I think a lot of you probably know that movie. But, spoiler alert for the first 10 minutes of the first movie that informs the whole series, but basically there's a guy, John Wick, whose wife dies of disease, I believe it's cancer. And she knows that she's the only person he's ever loved. And so he's going to have a hard time loving anyone after this. So she gifts him, in her dying wish, a puppy. She says, "This puppy is going to help you learn to love." Well, spoiler alert, and I'm sorry to have to say this, very soon after, a jerk comes in, beats up John Wick, and not only that, he kills his puppy. Know what I thought as I watched that movie? Go get him, John Wick. That's right, I wanted vengeance for this puppy. And it starts and launches a four movie series where John Wick kills 439 people, all because someone killed his dog. And you know what? I loved it. I was like, "That's right." I can recognize it's not actually right. It is wrong. But there was something, again, I said sinful, within us, that's like, "Yes, give them what they deserve." And that's exactly what Joseph could have done in this story. He had all the power to do it the same way. That's what God could have done in our story. He had all the power to do it. But what happens instead? This is verses 4 through 8, it says, "So Joseph said to his brothers, 'Come near to me please.' And they came near. And he said, 'I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep a alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God.'" See, Joseph sees that his brothers are distressed. He sees they're fearful, trembling, "What is Joseph going to do to us? Is he going to exact revenge?" And Joseph, he comforts them, says, "Do not be distressed or angry." He recognizes what they did. He recognizes that they wronged him. But he says, "Don't be angry or distressed about it." But the most important thing he says is the very first thing he says, "Come near to me please." This is a very impactful statement, "Come near to me." It's a sign of forgiveness. It's a sign, more specifically though, of the relationship that he is seeking with them. This idea of coming near is saying, "I don't want there to be a distance between us because of the sin. I don't want there to be any hindrances, barriers between our relationship. Come near to me. I forgive you." And this is a phrase, that throughout scripture, is used for God's relationship with us. The Gospel of John specifically highlights this phrase. I'll just bring up three verses where it says it. In John chapter 14, we're doing a reverse search through John, John 14:6, it says, "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.'" Jesus is saying if you want to come to the Father, come to the Father, but you got to come to Jesus first. You come to Jesus and He restores, He redeems, He reconciles our hurt and broken relationship with God the Father. In John chapter 6, verse 37, Jesus says, "All that the father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out." This is a really powerful verse; come to Jesus and he will not cast you out. How often are we like the brothers, where our guilt and shame of our sin kind of paralyzes us? It keeps us in fearful, trembling and we say, "I don't know if I can go to Jesus." Jesus responses, "Come. Come. I forgive you. I will not cast you out." How many times do we say, "Yeah, but you don't know how bad the sin is"? Or, "You don't know how long I've been sinning. It's been 22 years of sinning and covering it up. Maybe it's been longer. It's really bad. If I go to Jesus, he's not going to want me. He's going to reject me." Well, Jesus says He will not cast you out. So we need to take encouragement from this grace that there is no sin, there is no shame, there is no guilt so great that when we come and run to Christ and ask Him to forgive us and want to seek and restore a relationship with us, He will never cast us out. There is nothing so great that we can't do that, come to Him. John chapter 5, verse 39 and 40 says, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." Jesus says study Scripture, that's good. Scriptures are important, they bear witness about Him. But it's not about studying Scripture, it's about the relationship with Christ. If we want life, if we want forgiveness of sins, if we want eternal life, we need to go to Christ. And if you're here today and you're not a Christian or maybe you're just trying to understand what Christianity is about, I want to preface all this by saying it's about relationship. This is the gospel that we not only hurt, we broke our relationship with God when we sinned. We rejected Him, we rebelled against Him. And God did not keep it that way, He sent His son to save us for our sins, to redeem the transgressions that we have done. And He came near to us first, and just ask that we draw near to Him. Just says, "Just come to me." It's not that difficult, it's just, "Yeah, Jesus, I'm wrong. I have sinned. I'm going to You. I need You. I need Your forgiveness. I need Your grace. I need You." That's what Christianity is. And He promises to forgive us and not forsake us. But in this text, we learned two really important things that I want to highlight about forgiveness in general. The first thing is what I would call preemptive forgiveness. What do I mean by preemptive forgiveness? If you read the text, the brothers never confess, the brothers never repent. They never acknowledge their sin before Joseph, yet Joseph already forgave them. Joseph already forgave them. And this is how we, as Christians are called to forgive. Not just because Joseph did it, but that this is how Christ forgives us. Romans chapter 5 verse 8, "But God shows His love for us, that while we are still sinners, Christ died for us." God didn't say, "Get your life together, then I'll send Jesus and then he'll forgive you of your sins." No, he said, "You're in sin. You need a savior. I'm going and I'm doing." And so Christians, we need to forgive like that. Are there brothers or sisters in the church? Are there friends, family that you are holding unforgiveness against? It is your job, your responsibility, to forgive them. Why? Not because of anything they do, not because they repent and come to you and say how sorry they are, but because Christ forgave you and gave up His life for you, and we are called to give that grace to others. Now, to be clear, this does not excuse those who are in the wrong. When we sin, that doesn't mean we get to say, "Well, it's your job to forgive me." No, we still are called to repent. Scripture is clear that as soon as you recognize that you have sinned against a brother, you are going and repenting and reconciling with them. But here, we're talking about when you are the one who is wronged, it is your job to forgive. It is our job, when we are wronged, to forgive. Well, that's a lot easier said than done, right? When you get hurt, you don't want to forgive. And if they don't say they're sorry, you don't believe that they're sorry, and so why would you forgive them? Well, the second thing that we learn about forgiveness from this text is how we are able to forgive like that. And I call it heavenly perspective. We need to have heavenly perspective and able to forgive like Christ and forgive like Joseph. Three times in this text, Joseph says, "It's not you, it's God. Sure, you sold me and you were trying to do your purposes and gain from it, but God was the one who sent me here, and He brought it about for good." Now, that's hard in the moment, right? This verse comes at the end. Joseph isn't in prison, being like, "Oh, it's all good." I mean, maybe he was, we don't know. But it's hard. It's hard to do. It's difficult. But if we want to be able to forgive as we are called to, we need to recognize that God is in control, that God is sovereign over all things. He can do whatever he wishes and we hope and wait and trust in Him, that He will bring it about for good. That we can see maybe not all the ways that God is working in the situations, but that we can trust even where we don't see Him moving that He is moving. And that's the only way Joseph is able to forgive so quickly, his brothers. Then the story continues in verse 14 and verse 15, where it says, "Then he fell," Joseph fell, "Upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that, his brothers talked with him." Two really important things. One thing that I just love about this verse, it's a group of men being emotional. It's really refreshing, you don't get to see that very much. But that's here. All the brothers are hugging and kissing and making up and forgiving one another, it is emotional. But if you notice, this is the reason why the brothers accept that Joseph truly forgave them. When Joseph said, "Come near," they came near, but they were still scared. It wasn't until this that it says, "After that, his brothers talked with him." After this, they said, "Oh, okay, he really forgives us. He's not just messing with us. He's not just toying with us. He really forgives us. We can work on this relationship. We can talk with him. We can have a relationship again." And what this speaks to is a common saying and an idea that we all know, is that actions speak louder than words. Someone can say, "I forgive you." And then in the back of their mind, you know that they don't forgive you and you know that they're holding it against you and they're waiting for you to mess up so they can bring it up again. And it's not actually forgiveness. Actions prove that Joseph has forgiven his brothers, and in the same way, that's how God works with us. God doesn't just shout from heaven, "I forgive you. Now come into my presence and see if I actually forgive you." No, God says, "I am going to forgive you and how you'll know, I am sending my son, Jesus Christ, into the world, to die for your sins, to prove with action that I forgive you." And that should enable us to actually trust God forgives us. When we sin against God, we know that He forgives us not just from words, even though God gives them and they are true because He is the Lord and He is honest and true, but He proved it with action. He proved it with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And I think that this speaks to a lot of the ways that we have a warped view of our relationship with God. When we sin, maybe, again, for the first time you come to Christ, you are forgiven and you say, "Does he really forgive me?" I remember as a kid, about once a week, I would spend my nighttime prayers just praying for God to save me, because I didn't know if He actually saved me or not, or if my sins from the past week, nullified it. And Scripture tells no. When God saves you, He saves you. You are forgiven. He will not reject you. And so do we view God as that? Do we trust that He actually forgives us when we sin? Or are we worried in the back of our mind that He is holding it against us? He does not. I think that we often have a very weak view of forgiveness because we view it as a transaction, or we view it as a business deal, right? "I did wrong, I repented, now we're even." Or, "I did wrong, this person wronged me back, we're even, we're good." Or, "The number of sins that I did versus the number of times I repented and good things I did, we're in a good space." Forgiveness isn't a transaction. Forgiveness is about relationship. God is not keeping a ledger saying, "This is how many times you sinned. So this is how many times you need to repent. And if you don't do enough good things, then I'm not going to forgive you." No, it's a relationship. He's a loving father. Jesus is a loving friend and brother who wants to forgive us. He wants to. It's a relationship. Naturally, when you sin against someone you care about, it hurts the relationship, right? It takes work to restore and redeem that relationship. But being good and holy and gracious, God doesn't hold that against us and he does the work to redeem the relationship for us. He is the one who redeems and saves us. And the last thing on this point that I want to point out is I did not forget the emotionalness of the brothers. I think that's really important, because did you know that God has emotional responses to us too? Not in the same way that we have emotions. God is holy, He is perfect, He's not thrown about by whims, but He does have emotions. And two of my favorite verses in all of Scripture, Luke 15:7 says, "Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." All of heaven rejoices when we repent. Yes, this is true when for the first time you repent and say, "Jesus, I need you to save me from my sins," for the very first time, yes, all of heaven rejoices. But it's not because they're like, "All right, plus one to our totals, we got another one," No. It's because God genuinely cares and loves you and desires for a relationship with you. And it's a rejoicing because He says, "This relationship is restored. We're working on it. We have right relationship again." And it's the same for us as Christians. It's not just the first time we repent, it's every time. God rejoices when we repent of sin. It's not, "Oh, you're a Christian." We all know we're not perfect, we still sin. And then it's like, "Well, God doesn't care anymore. It's just all tallied up in that one party that..." No, God loves when we repent of our sin. Why? Because He's a good father. He loves repentance because it heals and it brings closer, the relationship we have with him. And this is why, all of this together compounded, is why the first point is called This is Grace that Guts Guilt. It's not just for alliterative purposes, even though anyone who stands up and preaches loves alliteration, it's actually very meaningful to me. So recently, I started enjoying fishing. I'm horrible at it, I'm not good, but I love it. And I specifically like fishing for striper. So if you know anything about fishing, they're a little bit harder to catch. Not very easy, but one of the tastiest fish you'll ever be able to taste if you like eating fish. But one of the things I had to learn when I was fishing is you can't just catch a fish out of the ocean and then throw it on a grill and eat it. There's this kind of gross, disgusting process that's called gutting a fish. It's actually very important for the sake of eating and enjoying the fish, so hold on with me for a second. The guts, the longer they sit within the fish, basically pump iron and other minerals into the meat of the fish, which is why it gets what a lot of people call that fishy taste that they don't like. It's the iron and the minerals that are being brought in. And so if you really want to enjoy the best, freshest fish, you got to remove the guts as soon as you possibly can. You remove it so that way none of the minerals get pumped into the meat and then you get to enjoy the beautiful reward of a delicious fish. Well, in this analogy here, our sin, our shame, our guilt, are the guts of the fish. They are things that the longer we let sit, the longer we let persist, will try and infect, I would say warp, our view of the reward. Well, what is the reward? It's not a tasty fish, it's relationship with God. So the longer our guilt, sin and shame sits within us, we persist in our sin, we refuse to come to Christ, the more it will warp the way we view our relationship with God. You say, "God, I know you say I should trust You, but I've been hurt so many times by sinful people in this world. I can't trust You." You say, "God, You love me and you'll forgive me no matter what, but I've experienced people who won't forgive me, so I can't trust You." These are all ways in which we can warp our view of our relationship with God. And so what is the solution? We need the exacting, sharp knife of grace to come in and remove the guts of our sin, guilt and shame from us, so that way we can enjoy the reward of right relationship with God. But the greatest news of it all is that God is not just a filet chef. When He removes it, He does not hurt the filet at all. He doesn't nick and chop up and make the meat... It's a beautiful, perfect filet, but He is also the all powerful mighty God of the universe. So wherever those minerals and that fishiness has come in and taken over the meat of the flesh, God is powerful enough to remove it and you would never even know it was there. This is the true reward, the reward of perfect, peaceful, blessed relationship with God, our Father, through the work of Jesus Christ. And if we want to get rid of that guilt and shame that prevents us from running to God, that prevents us from really experiencing true forgiveness, it takes grace. We need grace. Run to Him, accept the grace that He gives. Point number two is that this grace doesn't just remove the guilt, it also corrects. And I don't think we often think of correction as grace, but it is. And so we see this in verse 24 of our text where it says, "Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, 'Do not quarrel on the way.'" Joseph sees the brothers in he's like, "Oh, they're about to start fighting. I'm going to preemptively jump in and be like, 'Please don't fight.'" Well, how does he know that they're going to start fighting? Three chapters earlier, when the brothers did not realize it was Joseph, they thought it was an Egyptian man who did not speak Hebrew, Ruben says, in chapter 42, verse 22, "Ruben answered them, 'Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen to me. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.'" When one of their brothers is arrested, seemingly unrelated to the events of Joseph as far as they know, because again, they don't know it's Joseph, Ruben immediate is like, "This is all because you guys did this to Joseph. I told you not to do it, you did it." And if you're like me, you could hear the natural response if you've ever argued with siblings or friends, it's, "My fault? We wanted to kill him. If we killed him, this wouldn't be a problem. It was your idea to throw him in the pit." And then Ruben's like, "Well, it was my idea to throw him in the pit because I wanted to save him before you guys could do anything. But then you went and sold him into slavery." And you could see how it all unfolds. And Joseph sees it and he lovingly, gracefully, corrects them. Why is this correction grace? It's because it's about the relationship. Joseph is working on redeeming and restoring a 22-year broken relationship. He says, "You sinned against me. It is my job, I forgive you. So don't fight about it on the way. It's forgiven, it's done with. Let's work on building this loving relationship." And in the same way, God corrects us. It's with grace. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 11 says, "For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Yes, the discipline, the correction may seem painful rather than pleasant, but the point of is it's a yield peaceful fruit, so that there's no more hurt in the relationship. If you keep on sinning against someone, you're going to keep on hurting them and creating distance in the relationship. And so God corrects. He disciplines us so that way we can have a right and good relationship with him. Proverbs 3, verses 11 through 12 says, "My son do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father, the son in whom he delights." So when God disciplines us, it's not this judgmental God that I think we often get our warped view of relationship with God with. We think that God is this guy who just hates us and hates what we do and just says, "No, don't do that. Don't do that. Don't do that." No. God is a loving good father who, like a good father, disciplines because He loves and because He knows it's good for His son, for His children, for us whom He delights in. So, practical points real quick. There's been a lot of practical, but practical... Parents, do we correct our children with grace? Some parents might need to hear the first part. Do you correct? I'll pause there. A lot of times now it's a very popular idea to let the kids do whatever they want, they'll figure it out. But actually, Scripture tells us, if you love your kids, you will correct them. You will discipline them. Why? Because if anyone spent any time with kids, you know that there's only pure evil in the bottom of their heart. No, okay, they're not pure evil, but they're sinful. They are warped. And so they need guidance, they need correction. But do we do it with grace? It's not overbearing, demeaning, but can we do it with grace? This reminded me of something. In undergrad, I had a minor in criminal justice, but with behavioral analysis. This is why I work with teenagers, I study why criminals are the way they are. No, I'm just kidding. But, there's basically four different types of parenting that they all categorize in, and there's only one that they say is generally successful, and it's the one where they have guidance, they have rules, but they also are reasonable and they explain why and they tell the kids why, and they build a relationship with the kids so that when they discipline them, the kids are like, "Yeah, you're right. I deserve that." But anyway, that's kind of side point. So parents, do we correct but in a graceful way? Where you love them and where the kid knows that, "Yeah, my parents love me." Yes, this is hard, but you genuinely want to see them repent. I think a way that graceful parenting would look is that when a kid comes and confesses sin or repents of sin, you have grace, you rejoice over the fact that they have the ability to recognize sin in their lives and you are thankful for it. That doesn't mean no punishment at all. I remember my parents always said, "If you tell us ahead of time, the punishment will be much better than if we have to find out much later that you've been lying about it." And that's something that I think TV and media tell all the kids and all the kids know that, but it's a different thing when you actually experience it. It's a different thing when as a kid you go to your parents and you confess sin and your parents are like, "Thank you for telling me, I forgive you. You need to correct this, here's how we're going to correct it." And it's like, "Wait a second. That's it? You actually forgive me? There really is a lesser punishment for this?" That is grace. And then another thing that my parents did really well with me that I always appreciated was that they explained why they were disciplining me. As a kid, I was a liar. I lied all the time to the point that my parents sat me down one day and were like, "Tyler, we can never trust anything you say because you lie so much, you're going to have to build our trust back." I was like, "I didn't realize I could actually lose the trust of my parents." That was new. And they were like, "This is why it hurt me. Because you say this here, so how can we trust you over here? How does this relate to this? It hurts us when you lie to us." And it was like, "Wow. I never realized I had the power to hurt my parents. I guess I do need to work on some things." And that was really a pivotal moment that I remember in middle school when my parents sat me down, I was like, "Wow, this is going to change me. I got to work on it." And so parents, correct your children, but do it gracefully. Then on the flip side, children, do you recognize your parents' discipline and correction as grace? Kids here are all like, "Yeah, I got the parents. Now it's my time." Kids, when your parents correct you and discipline you, it's because they love you. It's because they care about you. It's because they want what's good for you. They are trying to prepare you for the life ahead and help you grow into the person that you were meant to be. So kids, recognize that grace your parents are having on you. That doesn't mean you're going to sit there when you're corrected and be like, "Thank you mom and dad, you did a great job correcting me." I understand emotions are hard, but recognize the reality that your parents do love you and have grace for you. But it's not just a grace that corrects in the sense of discipline, it's a grace that corrects in the sense of making wrongs right. This is, in our text in verses 27 and 28, where it says, "But when they told him all the words of Joseph telling Jacob their father, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, 'It is enough; Joseph, my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.'" Again, 22 years that Jacob has been dealing with the lie and belief that his son is dead. And clearly it made him depressed. Why? Because he needed his soul revived, meaning his soul was not revived for these 22 years. It's a long time, but even still, God works to restore and redeem the wrong that had been done to Jacob in this lie, and revive his soul, bring him hope. When I see this, I think of Psalm 130, verse 5 through 8, it says, "I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word, I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchman for the morning, and more than watchman for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities." God wants to redeem and reconcile all the wrongs that have been done in this world, to reconcile all the hurt, pain, sin, guilt, shame in this world. And what is our response as we wait for that to happen? It's to wait on the Lord. I love it, as a watchman of the morning, as a watchman for the morning. Think about it, if you don't have a clock, if you don't have a watch, you have no way to tell time besides the sun. It's night, so the sun's gone, you're like, "Okay, I got to watch for morning. I have no idea when it's going to be." And you know how sometimes a minute feels like an hour and sometimes an hour feels like a minute. So you really have no idea what time it is. All that they know, the sun's going to come up. It will be morning. In the same way we are called to wait for the coming of the redemption and reconciliation that God himself can bring, we have to know with certainty that it will come. Sometimes it might take longer than we think, or it might feel a lot longer than we would like, but we know that it is coming. Why? Verse 7, "Hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and plentiful redemption." I love that, "Plentiful redemption." This is what God wants to do. He wants to lavish the world with redemption. We see it happen for Jacob here in his life. Sometimes that total complete redemption only comes in the perfection of eternity with God, but God's desire is to lavish redemption on all. The last verse I'll talk about as we close is verse 22. Actually jumping back a little bit, this is my favorite verse In this section of text. In verse 22 it says, "To each and all of them, he, Joseph, gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes." I love this verse because it shows that grace doesn't only correct in making wrongs right, grace over corrects, it makes the wrong even more right than we could ever imagine. What is going on here? Remembering last chapter, Benjamin is the one who stands guilty before Joseph. He is the one who needed an intercessor, someone to stand in his place and say, "Forgive him." And yet he here is the one who receives the greatest reward. Friends, dear Christians, this is us with the gospel. We deserve nothing. We do not deserve this grace that God has given us. We rightfully deserve his wrath and punishment, but because of the one Jesus Christ who stood in our place, the reward that rightfully should have been bestowed upon him is given to us, more than we could ever hope for or ask or even imagined. We are given the greatness of God's grace, His love, and a pure right relationship with him. This is the kind of grace that leads to rejoicing. So as I close in, will you pray with me over our further time of worship and rejoice in the Lord's grace for us? Heavenly Father, Lord, You are good. You have bestowed more grace upon us than we ever deserve or could imagine. Help us not to cower from You because of sin, shame, or guilt. Remind us of Your steadfast love, of Your plentiful redemption, of Your relationship with us, and that You gave up everything to have relationship with us. Help us to run to You when we are stuck in sin. Help us to run to You when we feel the weight of guilt and shame. Help us to run to You when we want to rejoice and praise You for all that You have blessed us with. And help us to learn to forgive like You have forgiven us, to truly love and have grace for those around us. We thank You and we praise You. In Jesus' name. Amen.
The Pattern of Salvation
July 9, 2023 • Andy Hoot • Genesis 44
This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston or donate to this ministry, please visit http://mosaicboston.com Heavenly Father, we praise you that you do not leave us in despair, carrying the guilt and shame of our sin by ourselves. Lord, you are a father standing at the entrance of this household with his arms open wide, hoping for us to turn back to you from our folly. And Lord, we are children prone to wander. We're children prone to blatantly rebel against you, but further we are children who would prefer to do anything they can but admit our need to come back to you. Holy Spirit, we pray, show us today where we need to humbly submit our lives to you. Show us Lord, where we need mercy. Reveal to us our tendency to conjure up our own righteousness at the cost of receiving that which you offer in Jesus Christ. Bless the preaching of your word. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. We've been taking a look at the brothers of Joseph very closely the past few weeks. The sermon series began when we learned in chapter 37 that 10 of the brothers minus little brother Benjamin, sold innocent and unsuspecting Joseph into slavery. What we've covered in thorough detail over the past few weeks is that while nobody else in the world knew about this sin of selling Joseph, God knew and he was dealing with these brothers and he's dealing very directly with them to try to expose their sin and invite them back into loving relationship with him, to bring healing to their hearts and lives. How has God been dealing with them? We talked about in the previous chapters. He's used famine, unjust imprisonment, undesired circumstances, and a whole lot of tender love and kindness and affection. He's used tensions with an Egyptian ruler who the brothers don't know to actually be Joseph, the one who they sold into slavery. He's used these tensions while Joseph has hit his identity to try to get the brothers to direct their attention to him. We talked about how the exposure of the brothers to these tensions, those in the natural world and those in engagements with the Egyptian ruler as actually acts of mercy by God some severe, some tender, that the Lord is using to try to awaken their consciences to get them to see their need for him. We've mentioned that the text has given us glimpses that the hearts of the brothers were softening and they're beginning to see that God has not left them abandoned to the guilt and shame of their sin. We see their heart soften, but they have not blatantly confessed and acknowledged their sin to their father, to God at all. And so every time their conscience starts talking, they find a distraction, they push it away. They suppress the truth that they need to deal with this, that they're guilt ridden because of it. But today's chapter, it actually begins in a narrative where the brothers still with their sin unaddressed, sin against Joseph unaddressed. They actually are in a position where they're at a high. Of all the moments in the last 22 years, they have an opportunity to congratulate themselves, pat themselves on the back for passing the character tests of the Egyptian ruler. But what we see is that while they're at a high, God strikes them with an unforeseen blow, demolishing all self-confidence and ability to avoid their guilt. Out of this death blow to their self-confidence, God saved these men and they're finally spiritually reborn. And so to elaborate on what transpires in Genesis 44, I want to break down my sermon into two sections. The pattern of salvation and the pattern of transformation. The pattern of salvation and I give this section this title because in these verses we see the pattern that God uses to actually save people, to bring them into true, saving, eternal, peaceful relationship with him. This is the pattern that we see all throughout scripture. And to understand how God, what this pattern is, we need to first understand and remind ourselves of the mindset of the brothers entering this morning that Genesis 44 starts on. So remember last week we talked about how the brothers were really apprehensive about going back to Egypt for the ruler who received them and gave them the grain the first time, really put them to the test upon their visit. First the ruler questioned their word. When they told him they were simply there to buy grain, he didn't believe them, then he didn't believe their story after further questioning that they were all brothers of the same father and that they had one brother who was lost and the youngest brother was still at home with their father. Second, the ruler questioned their integrity altogether. He calls their whole appearance affront. He accuses them of being spies of a foreign land there to scope it out for a ruler, for an attack. He goes on to press the brothers to vindicate their story. He demands proof. And Genesis 42:19, the ruler says to the brothers, "If you're honest, men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households and bring your youngest brother to me." So the men are forced to leave one brother, Simeon, travel back to their father with the grain and what do they do? They put off the return trip as long as possible. They go through to the grain to the point that they're desperate and they have no other choice but to beg their father to let them take his cherish son Benjamin back to Egypt with him. And third, the brothers would've been apprehensive about returning to Egypt, not just for the treatment they received by the ruler, but because upon returning from Egypt, they realized that they didn't leave any of their money for the grain back in Egypt. It was in their money sacks. And so they realize that if they go back to Egypt, they have to get right before the ruler regarding this money situation. And finally, the brothers would've been apprehensive about returning to Egypt because it was Egypt going there. The ruler actually before they returned, forced them to stay in prison for three days. And that sparked for a moment a thought that maybe God is doing this to them for the sin committed against Joseph. They leave it as a question, but that's short-lived and they don't want... when they get home they forget that thought, they don't want to go back to Egypt and trigger that memory again. So that's the context that we start with last chapter. And so what happened on the first day that these fear ridden, guilt ridden, anxious, and insecure men return to Egypt. They bring Benjamin, the youngest brother, they bring double the money and what do they find? All their fears and worries were unnecessary. Last chapter we saw, in chapter 43, that their word was accepted. The ruler accepted them as honest men. He doesn't question their story for why they returned. He doesn't question their update about their father, the identity of Benjamin. This would've been a sense given them a feeling of vindication. They start to feel good about themselves. Imagine engaging with a foreign diplomat worth billions and having him receive you in such a manner and especially in a culture, an honor culture where commitment to your word is a high cultural value like these men. Handshakes, deals are made by handshakes in this culture and word. We saw that their offered money was accepted. After returning with the money they bring double the money along with some many local delicacies from their homeland and the ruler receives them. He lets them buy grain again. And you can imagine they're extra careful on this trip to make sure that the money was transferred to the Egyptian ruler from their money sacks to his money sacks. And you can almost hear them boisterously and smugly counting the money out loud, 1001, 1002, 1003 just to make sure and show the ruler his servants that they were there, they were good for their money. So there's this buildup of they're starting to feel good about their self. And so chapter 44 begins when they're departing Egypt and they're taking great confidence overall in their integrity. That which was questioned is shown to be good in this trip but the steward of Joseph follows them once they hit the road. He shows up shortly after their departure and he accuses them of having his stolen master's silver drinking cup. And these brothers feeling good about themselves, showing that their character checked out on the last day are just astonished at this accusation. He says in verse four, the steward says, "Why have you repaid evil for good by stealing my master's cup? They say, why does my Lord speech such words as these far be it from your servants to do such a thing? Behold the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your Lord's house?" So self-confident that everything just checked out the day before with the ruler so they go even further to say this is completely unnecessary. It's a bold and rash statement in verse nine. "Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord's servants." After what happened on the first trip where they unknowingly returned with the money, isn't it astonishing that they offered death and enslavement if any one of them is found with the silver cup? After they sold their brother into slavery for a pass, isn't it ridiculous that they present their character in this moment after one day of showing themselves to be good? It's kind of ridiculous to the point of... it's like my son's engagement with my daughter. My daughter's birthday was last week. She got a new toy, whenever we'd walk away. She's playing with it. He would go over and just take it from her and steal it, take the prize possession and he probably took it from about five times but the one time he consciously opted to not do what he intended to do, he came over to me and told me how proud of him I should be, "Daddy, I didn't take her toy." And so there's this self-confidence that can well up in a child very quickly. And of course I say, "Praise God, good, but let's see it over and over again," to my son. But that's how these guys are. The brother's lofty view of themselves is more apparent in that they don't think anything about how the steward checks the money in verse 12, remember the night before they're seated from oldest to youngest, perfectly, properly arranged by a foreign ruler who doesn't know them. That mathematically the chances of that happening are almost impossible. And here it happens again, the steward shows up, tells him of the cup and checks their bags one by one from oldest to youngest. And these guys in their self-confidence, they're blind to God's involvement in the situation. Last night, he lined you up seemingly randomly from oldest to youngest. Again, he does it and they're not thinking, they're not seeing God's hand. God's direct intervention in this moment. So the brothers stand there boldly and confidently with chest up as a steward looks for the cup in the money bags of Reuben, of Simeon, of Levi, of Judah, of Dan, of Naphtali, of Gad, of Asher, of Issachar, of Zebulun without the cup appearing. And then the ruler gets to Benjamin, if they had any slight worry that any one of their brothers took the cup, they wouldn't have suspected Benjamin, little Benjamin as a suspect. But the steward gets to Benjamin, searches the money sack and slowly lifts the cup, the ruler's special silver cup. And so despite the brothers' insistence, despite their projected ridiculous sense of self-confidence considering the history, the ruler's cup is found among them. How did this happen? How did the cup get there? You can imagine these questions quickly rising in the heads of the brothers. But these questions only last for a moment for finally, finally, finally, the brothers see what is going on. In an instant, they all start to see that the situation of the discovered cup, of the ruler and whatever treatment is to come is of a little importance. Finally, they see. So what is happening? Forget the cup. God is showing them that he's dealing with a much more grievous sin. The brothers immediately tear their clothes and guilt and sorrow, return as a group to Egypt with Benjamin. And what does Judah say before the Egyptian ruler? Verse 16 and Judah said, "What shall we say, my Lord? What shall we speak? What shall we say? What shall we speak?" He's saying there is nothing to say, nothing to speak. Our word. Our integrity has been shown to be worthless. We have nothing to stand on before you right now. Then he says something really interesting, "What shall we say? What shall we speak or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord's servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found." Judah professes that God has found out the guilt of his servants, but it's in a confusing way. How can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants. The NIV Bible translation says, how can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servant's guilt. So how can innocence and guilt be proclaimed right next to each other? The answer is that both statements are true. Judah and his brothers are innocent regarding the ruler's cup, but before God, they were guilty of the grievous sin that they tried to push down for the last 22 years, the horrible sin of selling their brother Joseph into slavery. Finally, they see that. They see very clearly that the Lord was bringing the sin of the past to light through the situation with the cup. Beyond that, what is happening right now? The brothers are being saved. Judah and his brothers are all being spiritually reborn. They are actually experiencing godly grief for their sin and they're inflated sense of self-righteousness and they see their need to be given mercy. The Lord, through this story, he's showing us the pattern of salvation, how he saves his true children. God shows us that only he can bring life to the dead consciences of sinners and he does so by chipping away at their own sense of self-worth. He reveals the folly of attempting to build up a righteousness on our own in order to try to come to terms with the guilt and shame that marks our soul for our sin. Even Judah and his brothers, the crudest of men, the most rebellious of sinners, had a tendency to want to convince themselves that they're not as bad as they think. God is showing the folly of doing so. What did these guys want? They wanted to have their day. They knew they were bad dudes, but their hope was in having days like this where everything checked out. Their word, their honor, their integrity, their money. And how many of you are just waiting for that day? That day when your spouse admits to you yeah, you're right all the time. You were right on this one. That day that your children say, "Yes dad, thank you for this wisdom. I'm going to do what you ask right away." That day your boss says, "Thank you. You are so good. We couldn't do this without you." Anything that we place our hope in like this, it doesn't really matter before God. But functionally, a lot of us practice such idolatry of placing our hope in these moments, trying to build a sense of righteousness around these moments. And God has shown us that before him those best moments don't matter. What matters are what we do in the worst moments when our guilt and sin is revealed, how do we turn to him or reject him? The pattern of salvation is a process by which God mercifully brings abou our own humiliation. He takes away all reasons for us to boast before him and he leaves us vulnerable to his mercy alone for salvation and restoration. So if you personally want to be right before God, you have to let God work on you, deal with you, humble you. A lot of people frame it as break you as he has with Judah and his brothers. I know that many of you have had this experience. When we practice membership, when we people become members, they give a sense of life before Christ, life after Christ. And the story that comes up over and over again is I tried to build my identity around this. I tried to build a sense of righteousness by this, by religion, by following society's rules, by conjuring up an identity that would draw me acceptance from God or people and I was backed into a corner, through a trial, through a conflict, through a layoff, through an illness, and I was left to cry out to God that I have nothing. I had to call upon him for mercy and that's the pattern of salvation. If it were not for God's merciful and persistent probing to keep our consciences alive and chip away at that which makes us proud, we'd all be like the brothers in the story before this moment. We'd be self-deceived, we'd be wrongly settled and content in our short-lived moments of doing right. Fools self-confidence that spells of good behavior, right adherence of God's law can make us right before him, dull to the ways that God is whispering to us and shouting to us that he is calling us back to him, offering us a righteousness from Christ full of fear or full of fear and insecurity that God and others will find us out. And so this like us, we are like the brothers. Aren't the brothers at the start of the chapter men of their word? So are we, we tend to say, we tell the truth, we don't lie. We're good for our word and have a sound profession of faith. If you want to know something about me, ask me. At the start of the chapter, chapter, aren't their brothers good for their money? So are we. We won't be beggars in this life and the life to come. We bring our money to the table as is expected. We go to church, we give to the church, we pay our taxes to Caesar and even go beyond that which is necessary to give to the church and nonprofits. We work hard for our money and our status. At the start of the chapter aren't the brothers confident in their integrity? We're not hiding anything from ourselves, God or other people. We're not like spies with rebellious or vindictive motives against God and his authority. We're upstanding citizens of our church and land. We have no reason to not claim innocence or righteousness before the law. We tend to think functionally day to day, even when we're united to Christ that we need to build a righteousness of our own. Do you claim innocence like the brothers? Remember their sense of confidence, their sense of righteousness in all these areas came at the cost of being honest to themselves about the sin that plagued their heart. It led them to justify the act of selling off their brother into slavery and convincing their father he was dead for a couple of decades, that's how self-deceived they were. Or maybe you're not claiming innocence but to be mostly innocent and I think this is most people. You admit that sometimes you do wrong, but that you're still good. Yes, you sin, but you're not doing as much bad as the person sitting next to you in the pew. Your neighbor, your spouse, your colleagues, your classmates, all the people out there. Such a mindset is filled with pride. It's sin before God. It's just as heinous in the sight of God as any rebellious sin. It's full of self-denial and one self-denial that one has sinned. It's full of self idolatry, placing yourself in the position of God, of claiming you know yourself better than God and others better than God himself. This text clearly shows that God destroys the self-confidence of the 10 brothers but I really want to focus the detail of in verse 16, he doesn't leave Benjamin out. God has found out the guilt of your servants. Behold, we are my lord's servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found. He also in whose hand the cup has been found that makes it clear God is dealing with Benjamin in addition to the 10. Benjamin wasn't a part of the selling of Joseph, the abandoning of Joseph, but there apparently was self-confidence that he was bringing to the table, that God had to deal with right now as he dealt with it with his brothers. The lesson to takeaway is that even the people, the most innocent in the eyes of the world need to be purged of self-confidence. This is Boston, some of the nicest non-believing people in the world. A believer can really come into conflict here with the tension of sometimes I think my non-believing friends are much better people than me, but God, even those people need to have their pride dealt with. So what is the pattern of salvation? God like the Egyptian ruler seeks out and destroys the temptation to come to him with any self-confidence, any self-righteousness and receives us and builds us up anew in his mercy. Taken further, there's no true Christianity that separates itself from confessing that all people are individually guilty of sin against God and our brother Jesus Christ. God has created us and Jesus is our Lord, but we have rejected their claims on our lives and have gone about life boasting in our own self-confidence, our own self-righteousness. So the pattern of salvation, the crushing of our self-confidence and turning to receive mercy. Now after God has dealt with the brothers self-confidence and they actually get saved, what happens? The brothers are transformed, they're changed. This is too the pattern of transformation. What always happens when someone gets saved? Two things always happen. Their relationship with God has changed. Their relationships with other people change. When one is saved by God, they get peace with God on the vertical level. What is salvation? It is God saying, I know everything about you, the good, the bad, and the ugly and I am choosing to love you. I am choosing to bestow upon you a righteousness that is not your own, a righteousness of Jesus Christ. I am not loving you because of anything you've done to earn it. You haven't done it. In fact, you've sinned but I'm blessing you with righteousness and it's a love that is freeing. He loves us because he loves us, because he loves us. And that experience of that love brings true peace, true joy, and it enables us to then engage the horizontal relationships that we have on Earth with security, with stability, with peace. So first we see the brother's relationship with God has changed. In Genesis 42, during the first trip they acknowledge that God is doing something. They say, "What is this that God has done to us?" But notice this acknowledgement is framed as a question. And the text between this statement and now shows that it was only a short-lived question as I said earlier, from when they got relief from the pressure of their circumstances, they didn't ask the question anymore. But here they proclaim a fact in verse 16, "God has found out the guilt of your servants." It's a fact that God is dealing with them and their sin. They can escape it and they accept it. Until this moment, the brothers couldn't see they were all what we call unregenerate, dead to the movement of the spirit of God in their lives because of their sin. They couldn't see God working on them when he dished out severe mercy in previous chapters through the famine, through prior dealings with the ruler, through hard circumstances, they couldn't see God working on them when he dished out tender mercy to them through the ruler's kind treatment, through his kind greeting, his forgiveness of the mix-up with the money, his generous meal to them where they were seated in perfect order. But now that God has stripped them of their self-importance, their sense of self-righteousness, their integrity through this cup situation with the ruler, they're broken. They can see God's hand at work in their lives. They acknowledge their neglect of him as Lord and they accept that their future is contingent upon reception of his mercy. So we see transformation in their relationship with God. And second, we see evidence of the transformation of the brother's relationships, with Benjamin Joseph's younger brother as well as their father. This is what the whole second half of the chapter Judah's long speech shows us. This is what the Egyptian ruler who we all know to be Joseph, the brother sold into slavery, was waiting to see in his treatment of the brothers during this process of the visit of the last two years, Joseph knows God gave him multiple dreams saying that there's going to be a seven-year-long famine and he knows that upon their arrival, the first time he knows that he has time to deal with them, to test them. Are these guys repentant? Are they changed? And so the whole chapter, the situation with the planted cup at the beginning, the conversation with the ruler back in Egypt, it's none other than a reconstruction of selling Joseph into slavery again, contrived by God through Joseph. So what the Egyptian ruler is curious to see is how the brothers would treat Benjamin. The scene is reconstructed such that now that Benjamin is found with the Egyptians cup and his life is on the line, Joseph is wondering how the brothers will take advantage of the chance to leave him as a slave or not. They could leave him now just like they left Joseph and they would get off free. They would be able to make up another story about their father and even more honestly say we were forced into this situation where we had to sell our brother as a slave or they could take another path and act differently than before. And praise God what we see is that the brothers choose the latter. The text doesn't give any evidence that the brothers consider abandoning Benjamin as they did Joseph. This is shown in that they all went back together when the cup is found, even though in verse 9 the steward says, "Only the man in whose sack the cup is found would have to return as a slave," they all go back. And when nobody protests, when Judah offers that, they all become the Lord's servants, the ruler servants in verse 16 because of the found cup. Furthermore, Joseph even tests them by saying in verse 17, "Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant but as for you, go up in peace to your father." But Judah and the rest of the brothers do not accept these terms going back with fake peace to their father, going back with fake peace on their consciences at the cost of Benjamin's freedom will no longer suffice. All of the brothers show the resolve to stand before the Egyptian ruler until another option is identified, until Benjamin is released. So these are changed men, changed before God, changed in their relationships by the mercy of God. Most astonishing is Judah's engagement in verses 18 to 34, he provides one of the most stirring speeches in all of scripture. In the speech, Judah who was the one who facilitated the deal to sell Joseph for 20 pieces of silver 22 years ago, offers himself as a substitute in Benjamin's place. Furthermore, the primary thrust of what he has to say is that if the ruler keeps Benjamin, it'll be the cause of his father's death. To return to his father, to see him die in grief at the loss of Benjamin would be far worse for him than to become a slave in place of Benjamin. Judah shows that he has changed. The brother's support of him in the moment, show that they've changed, they show a great love and regard for their father and he's mentioned 14 times in the speech and Benjamin, the kind of love and regard that was not shown to the father and Benjamin when they sold Joseph into slavery. And so I say all of this again to show that a tremendous transformation happens when people are saved. Tremendous transformation in one's relationship with God and tremendous transformation in relationships between man and man. And that's really how our text ends today. And you probably all know the start of next chapter, there's a question of, well, did the Egyptian ruler receive them? I'm going to force you to read your Bible this week or wait until the sermon next week, but I really want to spend some time closing out the sermon, getting really practical. This has been a lot of... done a lot of teaching, really long chapters. I know some of you're sitting there and you didn't realize that you signed up to go to a sauna this morning, but I want to spend some time engaging some of the takeaways that we should be refinding as we engage on this story of the brothers and their salvation and their transformation. And this is just a rich piece of scripture. I named my son, Andrew Joseph. Joseph, man the Lord adds to because I just love the goal that's in this story. So first practical lesson, God is going to find us out. This passage teaches us that whatever we do to try to alleviate our conscience in life, God is going to find us out. We can run but we can't hide. As he did with the brothers, he's going to search us and probe us in this life in order to get us to truly acknowledge our sin before him and cry out for deliverance that only he can offer. That's his treatment of every true child of his. Second. We need to learn to listen when we feel like God is being silent. Remember that in the past couple of chapters in Genesis, God was trying to speak to the hearts of the brothers through quieter, less dangerous means. Through earthly calamity, challenging the famine, challenging relationships with people, hard undesirable circumstances and trials, but the brothers didn't listen. He had to use the ruler to bring them to a situation where slavery or death were the only options to get them or their father's death at the selling of Benjamin to hear them. So many people think that God only talks to us in the extreme highs and lows. We are in the cacophony of busy church life, evangelistic meetings, Christian conferences, but as I established really thoroughly last week, we can see that God is often speaking very blatantly to us in the day-to-day life, through providence if we have the eyes and ears to see it and notice when we don't hear him speak in what seems to be silence, he often takes drastic means to get us to hear like he did with the brothers and the situation with the cup. So we can choose the easy way or the hard way. We can take him at his word, receive him as Lord and Savior or we can have him force us to that point. Third, prideful sin is just as dangerous and blinding as blatantly rebellious sin, seeking peace of conscience in doing right while leaving sin unaddressed will only breed greater pride within us making it harder to see our realization of our need to seek peace in God's mercy. Sin all throughout scripture, what's its effect? It's blinding. Rebellious sin, prideful sin, the same. We when we are not turning to the Lord, confessing it and calling out for mercy that blindness can grow and grow and grow to the point that we're lost all together. But we need to see both prideful sin, rebellious sin, make it hard for us to see our need for God. Fourth, God changes people. In Genesis 38, Judah was a man willing to sell his brother into slavery, an adulterer, a hypocrite, a liar, and now he's a man willing to take the position of his brother as a slave. What does God do? He changes people. He finds us out, but he doesn't leave us in our despair and folly. He takes difficult people, makes them new. Scripture talks of the apostle Paul, a proud religious Jewish scholar who stood over the murders of early Christians, who persecuted the church and his incredible instantaneous conversion and ministry thereafter, he's the second most influential Christian in history after Jesus Christ. Paul himself talks in first Corinthians six about how people consumed by self, enslaved to pride and sin come into the family of God, of adulterous, drunkards, fornicators Paul says, "And such were some of you. You were cleansed. You were transformed by the blood of Christ." Praise God that our church has some Judas, some Reuben, some Levis, some Benjamins. Church history talks about the famous songwriter John Newton, the writer of amazing grace. He was a former slave trader who was transformed by Jesus. What amazing transformations we get to see God do in the hearts of people and what hope for us individually when we're honest with ourselves, we see our sin and see our hopelessness apart from the mercy of God. So maybe you're ridden with guilt. Maybe you've been trying to change in your own power, but not getting anywhere. If you humbly confess your sin, cry out for mercy and forgiveness. Scripture says over and over again, he will forgive you. He will change you. Fifth application, you need to repent of your sin. That's the word, repentance, that's the word from scripture that describes what's happening in the lives of the brothers in this chapter. It's a complete change of heart and attitude toward God, initiated by the Holy Spirit. As your conscience awakens to your sin, you turn from rebelling against God's lordship of your life and building your own kingdom and turn to Jesus as your savior to receive mercy. No amount of self-loathing will save you. No amount of penitent, self lashing will save you. Doing works, building self-confidence, religion will save you. Only believing in him, in Christ and repenting of your sin will save you. Romans 2 says, "God's kindness, his forbearance and patience, his mercy to you and your sin is meant to lead you to repentance." If you come to church, you engage the word of God, you engage our preaching and our teaching, our community here, and you are never brought to confront your sin and seek to turn from it and turn to the Lord, you're probably not saved. You need to repent and place your faith in Jesus and note that repentance, it just goes beyond a feeling. A lot of people get this wrong. The brothers in the story experienced some guilty feelings at times throughout the narrative, but they left it there. They felt some guilt. They felt sorrowful. They're the kind of guys that said, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. They tried their best to shake it and leave it unaddressed, this isn't repentance. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says, "For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." Feeling guilty, feeling sorrowful, just meditating upon that over and over again does not save you. You have to do something about the guilt. You have to turn to God to confess and see that only he can address it and relieve you of it. Christ exclusively bore the burden for your sin on the cross. Salvation, forgiveness is only in him. Repentance, it needs to go beyond the feeling. The experience of repentance is yes, there is a moment of grief, but very quickly in that conviction, you should be inclined to turn to Christ and receive the grace that God offers. If you're stuck in guilt, you're not receiving that grace. Further, true repentance will lead to a transformation, a lasting change of behavior. A truly repentant Christian will not be able to carry on for two decades in sin and folly like the brothers. These guys were not saved. There's no way they could live with themselves for 20 years as they did if they were true believers. Matthew 3:8 eight says, "Bear fruit and keeping with repentance." You're given a new nature in Christ upon your salvation and when you're truly repentant, you can't bear to live under the dominion of sin anymore. Though you know how hard it was for God to search you and pursue you before you're saved, you take a new attitude as a true repentant believer. It's an attitude of Let me have it, God please continue to search me. Root out anything within me that is not Christ-like. Psalm 139, 23 to 24, "Search me, oh God and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts and see if there'd be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting." You want God to keep squeezing out any remnants of sin, the old man and your being, habits, patterns of thinking that lead to ungodliness and sin. And furthermore, you crave that other people, believers speak into your heart to bring help, bring about that greater refinement of your character. I had to sister speak some truth to me this week in the conversation in the moment. I wanted her to acknowledge all of the good things that I've been doing in this season but she very pointedly brought up some patterns that she'd seen in me that were not God-honoring, that were sinful. And how did it feel in the moment? Of course, it bit, it stung. It burned a little. I wanted to defend myself, but I'm thankful she did it. She loved me so much and had such concern for me and she wanted me to better honor God with my life. And because she spoke up, I can do so as a husband, as a father, as a Christian, as a pastor. So we need to repent, truly turn from our sin and turn to God, receive the righteousness that he offers us and the power of the spirit to walk anew. Sixth, we need to receive forgiveness from God. And this is part of repentance, turning from sin, turning to God. First John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Hebrews 4:16 instructs us to with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and fine grace to help in time of need. The way forward, when our conscience is awakened, when we're ridden with guilt, when it's just suffocating us because of our sin, it's actually really easy. It's offensively easy. A lot of people look at Christianity and say, it's too easy to receive forgiveness. How could a God function like that? But we turn and in faith, we confess our sin and we ask God to forgive us and he forgives us. We have to truly believe that this happens. We don't have to self loath anymore. We don't have to carry the guilt from the past. When we believe an exchange happens, our guilt, when we acknowledge our need for forgiveness of our sin, when we acknowledge it as rebellion against God, whether it's prideful sin, rebellious sin, we look to Jesus. When we look to Jesus, our sin is applied to him on the cross where he bore the full wrath for it and his righteousness is applied to our account and we need to see that we are made new in the moment. Nothing is better for a weary, tired soul just trying to conjure up its own righteousness, to hide from their guilt than to receive the righteousness of Christ. And the greatest part is you don't have to change first to receive it. It's receiving the grace of God, the righteousness of Christ that changes you and helps you to persevere going forward, to lead a life that is honoring to God. Seventh, we need to seek forgiveness from others. The reconciliation that needed to take place in the story not just between the brothers and God, but between the brothers and Joseph and Benjamin and between the brothers and their father. So much strife, so much trouble, so much guilt could have been avoided if forgiveness was pursued on all sides and much more quickly. When forgiveness is accomplished between the brothers, that's when this family of God, this chosen family of God, blessed with all the promises of Abraham, Isaac, and their father Jacob are positioned to stick together and work together to become a nation that shows the righteousness of God to the world. When forgiveness is extended in the family, in the church, that's when the people of God can work toward spreading the rule and reign of Jesus without getting paralyzed because there's bitterness and pain lingering in the body. Ask yourself, is the Lord calling you to go to someone? To acknowledge your wrongs, to seek forgiveness in order to bring reconciliation? Are there any situations in your life? Matthew opens up in his gospel. He says, "It's so important to be reconciled to your brothers and sisters in Christ that you should even leave worship and not partake in the Lord's supper before you partake in them." You need to get right with your brothers and sisters before you worship God. That's how important it is to pursue reconciliation, pursue forgiveness, pursue peace according to the word of God in a timely quick manner. Eighth, we need to love others sacrificially and this is where I'll end. We need to love others sacrificially, that's what drew to models in this chapter. He offers to give up himself for his brother. As we follow Christ, great commandments to love God and neighbor we need to love in the way that God loves us, which is to love regardless of the worthiness of our brothers and sisters and neighbors. For all we know, Benjamin wasn't worthy of such sacrifice. Judah wasn't nearly loved as much by his father as Benjamin, but Judah chose to love Benjamin anyway and all himself in his place. A person who knows their unworthiness before God and contemplate that Christ laid down his life for them, despite full knowledge of their sin, whether it's prideful or rebellious, is going to live in a manner that is much more loving, generous, and kind even toward those who are difficult to love. With spouses, children, family members, church members, roommates, neighbors. It's not a true act of love until it's difficult. We need to love when it's hard. We can do so because Christ did for us. And when we realize how hard it is in the moment, our appreciation of the love of Christ grows all the more. Our appreciation of the love of the Father who sent him grows all the more. Just close with this classic verse, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." Believe this message, God love you so much. He has full knowledge of your sin, that he is offering mercy and grace. Admit your need for it. It will change you. You will experience forgiveness. You will experience transformation in your life. You will experience transformation in your relationships. You will truly love God. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, your word which convicts us to not seek to build our own identity before you, but to rest and receive in that which you offer to us. We praise you, Lord, for your transforming mercy and grace. We thank you that when we cry out for it, when we acknowledge our need for it, we experience great relief of the guilt due for our sins, the shame in which we walk, and we have full knowledge that you will love us until the end. Lord, we pray right now. We pray for healing in our relationship with you. If anyone right now is resisting your call on their life, Lord, bring them to full submission to your lordship. Give them a heart to receive Christ as their savior. Break them but be gentle. And Lord, we just pray for restoration, for reconciliation in relationships, for in the folly of our sin, our rebellion, our pride, we've often acted wickedly. Lord, we pray. Let us have peace here as we experience peace in our hearts from your love. Give us peace with brothers and sisters in the church, that we might be a body that works more in sync for your glory. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
The Mercy of God
July 2, 2023 • Genesis 43
This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston, or donate to this ministry, please visit http://mosaicboston.com Today, we are continuing in our series, Graduate Level Grace, and we are walking through chapter by chapter through Genesis 37-50. Today, we're in Genesis 43, and we are studying the life of Joseph. The constant theme that keeps coming up is that salvation is by grace. It's not something that we earn. It's not a process that we initiate by our good works, our own efforts to conjure up righteousness before God. It's something that God initiates, that God blesses us with. He bestows us with His grace to get us into right relationship with him. As we go forward in the Christian life, he continues to give us more and more of it to carry out his work faithfully. Today, we're going to keep in touch into the theme of grace again, and talk further how Joseph points us to Christ in his engagement with his brothers. Again, these are long chapters. I'm going to read Genesis 43, the whole chapter. It's verses one through 34. Pastor Jan has not been reading at the beginning and doing more longer quotations, walking through the text. I'm going to read it now, and just go in and out of the text quickly throughout the sermon. So if you do have a Bible, open up to Genesis 43:1-34 and follow along, and we'll have it on the screen as well. Furthermore, we are going to partake in communion today. This is something that we, as a church, practice the first Sunday of every month. I'll preach the word, we'll respond, and then we will partake in communion and I'll explain the steps along the way once we get there. I'm going to read Genesis 43 verses 1-34, and the sermons is about the mercy of God. Genesis 43:1-34. Now, the famine was severe in the land and when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go again, buy us a little food." But Judah said to him, "The man solemnly warned us, saying, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you. 'If you'll send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. But if you'll not send him, we'll not go down, for the man said to us, 'You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.'" Israel said, "Why did you treat me so badly as to tell that man that you had another brother?" They replied, "The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' What we told him was an answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?" And Judah said to Israel his father "Send the boy with me, and we'll rise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I will be a pledge of his safety. For my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice." Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. Take back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it wasn't oversight. Take also your brother and arise, go again to the man. May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Bring the men into the house and slaughter an animal and make ready for the men, for the men are to dine with me at noon." The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph's house. And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house, and they said, "It is because of the money which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we were brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys." So they went up to the steward of Joseph's house and spoke with him at the door of the house, and said, "Oh, my Lord, we came down the first time to buy food. And when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man's money in the mouth of his sack and money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us, and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks." He replied, "Peace to you. Do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them. And when the man had brought the men into Joseph's house and given them water, and they had washed their feet and when he had given their donkeys fodder, they prepared the present for Joseph coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there. When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed down to him to the ground. And he inquired about their welfare and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?" They said, "You're serving our father as well. He's still alive." And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves and he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, "Is this your youngest brother of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son." Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he saw a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there. Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, "Serve the food." They served him by himself, and then by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement. Portions were taken to them from Joseph's table, but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were Mary with him. This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we praise you that your word says the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord remains forever. We thank you, Lord, for this ancient book that is so much more than a book. We thank you, Lord, for this story of the life of Jacob and his sons, Judah, Joseph. We thank you Lord that this story is not just a story, not just a piece of history. It's something that your spirit turn alive in our hearts that can use to sanctify us, to grow us, to mold us, to grow our dependence on you and see our need for you in greater forms. We pray, Lord, for the blessing of your word. Bless the word as I preach it, but it'd go out in power and force. Let each one of here convicted to trust you through the hardship of day-to-day life, convicted of their need to look for your work in their lives, more closely, convicted of their need to cling to your word in all trials and circumstances. Lord, I pray these things in Jesus' holy name. Amen. Well, today, we are talking about Genesis 43. And yesterday, I sent out an email. We sent out a weekly email before the sermons go out, and I ask you to think about if you were God, how would you tell him to work on you? And if you're a believer, I'm wanting you to think about how would you want God to grow you, to shape you. I know that for me, even though I know God, Christ calls us to take up our cross daily and follow in his footsteps. I think my plan for myself would involve lots of isolation. My wife would be there, my kids would be there, but sometimes I'd be able to escape and get full freedom from them. There'd be a babysitter for me and my wife when we want to spend time together. And then, there'd be a lot of opportunity to grow by watching soccer, to grow by exercising about three hours a day, to grow by just processing things, facts, knowledge, the word of God in isolation without really engaging other people. So, what is it for you? If you had the choice as a believer, how would you like God to grow you? What do you think is best? I think a lot of us, we don't really go, we know it's not really mature to think like that. But oftentimes, when God follows his classic means, shown to us in scripture, we resist and we think we could do it better. And if you're a nonbeliever, you say, "God, show me. Woo me. I want you to talk to me in this specific way." And what is that for you if you're a nonbeliever here today? Because this is a chapter where in Genesis 43, and God is dealing with Jacob and his sons... Who's Jacob? Jacob is the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham and God. This is the first book of the Bible, the book of the beginnings of the creation, the book of the beginnings of the family of God, and God's work in creation. God creates the world, all things are good. Adam and Eve walk in perfect unity and peace and perfect knowledge of him. There's no sin, there's no tension, there's no conflict, there's no brokenness in the world. And Genesis 2 comes, and Adam and Eve sinned. Genesis 3 talks about how there's going to be thorns and thistles to life. The creation is impacted by man's sin. And really, Genesis 3-12, it's a story of the spread of the sin of mankind, in the hearts of man and in relationships and in the creation. So God calls Abraham, and he says, "Abraham, I'm going to bless you. I'm going to make you into great people." He's a man. I think he's 75 years old when he calls him, and he doesn't have a child. He says, "I'm going to make you a great people, and I'm going to bless you. I'm going to make you the father of many kings, the father of many nations." So his son, Isaac, receives that promise. His son Jacob receives that promise. And what we're finding out in this series is that Jacob, though he had some good moments in his youth where he showed true faith in the Lord, he is a bit of a bonehead and his sons are worse than him. They are adulterers, his 12 sons. They've committed incest, they are prideful, they're slanderous. They're all fighting inwardly. They're competing with each other. And furthermore, at one point, 20 years ago, they put the Father Jacob's prize son, the son that he had with his favorite wife, they left him in a pit for dead. What they don't know is that God preserved his life, and put him through a process to bring him to the right hand of Pharaoh. So God's dealing with this broken family while the lingering promise that they're going to be a blessing to the earth stands, so God has to work. These people are not perfect. God's people are never perfect. But what we see is that these people probably aren't saved, these people probably don't know God, and it's kind of offensive that God would choose to work through these people. This is kind of a stance that, "God is doing something new. Why would he save the world from the slavery to sin through such a broken family?" It's a statement that religion that says, "I do right. I earn favor before God is wrong." It's a statement that salvation is initiated by God, not by any individual man as he tries to approach God. It's a statement that God uses broken people. And how can he use broken people? It's because he gives grace to them. We're talking about this family and their brokenness, but we're talking about how God is dealing with them. Again, think about how would you like God to deal with you? But in this chapter, compare that with how God is working on these people as a model of the family of faith. Last week, we discussed a lot of this already. In chapter 42, Genesis, we discussed how God has been working on them through the hardship of famine. When the famine hits the land for about a year, they're forced to look for a source of food. We discussed how God has been dealing with them through the hardship of sojourning, of temporarily turning to foreign land for help and relief. It's the hardship of being a refugee or a migrant worker looking for the best for their family. You're engaging with hard travel, engaging foreign officials, engaging with bureaucracy stacked against them. There's a language barrier and there's stereotypes that they're engaging with. We discussed how God has dealt with this family through the pain of unjust imprisonment. We saw that after three days in prison, they go to Egypt, there's the famine, you're one of the famine. They run out of food, they go to Egypt, and they approach the Egyptian ruler and they receive food, but he places them unjustly in a jail for three days. They don't know that it's their brother Joseph and he's trying to chip away, get a sense of have these men repented, "Are they right before God? Are their hearts still the same as when they put them in the pit?" And they go unjustly to prison, they're sent unjustly to prison, and in Genesis 42:21, they exclaim, "In truth, we are guilty concerning our brother." For them, this is the first time probably in 20 years since abandoning Joseph, leaving him for dead, telling their father that he is gone to the point that he thinks he's dead, this is the first time that their guilty conscience is probably coming alive. And furthermore or less, we talked about how actually the awakened conscience was actually a grace of God, a gift of God. As the men process all the hardship that happened to them in the chapter last week and the things that I just list listed out, they ask in verse 28, "What is this that God has done to us?" God is doing something. He's dealing with Jacob and his sons, but the process is slow. So in this chapter, God continues the work of bringing these men into his family. As we process how God chose to work on this family, we should ask him to show us how he is... If we're not walking with him calling us back, or those walking with him, we should be asking him to show us how he is continuing to stay near us, to refine us. What the New Testament shows us is that the Christian life is like that. We are a piece of gold in the refiner's fire. So we're saved, but then God is exposing us to trials to burn out the impurities that we... Until we grow to the fullness of Christ likeness, God is going to be refining us. So ask Lord, "How are you working in me to save me, to grow me?" And a key verse, "How does he do that?" The key verse in the chapter and one of the key verses in the book, all the Book of Genesis is verse 14. And this is Jacob saying, "May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man." This is the first occurrence of mercy in all of Genesis and all of the Bible. The chapter is all about God's mercy to guilty, fearful, hopeless, lost sinners. The condition of these men as they are contemplating having to go back to Egypt, when they approach Joseph at his house. This chapter is all about the mercy that God offers to guilty sinners like you and me. It's by the mercy of God that God is using life circumstances, and the Egyptian ruler, who Jacob and his sons don't know to be Joseph, to refine these men, to draw them into saving an intimate relationship. And what we see in this chapter is that God dispatches different kinds of mercy. You kind of see it. Last week we touched on it, and this week there's a little bit. Joseph to them, the Egyptian ruler, he deals with the brothers in kind of a bad cop, good cop method. At some moments, God, through Joseph, dishes out tender mercy to the men. And just through pure kindness, gentleness, there's some moments he dishes out severe mercy by inflicting tough circumstances upon them. We're going to learn about different kinds of mercy. How does God try to draw us in, draw non-believers in through mercy? How does God grow and refine Christians through mercy? I'm going to point out three different kinds of mercy. God calls his children home and grows them through severe mercy, common mercy, and tender mercy. And know, the term mercy and grace, and then how they relate to love as you grow in the faith, they're kind of hard terms used because you can't really use them by fully separating them from the other, particularly grace and mercy. Know that I use the term mercy in this outline because I think the key verse talks about God's mercy to the men in this process of going back to Egypt. But I could have equally used the term grace. So to say that God gives mercy to someone has a connotation that God gives leniency when it is not required of him. To say that God gives grace, it means that God gives favor when it is not merited by the recipient and that they're intertwined. Because when God is extending leniency, he is extending favor or grace. When God is extending grace or unmerited favor, he's extending leniency. But this, today, I want to step away from the title of the sermons here and talk about mercy as it relates to grace. God calls his children home and grows them through severe mercy. In verses 1-14, we see that God calls his children home, and I use the term, by extending severe mercy. This is a term that I first became acquainted with in the book, A Severe Mercy by an author Sheldon Vanauken. I probably butchered that. To say that God calls his children home and grows them through severe mercy, put most broadly, it's to say that God calls his children home and grows them by exposing them to severe situations. God purposes that his children face severe, hard, difficult, challenging situations in order to draw them in. In the book, Vanauken, he talks about how God used the death of his wife of a couple of decades. He thinks to actually save him, because ultimately he saw all of his engagement with Christianity was really tied to this desire to build this perfect marriage with his wife. He never really wanted God for God's sake. God had to strip, he says, and he talks about how his engagement through personal letters with CS Lewis helped him. He saw that through taking his wife, he could finally treasure a relationship with God. And that was a severe mercy. Because if that's what it took to get him into a right relationship with God, to see his need for God, to treasure relationship with God that's offered through Christ, then it's a mercy. It's a confusing term, a severe mercy. But when you chew on it, it can really help you understand how God works. To face the severe mercy is severe because it's hard and difficult to face such circumstances. To face the severe mercy is an experience of God's mercy. Because though the severe mercy may be severe and difficult to face or endure, the experience altogether is so much better than what a sinner deserves. So severe mercy, it leads to a person to have a greater understanding of who God is and it leads one to see their limitations of their own power. Furthermore, it leads one to see the boundless limits of God's infinite power, and it's hard to swallow. By exposing people as children to hardship, God is actually being very gentle or merciful to them. How is this true? The whole narrative of scripture says that God is a holy God, and that from the beginning, man was to walk in a holy manner before him. And if he did not, the penalty would be death. Eternal expulsion from the loving presence of God. For the just punishment of sin against an infinite holy God is infinite wrath and eternal punishment. Romans 3:23 says that all have fallen, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Because nobody has met the mark perfect holiness before God, any moment where God withholds or delays the carrying out of his wrath, it's a blessing, a severely merciful act where he is shown leniency. So even as Christians or people approaching the faith, when life is really difficult or hard for any person because it's not anything close to facing the just wrath of God, such a moment is an act of severe mercy extended to them by God. So in this, I'm going to step into the text verses 1-14. I'm going to talk about different forms of severe mercy that God extends, that he exposes his followers too. He uses it to save people, he uses it to grow people, and he is merciful in doing so again. Because the lessons that they learn are so much more important than the idols that they're clinging to, that he's stripping away. In this chapter, we find Jacob's brothers a long while after their initial experience of guilt in the last chapter. Remember, in verse 21, they said, "In truth, we are guilty concerning our brother, this is the last chapter, in that we saw the distress of his soul, they're talking about Joseph in the pit, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us." They exclaimed this and felt their conscience stirred. But now that they're back home, away from Egypt, away from the tension of the moment, away from the threat of imprisonment, away from this man who has authority over them, things have gone back to normal. Maybe the famine will end, they think. Maybe they won't have to go back to Egypt, if that happens. Perhaps, they can forget their past sins. Maybe they can push those ideas of God that crept up in their mind and his authority over their lives, off their consciences forever. They've made an idol. They've gone back home and they've made an idol out of the facade of a peaceful status quo on the surface of their lives, while there's guilt for sin on their conscience they've not dealt with. If this is their thinking, whether the text shows us, is that God has another plan in mind. If you're wrestling with guilt or fighting to suppress guilt, God has another plan in mind for you. He's relentless in his pursuit of them. And in these verses, we see the three forms of severe mercy. First, he exposes them to famine. More broadly, he exposes them to the pressures of living in a fallen world. Genesis 43:1-2. Now, the famine was severe in the land. And when they had eaten the grain that they had bought brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go again, buy us a little food." So God exposes them to continued famine. This is probably close to the end of year two of famine based on what other chapters tell us. And famine, honestly, as a modern American, I can't fathom this. Apparently, 49 million people in 46 countries are experiencing severe food crisis or famine in the present day. And that's according to a quick Google search, an organization called Action Against Hunger. Famine occurs when drought and her infestation and her plant disease and her war continuously plague a huge region of land for months or years at a time. It's a severe hardship that, when faced, lingers on your mind all day every day until there is relief. Hardship that adds uncertainty to all matters of life, to every minute, every hour, every week. It kills you physically and it kills you psychologically, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. You're powerless to put an end to it. All you're left to do is know how to respond to it and engage with it and survive through it. Obviously, today, we praise God. We have a lot of knowledge, materials, technology, pesticides, and means of food preservation to try to confront famine, but it clearly arises in many lands today. But the point is, back then, they did not. Jacob and his family, this family called to bless the world and become numerous nation of people of kingdoms, they're facing famine. They are almost at the point of not surviving. So the famine, it exerts pressure on them, they have to deal with it and they're powerless. But famine, it's something that the greatest schemes of men, greatest schemes of America, of science and technology cannot control. There are other forms of natural disasters, severe forms of mercy that we face, drought, hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, biological and airborne microorganisms. I was reminded of this while I'm reading this, studying this, writing this yesterday. I got multiple notifications on my phone and on my computer from Apple talking about the fine particulates that are floating around, the bad air quality because of the wildfires in Canada. We can't control the weather and the shifting of the earth and microorganisms and fine particulates. And our increased ability to track a lot of these things, it seems to cause more paranoia and anxiety than actually helps us at times. So God speaks to us again and again through pressures of famine still, but pressures of a fallen sin, fallen world through weather, through disease, through political, international turmoil that we cannot control. 9/11, floods, hurricane Katrina, hurricane Harvey in Houston several years back, COVID, heated elections, Russia-Ukraine, the threat of personal sickness and death at any minute, struggles with conception still plaguing the world. Miscarriage, race, gender, class battles, the Lord... These things have entered the world because of sin and we have to face them. What is God telling us in all of it? We are not in control. He is sovereign. He is in control to be brought to this knowledge, to love this knowledge, to find peace in this knowledge. It's a mercy, a grace of God. He's in control. He's in charge. We know he is good. Look at how he redeemed the travesty of the cross of Jesus Christ. So all of natural history, world history align with the words of St. Paul in Romans 8:18-22, I'm just going to read 22. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now, Jacob and his sons face it. We still face it. It impacts our lives and our decisions. So I ask you, what is God telling you through the Earth's groaning? It's going to keep happening until Jesus comes back to make all things new. Paul has to think about it. How has God used natural circumstances or pressures of a fallen world to make you think or act in life? What have you learned from them? What do you think you can learn right now? Second, God extends mercy to Jacob and his brothers to draw them into fellowship with him by exposing them to the pressure of broken people. Verse three. But Judah said to him, "The man, the Egyptian ruler, solemnly warned us saying, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.'" So the will of a relatively random governor in Egypt, according to the brothers as they don't know it is Joseph, he's forcing them in a certain direction. He's adding pressures and limitations to their freedom. They have to deal with the fact that one brother, Simeon, is still imprisoned by him there. And specifically in this chapter, they're pressured to send Benjamin to Egypt upon his command simply to have food for their families to survive. Like Jacob, we still face these unwanted pressures from other people and these are appointed by the severe mercy of God. We can try to create vacuums to avoid such people. We can seek out echo chambers of those who are like-minded. It's easier than ever. We can seek spouses with the exact same interests, companies and departments, literally through search algorithms on apps online. We can find neighbors, churches, work departments that are the perfect fit. But people are inevitable, they're broken, they're sinful. We can't escape them, we can't cancel them, and that's by God's design. The tendency when we engage people and they inflict their presence and authority on our lives, whether we seek it or not, is that we think we can change them. When we're first confronted with hard people, we say to ourselves, "That's okay. Give me a little time, I'll change you." But with time, we see that we can't. This is the husband and the wife almost on a day-to-day basis. This is parents trying to change their children, grow their children, save their children on their time. Children trying to change their parents. This is the boss trying to change the employee, the employee trying to change the boss. No matter how many phone apps, forms of counseling or technology we have that can teach us how to change people, we have to realize that we can't. Only God can. Only God can change someone from the inside out, change them at the heart level such that their behavior, their presence, their communication changes. We need to just approach these moments, this lack of power with humility. We can fight it, we can keep pressing on and nagging on the people of our lives to change them, or we can ask God what is he trying to do through this, the presence of these people. What is that you trying to do through the engagements of them? We have to allow our lives to be shaped by the necessity of engaging people. So ask God, how are you changing me? How are you calling me home to you to crave your presence, your sinless presence, your loving presence more? How are you refining me through other people? This is a severe mercy of God that we have to engage people. Third, God extends severe mercy to Jacob and his brothers to draw them into fellowship with him by exposing them to undesirable circumstances. Verse 6, Jacob says, "Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?" So Jacob, the neglectful father, comes off as an angry old curmudgeon, as a victim of the folly of his sons as he processes the situation. He's just whining. Honestly, my first engagement with this was laughing as I read it because I was just sitting and whining with my wife in the minutes before I'd started to study this. And I just want to say, "Men, we think that our wives and children are blessed when we sit down and tell them how we have it right, everyone else in our life has it wrong, and that we are victim of our circumstances." We need to stop. We need to be models of faith and steadfast faithfulness to God. There's no way to avoid difficult circumstances. Jacob and his sons had no control over the fact of the famine and the extension of the famine, and they had no control over the fact that Egypt had all the grain in that period. Similarly, in our lives, there's seasons, moments, trials that just fall into our lap. Things that we didn't invite into our households, our churches, our neighborhoods, our schools, our local state and national governments, financial downturns, wars that we have to engage, that we have no interest in engaging but we have to. We can get depressed, we can get paralyzed, we can busy ourselves to avoid the fact that these tensions and these situations exist. We can distract ourselves with relationships, devices, and shows, adrenaline rushes. We can try to ignore them by engaging in drink, smoke, other chemicals, or we can face the fact that circumstances are part of life. We're called to face them in faith, and find the faithful narrow way forward that brings glory to God. As we do that in the process, the Lord is teaching us, shaping us, saving many all along. These moments, these undesired circumstances shouldn't always be viewed as hindrances, but as opportunities for us to see God's wisdom at work in our lives, to see his power moving in our life. So in some, I've talked about the severe mercy of God as he exposes us to it through the effects of living in a sinful world through people, through random undesired circumstances. And know, the message that I want you to take is not just expect hardship to be a part of your life, but not become a stoic. It's not a, "Pick-up your bootstraps. This is life, just face it. Everybody has to deal with it. Find a way to cope." No, it's find a way to see God's hand through it all. Ask him to grow your wisdom, your insight to engage such moments in a way that pleases him. Ask him to show you what he's teaching you. Ask him how he wants you to respond, one day at a time, without getting overcome with anxiety, thinking about how hard it will be in the future. I like the framing of, "You need to see that as you think about severe mercies, a lot of these external circumstances forcing their pressure on onto your life. You need to see that what makes you you, and the Lord is not just the things that you have done but the things that also have happened to you. God's using it all in his grand plan and glorious plan to save you, to shape you, prepare you for his work. We've seen him do such work in the life of Joseph as we meditated upon his experience in the pit. We meditated upon facing false accusations of adultery. We meditated upon him being forced to be in an Egyptian jail for several years. We've seen how God prepared him to handle this moment with grace and mercy. So the same thing that he did with Joseph, the same thing he's doing with you and you need to trust him as he does it. See here, the text says that God is shaping these men through severe mercy. I just want to take time to look at Judah and Jacob to show you that transformation is actually happening. Let's look at Judah. Judah, who we know from our study in Genesis 38, was a very hard and stubborn man. He slept with his deceased son's wife when he thought she was a prostitute. This Judah is changing by God's severe mercy and becoming the family leader in this chapter. In the text, at the beginning when after Jacob resists sending the brothers back with Benjamin, Judah honestly, respectfully, directly speaks to his father. He still honors him, but he stands on truth before him. In verse 8, to convince his father, he takes a wise strategy. He repeats to his father, "Send the boy with me, and we will rise and go, that we may live and not die." Jacob said when he first sent the sons to Egypt, he said, "Go to Egypt to get grain, so that we may live and not die." He's using Jacob's words to convince him. And then he adds an element so that both we and you and also our little ones may be saved, may stay alive. Judah's not thinking of himself as we saw him do. Primarily, he's thinking of others. So further, Judah, the biggest thing that he does is he pledges his life to Jacob. He commits to taking personal responsibility if Benjamin does not return. This is in comparison to the author that Ruben makes in the last chapter in verse 7. Ruben says to Jacob, this harsh approach, "Kill my two sons if I go to Egypt with Benjamin and don't return with him." We see Jacob's wisdom. We see him taking responsibility. And this foreshadows, a little side note, the precedence that the tribe of Judah eventually takes among the other tribes of the nation of Israel. It points to the time that Jesus Christ, a descendant of Judah, the line of the tribe of Judah's scripture calls him, takes responsibility for the sins of the lost sons of God by going to the cross, offering himself in their place. Judah changes but we see an incredible change in Jacob through the severe mercy of God, through the providential appointment of hardship. Jacob, again, he is a whiny curmudgeon at the start of the chapter, blaming everyone else for the situation that they're in. He's still showing extreme preference for his son Benjamin over the other 10, but there's great change taking place as the chapter goes forward. This is noted most clearly by the fact that, for most of the story today, Jacob's story is that God does save him. Jacob does have faith in God. And God, at that point, he passes his promises of the covenant from Abraham and Isaac to him, and God gives him a covenant named Israel. But Jacob, even after a profound experience in earlier chapters of Genesis, he goes back to his old ways. So the story, the narrative throughout Genesis primarily calls him Jacob over and over again. In chapter 42, he's Jacob. In this chapter, he moves from the old angry man to the new man Israel. He starts off complaining, but then he takes charge as these situations force him to. He provides decisive and wise leadership in granting the brother's permission to bring Benjamin, and giving them instructions to pack gifts, local delicacies that they don't have in Egypt to earn the favor of the ruler, to double the money that they bring back after the Egyptians did not keep their money last time. He takes practical matters. He thinks responsibly. But the most notable change that we see in Jacob as he faces the severe mercy of God is that he has revival in his faith. In verse 14, he's brought to the point where he knows he's powerless to change the situation, and he says, "May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I'm bereaved of my children, I'm bereaved." Jacob, now Israel, he appeals to the covenant name of God of Genesis, El Shaddai, Genesis 17 particularly, the mighty God. This God, he's trusted in before, he will trust in again. Furthermore, in this verse, he appeals to the mercy of God for the success of the journey for Egypt. He knows only God can give them favorable outcome here. Lastly, what's most profound, he entrusts Benjamin's safety and the desire for the return of Benjamin's brother Joseph to God, right? He's been grieving the loss of Joseph, basically not functioning, not engaging the other brothers for 20 years, all the while preserving Benjamin's life at all costs and just ignoring those other brothers. And Jacob relinquish his grip on the matter. He goes as far as showing peace over the fact that if it's the Lord's will to bereave him of his children, then so be it. You got to remember, he did not forget that God said that He's carrying this promise to be the father of many nations, like that was passed down from Abraham and Isaac. He says, "God, I trust you. You have the power to fulfill your promises even when there seems to be no hope." So I elaborate on Judas' transformation, Jacob's transformation to illustrate how God uses severe mercy, hard circumstances to change them, to save them, to grow them in the faith. We can spend all of our life begrudgingly facing the appointed personal, familial, cultural, global circumstances that we're born into or approach them with faith. We can see how they deepen our dependence on God, make us better men and women, grow our vision and appreciation for the daily mercies and graces of God, and increase the fruit of the spirit within us. We're becoming more like Christ as we engage them faithfully. Some may ask, why does God act like this? Why does he have a point to choose to use severe mercy? This is my second point, and it's really short. If God calls his children home and grows them through severe mercy, common mercy, why does he use severe mercy? Because he is offering common mercy constantly, and we don't receive it. Matthew 5:45 says, "For he makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." God is actually trying to tell us through the basic mercies, basic graces of daily life that he is God and he is in control, and we owe him our worship and faithfulness. Through the rising of the sun, every day on all people, through the sending of rains, through daily health, through the beauty of nature, through the provision of daily bread, through the joyful spirit and faith that children have as they wake up and just expect God to provide through the majesty of just the creative world, he's talking to us and it's not enough for us. We are stubborn. We are selfish. We choose to say that that is not enough. We place ourselves in the position of God, and we don't accept his means of communicating that. That's the mistake that Adam and Eve made in the garden. They think that God is keeping something from them in just the basic provision of life in the garden. So we commit the same sin and we don't receive common mercy, which I'm also basically saying is the same thing, historically-referred to as common grace. But praise God, he doesn't stop at common mercy. He doesn't stop at severe mercy to draw us in. He gives us tender mercy, and this is my third point. God calls his children home through severe mercy, common mercy, tender mercy. The use of tender mercy, it's a little redundant. I could have just said mercy. But to drive home in the point and emphasize how good it is, I went forward with tender mercy. He said that he speaks to us through tender mercy, expose us to tender mercy. He treats us and speaks to us with very loving treatment. He engages our fears and guilt uniquely. He mercifully and graciously condescends to speak to us at a level that we understand, in his process of calling us to him and refining us once we're in the family. This is what verses 15-34 really show us. God calls the brothers back by tender mercy. Verse 18 says, "And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house." So they bring the goods, they bring the money, they bring Benjamin back to Egypt, and they're told by a servant to go to his house. Can you imagine these tent dwellers, these back country men when they're about to go to the house, the property of this powerful Egyptian ruler, essentially a billionaire of their day? They're rolling up on their donkeys, not even camels, to palace with dozens of camels. It's like driving a rusty old pickup truck to a mansion with multiple Teslas and model cars. And they're weary from facing God's severe mercy, the famine, the travel. The anxiety of how they will be received by the ruler after they return, as they know that the ruler did not receive the money the first time, it would've been paralyzing them. Just not knowing, "Is this ruler just going to come down and arrest us and make us his slave?" Their worst fear would probably be over the fact, "That as we engage this man, are we going to be brought to that point where we feel guilty again for throwing Joseph into the pit?" Again, they don't know that Joseph is the ruler. But they know that through engagement with this man, they were brought back to this thing that they just want to depress. But God brings these men back to Egypt as part of the process to draw him in. And how are they received? It's with kindness, with love. Remember, Jacob/Israel's prayer in verse 14, May God Almighty grant you mercy before him. Jacob's prayers come true. It's answered. The ruler and his servant receive them with tender mercy. They arise in Egypt, guilty, fearful. What does the servant say to them? He says, "Peace," shalom in Hebrew, "Peace to you. Do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you." This is after they say hello and confess that they went home with the money. It says, "Don't worry about it." As the text continues, the servant brings him out, Simeon. He's released as promised, upon their return in their last chapter, and he's in good shape. Then though they're foreigners, they are brought into the private residence of a ruler. Further, the text says they're given water, their feet are washed, their donkeys aren't stolen but are given fodder from the royal feed, and they're invited to a feast. When they approach Joseph at the feast, they bow down to him. And what does he do? He inquires of their welfare, asks them how they are doing, and I'm sure it would've been a little bit of a sugarcoated answer of, "Oh, we're great." Like not acknowledging the fact that they're in turmoil for the months and weeks as this moment approached. But he inquires about their welfare, asks about their father. The ruler further goes to greet the younger brother that he didn't meet during the last visit, Benjamin, and blesses him saying, "God be gracious to you, my son." Altogether, God, after providentially offering common mercy throughout their lives, after offering a lot of severe mercy recently, God has arranged for them to taste his tender mercy as part of the process to draw him in, to fellowship with him. In a situation where Joseph, the ruler, could have brought down justice for the situation with the money as things appeared. For his sin, their sin against him 20 years ago, he treats him with mercy. He treats him with love and kindness. One of the most notable things about the merciful treatment that God has arranged for the brothers is that he goes above and beyond to show the brothers that he's speaking to them through these mercies in ways that are uniquely designed for them. Verse 33 says, And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement. God, through Joseph, announces this moment in such a way that the brothers should know that they're talking to him. Just think, there's 11 brothers sitting down. And in this moment, they're arranged from oldest to youngest. If you think about how many ways that the ruler could have arranged them, it's equal to 11 factorial. Yes, I'm making you think about middle school math right now. 11 factorial ways that he could have arranged these men. That's 39,916,800 ways that the ruler could have seeded them, and one of them is the perfect way and he does it. God is clearly speaking to them. And do they see it? Further, in verse 34, the text mentions that the ruler gives Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, five times the portion of food. God's trying to communicate to them that he is God. He knows what they did, and he is mercifully dealing with their sin toward Joseph right now by bringing attention to Benjamin. In this specific communication to the brothers, God is just calling them home. He wants them to cry out mercy as they see that he is God. And they need his mercy for their sin, for their rebellion against his authority over their life, for their specific sins, and particularly, the sin against Joseph. Through tender mercy and the generalness of the ruler's reception, through the specific details of the seating arrangement and serving, God's talking to them. He's trying to stir their minds to acknowledge him as God. But what is their response? Verse 33 says, They looked at one another in amazement. They looked around at each other as if the way they were seated was a coincidence. They looked at each other and said, "Well, forgot about it," and set their minds to the feast before them. Verse 34 says, after Benjamin was given a huge portion, they just enjoyed themselves and had a nice meal like at any other banquet. With their youngest brother, nobody would ever have given the youngest brother this kind of portion. He gets five times more than them in this patriarchal society. And furthermore, at the start of the next chapter, the brothers after this experience where God is just talking to them, offering them mercy, showing them gentleness, tender mercy, they're just content to wake up and go home. They're not inclined to think about everything that's happening. Their reception of the mercy of God, it's dull. They're not moved. It gives them no more than a smile and the satisfaction of a good day and full belly gives them. Isn't that very similar to the reaction that the world has toward God and his mercy? Isn't that very similar to the reaction that you have toward it, on some days? If you're a believer, you can't be a believer without truly cherishing this moment, at one point. But it grows dry and worn out. That's because we're not seeing how God is moving through everything to save us, grow us, shape us. You see, Joseph's brothers, they have an excuse. The ruler didn't reveal himself as Joseph. They don't know that's him, but we know who the ruler is. We know who the governor is. We know who the king of kings, the Lord of Lord is, over all of the earth and over us all as individuals. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. It's written on our heart, our conscience, and it's written in the creation. We long for God's perfect and just rule and reign and the comfort of his presence, when the storms and trials, the rulers and people and circumstances of the broken world impress their unjust influence on our lives and decision making. We long for his unique and tender love toward us as we face these hardships. We know that for all of history, all the time, God has supremely shown his love to man. He has communicated his desire to extend love and grace to each of us in a million unique different ways. Most clearly, he has mercifully and graciously shown his love for us. In coming to deal with our greatest need as parched, guilty, dead sinners. He took on flesh, went from heaven to earth and walked the earth. He came to deal with our greatest need, our thirst for him. God broke the barrier by sending a son to take on flesh, bear the hardship and temptations of this world perfectly as we could not, and to go to the cross in our place. We know that God chosen his love for us and, that while we are still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more clearly could God in all of his glory condescend to speak to us in our greatest need to communicate his love to us? And yet we're often reluctant to receive it. We're reluctant to see our need to entrust our lives to him. Joseph and his brothers had an excuse, but we don't. So Colossians 2:9-10, it says, we're in him the whole fullness of the deity dwells bodily. And you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority. We have no excuse. God is showing his mercy, communicating his love and desire to be in relationship with us over and over again, and we need to receive it. Christ, he broke the divide between heaven and earth. His crowning act of glory with all of his authority was to lay side as glory and die for us. That's really what Joseph is doing. Joseph could be using his authority to squash these sinners to just pour out wrath, but he doesn't. God, Christ did all of this in order that we might live and dine at the same table with him, with a portion due to the firstborn and rule with him and his eternal kingdom. That's what Joseph was doing. That's what Christ offers to us. So I ask you today to close, how is God extending severe mercy to you? How is he extending common mercy? How can you see it better? How is he extending tender mercy, specifically speaking to you, in ways that speak to your greatest fears, your greatest sense, your areas of guilt, your questions of the truth? As you see that, just bow and humble submission to him. Genesis 43 says, you're doubtful, sinful, guilty people like Jacob's family and us with a bad record of bad conscience. There is one power. One of great power and great honor who loves you, who wants to bless you and deliver you from the guilt of your sin and circumstances. He's doing so much to get you to see that. Try to see it. Come into his family, his love, his grace, his mercy. It's sufficient. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we praise you that Christ has come and he came out of love. He initiated the process that procured our salvation. It's not anything that we can do, but it's all that he has done. And Lord, we praise you that you do not leave us in the condition that we're in. When you save us, you give us your righteousness, but you appoint seasons and trials and circumstances and engagement with the fallen world to grow us. We get to see your hand of redemption at work in us and through us every day. Lord, we praise you that we know we have a savior who has lived perfectly, died in our place, roses from the dead, and ascended to your right hand of authority just like Joseph was at the right hand of Pharaoh. And he is working for our good, for our preservation, for our growth in the faith. We pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, we're going to transition to a time in the service of communion. This is something that we do as believers to commemorate the fact that by offering his body, pouring out his blood for us on the cross, Jesus invites us to live and dine guilt free at his table. For whom is holy communion—it's for repentant Christians, repentant children of God. If you're not a Christian, not sure where you stand before God, we ask you to withhold from partaking and meditate on the gospel, meditate upon the sermon, the message of today. But if you have decided today to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you're welcome to partake. And if are a Christian, we emphasize that this is for repentant believers. If you have unreconciled sin in your life that you have not brought to the Lord, if you have it on your conscience to approach other brothers and sisters where there is sin, we ask you to with withhold. So if you haven't received a cup with a little wafer and the elements, please raise your hand. As I pray, one of the ushers will give you one. Heavenly Father, we praise you for your grace and mercy. Jesus, we thank you for procuring salvation for us. You suffered, Lord, and triumphed for us. Today, we remember your suffering. Holy Spirit, I pray that you prepare our hearts now to focus on the attention of the cross of Jesus Christ dying for us, the primary act of showing your tender mercy toward us. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Take off the bottom layer. I think all of our cups now have the bread on the bottom. Take the bread out and follow along with me. On the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took the bread and after eating it, he said, "This is my body broken for you. Take, eat, and do this in remembrance of me." He then proceeded to take the cup, and he said, "This cup is the cup of the new covenant of my blood, which is poured out for the sins of many. Take, drink, and do this in remembrance of me." Let's pray. Lord God, we glorify you. We pray, Lord, Holy Spirit, help us in glorifying God as we meditate upon the wisdom of his ways, the ability to redeem and use the brokenness of this world, the broken moments of our life, the broken moments of our personality, and redeem them and use them to be a blessing to others. Help us, Lord, as we worship. Help us to cast off all of our burdens and anxieties and stresses for situations, relationships that we cannot control to you. Help us to focus on you on the greatness of your power, your majesty, holiness, righteousness, truth, perfect plans, and sovereignty. Help us to sing with all that we have because you are worthy of all worship and glory and honor in all seasons. We pray this all in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Grace for the Guilty
June 25, 2023 • Jan Vezikov • Genesis 42
This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston, or donate to this ministry, please visit http://mosaicboston.com Heavenly Father, we thank you that you, the great God of the universe, holy, perfect, you demand absolute perfection and holiness from us. And Lord, we thank you that you offer us grace to do that which you command us to do. You call us to repentance and we can't repent apart from your grace. You call us to faith in Christ, we can't do that either apart from your grace. You call us to live a life of love toward God and toward people from the heart, and Lord, we can't do that apart from you. Lord, today convict us of sin. Reveal any guilt that we are still carrying from our sin. And I pray, Lord, don't just relieve us of that guilt, but remove it from us. Eradicate it from us so we as your children can live lives of good conscience. Lord, bless our time in the holy scriptures today. Holy Spirit, we pray, minister to us, reveal the words to us, reveal the words that you would have for each of us individually. And Lord, magnify your son Jesus Christ through the preaching of your word. Jesus, we thank you that you provided a way for us to be reconciled with the Father, for that sin to be removed, for that guilt to be assuaged. And we thank you that for those who are in Christ now today, there is no condemnation. Zero whatsoever. We believe that. We love that and we receive that word. Bless our time in the holy scriptures. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. We're continuing our study through Genesis 37 through 50. We've entitled it Graduate Level Grace: A Study in the Life of Joseph. Today, we're in Genesis 42 and the title is Grace for the Guilty. Why do we call it Graduate Level Grace? Well, we need grace as much today as we did the very first day that we trusted in Jesus Christ. We need grace to be justified of our sin, but we also need grace to be sanctified then also shaped by God to be ever more useful. In his confessions, Augustine wrote around the year 400 AD, he said, "God, give me the grace to do as you command and command me to do what you will." What he's saying is, God, you can command whatever you want, but unless you give me the power to do it, unless you give me the grace to do it, I can't do it. But if you give me grace, you can command whatever you will of me. Meaning we're incapable of obeying God's commands, of doing God's will unless He grants us the ability to do so. Jesus commanded us, repent and believe. How? By God's grace. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. How? By God's grace. Marry this person, raise these children. Do your job as unto the Lord. How? By God's grace. God's grace is God's unmerited favor, but it's also fuel. Grace saves us and it sanctifies us. It trains us, it hones us, it strengthens, it grows us, and grace graduates us. And we see the same grace, it's on every single page of this narrative of the story of Joseph. This is the supreme lesson which meets us and impresses us at every stage of his history. He was a man of God and he walked in the presence of God knowing that he needed the grace of God. Everything he did, he did under the conscious realization that he's living under the watchful eye of God who loves him and will carry him through no matter what. In seasons of adversity, 13 years in prison, sold by his brothers into slavery, doesn't know a person in Egypt. In adversity, he trusted his God and waited for God's timing. And then last week, we learned that God raised him up. By God's grace, now he's second in command to only Pharaoh. And in prosperity, Joseph did not forget his God. No, he leaned upon his God and found his grace sufficient. His heart wasn't tried by humiliation nor his head turned by exaltation. He didn't let the disappointments of life break his heart, nor did he allow the victories of life go to his head. He's even-keeled, composed knowing that God is sovereign. So before the Lord exalts Joseph to this position of importance, He prepared him with discipline. And this discipline did not feel like grace. But then again, what does grace feel like? If you think about what does grace feel like? Well, what did it take for grace to be procured by God, for grace to be offered to us? Well, grace took a bloody cross, a crucifixion. That's how grace was procured. So sometimes, yes, grace comes as soothing balm to our soul, but sometimes grace comes as surgical tool slicing us open to cut out the rot. In moments which might feed human pride and self-sufficiency, what do we need? We need grace, God's grace to humble us, to keep us simple, to keep us faithful. Because Joseph walked with God in the darkness of prison, he's ready for the spotlight of the palace and that's where we find ourselves. And what kind of man is he when his brothers who sold him into captivity stand before him, bowing down before him. He holds all the power to do whatever he wants with them. What does he do? Well, we see a tender heart. How does his heart remain tender despite the hardness of the obstacles around him? Well, it was God's grace. So God's grace to Joseph made him a gracious leader, ready to forgive those who wanted harm for him. As we walk through the text together in Genesis 42, four points to frame up our time. First, your sin will find you out. Second, the slow burn of a guilty conscience. Third, now there comes a reckoning. And for fourth, the Father who won't sacrifice His beloved son. First, your sin will find you out. It's a biblical principle. Numbers 32:23. "But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord and be sure your sin will find you out." We worship a holy God and God is omniscient. He sees anything and everything and it's against His holy character to allow sin to go unpunished. Your sin will find you out. Luke 8:17, the words of Christ. "For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light", either in this life or when we stand in the judgment before Christ. So this is exactly what happens. Joseph's brothers, 10 of them, they sold him to captivity and in their minds they already think he's dead. That's the lie they told their father, Jacob, that your son was eaten, torn apart by wild animals. And for two decades, they lived with this guilt that they had murdered their brother. Later on, in the same text, twice they say the brother who was no longer with us, the brother who was no more, they thought Joseph was dead. And here, God reveals their sin and makes them reckon with it on a glorious stage. And thanks be to God that He included this narrative in scripture for us to see, for the world to see for time immemorial. Remember, Joseph is out of prison. He's appointed to second in command only to Pharaoh. God has given him incredible wisdom for not just to interpret Pharaoh's dreams but also put a plan in place to capitalize on the abundance of seven years. So he's second in command, he's shaved dressed, married, he's got two sons and he's been busy capitalizing on seven years of bountiful harvest in preparation for the seven years of debilitating famine. So that brings us to Genesis 42. We begin with verses one through five. "When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, 'Why do you look at one another?' And he said, 'Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.' So 10 of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his brothers for he feared that harm might happen to him. Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan." The famine had engulfed all the earth in including Canaan. So God sends of famine in order to awaken the brothers, in order to get them to act and to do something with the guilt that is upon them. Their father looks at them and says, "Why do you look at one another?" And he sounds exactly like my dad, my dad's Slavic. This is exactly how he parented us. Very direct. "Why you look at one another?" That's what Jacob is doing. And what is he saying? He's not just saying, you guys are lazy bums. He's saying, we got to protect our household. We got to provide for our household. You have children and you have wives, you have cattle, you have to provide. Now go and do something or else we're all going to die. Jacob heard that there was grain for sale in Egypt and he has no idea, absolutely no idea how that grain came to be. He has no idea that God had been working behind the scenes for over two decades, 13 years that Joseph was in prison, the seven years of abundance, that's 20. And time has passed with the famine. So God has been using this, overriding the sinful intentions of the brothers, the slave traders, Potiphar and Mrs. Potiphar, the forgetful butler. God was busy turning their evil into good and to shape Joseph and place him in the number two spot. Why were the brothers just sitting around? They too must have heard that there was grain for sale. Everyone heard. No one was prepared for this famine, not one of the countries. How could you be prepared? You'd have to know the future in order to build the infrastructure to farm, to gather, to store, to distribute all the grain and mountains and mountains of grain it was. And in famine that grain was as good as gold. Why were they sitting around knowing this, that if they went to Egypt they could solve all their problems? Well, because even the word of Egypt, the thought of Egypt sent a shutter down their spine and sent a cold sweat down their back. Every time they thought of Egypt, they couldn't but remember the anguished cry of their brother, Joseph, right before they sold him to the Midianites and he was sent to Egypt. Now, imagine their trip to Egypt. Imagine the silence, the deafening silence as they're all thinking the same thing, recalling the events of 20 plus years ago. Now, they're traveling the same path as Joseph did except he was in chains. Jacob, we see, hasn't changed much. His favoritism has only grown as he poured out his love on Benjamin, his youngest son, perhaps overcompensating for having lost Joseph. He wants to protect him and fear that harm might happen to him, perhaps because he never trusted the brothers, perhaps because he didn't believe their lies and the story that they told him. And later in the text we see that he did blame them for the death of Joseph. The fact that he kept Benjamin behind must have stung their consciences. It had to have. And we don't know much about Benjamin's character just yet, but Joseph's brother, we know a lot about. They were sinful. They were wicked, violent, lust-driven men. Sons two and three, that's Simeon and Levi, were guilty of premeditated genocide in the slaughter of the unsuspecting Shechemites. Son number one, Rubin, committed incest with his father's concubine in an attempt to secure ascendancy over his father. And next, all 10 of the brothers beat Joseph, stripped him, threw him into a pit with violent rage and then sold him into slavery. Son number four, we read in Genesis 38, was Judah, who impregnated his daughter-in-law, Tamar, who had disguised herself as a Canaanite prostitute. The family was not just dysfunctional, this is a family of egregious sinners and these were the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is supposed to be the family of God, the chosen people of God. God was going to bless all the families of the world through this one family. The Messiah, the promised conquerer of Satan, he was supposed to come from this family. And as you read this narrative, you're like, "What? These people, these wicked sinners?" Well, yes, all of that will come true, but God first has to do spiritual surgery upon them. These men, who are guilty of sin and had attempted to hide it for 20 years, just imagine doing that, all 10 of them maintaining the same story for two decades. These men were guilty and the time of reckoning has come and it's time that they were confronted with their sin, deal with their guilt, repent and seek forgiveness from God, from Joseph, and also from their father, Jacob. They did everything they could to forget their sin, but they couldn't. They tried to live as if nothing had happened, thereby searing their consciences all the more. And now it's time, by God's grace, their consciences are awakened by the light of God's providence. Point two is the slow burn of a guilty conscience. God has given every single one of us a conscience. This is great proof of the existence of God. And the conscience is given to us to guide us between choosing good and evil. The conscience serves as a witness to what we already know about God's law that's written upon our hearts. It's like an independent witness within, examining and passing judgment on one's conduct. Sometimes the conscience is seared through sinful living licentiousness. Sometimes the conscience is seared through legalism where we bring in manmade rules that then inform our conscience, that then sears our conscience from what is true according to God's work. Therefore, it's important, friends, to educate your conscious, to inform your conscious, to make sure your conscious is calibrated to the law of God, the word of God and nothing else. First Timothy 4:1 through five, for example. "Now the spirit expressly says in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer." Romans 2:14 through 16 testifies to the fact that God's law, his commandments are written on our hearts. Verse 14, "For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they're a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus." So the conscious is like an internal sensor that goes off when it senses that we're moving away from God's will. It beeps and then it beeps again. It's like when you're not wearing a seatbelt in your car and it beeps and it beeps and it beeps. After a while, it just stops beeping. And that's how the conscience works. That's the searing of the conscious, burnt to the point where it's not effective anymore. And at that point, the conscience needs to be awakened by the power of the Holy Spirit. It's only the Holy Spirit that can bring a person to a realization that we have sinned. Our conscience is defiled. We need a cleansing. We need the guilt removed. Titus 1:15 through 16, "To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They're detestable, disobedient and unfit for any good work." Joseph's brothers grew up in a Christian family, so to speak, a family of believers. They're supposed to know God, they're supposed to represent God to the world. And maybe that's how they even presented themselves, but their works, their life denied the fact. With their mouth they espouse that they love God, but their hearts are far from him. So Genesis 42, verse three. "So 10 of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt." And it's fascinating that the text does not call them Jacob's sons. The text calls him Joseph's brothers. Why? Because the relationship between Joseph and his brothers is in focus in this chapter. So the brothers make the trek across the Sinai and down to the Nile Valley. Verse six, it says, "Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him and their faces to the ground." Never in their wildest dreams or in their worst nightmares, would they imagine that they would meet Joseph again. They thought, and just in all probability, that he was dead. And if he was alive, most likely is just an obscure slave. But meet Joseph, they certainly did. And when they met him, they didn't recognize him. He was virtually unrecognizable, beardless, clean-shaven, likely dressed in flowing white linen, decorated with gold, speaking Egyptian. And so they did what all the foreigners were doing. They bowed themselves before this man, to the ground, faces to the ground. It was a sign of subordination, of course, and the only means of surviving the famine. I think this is a scene that Joseph had visualized in his mind a thousand times plus over the course of the last 20 years. Why? Because he had been given a prophetic dream years before that he had shared with them and with their father. This is the dream that kicked off the narrative in Genesis 37:5. "Now, Joseph had a dream and when he told it his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, 'Hear this dream that I have dreamed. Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.' His brothers said to him, 'Are you indeed to reign over us or are you indeed to rule over us?' So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words." So the first dream had come to pass and Joseph knew it was from God the whole time, that dream actually sustained him through his darkest years. Now, the prophetic dream was happening in reality in real time. His brothers come here looking for grain and they, like the sheaves of grain in the dream, bow down before Joseph's sheaf. He is indeed reigning and ruling over them however much they hated him for it. Genesis 42:7. "Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. 'Where do you come from?' he said. They said, 'From the land of Canaan to buy food.' And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him." He recognized them immediately. How could he not? He had seen their faces emblazoned on his mind and his heart and nightmares for years. He remembers them. And then there's 10 bearded brothers speaking Hebrew. How often do you see that? Time had left its mark on them as on him, but he still recognized them. Joseph didn't show any outward emotion, goes about his job with stoic precision and all the power is absolutely in his hands. He has all the leverage to do whatever he wants. If he says, "Dance", they're going to dance. If he says, "Jump", they say, "How high, sir?" Not only does he have the power to withhold grain from them, he has the power to take their freedom and even their very lives. So he begins to interrogate them, speaking roughly as the strangers, verse nine. "And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, 'You are spies. You have come to see the nakedness of the land.' They said to him, 'No, my Lord, your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies.'" It says that Joseph remembered the dreams, plural. There was a first dream, but there was also a second dream. And in the second dream, his dad was included, meaning that his whole family would come down, bow down before him. So he knows that this isn't the full revelation of God just yet. In Genesis 37:9 through 11, the second dream, "Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, 'Behold, I've dreamed another dream. Behold the sun, the moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to me.' But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, 'What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?' And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind." So this part of the interrogation, Joseph knows the whole story, it has not been completed. He interrogates them, accuses them of espionage, on mission to find weak points in the defense in Egypt. And by the way, this was a legitimate concern. Egypt had all the grain in the world of that time. Obviously, there were threats to them. So he accuses them of this. They try to remove doubt and in doing so they divulge more information than they should have. In Genesis 42:11, they say, "We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies." And the irony, of course, isn't lost on us. These men were not honest, although they claim to be so. And here you got to pause and say, what is Joseph doing here? Why is he testing? Why is he speaking to them as strangers harshly? Why this tone, Joseph? Well, it's because he's testing them to see if they have changed, to see if their hearts have been awakened by the spirit of God. Were they the same lying, conniving, callous, jealous, murdering sinners that they still hate him? And he's wise in doing this because of his position of influence and also he's figuring out how much am I going to help this family? He could have just said, okay, I don't trust you guys. I'm going to send grain to you and to your households and that's it. That could have been the end of the story, but it's not. He understands there's more. Genesis 42:12, "He said to them, 'No, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see.' And they said, 'We, your servants, are 12 brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. And behold, the youngest is this day with our father and one is no more.' But Joseph said to them, 'It is as I said to you, you are spies.'" I think here Joseph's cool, icy persona, complexion, projection I think here begins to melt a little bit. They don't just say there's 10 of us. They don't just say there's 11 of us, 10 living and one still at home, Benjamin. No, they say 12. And I wonder how Joseph felt when he heard the number 12, that they considered that the family was still intact, not withstanding their brother's death. Perhaps it's a hint here of an improvement in their spiritual condition. And then they say one is no more. Are their consciences becoming awake, unseared, coming back to life? They give Joseph more information about their family to establish credibility. And Joseph continues to accuse them like a seasoned interrogator. When the accusation doesn't stick, he just progressively repeats it louder and more emphatically till the person cracks. It is as I said, you are spies. And I think Joseph here is having a little fun because he remembers back in the day, the brothers, what do they accuse him of? What do they call him? They called him a spy. "'Did you come here again to spy on us, to bring a bad report of us to our father?" And here Joseph turns the tables. Genesis 42:15. "By this you shall be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there's truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.' And he put them all together in custody for three days." He puts them in prison, in the pit, in the dungeon. I wonder if it's the same prison that he was in just to give them a taste of their medicine. He does enslave them for three days, but he's not doing it to enslave them. He's giving them time to think. He's giving them time to think about their guilt, to experience the guilty conscience. And three days in an Egyptian prison would've been plenty of time to come to their senses, think things through and talk things over. What were they talking over? Which of us is going back home to Canaan to tell dad that we had lied for two decades? Who's going to go back and tell him that, no, Joseph is actually alive, he wasn't torn by wild animals. He was sold into captivity by wild animals, the brothers themselves. And not only that, they would have to convince Jacob to let Benjamin go to Joseph. Who's doing that? They would've probably all preferred to stay in prison to the thought of that task. And this is point three. Now there comes a reckoning. Verse 18. "On the third day, Joseph said to them, 'Do this and you will live, for I fear God. If you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households and bring your youngest brother to me so your words will be verified and you shall not die.' And they did." So Joseph proposes a new plan, probably because he understood how emotionally daunting and painful the first one would be. Plus, Joseph did care for them. And here we see Joseph's heart toward them, his real heart toward them. He knew that if one of them goes back with a sack of grain or as much as he could carry, that's not going to hold the family over for much time. So he comes up with a new plan, leave one brother here, the nine of you can go back. Just make sure you come back here with Benjamin. Though they don't deserve this grace, Joseph says, "I fear God." This Egyptian standing before them proclaims the name of God and that he doesn't just worship God, he fears God. God had extended grace toward Joseph. Now Joseph is extending grace toward the brothers. The way in which God is associated with the life of Joseph is paramount to the narrative. At every single most important juncture in Joseph's life, he brings in the name of God. Why? It shows us that he was a God-centered man and that he knew that everything in this world is controlled by God. And if he is to make the right decision, he has to lean upon God. For example, when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce Joseph, he said, "How can I do this great wickedness?" Against whom? Not Potiphar, God. "Do not interpretations belong to God?", he said to the cup bearer and to the baker in prison. When he stands before Pharaoh, he says the same. And he says, "God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. God will shortly bring it to pass." And when he has a son and he remembers God and he remembers the pain of his past, he says, "God has made me forget the pain of my father's household." Everything in Joseph's life was guided and controlled by the thought of God. Not one of the brothers has thus far mentioned God, but this Egyptian seemingly is talking about God. One brother was supposed to remain and here's the big test. Was the talk of the 12 brothers just that? Was it talk, or would they really come back for their brother, Simeon? The thought of their brother remaining in prison breaks their heart. They understand the pain and anguish that their father would feel hearing that Simeon was left in prison. And hear these words that erupts from a broken heart, these anguished words pouring from a guilty conscience beginning in verse 21. "Then they said to one another, 'In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.' And Reuben answered them, 'Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen, so now there comes a reckoning for his blood." In truth, we are guilty concerning our brother, they say. Not the dreamer, not Joseph. No, this is our brother. Time does not blot out the guilt of sin, nor does time have any power over the conscience. And God, in His great providence, brings these men face to face with their sin and its due punishment. And isn't it fascinating how God does this, how God forces them to face the reality, to reckon with their sin? God brings them to Egypt on the same path that the Midianite merchants walked with Joseph. They were together in a strange land. They were in the power of a stranger whose force was infinitely greater than their own, which in turn may have had the effect of reminding them. Oh, remember that time when Joseph was defenseless, when we had all the power over him? And how do we use that power, used that power to harm him even though we heard the anguish of his soul. We see the elements of true repentance here. They say, "In truth, we are guilty." We are guilty. There's no question that we're guilty. Guilty for what? Guilty for the sin of attempting to murder our brother. We saw the distress of his soul. They remember that moment and they say, "This is why this distress has come upon us." Joseph learned here that Reuben had not consented to the sale and Joseph also learned that they had been haunted for years by his cries. And they knew that they were guilty, deserving of death. God had written this law on their hearts, on each of our hearts. Thou shall not murder. That's written on every single one of our hearts. We can all agree upon that. If you murder, an image bearer of God, you deserve the condemnation of God. We all know that. Thankfully, not many of us are murderers here in the room, but Jesus did say in Matthew five, in the Sermon on the Mount, "Whoever hates a brother in his heart, whoever hates another human being in his heart has already committed murder." Hatred in our hearts toward another human being is commensurate to murder. Genesis 9:6, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image." So God has them reckoned with their guilt in this moment of honesty and true guilt is grace when it brings us to repentance. And Joseph's brothers here are wracked with guilt and they are now prepared for repentance. In verse 23, "They did not know that Joseph understood them for there was an interpreter between them. Then he turned away from them and wept. He returned to them and spoke to them and he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes." Joseph sees that they've been anguished by their guilt, they've acknowledged their sin. "Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy?" They've sinned against him. He hears their acknowledgement that he hears that they know they deserve a reckoning. They know they deserve to pay for their sins. And Joseph's so moved by this confession, this is all he wanted to see. He's been begging for this moment where these brothers finally understand the egregious sin that they committed against him. He's so moved by their confession that he goes into a side room and he weeps. He couldn't contain his emotion anymore. He weeps. Although they did not weep the moment that they sold him, they sold him to captivity. They put him in that pit before they sold him to captivity. And as he's crying out in that pit, "Brothers, don't do this to me, don't kill me." They sat down for a meal. They sat down to enjoy a meal that he had brought them from Jacob. Incredible callousness, just indifference. At that moment, they were dead to God. God was dead to them. God's law to not murder my ... No, no. Their jealousy and their hatred were God at that moment. And now, these same men, two decades later, are repenting, seemingly remorseful. Joseph weeps here and there would be more tears when he first saw Benjamin in chapter 43. And when Judah offers to take Benjamin's place, in chapter 45, and finally when he meets his father in chapter 46, he weeps on his father's neck. The first great revelation of his tears here was that Joseph knew that these brothers were changing. The last thing that they see, what they see before they leave, they see Simeon bound before them probably in chains. Why? This is all part of the test. Is their repentance over having sold Joseph into slavery true? Will they come back for Simeon? Will they come back for their brother? Will they show him sympathy? Genesis 42:25. "And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to replace every man's money in his sack and gave them provisions for the journey. And this was done for them." And this here is an indication of his true feelings toward them. He had all the reason the world to bring down vengeance upon them, to have revenge upon them, just like he could have brought revenge upon Potiphar or Mrs. Potiphar or even the cup bearer for forgetting Joseph. But you see none of that, you see no desire for vengeance or revenge in his actions in his heart. And yet he still does probe them. He does test. He puts the money in their sacks. Why? Because he wants to know, will they be happy with the money instead of Simeon? Not only did he return one of them individually, but he returned all of their money. Will they be fine keeping the money and leaving their brother? Verse 26, "Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed as one of them opened his sack and gave his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of the sack. Then he said to his brothers, 'My money has been put back. Here it is in the mouth of the sack.' At this, their hearts failed them. They turned trembling to one another saying, 'What is this that God has done to us?'" Not what is this that the second in command in Egypt has done? No, they understand that it's God in control of every single detail that has transpired in this narrative. They understand that God's arresting hand is upon them. For the first time in the narrative, they mention God. Their guilt leads them to God. That's the goal. Their awareness of God and their awareness of his holiness, their awareness that they've sinned against the holy God, that is what is awakened in them. They have a terrifying awareness of the divine and they're reading providence correctly. Yes, we are guilty before God. Initially, they realized they had sinned against Joseph. Now, they realize they've sinned against the living holy God of the universe. If you fear God over the penalty that your sin deserves, which you should, well, friend, the very second you begin to feel that fear of God, that I am guilty, not just guilt, I'm guilty because I've transgressed the law of God. I've sinned against God. The very moment you begin to feel that, that is God's grace. God does not give that to every single human being. To awaken you from your spiritual death, to give you spiritual life, and we were dead in our sins and trespasses, He made us alive. That's a miracle of the Holy Spirit. Godly fear and godly grief over our sin should lead us to repentance before God. Second Corinthians 7:8 through 13. St. Paul writes, "For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it, for I see that the letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment. At every point, you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it's not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. Therefore, we are comforted." Friends, perhaps you're in a situation, circumstances in your life where you clearly feel the arresting hand of God's spirit convicting you of sin, where things begin to happen in your life where you say, yes, I deserve this. I deserve this for the sins I have committed. Well friend, that's God's gift. And let this awesome awareness lead you to repentance. That's the whole goal. God wants to you to come to Him in contrition of heart, beg for forgiveness, and ask for grace. Fear alone, like guilt alone is of little use. In fact, it can be debilitating. But godly fear is a fear that God blesses, for He comes to those who fear Him. To understand that you deserve eternal condemnation for your sins, for having transgressed the perfect law of a holy God. And when you feel that fear, friend, that's grace. We sing this in the great hymn, Amazing Grace by John Newton. It goes like this, "Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed." Look, Joseph Joseph could have forgiven his brothers the very second they showed up. He could have said, "Fellas, it's been too long. Come on in. Let's enjoy, party, grain. Forget the grain. We're going to have cows, fat, sumptuous, pleasant looking cows." No, he allows them to feel to awaken their consciences so that they repent. It's God's gift. A lot of people, they want the grace to relieve the guilt before you've actually experienced the grace that leads us to fear God and tremble at His holiness. Grace teaches us to fear and grace relieves that guilt. Point four is the Father who won't sacrifice His beloved son. Genesis 42:29, "When they came to Jacob, their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them saying, 'The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land. But we said to him, 'We are honest men. We have never been spies. We are 12 brothers, sons of our father. One is no more and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. Then the man, the lord of the land said to us, 'By this, I shall know that you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households and go your way and bring your youngest brother to me then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men and I will deliver your brother to you and you shall trade in the land.'. As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob, their father, said to them, 'You have bereaved me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more. And now, you would take Benjamin, all this has come against me.' Then Reuben said to his father, 'Kill my sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands and I will bring him back to you.' But he said, 'My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he's the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.'" The gray hairs are an indication of the toll that Jacob's grief and sorrow had taken upon him at the loss of Joseph. And he says that if Benjamin dies, that's it. I'm dead. And here we also see that Jacob has blamed the brothers for the death of Joseph. "You have bereaved me of my children. You are responsible for Joseph's death as much as Simeon's imprisonment." Did he believe their story over these decades? No, he did not. He watched them. He listened to them. No, he knew exactly what happened. You did it. You sinful, wicked men. You killed my son. And here, the oldest, Reuben, felt his father's pain and made an absurd promise. "Kill my sons if I don't bring your son back." But nothing could lessen the pain of losing a son. Jacob says, 'All this has come against me." Jacob is wracked with sorrow and he's so wracked with sorrow, he's become self-centered. He suffers from main character syndrome, as it's known, where everything that's happening around him, he says, how is it impacting me? And everything going wrong in the world is going wrong against me. He's stuck in his selfish pity party. And he couldn't even imagine that, God, yes, despite the suffering, he has been working behind the scenes to provide salvation for the family. And finally he says, "My son shall not go down with you." Jacob had loved his son, Joseph, above all the others. And then with Joseph gone, most likely he just poured out all of that love on his son, Benjamin. Would he risk the life of his beloved son, Benjamin, in order to save Simeon, in order to save the other nine? Would he give up his son to save the family? For whom? Who's asking this? The wicked, sinful brothers, selfish, proud, self-absorbed, violent murderer, sexually deviant. You want me to give up Benjamin for one of you? Of course, he wouldn't. As he looked at them, "Judah, would I give up my son, Benjamin, for you? Reuben, would I give up my son, Benjamin, for you? No, of course not. I love him more than I love any of you." Of course, he wouldn't. They don't deserve it. They're sinners. They're wicked sinners. And then, friends, this is what makes the gospel so powerful. It makes the gospel so awesome, so amazing, so shocking, so provocative, so scandalous that the God of the universe, the perfect loving Father, there's never been a greater father than Him. He gave up His perfect son, beloved son, who had never sinned. He said, "You go, I'm not just going to protect you from them, I'm going give you up." And that's what happened on the cross. On the cross, whose wrath is Jesus Christ bearing? The son of God, in whom the Father delights. Well, at that moment, Jesus Christ was bearing our sin, our guilt, our condemnation was upon Him. That's all the Father saw as He was pouring out His wrath upon the son. Romans 8:31 through 32. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He now also with Him graciously give us all things?" Not only did God the Father, not spare God the Son, but it says that He gave him up for us all. God the Father gave up God the Son, to save us from our sins and to cleanse our guilty conscience. So this is why grace is to teach us to fear. Because when you see the cross and you say, "Oh, this is what it takes for my sin to be forgiven, this is what it takes for my guilty conscience to be cleansed." It takes the death of the beloved Son of the Father. And the Father did that for us. So friends, this is the great news. If you're not a believer, if you're new to the faith, you don't know where you stand before God, this is the great news. Whatever guilt you feel right now, that's God's grace. Whatever conviction you feel, that's God's grace for whatever sins you've ever committed. And if you are a believer and you're still carrying around your guilt of past sins, today, receive grace. Let that grace not just relieve you of the guilt, but let that grace completely remove it. Look to the cross of Jesus Christ today. See the love of God the Father for you, and see the hatred, the wrath of God for sin. And thank God that He had made a way for us to be saved. A lot of people ask, well, how do I pray? How do I receive Christ? How do I become a Christian? And usually, people come up with some kind of manmade prayer, pray this. Jesus, I repent of my sins, forgive me, et cetera, et cetera. I think one of the greatest prayers of repentance in all of scripture is Psalm 51. In Psalm 51, we see the psalm of a man who knew God's will. It was a man after God's own heart. It was a man who actually committed murder to cover up the adultery that he had committed. And then he was brought to reckon with his sin when the prophet Nathan comes to him and calls him out. And by God's grace, David does repent. He bears the consequences of his sin, but he does repent. And this is his prayer of repentance. And if you're not a believer, even if you are, meditate on this text and pray often. And I'll close with this Psalm 51. "To the choir master: a Psalm of David. When Nathan, the prophet, went to him after he had gone into Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly for my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgments. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken, rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence. And take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgresses your way and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice or I would give it. You will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken heart, a broken and contrite heart. O God, you will not despise. Do good in Zion in your good pleasure build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices and burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered up on your altar." Let us pray. Lord God, we thank you that you, a holy God, a just God are also a merciful God. We thank you for your long suffering and your loving kindness. Lord, we thank you that you have provided a way for each one of us to be reconciled with you. And Lord, we thank you for the grace that you offer us the very moment that we repent. And we thank you for the grace you offer us on a daily basis as you tell us to follow you. Lord, if there's anyone here who is not yet reconciled with you, I pray, Lord, convict their hearts and draw them to yourself. And I pray for us as believers, I pray, continue to make us people who are sensitive to your spirit and sensitive to your guidance. Continue to inform our consciences with your word and continue to make us a people who serve you from a good conscience. And we pray all this in Christ's holy name, amen.
From Prison to 2nd in Command
June 18, 2023 • Genesis 41
This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston or donate to this ministry, please visit http://mosaicboston.com Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are the supreme Father. You show us what it means to be a father, to not just give life, but to sustain it, to provide for it, to care, to love, to sacrifice, to teach, to lead, to protect. I pray for all the fathers in the house. Lord, it is a supernatural calling and it's a great responsibility. You entrust to us eternal souls to disciple and usher into your kingdom and then one day to usher into heaven by your grace. So Lord, fill all the fathers with the Holy Spirit. Teach us where we need to be taught. Strengthen us. Give us a greater vision for being even better fathers in the coming year. For those who have a desire for fatherhood, Lord, I pray. Make that a reality as you lead the young men. Lord, bless us in the holy scriptures today, we're reminded of the words of Christ in the desert to Satan. When Satan came to tempt him, and Jesus, you were in fasted state physically, and yet you rejected the temptation of the evil. And you said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." So Lord, we humble ourselves before your word and we come to your word as nourishment for our souls. We are famished and we live in a land of a famine of your words. So we pray, nourish us. And as you do, help us take this bread to others who are famished in their souls as well. And Lord, satisfy us with your love today, with your grace and with your presence. We pray for your Holy Spirit to guide us through the sermon and speak to our hearts in a way that only you can. And we pray all this in Christ's holy name. Amen. We continue today our sermon series called Graduate Level Grace, a study in the life of Joseph where in Genesis 41 today, and the context that we find ourselves in is that Joseph has been sold into captivity by his brothers. He's been in Egypt coming up on 13 years now. First it started in Potiphar's house and he rose in Potiphar's house to the point where he became second in the household. And then he was tempted by Mrs. Potiphar. She wanted him, she was in a position of authority over him. She wanted him to do something that was against God's law. So he refused. He refused an authority figure speaking over him, calling him to do something that was against God's law. Then we find him in prison. In prison he's going through the ranks as well to the point where everything was entrusted to him. Then last week he interpreted the dreams of the cup bearer, and the baker. The baker was then hanged and then the cup bearer is in the presence of Pharaoh, although he did not say a word about Joseph for two years. So that's the context we find ourselves in. These final events of Joseph's imprisonment the last two years were arranged by God, first of all to continue to hone Joseph, continue to strengthen him, temper him, deepen his faith and trust in the Lord. But then also its sovereign timing in that God waited for Joseph to come to the mind of the cup bear at the precise moment that Pharaoh needed him, which allowed Joseph to be elevated. Joseph we see is a radically God-centered man who believed that God had given him dreams and those dreams were from God and they were going to come to pass. And despite the serpentine twists and turns of the road, the circuitous road, Joseph's trusting God to get him to the promised destination. And this is really the lesson before us today. Will we trust God in the dark days of our life? Will we be able to say, "God, thank you for seasons that we don't want to live through."? 1 Thessalonians 5:8 tells us, "Give thanks in everything. This is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." And this is before God elevates Joseph to second in command in all of Egypt. He first teaches Joseph how to submit to authority and how to submit to ultimate authority, which is God's Proverbs 3, five through six, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make straight your path." What is the purpose of God in your life? What is God's will in your life? Well today God's will is for you to be thankful to him for bringing you to the season that you are in, to submit to him. And as we submit to his authority, he continues to work. Five sections that we're going to walk through, it's a very long text, so there'll be a lot of reading, but five sections as we work through the text, Pharaoh's nightmares. Then we'll look at Pharaoh calls Joseph, then Pharaoh recalls the nightmares, and then Joseph interprets the dreams. And finally, Joseph is elevated to prime minister. First of all, Pharaoh's nightmares, and this is verse one. "After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile. And behold there came up out of the Nile, seven cows, attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. And behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin came up out of the Nile after him and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. And the ugly thin cows ate up the seven attractive plump cows, and Pharaoh awoke and he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. And behold, after them sprouted seven ears thin and blighted by the east wind and the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump full ears. And Pharaoh awoke and behold it was a dream. So in the morning his spirit was troubled and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh." So God's timing in Joseph's life comes 13 years after he had been sold into captivity. Two years here, he's in prison until this night. So nearly half his dream, half his life, Joseph has spent in captivity. He's about 30 years old at this time when Pharaoh has this set of bizarre dreams, nightmares even. In the sacred world, the number seven is important. So we see the number seven twice here, the cow was a symbol of Egypt and it was even one of their gods. And if I weren't a Christian, I could really understand that cows are really miraculous. Praise be to God. Thank God he made them out of steak. So they were a society where they were agrarian in that they had grain and also they used that grain to feed their cattle. What we see here is that the dreams violate nature and that's what shocks him. The plump cows, that's tremendous. He sees them, they're attractive, but what scares him is that they begin to cannibalize the skinny cows. The same thing happens with the grain. In Egyptian Pharaohs, they considered themselves to be God. So when they dreamed, they thought they were being connected to the spiritual realm. And he thought this is clearly something from the divine, two dreams. The duality is important, signaling their certitude. So he dreams and the word behold is used here six times to show just how shocking this is. He wakes up. Although he thinks he's God, he doesn't have the interpretation of this message that was sent from the supernatural realm. He brings in all his wizards and pagan priests and they can't interpret the dream or they will not interpret the dream because they know what it signifies. It signifies that danger is coming. And perhaps they don't want to share bad news with Pharaoh because they know how Pharaoh would react. So what does Pharaoh do? And this is the second subheading. Pharaoh calls Joseph. It wasn't a good state for a king to be in. So the people around the king, his confidants, including his cup bearer, want to do something. So the cup bearer, here delicately, volunteers information that he should have shared a long time ago had he cared more about Joseph than himself, but he didn't care about Joseph more than himself until this moment. In this moment, he only shares the information because he most likely thinks it might help him. So Genesis 41, 9 through 14, "Then the chief cup bearer said to Pharaoh, 'I remember my offenses today. When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard. We dreamed on the same night he and I each having a dream with its own interpretation. A young Hebrew was there with us, the servant of the captain of the guard. And when we told him, he interpreted our dreams for us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. And as he interpreted to us. So it came about. I was restored to my office and the baker was hanged.' Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh." And as I was studying this text, I can't but think about the fact that everything can change in a second. If we believe in a God who is sovereign, a God who works miracles, everything can change in a second. What do you think Joseph had been praying about for 13 years? He was praying for his freedom, for his liberty. And now he has an opportunity to free him himself. He was a Hebrew man. In contrast to the Egyptians, they wore beards. So he is forced here to be shaved, sanitized, Egyptianized and presented to Pharaoh. He goes from prison, from the pit of prison to the pinnacle of power in the palace in a second. Their Joseph, handsome, well-built stands before Pharaoh, but he does not stand alone. And I find this fascinating. A lot of young people move to Boston from faithful families, from faith backgrounds. They come here, nobody knows them. No one knows you. There's no accountability structure. No one's going to call you out about any decisions that you make. That's where Joseph was. Age 17, he's in this brand new context. No one knows him. He can refashion his character, his identity, his destiny, any way that he wants, but he doesn't. He continues to submit his life to Yahweh despite the challenges. Joseph, no, he wasn't alone here. He knew he was never alone. He always knew that he was with Yahweh. Even in prison they said that he succeeded in everything that he did because Yahweh was with him. His God was with him. His God here convenes this meeting, orchestrates it with exquisite timing and brings him to the presence of Pharaoh. So this is title three that Pharaoh recalls the nightmares. Joseph's situation was to say the least intimidating. Here's a young guy. He most likely had to learn Egyptian in prison or in Potiphar's house. He's absolutely a nobody, and now he's going to be in the presence of the most powerful person alive. This person needs Joseph's help, needs his divine wisdom. So Joseph has been lifted from the filth of the prison, and now he's in the powerful court of Pharaoh. He's 30 years old. The temptation here would be to humbly moderate his views. Pharaoh, let me tell you a part of the dream, not all of it. No, no, no. He knows if I'm going to do this job and if I'm going to speak the truth and the spirit of God is in me, I'm going to speak all of it. And on top of that, he has the temptation to attribute honor to himself. Yes, Pharaoh, I'm the great interpreter of dreams. I can do this thing for you. What will you do for me? Will you free me? No. He understands that he's been put here from by God and he has a message to speak from God. He doesn't melt under the pomp and the circumstance. He doesn't melt under the flattery. He resolutely stands true to who he is, his identity and what God has called him to do is duty and destiny. So this is verse 15. "And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I've had a dream and there is no one who can interpret it. I've heard it said of you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it.' And Joseph answered, Pharaoh, 'It's not in me.' God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer." Observe carefully the humility. It's not in me. The very first words that we hear from the mouth of Joseph as he's in the presence of the greatest man alive, so to speak. He says, "It's not me. It's not me, it's God." Observe carefully his faith. He believes in God. I can't give you the answer, but I believe even at this moment that God will speak and observe carefully that Pharaoh who called himself God, he thought he was God, all of a sudden has met with this young guy who just came out of prison. And this young guy, he appeals to an authority greater than Pharaoh himself. Who is this young man? Who is his God? Joseph, all of his life, this has been the lesson from the very beginning that his brother sold him. He was a young man under authority of his father. His father tells him to do something risky. He does do it. And then he's a man that's under the authority of God. My father's not in the picture, but I will submit to God the Father. So Joseph before he's positioned number two in Egypt, number two behind Pharaoh, he's been submitting his whole life to God. He's been his whole life practicing to be number two to God. God is first, I'm second in every aspect of life. And that, friends, is the key to discipleship. How do you grow in the faith? You grow in the faith by on a daily basis saying, "Lord, Lord, I need you. I'm dependent on you. I trust you. Now help me submit this day to you. Help me submit all of my abilities, talents, opportunities, everything to you, every aspect of my life." And that's what Joseph does here. He appeals to God, Elohim, a God superior over the gods of Egypt. And this is what's happening. God loves to do this. What's happening is the idolatrous, the demons behind the idols of Egypt are right now going toe to toe with the God of Joseph. And God loves flexing at these moments to glorify his name. What we see is that Joseph hasn't changed a bit from his time in the pit to the palace. He wants to glorify God and he understands that the wisdom that is within him is not his own. It is God's. It's from the spirit of God. 1 Corinthians : 11 through 16 says, "For who knows a person's thoughts accept the spirit of that person which is in him. So also, no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world but the spirit who is from God that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the spirit interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual." Verse 14, "The natural person does not accept the things of the spirit of God for they folly to him. And he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things but is himself to be judged by no one, for who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." And I bring that in here. And most of us, we will not stand before the number one most powerful person in the world. Most of us won't have that opportunity, but most of us will be placed in a position where we do have to speak. At that moment, the spirit of God will speak to you and say, "Speak my words. This is what Jesus said to the disciples. "When you stand before the authorities, don't worry about what you're going to say." At that moment you're channel for the Holy Spirit. Lord, speak for me. Lord, give me the words, Lord, give me the wisdom. Give me them temperament to speak, not just to minds but to hearts. And that power is accessible to us if we humbly ask. Genesis 41, 17 through 24, "Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Behold, in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile. Seven cows, plump and attractive came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. Seven other cows came up before them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt. And the thin ugly cows ate up the first seven plump cows. But when they had eaten them, no one would have known that they had eaten them for they were still as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk full and good, seven ears withered thin and blighted by the east winds sprouted after them and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. And I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me." So here, obviously Pharaoh was very proud of the cows in Egypt. Multiple times he's like, "No, no, these aren't our cows. These are some kind of demonic cows. These are completely out of the realm of reality." He doesn't know what to do. He turns to Joseph. And this is setting, this is... Title four is Joseph, subtitle. Joseph interprets the dreams. So as Joseph listens to Pharaoh's dreams, what is he doing? The whole time he's listening, but he's also listening to the spirit. He's listening to what God is speaking to him. Remember Joseph had already declared that it's God. God is a source of interpretations. Every time he's been met with dreams, with the cup bearer, with the bake, he says it's God. Invokes the name of God and that's the key to his success here. Verse 25. "And then Joseph said to Pharaoh, 'The dreams of Pharaoh are one. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years. The dreams are one. The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years. And the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. It is, as I told Pharaoh, God has shown to Pharaoh what he's about to do. There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, but after them there will arise seven years of famine and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow for it will be very severe." One interpreter says that Joseph here interprets the dream with deft skill and a sure touch. He promises that there is a famine that's coming. It's a cyclical famine and it will be a time of severe adversity and even death if we don't do something about it. Here Joseph's language is that of a prophet. He's speaking the truth. And what's fascinating here is he predicts the truth no matter what. He says later in the text that this thing is fixed, everything that we see that's about to happen, it's fixed. And Pharaoh, your only decision is will you submit to the will of God. So this is Genesis 41, 31, "And the doubling of Pharaoh's dreams means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. Now therefore, let Pharaoh select the discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years, and let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities and let them keep it. That food shall be reserved for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt so that the land may not perish through the famine." This thing is fixed by God, he says. This thing is controlled by God. This thing is ordained by God. The reason why God can foretell the future is because God ordains the future. The reason why Joe has access to the wisdom of God and predicting the future is because God has already ordained it. Pharaoh, no matter what, God is going to do, what God is going to do through you. And this is fascinating because Pharaoh was not a God worshiper. He wanted nothing to do with God. He thought he was God himself. And we have many kings and rulers and presidents today who do think that there's no one above them, that there's no one in authority over them, that no one will hold them accountable. This is a lie. The truth from this text that we see is, no, kings do not make history. Pharaohs do not make history. Presidents do not make history. No. God uses them to affect history. Holy scripture says that the heart of the king is like water in the hands of God. So as we look at our nation, or if you're from another nation and your nation is worse than our nation or better than our nation, it's all a mess everywhere. You just need to know that no matter what, no matter what evil regime, thumbs its nose at justice, no matter how much violence and corruption they do with impunity, we must know that God will use all of this for his purposes. Joseph here, very wise. I'm not sure if he was thinking of himself when he was like, "Pharaoh, and by the way, you should nominate someone to do this job and I recommend myself." Most likely, it wasn't that. Most likely all of his plans of ambition and prospering in a worldly sense, most of that was probably vanquished already. Here, the Lord is just speaking through him. He proposes a plan. For seven years we're going to farm as best as we can and we are going to take 20% from everybody, a flat 20% income tax. Joseph, I can get behind that. I'm not for taxes, but if we had 20% flat tax that includes income, real estate, sales, et cetera, et cetera, that would be great. But his plan here is based on the spirit moving him. And what's fascinating is though he knows the future, God is sovereign, this is what God is going to do, he does not say, "Pharaoh, God knows the future, period. Okay, let me free and hopefully I'll never see you again." He doesn't do that. He knows that God has revealed the future to him, but the fact that he knows what God is going to do does not nullify his action. Actually he says, "Based on what I know God is going to do, I propose a plan of aggressive action for us to thrive." He says, "Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man." Discerning, you have insight. You have a capacity to constructively attack a problem and you are wise in that you have the ability to take information and you know exactly what to do with it. It's not just knowing what to do and knowing the right thing to do, but actually how to do it. And this brings us to heading five, and Joseph is elevated to Prime Minister and this is verse 37. "This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, 'Can we find a man like this in whom is the spirit of God?' Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Since God has shown you all this, there's none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house and all my people shall order themselves as you command, only as regards to the throne, will I be greater than you." And this is absolutely fascinating that God would move the heart of Pharaoh like this. Why? What did Pharaoh see in Joseph? I think first of all, he saw the authenticity, the integrity of the man, but he also saw the spirit of God. Obviously, how would you know this information? How would you know? How would you have a plan all set in place? You of all people, this prisoner from Canaan? What's fascinating is whenever you read in the Old Testament about the Holy Spirit or the spirit of God, it does not mean the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we see in the New Testament because several times Jesus Christ said, "Don't do anything disciples, apostles, until I send the Holy Spirit," the indwelling of the spirit that came at Pentecost. And that comes whenever anyone repents and believes in Christ. No, this spirit in the Old Testament was given for a certain task. Like we see when the builders of the tabernacle went to work, God's spirit came upon them and gave them this wisdom to conduct the work. But it is the spirit, the Holy Spirit working through him. And here Pharaoh says, "There's no one in the land who has the spirit of God like this man." And unwittingly, what is Pharaoh doing? He's raising up God, the God, Elohim, God, Yahweh above the gods of the Nile. What he's saying is our gods were powerless to give us this information, but the God of the universe, Elohim, he's the one that sent Joseph to. So Pharaoh here, however ignorantly, he's praising God. He's giving glory to God. He's extolling the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In one day everything changes for Joseph. In the morning he awoke an imprisoned slave. And now he's second only to Pharaoh. George Lawson in the 19th century, he wrote this book on Joseph, called The History of Joseph, and he summarizes this exquisitely this transition. And he says, "The life of different men presents not greater varieties to our observation than the life of the same man sometimes is done. How different is a king's grandson, a shepherd, a lawgiver from one another? And yet Moses sustained all these characters in different periods of the same life. Joseph was in his early days, the favorite son of a venerable father. He was in the next period of his life, a slave, and then a prisoner held in long confinement under the imputation of one of the worst of crimes. But in the best and longest period of his eventful life, he was the Lord of all the land of Egypt, trusted with all the power of the king and honored by the people as their savior from destruction. Let us not be greatly dejected by adversity. Let us not trust in prosperity. It is a storm in tempest today. It may be sunshine tomorrow. If it should, storms may again disturb our tranquility. Nothing is permanent in this world of changes. Nothing is more foolish than the presumption that tomorrow shall be as today." And then so it is with Joseph. He didn't let adversity break his heart. He kept going. He didn't let it wound his spirit. He doesn't let prosperity go to his head. And here in an instant, he doesn't just become the second most powerful person in Egypt. He becomes the second most powerful man in the world. And this is a lesson that I think perhaps the modern church is afraid to teach because of the abuse of the prosperity gospel, et cetera. But it is a teaching of holy scripture, a precept, a principle in life that God wants to bless those who are obedient. God loves to bless those who delight in him. God loves to bless those who are faithful to him. God said, "For those who love me, I will bless you not to just the first and second, third generation, but for a thousand." Psalm 84, 11 through 12, "For the Lord God is a son and shield the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Oh Lord of hosts blesses the one who trusts in you." We don't walk uprightly to get things from God just like we don't earn our salvation. We don't become Christians or believers or children of God, we don't get into heaven because of anything we've done, not through our law keeping or doing good works. No, salvation is all by grace through faith, you repent, you believe in Jesus Christ, you're saved. You're saved. All your sins are forgiven, past, present, and future. Now begins the Christian walk. Now begins the process of sanctification. And in this process God loves to bless those who are obedient. Psalm 37, 4 through 6, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as delight and your justice as the noonday." Yes, God expects his children to be faithful to him and he delights when we are, but he also delights to bless us when we're walking in paths of righteousness. The story of Joseph inspires us, not only because it's a demonstration of how perfect and certain the providence of God is to the detail, but also that God does lavishly reward those who love and serve him in thick and thin. Joseph, was he perfect? Of course not. Like Elijah, centuries later he was a man like us. He had his stumbles, he had his doubts. He had his fears. He had his even sins. He wasn't sinless, but he was faithful. He was loyal to the Lord. He submitted to the Lord in every aspect of his life by God's grace, and look what God does for him. And we should aspire to obedience. We should aspire to loyalty in faithfulness knowing that we will receive a reward, if not in this life, then in the next. Genesis, 41, 41, "And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'See, I've set you over all the land of Egypt.' Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. And he made him ride in the second chariot and they called out before him, bow the knee. Thus, he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I am Pharaoh, and without your consent, no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." On the spot, Joseph here is knighted in the sense ceremonies, bestowed all of the paraphernalia of power. First the king takes off a signet ring, which he used to sign documents. Therefore, here Pharaoh is giving Joseph his seal and seal of Pharaoh like authority. He also gives him garments of fine linen, the designer clothing of Egypt. And this is fascinating. First wardrobe he had, his father gave him the colored jacket. That didn't work out. And then the second clothing linen that he had from Potiphar's house, that didn't work out. And here finally, he's given not just the robe, he's given the finest robe that was created in that day. It was created for Pharaoh. Here he is elevated and given the status symbols. And then finally the gold chain that hung around his neck was a gift and symbol of the highest distinction. And now with all of the signs of power, we see a parade that Pharaoh has for Joseph, taking him through the lands so that everyone knows who's second in command. In the morning wakes up just in a dirty stinking pit. Although he had a beard, unfortunately he lost that. And then all of a sudden everything changes for him. I think of him sitting in Pharaoh's house, having someone feed him clusters of grapes. That's Joseph. The finest menu of that day was offered to him and he's got people basically worshiping him. Incredible. And then in verse 45 it says, "Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zephenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. So here Pharaoh gives Joseph a wife. She's Egyptian. And he gives him an Egyptian name, which means abundance of life. And not only, this woman that he gives him into marriage, not only is she Egyptian, but she's the daughter of Potiphera priest, not Potiphar, but similar name, Potiphera Rah, but also has to do with the Rah, which is the son God, God gives. So this is a priest who is elevated as high as possible that we know of in this cultic religion of the sun god. The city of On was a place where they worshiped the sun god. So what is Pharaoh doing? Pharaoh is trying to get Joseph's commitment for life. Okay, I see your power. Now you're going to become like one of us. He Egyptianizes his name. He gives him an Egyptian wife, Egyptian father-in-law, and now he's connected in the network of this false religion. And here Potiphar is trying to get control of Joseph's soul. That's what's happening. And what's fascinating is that Joseph's soul, if you think about it in many ways is in greater danger now that he's in the court of Pharaoh than his soul was when he was in prison. Because when you are as low as you can possibly go, when you're at the bottom of the pit, there's only one way to look, and that's up. You look up to God. So learning, reliance and dependence and trust in God, in a position where you have no power, you have no one else to rely on, well that makes all the sense in the world. But now Joseph, at age 30, is in the position where his pride can kill his soul, right? He does have wisdom that's matchless. He does have looks that are matchless. He does have power that is matchless, connections that are matchless. Does he need God? And I think that's important because many of you will be in a position in life if you're not already, where your life will look more like Joseph's life now than Joseph's life in prison. I was just thinking about it. If you can afford to go to one of those resorts, all-inclusive resorts where they just feed you whatever you want and it's just... That's basically Pharaoh's court. Pharaoh's like, "This is my life." And you're like, yeah, "Well your palace doesn't have indoor plumbing. My all-inclusive resort does." In many ways we live more comfortable lives than if Pharaoh would've ever dreamed to live. In many ways in our lives, on a daily basis, you don't need God. All your needs are met, physically. And here Joseph shows us that even though he's at the very top, he understands the dangers before him and his soul is connected to God like never before. Why? Because God had prepared him for this moment. God had taught him to trust no matter what. In Genesis 41, 46, "Joseph was 30 years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through the land of Egypt. During the seven plentiful years, the earth produced abundantly. And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which occurred in land of Egypt and put the food in the cities. And he put in every city the food from the fields around it. And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea until he ceased to measure it for it could not be measured." So we see everything that Joseph said came to pass and they worked strategically both to harvest the grain and then also to store the grain. And by the end, they have immeasurable cash of grain in every strategic city. So Joseph, we see his reliance on God in that he went to work. He realized, God put me in this position. God gave me this plan. God gave me the interpretation. Now he goes to work and we see his work ethic and his administrative skills all on display. And then verse 50, "Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, Asenath. The daughter of Potiphera priest of On bore them to him. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. For he said, 'God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house.' The name of the second he called Ephraim, for God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." Despite his public success, so this is five, six years after his elevation to the number two spot, there's a pain that has not gone away. And we see a glimpse into the personal pain of Joseph here with the birth of his firstborn son. What does he remember? My hardship. What does he remember? The hardship of my father's house. He's never forgotten his childhood. He's never forgotten what his brother's did to him. He's never forgotten the flaws of even his father. And he thought, "Well God, thank you for sending me the son." And he names him, God made me forget. God sent me a spiritual amnesia and he says that this is a gift. God, thank you for making me forget something that was indelibly written on my soul. God, thank you for making me forget this. Some of us, we need to learn this lesson of spiritual amnesia. I drive a Suburban, a black Suburban because I like looking like a fed. And it was raining yesterday, I was on the highway, I was driving New Hampshire. I live in New Hampshire. And I'm driving and it's pouring. And I realized I haven't looked back into my rear view mirror in probably, I don't know, 30 miles. I just don't care. I'm just driving. And then I tried to look back through my window and I can't see a thing because I didn't even have the wipers on. So it was just water, just like you're in a car wash. And then I put the windshield wipers on and I'm like, "Oh, that's so much better. I like looking back." Like, I should actually know what's going. And I think in many ways like through difficult times in our life through suffering, through pain, through seasons like Joseph experienced, we don't even want to look in the back. Lord, I don't want to look there. But there were so many lessons there. There were so many blessings there, there was so much provision of God back there. So we need the windshield wiper of God's grace to remove the tears so that we can look back and say, "You know what? I choose, like God chooses to forget my sins, I choose to forget the sins of the people against me. By God's grace I choose..." God, the omniscient God of the universe, does not forget a thing. He chooses to forget our sins and he casts them as far from us as the east is from the west. And that's what's happening with Joseph here. God thank you for the spiritual amnesia that comes as medicine upon his soul. So that's his first son. And his second son is Ephraim, which means abundance. That God, you have blessed us with fruitfulness even in the land of affliction. What's fascinating here is that we do see that Joseph has not forgotten his God. We see that. His Egyptian wife couldn't do anything here. Lord willing, he discipled her and told her about Yahweh, she becomes a Christian. Because what kind of names does he give him? What kind of names does he give his son as he's in Egypt, as he's number two to Pharaoh, as his father-in-law is a priest in the idol religion? He gives them Hebrew names. And the Hebrew names here signify that God is with them, that he's continuing to honor God and he humbles himself before God. Even in the midst of his prosperity, Joseph remains a man under God, interested in the will of God and God continues to use him powerfully. F.B. Meyer here comments and he says, "It was a wonderful ascension and a single bound from the dungeon to the steps of the throne. His father had rebuked him. Now, Pharaoh, the greatest monarch of his time, welcomes him. His brethren despised him. Now the proudest priesthood of the world opens its ranks to receive him by marriage into their midst, considering it's wiser to conciliate a man who was from that moment to be the greatest force in Egyptian politics in life. The hands that were hard with the toils of a slave are adorned with the signet ring. The feet are no longer tormented by fetters. A chain of gold is linked around his neck. The coat of many colors torn from him by violence and defiled by blood, and the garment left in the hand of the adulterous are exchanged for vestures of fine linen drawn from the royal wardrobe. He was the ones trampled upon as the ox carrying of all things. Now all Egypt is commanded to bow down before him as he rides in the second chariot, Prime Minister of Egypt and second only to the king." The text ends with verse 53 through 57. Verse 53, "The seven years of plenty that occurred in land of Egypt came to an end. And the seven years of famine began to come as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands. But in the land of Egypt there was bread. When all the land of Egypt was famished and the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, go to Joseph what he says to you, do. So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. Moreover, the earth, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain because the famine was severe over all the earth." So the monstrous seven cows and the seven years of grain who had been cannibalizing the seven plump cows in the ears of grain. And Joseph and Egypt were ready for it and ready to provide for their own people and also capitalized and take the wealth of the other nations in exchange for grain. So the money readily poured into Egypt's coffers. But Joseph does not bow to other idols. Prosperity does not kill his faith. Joseph goes from humiliation to exaltation. It's a remarkable story. He goes from absolutely nothing from being a slave to becoming second in command. He didn't do it willingly. He didn't choose this. That's a remarkable story. But there is a greater story. And Joseph points us to a greater Joseph, a man who was raised by a man named Joseph. And that's Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity name. Jesus Christ willingly goes from exaltation to humiliation. He goes from the presence of God. He goes from perfection and bliss and he comes down into our filth, into humanity, into this world. Notice the kiss of honor here that's talked about. Everyone bows, everyone pays homage to Joseph. Scripture teaches us about the fact that there's another king and we have to give honor to him. Psalm two verse 12, "Kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him." So the king can get angry if I dishonor him? Yes, of course. That's how honor and authority works. In our culture we have a hard time understanding that because we don't really... We're egalitarian and we don't really believe in honor and hierarchy and authority. Joseph knew it. This is what made Joseph, Joseph. He understood authority. He understood that there's God and then God places people over us and there is a way to serve in order to grow, but he does learn it from God. So the king can get angry if I don't pay homage. So what am I to do? I'm to take refuge in him. What kind of king is this that welcomes those who dishonor him, those who did not worship him? What kind of king would take us in so that we find in him? We, rebels, of all people? Well, this is King Jesus. He came to us when we were still rebels. He came to us not when we were honoring him or glorifying him. He came to us when we wanted nothing to do with him. In Philippians 2, 5 through 11 says, "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. Who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is lord to the glory of God the Father." Jesus Christ likens himself to bread. He said, "I'm the bread of life." He is the only one who can satisfy to the depths of our soul. If anyone's been on a regular diet and then all of a sudden, sudden you're like, "I need to lose weight," and then you go keto. For the first two weeks, you miss above all else, what do you miss? You miss bread. You just miss it. You miss it. And in a sense, there is a part of our soul where only the bread of life can fill. You might try to fill it with prosperity, with comfort, with prestige from people around you, with honor, with degrees, with wealth. And you realize as you acquire, as you experience that, that gnawing is still there. Jesus Christ alone is our bread. And how does he become our bread? We remember this on every single time we celebrate the Lord's supper, his body on the cross is broken for us. The king of kings is on a cross. The second person of the Trinity is on a cross, bearing the curse that we deserve for our lawbreaking. That's the bread being broken for us. And this blood pours down. That's symbolized by the cup. So how is that a tribute? How can I have that? How can I get the satisfaction of the bread and the cup of Jesus' body and his blood? By grace through faith. At communion, we eat the bread and we drink the cup. It's a sign of internalizing. I internalize what Jesus did and he did that for me. If you're here this morning, if you've never believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you've never submitted your life to him, we today urge and plead with you. We ask today, receive God's grace. What makes us Christians? We have found bread, bread of life in Jesus Christ and we now want to share it with a famished world. And may God help you recognize your lost condition. There is a famine of the spirit that apart from God and apart from God's grace will continue to grow. Scripture teaches. Blessed are the poor in spirit. What does that mean? It means, Lord, I'm spiritually bankrupt. I need more of your spirit. Lord, I need the blessing of more of your spirit. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Friends, do you hunger and thirst for righteousness above all else? Well, scripture says you shall be satisfied. So come to Christ today, come to our greater Joseph, come to our greater Prime Minister of the affairs of God, the eternal second person of the Trinity, and he will welcome you with arms wide open. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for a blessed text. We thank you for a blessed time in the Spirit, in the Word, as your people and we pray. Minister to us Holy Spirit, and help us trust in you no matter what. Help us submit to you no matter what. Make us a people who are useful to you, ready to be of service to you in the same way that you blessed Joseph for his faithfulness and loyalty and obedience to you. Lord bless each one of us. And for those who are far from you, draw them to yourself. Make them your own. Take off their rags of sin. And instead, Lord, robe us with your righteousness. And we pray this in Christ's name. Amen.
Seek God Defined Success
June 11, 2023 • Jan Vezikov • Genesis 40
This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston, or donate to this ministry, please visit http://mosaicboston.com Our Heavenly Father, all of us face perplexing situations in our lives, in our youth, in our middle ages and in the challenges of our twilight years. We never know from one day to the next what turns will occur. And so daily, as we face your providence, we're challenged with the challenge of faith. Will we walk by faith or by sight? Lord, I pray that you give us grace to walk by faith even when everything that we see seems counter to good. Yet Lord, we know on the turn of a dime you can redeem any situation. As we consider your providence today in the life of Joseph as he is stuck in a dungeon, Lord, we thank you that you were with him even in the darkest pit. And Lord, teach us lasting lessons from your scriptures and we pray that your Holy Spirit enables us, not just to understand these lessons, but to embrace them and to love them. Help us experientially know your love and love the fact that you and your good purposes and your wisdom you brought us to where you have brought us and we know that you will lead us from here. Well Lord, in spite of the dark seasons of providence, we do trust in you and we pray that you deepen our trust in you. In Jesus' name, amen. We're continuing our sermon series that we've entitled Graduate Level Grace: A Study in the Life of Joseph. This is Genesis 37 through 50. Today we find ourselves in Genesis 40 and the title of the sermon is Seek God Defined Success. Among the most prized possessions of men in past centuries was a fine sword. Swords have been immortalized in mythology like King Arthur's Excalibur, the broad sword pulled from a cloven rock. More recently, there's Frodo Baggins' little miniature sword, Sting. Even science fiction boasts of swords like the light sabers of the Jedi Knights. But there's a sword more powerful than any of those, and that's the sword of the word of God, and that's an apt metaphor. Ephesians 6:17 says, and this is a commandment, "Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." When we take the sword of the Spirit on a daily basis and we first apply it to ourselves, it completely changes us. Why? Because Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." The word of God is like a sword in that it does penetrate through into the depths of our soul. John Bunyan's Pilgrim carries the right true Jerusalem blade, which was a way of saying the Christian is armed with the word of God. Now, when you study the word of God and you apply it to yourself and you seek to obey the Lord faithfully, and when you disobey, you ask for grace and repent of sin, what happens is that you yourself become a sword, that the human life, when it is presented to God in humility, God use me. Well, what does God do? He shapes us. He hones us. He tempers us by His word and also by the fires of providence, the fires that occur in life until we become a mighty blade in the hands of God. And that's what we're seeing with Joseph, that God is sharpening him, edge after edge, sharpening him until he becomes a singular instrument of redemption in the hands of God. The story begins with Joseph, just a young guy, naive and sensitive in many ways. Innocently arrogant in his youth and then he's sold into slavery. At that point, he could have turned to bitterness. He could have become a victim. At that point, he could have allowed his spirit to become wounded. No, he doesn't do any of that. The bitterness of Joseph's experience by God's grace seasoned him with sweetness so that the arrogance is deflated. And then ultimately, he is used by God to save his family whom he forgives. Joseph was already shown in the story, signs of spiritual greatness. Last week, we learned about his remaining faithful and not being compromised by Mrs. Potiphar's seductive siege. And Moses has written success in large letters all across Joseph's life at this juncture. If you remember last chapter ends in Genesis 39:21 through 23 with these words, "But the Lord was with Joseph, showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison and the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. And whatever was done there, he was the one to do it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed." And here you got to pause and ask, is this success? He's in his late twenties, no family, no career, owns nothing. Successful in what category? Well, he's successful in the eyes of God and that's the only true measure of success. Despite trying circumstances, dark providence where he could have just run from God, run from responsibility. No, his faith actually grows stronger. Though he is far removed from his family, separated by the desolate expanse of the Sinai, immersed in another culture speaking a different language, enduring the living death of a slave. Despite all that, he still holds fast to his God. And we know in the coming chapters that he will be elevated to the vice regency of Egypt. He becomes number two only after Potiphar. And what we see is before his ascent to power, God gives us one more chapter that shows us where Joseph is in the darkest place in his life. It's a final stint, a final opportunity for God to shape him. And many lessons are enforced by the picture of Joseph in this dungeon, but he understands, come what will, right is right and sin is sin and that consequences are never to deter from duty. And that it's better to live with a clean conscience in prison then to do wickedness and sit at a king's table. Four points or categories, subheadings with which we'll walk through the text. First we'll look at the prisoners assigned to Joseph, then we'll look at the prisoners troubling dreams. Third, Joseph interprets their dreams. And fourth, the dreams come true. And we'll walk verse by verse through the text. First, prisoners are assigned to Joseph. So if you remember Potiphar who was in charge of the executioners of Pharaoh. Mrs. Potiphar came to him and said, "Joseph, he was trying to rape me." That's what was going on. And then Potiphar didn't really believe her. That's why he didn't have Joseph executed. And so he puts Joseph in this prison that he's in charge of and then he grows in responsibility. So this is Genesis 40 verses one through four. "Sometime after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their Lord, the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. And he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody." So Joseph was sold by his brothers into captivity when he was 17 years old. And we know that 11 years have already passed from that time. We don't know how those 11 years were divided between serving in Potiphar's household and in prison. But we do know that Joseph is now 28 years old because in the next chapter it says two years passed, two whole years passed from the events in this chapter, and then he'll be 30 at which at that age he ascended to the service of Pharaoh. So what happens is we don't know what the chief cupbearer or the chief baker did, but we do know that they are chief in their class. These are people to whom the Pharaoh entrusted his life. The royal cupbearer and the royal baker in a sense held the life of Pharaoh in their hands. If you wanted to take a king out or Pharaoh out, one of the ways you would do that is you bribe the cupbearer or you bribe the baker to poison the man. That's why the Egyptian cupbearers were sometimes called pure of hands. There were supposed to be people of incredible integrity. So the cupbearer's job was not just to taste the wine, he would oversee the whole process of the wine making and then finally taste it in the presence of Pharaoh before giving him the cup. The baker would do the same with food. So they were put in the custody in the house of the captain of the guard. Potiphar is the captain of the bodyguard. So Potiphar puts Joseph in a position to care for these criminals. And the thing you got to know about these guys is that they are high ranking officers. Remember, Nehemiah was a cupbearer, so he had incredible influence over the king, over the land. They were confidants, they were advisors. But here, something happened, we don't know what, but Pharaoh suspected them of plotting his demise. Perhaps he grew ill after a meal and he didn't know which one to blame, so he threw both into prison until it was decided. So here's Joseph. He's at the bottom of the bottom. He's 28 years old, been in prison serving prisoners, serving those who are enslaved. And at this point, he could have thrown himself a pity party and also checked out of reality. He could have thought, Lord, why did you give me this lot in life? I didn't sign up for this. Why was it that my mother died in an untimely death? And why was it that my father who loved me so couldn't quell the strife in the family? And why is it that my family sold me into slavery? And why is that Potiphar believed these false accusations, et cetera, and he's in prison. But instead of doing any of that, he continued to trust in the Lord and the Lord continued to sustain him even in prison. Before Joseph is put in the palace, he's taught by God to walk by faith in the prison. And that brings us to the next verses, and this is the second heading, prisoners troubling dreams. Verse five. "And one night they both dreamed, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, each his own dream and each dream with its interpretation." So the ancient Egyptians put great stock in dreams because they believe that when they slept, they were put in contact with another world. A pair of dreams, dual dreams shows us that there is certainty of fulfillment. So these guys, they both woke up rattled on the same night. They had these dreams, they're burdened with this inscrutable dream. And we see here, of course, God, in His providence, bringing these two guys together and it's God who gives them these two dreams. And what is God doing? He's furthering His glory. "Yes, Joseph, I do have great plans for you, plans to prosper you and plans to glorify my name through you." And part of the process of glorification is, how will you respond to adversity. How will you respond to dark providence, seasons where the only place to look up is to look up to God from the pit. And that's what's happening here. And even as He's teaching Joseph, God is ultimately concerned about glorifying His name and His might. That's what's happening here. In verse six, "When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled." He noticed that they were perturbed, something was off. So he says in verse seven, "So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, 'Why are your faces downcast today?'" Why are your faces gloomy today? In this question, what we see is, what do we see, we see kindness. We see interest. We see respect. He noticed things. By the way, this is a man. This is a man noticing the feelings of other men. This is a miracle in and of itself. But it just shows incredible sensitivity. I saw yesterday you were not gloomy, today, you're gloomy. Both of you are gloomy. And it shows this and this is a large measure of Joseph's success. He was present on a daily basis and he inquired of those around him of how they're doing or how they felt. Incredible sympathy, incredible sensitivity. And also, you can't but notice the growth. Remember when he was 17 years old, he's very good looking, beloved by Jacob. He's a beloved son. He's got the beautiful colored rainbow, the robe, and he knows he's the chosen one. And he didn't have the awareness to keep his dreams to himself. The dreams were it was clear that one day his brother's whole family would bow down before him. No, he decided to share that. Well, of course, how do you think your brothers are going to respond to dreams like that? So when he was younger, he lacked the sensitivity. But now, though he had every reason to ignore the feelings of his fellow inmates, he was tender to be considerate of them. And it's apparent that what Joseph had experienced in the famous ups and downs of his own life, well, those seasons made him sensitive and compassionate toward others. So he asked the question and verse eight they said to him, "We have had dreams and there is no one to interpret them. And Joseph said to them, 'Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.'" Well, first thing you got to notice is he has this God reflex. As soon as he hears about they have a problem, let's take it to the Lord. And also, there's an implicit declaration of belief here. God sends dreams and God can interpret dreams. And by the way, this shows that he never stopped believing that those dreams that God had sent him early on were from God and they were to come true. Joseph's faith has also demonstrated in the fact that he doesn't take credit. He could have said, I have the skills of being a great interpreter of dreams. He says, no, no, no, let's take it to the Lord. Well, what has God just done? He has given Joseph the opportunity to testify to his glory. Now no matter what circumstances we're in, in God's providence, we have a choice to make. Will I trust whatever the circumstance I'm in, will I trust God today? Will I trust that God's hand of providence brought me here and God's hand of providence will take me out of here? Will I trust Him today? And part of trusting God is giving glory to Him verbally saying, "God, I praise you for this day. I praise you for this season. Whatever it is, I will give you glory." Joseph meant only God alone can give us the wisdom to understand what's happening here. And he, like Daniel, that's how Daniel approached dreams when he worked in Babylon. He said, "Let's take it to the Lord. I can ask of him and he can reveal it." So point three is, Joseph interprets their dreams and this is verse nine. "So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, 'In my dream there was a vine before me. And on the vine there were three branches. And as soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth and the clusters ripe ripened with grapes. Pharaoh's cup is was in my hand and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.'" So the cupbearer speaks first, perhaps because he wasn't really worried about his dream, it was kind of a pleasant dream. He didn't understand it, but there wasn't reason for misgivings. And we see here that there is a quick succession of ensuing steps. The blossoms develop into grapes and then all of a sudden there's complete clusters which ripen on the spot and then he takes them and he makes wine out of them. And pharaoh's cup is filled. And obviously a beautiful cup. That's the image. So what does Joseph say in verse 12? Then Joseph said to him, "This is its interpretation. The three branches are three days. In three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formally when you were his cupbearer." Now had Joseph lost faith by this point, faith in God, faith in God's revelations through dreams, we would imagine him to say something like, "Gentlemen, you had dreams. Congratulations. I had dreams. Let me tell you about my dreams. No, you don't want dreams. Forget the dreams. Don't let anyone interpret the dreams for you." Had he lost faith, that's exactly what he would do. No, no. God grants Joseph the power and the wisdom to discern the interpretation of the dream with perfect clearness, partially because he never stopped believing in the Lord. He walked before the faith of the Lord. He communed with the Lord, he was abiding with the Lord. So there's no wavering or uncertainty on Joseph's part. He seizes upon the essential features of the dream that are now, after the interpretation, clear to us. The expression, lift up your head, is counter to your head was down, you were gloomy. But in three days, your head will be lifted up and you will be restored. And that's precisely what happened. And because of the accuracy of his interpretation, the cupbearer, though he forgot Joseph for two years, he remembered Joseph when Pharaoh needed interpretation. That's next chapter. We continue in Genesis 40:14. Joseph said, "Only remember me when it is well with you and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. For I was indeed stolen out of land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit." One commentator says that what we see here is the powerful man born to rule is also a needful one. We must understand that after 11 long years we see that Joseph, he knows he's innocent. And one of the lessons we can learn here is a lot of people, when they talk about God's sovereignty or God's providence, they talk about it in a way where it does nullify the human will. Does Joseph believe in God's providence, God's sovereignty? God has allowed me to be put ... yes. But does Joseph say, therefore, I will resign myself and never try to improve my situation? No, of course not. He believes that God put him here, put him here for a reason. But at the very first opportunity to get out, he says, "Look, remember me, please remember me." And it's a measured request. He doesn't say, "I want FaceTime with Pharaoh." He just says, "Can you mention me and mention my cause?" In Genesis 40 verse 16, when the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, "I also had a dream. There were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head." First thing to point out is Egyptians apparently loved their carbs, they loved bread. The dictionary of Egyptian from this period lists 38 different kinds of cake and 57 varieties of bread. So this is a big deal for them. And that's why, by the way, the famine with the grain is kind of a big deal because they're like, we love our carbs. And imagine, seven years with no carbs and thanks to Joseph that was wasn't as bad as it could have been. But so the chief baker has a dream and he hears the cupbearers favorable interpretation and he thinks, perhaps my dream was also favorable. The top basket had a variety of some of every sort of pharaoh's food, a handiwork of the baker. And none of this is unusual, butlers of that time, bakers of that time were men who commonly carried the baskets on their head. But one thing the baker failed to notice, which is really the outstanding thing of this dream and really ominous, he wasn't able to drive the birds away. The birds ate unhindered. Have you ever been to Nahant Beach? It's like the seagulls there, just demonic. And that's what's happening here. They really are demonic. And birds, by the way, usually are a sign of something ominous in scripture. Joseph has a decision to make. How will I interpret this guy's dream? Genesis 40 verse 18. "Joseph answered and said, 'This is its interpretation. The three baskets are three days. In three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and hang you on a tree and the birds will eat the flesh from you.' So he's going to be lifted up too, but quite in a different way. And the same language is used here, your head will be lifted up and then the Hebrew just adds from you, showing he will be decapitated following by hanging on a tree and then the birds of prey would eat his flesh. Judging by Joseph's kindness, he probably broke this unwelcome news as kindly as he could. But he does break the bad news. He doesn't say, "I'm sorry, Mr. Baker, I can't interpret your dreams or I'd rather not interpret your dreams, or I'd rather not ruin your day by talking about something negative." No, God has a revealed good news to Joseph and bad news. And Joseph isn't the spiritual coward and he doesn't attack the wisdom of God. If God has revealed that this is His word, we are to proclaim that this is His word. And if we as Christians are going to preach heaven, we also must preach hell if we're going to be faithful to the Lord and His word. And also, Joseph didn't make up the interpretation of the dream. He doesn't enhance it in any way. He doesn't make up God's providence. He simply reported it. God gave him a message and he shared that message and he did it as lovingly as he could. The fourth subheading is, dreams come true. And this is verses 20 through 23. "On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief cupbearer to his position and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand, but he hanged the chief baker as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him." So every interpretation of Joseph proved to be true. In fact, the specific words and phrases spoken to the cupbearer and to the baker, verses 13, 19, are echoed here, just to underline the precision with which Joseph predicted the future. How encouraging this must have been for Joseph. For 11 years, he had believed that his dreams would come true. He never wavered in his conviction despite his circumstances. And now, he had solid objective evidence that God's hand is upon him, he still has God's anointing and that God has purposes for him. And he brilliantly interpreted this pair of dreams. So now that he was doubly sure that his own dreams would be fulfilled and he knows that God is with him, what's he thinking? He's thinking that's it. My stint in prison is over. Praise be to God. He thinks he's going to be at the birthday party with Pharaoh. He thinks he's going to be chilling with the cupbearer. That's what he's thinking. He's preparing for the party. And then a month goes by and in the court, the news has circulated that, yeah, everything Joseph said, it happened with the cupbearer, and yet the cupbearer did nothing. The cupbearer forgot. What we see here is another two long years of disappointment, two whole years. That's what the next chapter says. Joseph experienced disappointment and after disappointment. Throughout the whole story, his brother's murderous rejection of him, evil in return for doing the good and resisting Potiphar's wife, the withering disappointment from the forgetful cupbearer. Joseph's life teaches us that disappointments are essential. They're not just part of our life, they're essential to our spiritual growth because they demand at this moment, Lord, I want this thing. Lord, I'm begging for whatever this is. At that the moment you got to exhibit patience and faith and rest all your hope upon God. Well, it's those seasons, in particular, of disappointment that refine us. As V Raymond Edman says, "Delay never thwarts God's promises, it only polishes his instrument." And if you take a step back and just meditate, why two more years, Lord? Why two more years? Part of it is, he needed the preparation. In two years, Joseph would go from being an absolute nobody catapulted to the second position in all of Egypt. And Pharaoh, at that moment, when he elevates Joseph, changes Joseph's name to Egyptian and gives Joseph an Egyptian wife. He's trying to Egyptianize Joseph, meaning, you're going to believe what we believe. And on top of that, the wife that he gives Joseph comes from a family of the highest priests of their religion, of the sun god. So Joseph, as a 30-year old man, will be tossed into this court of idol worship and a life that will be lived amidst a swirl of sensuality with Mrs. Potiphars everywhere. And the intrigues of the court, like happened with the baker, that was just a part of daily life with lying and backbiting, et cetera. So Joseph had to be prepared for the responsibility with which he would be tasked. So God continues to prepare him and He continues to teach him. And his greatest successes were not at the top, but actually here in the pit where he's wrestling with God and God is expanding his soul reflex and instinctively he turns to Lord despite the disappointments. God could have conveyed all of these truths about Joseph's preparation by simply listing them. As I prepare a sermon on long narratives, I'm like, "Lord, all these lessons that I have to learn from the text, why don't you just list them? That'd be great." Be like, at the end of the ... okay, here's the three lessons and that'd be tremendous. But instead, God has chosen to illustrate these lessons in the fabric and text of a human life so that his life can be pressed and impressed on ours. So in this 40th chapter of Genesis, it records the final living touches upon a man that will be used mightily by God. There are moments in the Christian walk where it feels like the Lord has forgotten you. It feels like the omniscient God of the universe has turned His back on you. We've all been in seasons like that. Experienced Christians can only too well imagine him in this prison year after year, crying out as the psalmists do. For example, in Psalm 13, "How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord, my God. Lift up my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemies say I have prevailed over him, lest my foes rejoice because I'm shaken." But notice the turn in the text. "But I have trusted in your steadfast love. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me." Those moments of God's dark providence, when you're walking through the valley of the shadow of death, you got to make a decision. And the decision the psalmist makes is no matter what, "But I have trusted in your steadfast love." That's what walking by faith looks like. God has led me into the valley of the shadow of death and He will lead me out. God is strengthening Joseph's faith by teaching him not to judge his circumstances only by his senses, but to trust God for His grace. Two Corinthians 5:6 through 10 says, "So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." The passage indicates that God is furthering His glory by delaying Joseph's desire to get out of prison for several reasons. But if God had gotten Joseph out of prison through the cupbearer's initial pleas, then Joseph would've thought that the cupbearer was the rescuer. "Oh Lord, thank you for sending this guy to save me." And God would rather glorify Himself in the life of Joseph by making it absolutely clear it wasn't a cupbearer, it was actually God miraculously intervening. And finally, in this very act of delaying the answer to Joseph's desires, God is establishing His plan to save Israel. And through saving Israel, provides salvation for each one of us. For example, if Joseph was freed from the prison by the mere appeal of the cupbearer, well, he'd never get appointed to be second in command in the house of Pharaoh. Why? Pharaoh wouldn't even know about it. Okay, you're freed because unjustly, you were sold into captive. What would Joseph have done at that moment? He would've gone home. And then what happens? And then in a few years, the famine starts and then he's in the same situation, helpless as his whole family. No, God says, "You got to wait a couple more years and then Pharaoh will have that dream through which Joseph will be elevated." So God had a better plan than Joseph and a better purpose. And that plan meant waiting, it meant being frustrated. It meant being perplexed. It meant being patient. But also, it meant growing in the Lord and growing in faith. Many a lesson we can learn from here. I don't know what dreams the Lord has given you, and I'm not here to interpret them, but there is something that I can proclaim, and I can proclaim it with absolute assurance because it's 100% true. I can proclaim the future for each one of us. If you are not in the Lord Jesus Christ, dear friend, you will experience damnation for eternity. If you do not trust in Jesus Christ, then the penalty for your sin is upon you. Galatians 3:13, 14 says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, 'Cursed as everyone who is hanged on a tree', so that in Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith." In the same way that the baker was cursed and he was hanging on a tree, anyone that was crucified by the Roman empire was also considered to be cursed in a theological sense from the Old Testament scriptures that was predicted, cursed is everyone who was hanged on a tree. Well, Jesus Christ hung on a tree and experienced the curse. And you say, "Why? Why does the second person of the trinity, the son of God, why is he hanging on a tree?" Because Jesus knew the bad news. He knew the bad news that faces every single person who was outside of Christ. If you're here this morning, you've never believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, you might have been brought here by the sovereignty of God, for God to proclaim into your heart, into your soul of souls, that you are a sinner. You are under divine condemnation. You are headed for a Christ-less eternity. You are with without hope without God in this world. You are ultimately destined to spend eternity in the lake of fire where it grows hotter and hotter and hotter. And yes, for all of eternity. And yes, I know hell and fire and damnation of preaching, but I didn't invent it, it's God's word. It's in holy scripture. Jesus believed this. You're destined to be in the place of blackness, of darkness forever in which it gets darker and darker and darker. I'm the Lord's ambassador and I don't add anything to the message and I just proclaim it as it's given to us. And the reason why we start with the bad news and we share the bad news is to get you to a place to see how great the good news is. That there is a message of mercy. While your heart is still beating on this side of eternity, you have a decision to make. Will I accept the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God, the second person of the Trinity who took it upon himself to carry out the intention of the Father and to provide atonement for us, for sinners. He suffered in blood and bled and died on the cross at Calvary and he cried out, "It is finished." The work of atonement is accomplished. The blood was shed, and now salvation is offered to you. Well, dear friend, what are you going to do with it? Will you accept the grace of God? If God, through the Holy Spirit, today is convicting you and you know it, you know it. Deep inside, you're, yes, yes, someone is speaking, someone is stirring. That's the spirit of God. The Spirit of God's bringing conviction upon you. And dear friend, you have a decision to make and I urge you to flee to the cross and accept the salvation of Jesus Christ. What do you need to do? Well, you need to acknowledge your sin and your iniquity before the Lord. "Lord, I have sinned, I have broken commandments. I have lived as if you don't exist or as if your opinion of me does not matter." Acknowledge your sin, your iniquity before the Lord and receive as a free gift, salvation by grace through faith. God wants to give you all of eternal life. So receive the Lord Jesus as your savior and rest for eternity in the forgiveness that God offers. And then, dear friend, put your trust in the Lord again on a daily basis. And that's what we do. Deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow Him even through the seasons of dark providence, knowing that He will get us through. With that said, would you please pray with me? Our Heavenly Father, we pray, Lord, that you would teach us to embrace all of the truths in this text. And Lord, I pray, continue to stretch our ability to understand all of your purposes, but even when we don't understand what's happening before us, Lord, we do trust you. We believe in you, and we thank you, Lord, for the example of many saints in this church who have endured much in their walk with you, things that would've crumpled lesser humans, but because of their own trust in you, you've given them joy to endure as Christ did. And Lord, we pray that you continue by the Holy Spirit to forge us, to hone us, to polish us, to refine us, to strengthen us even through the fires of life, so we can be a powerful weapon in your hands against the powers of darkness. Lord, continue to build up your church and continue to use each one of us. Fill us with the Holy Spirit, protect us from the evil one and continue to glorify your name in and through us. And we pray all this in Christ's holy name. Amen.
Tested and Tried
June 4, 2023 • Jan Vezikov • Genesis 39
This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston or donate to this ministry, please visit http://mosaicboston.com Heavenly Father, we thank you for another opportunity and occasion to study your holy scriptures before us. And Lord, we thank you that all of scripture is God breathed and it's profitable for teaching, for correcting, for rebuke and for training. And Lord, as we look at the text before us and we see the temptation set before Joseph, Lord, we thank you for his victory and I pray that you give us victory over our temptations. And Lord, we thank you for the tests that you send in life. And I pray, give us the power of the Holy Spirit to not just pass the test, but pass them with flying colors and graduate to ever higher levels of usefulness in your kingdom. Lord, if there's anyone who's not yet a believer in Christ today, save them, draw them to yourself. Remove condemnation and replace it with your love and your mercy. And Lord bless our time in the holy scriptures. We pray all this in Christ's name. Amen. We're continuing our study in Genesis 3750. We've entitled the series, Graduate Level Grace Studying the Life of Joseph. The title today is Tested and Tried. We never graduate from needing grace, although becoming a Christian happens by grace through faith, you repent, you believe you're saved. But there are times where God wants us to level up. He wants us to grow in our faith and he sends us grace to test us and to mature, and season us to make us more useful in the hands of the Father. This grace often comes when we are tried with temptation and testing, and often temptation and testing is one and the same occasion. Temptation comes from the flesh, Satan and the world, whereas God uses that temptation to test us because God does not tempt any one of us. And Genesis 39 is one of the truly great chapters on a subject that each of us is more than familiar with. It's the subject of temptation. We've all been in the situation where we've been tempted. Oscar Wilde, Tongue-In-Cheek, he said he could resist anything except temptation. The lesson is before us that temptation is not just something that we should grit our teeth and just get through as some useless thing to endure. No, temptation is an occasion to grow. We are to use that experience to grow. For example, look at the progression in James 1:12-15, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, I'm being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it is conceived, gives birth to sin and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." In the previous chapter, we went through the episode of Judah and Tamar and here we are back to Joseph. And throughout the narrative we see that God seasons Joseph, matures, grows him. Why? What's the point? So that later he's able to endure. When he is placed in the position of prominence, he becomes a prime minister, so to speak in Egypt, the number two person in Egypt. When he's in that exalted position, will he be able to endure the temptations that come without falling into conceit? So that's what God is doing. He's purging Joseph's character of any dross. We've already seen that he has been a person of integrity, although probably naivete, maybe inexperienced. And yes, there was probably an admixture of pride in his disposition. So what is God doing through this narrative? He is refining Joseph. He's purging the dross out of his life and once he's refined, he becomes a more useful instrument in the hands of God. The same language of testing to describe Joseph is used in Psalm 105:16-19 "When he," God, "summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters. His neck was put in a collar of iron until what he had said came to pass. The word of the Lord tested him," explicitly spoken that Joseph in his hardest years, darkest years, those are years of testing from the Lord. Surely Joseph was asking, "Lord, what are you doing?" He had been a favored son and now he finds himself suddenly as a slave, but the passage emphasizes eight times. Moses emphasized eight times, Joseph is not alone, for the Lord is with him. Despite the slavery, despite the temptations, despite the jail, the Lord is favorable to him even when it doesn't feel like it. We're going to walk together through Genesis 39 verse by verse three points to frame up our time. First, if God is for you, no one can stand against you. Second, how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And third, how to win against temptation? First, if God is for you, no one can stand against you. Verse one of Genesis 39, "Now, Joseph had been brought down to Egypt and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard and Egyptian had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there." So we meet Potiphar, he's a big shot. He's the captain. It says of Pharaoh's guard or his body guards, meaning he's the captain of the executioners. He's a big deal. He's a dangerous man, keep that in mind. In verse two, "The Lord was with Joseph and he became a successful man and he was in the house of his Egyptian master." What's fascinating is after the experience of being sold by his brothers, we don't see Joseph just stuck in a place of hatred. You don't see bitterness or vindictiveness in his soul, and the Lord is with him. The word Lord here is Yahweh, the God of covenant love, and not just the reference to God's omnipresence. Yes, God is everywhere, but in a particular favorable way, God's presence was with Joseph. God takes special note of Joseph when he's in his time of need and God draws near. We see this repeated over and over and over. One fascinating thing to note is that Joseph isn't told that he's heard God's voice audibly. He's heard about God from his father and from his grandfather. He's heard that God spoke to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Joseph did not have the same experience. He had the divine dream. He still believed that God was with him, but he operates here in the same way that we do. By faith we believe that God is with us. By faith, we as Christians believe that Jesus Christ, God is with us, Emmanuel God is with us. So Joseph believes, and Joseph is working to be faithful. Potiphar's name in Egyptian means he whom ra'ah has given. The Egyptians worship this idol, ra'ah. That was their God. But ra'ah isn't given blessings here on Potiphar's household. No, it's Yahweh, it's God, and it's on account of Joseph and his faithfulness. Joseph doesn't have a friend in the world. He's thrown in. He doesn't know the language. If anyone has come here from a different country without knowing English, perhaps, you've been forced into immigration, you show up, you don't know the language. Joseph doesn't have any friends. He doesn't know the culture. He doesn't have a skillset that would make him valuable in Egypt. All he has is himself and his belief in God. How does he respond to the situation he finds himself in? Does he get angry at the world? Does he get angry at God? Does he play the victim? Is he paralyzed or immobilized by resentment? No, he can't control the circumstances he's in, but he can control how he responds and he chooses to be present and useful. He chooses to work hardly at whatever task he is given because he knows he's not serving Potiphar, he's serving God. He takes life by the horns and he does so quickly and speedily rises through the ranks in the house of Potiphar. And verse three, "His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. Whatever the young man took in his hands thrived." Here's a young man who has been living in the presence of God. He's been working in the presence of God. And as shocking as this may sound, young men can be useful. This is what the text... Even when they're young, men can be useful. Charles Spurgeon put it like this. He says, "Chins without beards are better than heads without brains," and what he's saying is, young men when wise, they're to be preferred to those without sense who don't even have youth as an excuse for their folly. Now, he understands that God has given me this time. He was 17, 18 years old at the time, and he understands that yes, he isn't in a situation that he wants to be, but God is sovereign, so he is seeking to be faithful. So Genesis 39:4, "So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him." So Joseph becomes the personal attendant servant of Potiphar, "And he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. And from the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptians house for Joseph's sake. The blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in house and in field," so God is with him. God is prospering Joseph and prospering the Egyptians house. Potiphar notices that this blessing is much more than usual. Something here is coming from the supernatural realm. And this is what God promised Abraham. He said, "Look, if people bless you, I will bless them. And if people curse you, I will curse them." Joseph is being blessed by Potiphar, and Potiphar is being blessed by God. Joseph could hardly have risen higher, and this is incredible achievement. Thanks be to God and Joseph's work ethic, and this is a work ethic that is taught to us from holy scripture in Colossians 3:22-24, "Bondservants," or we can translate that to the modern day of employees, "obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work hardly as for the Lord and not for men. Knowing that from the Lord you'll receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." And that's Joseph's mindset. He could have said, "I'm 17, this work of a slave is beneath me. I am not doing this or I'm going to do it just enough to get by." No, he throws himself into this work. He says, "The Lord is with me. I'm put here for a reason. I'm going to do the best work I can to the best of my abilities because Potiphar's not my ultimate boss. God is." Verse six, "So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge. And because of him, he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now, Joseph was handsome in form and appearance." So the text, everything was going great for Joseph and then all of a sudden the text takes a turn, and we go from Joseph's work ethic to what does he look like? Apparently he looked really good, well-built and good-looking. That phrase is only used of two other men in scripture, David and Absalom. And the same phrase is used of Rachel, Joseph's mom, so apparently the looks were in the genes. So yes, Joseph apparently is good-looking. What does he do with that? What's the text telling us? Well, this takes us into the great temptation and this is point 2, "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" So this is Genesis 39:7, "And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, lie with me." And first of all, I do want to note that the temptation comes in Joseph's life. The timing's uncanny, when it seems everything's finally going well. He was a slave, now he's worked himself up in the hierarchy. He's in a place of influence. He's probably got the nice garments keeping up with his station of being a personal attendant of Potiphar. Everything is going swimmingly, that's when the temptation strikes. So just be careful, know that when everything's going great, be on guard. So as he's advanced in the household, we see Mrs. Potiphar notices him. She observes and the observation rapidly turns into lust and desire, and she propositions him, "Lie with me." And strictly from a human perspective, it wouldn't make sense to be nice with the boss's wife and he could justify everything that is happening. From a spiritual perspective morally speaking, he had no authority over him other than himself. It's him and God. He has no family. His family certainly wouldn't find out if he commits to sin. And moreover, he's a slave. He's got to do what he's told and sexual promiscuity was a daily part of the slave holding households. And face it, he could have said, "Old Potiphar is gone all the time and he's not meeting his wife's needs and she's entitled to some affection," et cetera, et cetera. And he could have even blamed it on his genes. He could have said, "It's in my blood. Look at my brothers. Look at Ruben, look at Judah," look at the previous chapter. No, we don't see any of that. He had all the reason in the world to act out. He had every reason to be angry and bitter, and resentful and cynical, and self-serving and self-pitying. He could have rationalized all of this, but Joseph has not forgotten who he is. He is not just a slave. He knows that, "I'm not just a slave and I'm not here because of anything I've done. No, I'm not a slave. I am the son of Jacob. I am the son of Isaac. I'm the son of Abraham. I am the son of God. How can I sin against my God?" His identity was rooted in God. He knew God's will. So in verse eight it says, "But he refused and said to his master's wife, behold because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house. And he has put everything that he has in my charge. He has no greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" His answer is unmistakable. He refused, and we see his wisdom. We see that even as a young man, he gives a response and his response very measured. It's very logical. He forges a powerful argument against the temptation with reason, and it shows his wisdom. And his wisdom is evidenced because he fears God. The root of his wisdom is the fear of the Lord. The three major reasons he gives for, "Why would I ever even think to do that?" The first, he's like, look, the master, Potiphar has bestowed so much trust in Joseph, so much trust in him and to betray this great level of trust would be the basis of betrayals. And then he emphasizes to Potiphar's wife that she's Potiphar's wife. He emphasizes, he's like, "You are Mrs. Potiphar. You're literally Mrs. Potiphar and have you forgotten your husband's an executioner? What are you tempting me with?" Here, even if she's forgotten her role, he reminds her. And then third of all, and this is the main reason why he doesn't sin, he realizes yes, the sin is against the people involved. Yes, he'd be sinning against Potiphar, he'd be sinning against his... But he'd be sinning against God. And for Joseph, this is the greatest of sin. And it echoes the language here does, of when David after repenting, after committing a sin against Uriah and Bathsheba, he repents in Psalm 51. He says, "God against you and you only have I sinned." And also if you compare this text with a temptation of Genesis 3, Satan comes to Adam and Eve and he points to the tree that God said, "Do not eat of it." And Joseph says, "Look, the master hasn't kept anything from me except you." Adam and Eve used the prohibition to actually be tempted by the thing that God kept from them. And Joseph here on the opposite, he says, "No, no, no. I will not take the thing the master has kept from me." In verse 10, "As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her to lie beside her or to be with her." So the overtures are daily, she's persistent in her solicitations and he continues to remain steadfast. You see, she's flexible in her seduction. First she says, lie with me. She realized that doesn't work. And then she lessens the proposition. She says, "Lie beside me. Joseph, you had a long day come snuggle with me," and then that wasn't working. So she said, "Just be with me. Just sit here, just relax a little bit." She's trying to coax him into the sin and he does not. And Potiphar's wife is precisely the picture of the adulterous woman painted by the father in conversation with his son in Proverbs 5:6 and 7. By the way, the book of Proverbs was written for young boys. So these boys as they were entering manhood, they were given the book of Proverbs and said, "There's 31 chapters, read one a day." And by the way, if you have children, one of the best ways to form them spiritually is that. Proverbs, learn the fear of God. But look at Proverbs 5: 1-8, "My son, be attentive to my wisdom. Incline your ear to my understanding that you may keep discretion and your lips may guard knowledge. For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she's bitter as wormwood sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death. Her steps follow the path to Sheol. She does not ponder the path of life. Her ways wander and she does not know it." "And now, oh, sons, listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house." Realizing Mrs. Potiphar that she's not winning the war of attrition, we see one final ambush, and this is verse 11, "But one day when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment saying, lie with me. But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled out of the house, she called to the men in the household and said, see, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came into me to lie with me and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that, I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled, and got out of the house." Joseph, by the way, the unluckiest guy in the world with his coats. If I were Joseph, I'd just stop wearing coats. I refuse. I'd rather get a cold, no. So she's got his coat and she's not happy about it. Someone said, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." She desired him and he rejected, and then her lust turns to anger. And there's many a lesson here. If you analyze what's really driving her, it was a matter of pride. When she was unable to seduce him, her pride was bruised, her ego was bruised when she realizes she is not going to have victory here. So she goes on the attack, she gathers all the men in the household, she builds her case against him. She calls him a Hebrew slave. She doesn't even name her husband, "Look my husband," she blames the husband. She makes herself a victim. By the way she puts the garment as incriminating proof on her bed, et cetera. Many a lesson here, but the root of sexual immorality is not just desire, it's always a spiritual root, and what's at the root is pride. Who is God to tell me what to do, his scriptures? I decide for my... It's pride. And that's what she's dealing with here. A lesson here from Moses. What is Moses doing in writing the text as he does, presenting the story as he does? Well, he is showing us that when God chooses to use a man, he first needs to test the man's uprightness. That's what's happening here. Joseph can't control his circumstances. He's a slave and he has no control over his destiny. All he can control is his faithfulness. Will I be faithful in this moment of temptation? And that's the quality that God wants for every man or woman that will be used by him, he wants faithfulness. That's what he wants for those to build his kingdom. This is the quality of a good steward. If God has entrusted something to us, will we be good stewards of a good managers of it? If we want to be put over much, are we faithful with the little that is before us? And how do you learn faithfulness? You don't learn faithfulness from a book. You don't learn faithfulness by just reading about it. No, you learn faithfulness by being tested at moments like this. When there's every reason to skirt faithfulness, do you stay the course no matter the consequences? And Joseph does. And Genesis 39:16, "Then she laid up his garment by her creating this optical illusion until his master came home and she told him the same story saying, the Hebrews servant whom you've brought among us came in to laugh at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house." The phrase here, "You brought him to laugh at me," implies attempted rape, that's the accusation. Verse 19, "As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, this is the way your servant treated me, his anger was kindled. And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined and he was there in prison." So Potiphar comes home, here's a story. He looks at Joseph, he looks at his wife, he looks at the other servants, and he has a decision to make. His anger is kindled. It's fascinating that the text doesn't say his anger is kindled at Joseph. Most likely, and this is what all the c, they're shocked by his reaction. Well, how do you expect him to react? Well, you expect him that he's the chief of the executioners to execute Joseph and execute him swiftly in order to maintain order. That's not what he does. Not only does he not execute Joseph, he also puts him in a prison where the king's prisoners were. And that's why in the next chapter of the cup-bearer and the breadmaker, that's where Joseph meets them. So it wasn't regular prison, it was a king's prison for the important people. Most likely what the text is telling us is that Potiphar wasn't convinced by Mrs. Potiphar. And this is the goal, to become such a person of integrity that when false accusations are made against you, the people who know you best refuse to believe them. So Joseph's faithfulness throughout the entire episode seems to be unrewarded. What does he get for being good at that moment of temptation? What does he get? He gets prison, but we know that ultimately that's the path that God has for him from the prison to the palace. And verse 21, "But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. And whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. And the keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed." We don't know how much time elapsed, how much time he had spent in Potiphar's house and then how much time in prison, but it was years. And I wonder how often Joseph remembered his dreams, the dreams that God had sent him, the dreams that he will be put in a position of prominence and power, whatever it was God was with Joseph, and Joseph remained close to the divine presence. God was with him and everything that he did as Joseph continued to work diligently. What God's presence meant in Joseph's life, it wasn't that everything's easy, smooth sailing. Yes, God was with him, but Joseph was still in prison. Yes, God is with him, but Joseph is still a slave. And what this means is from a theological perspective, yes, everything's settled, everything is secure and ultimate all is well and as safely in God's hands. But as we look at the life of Joseph, there's still risk and there's still uncomfortable circumstances and danger, and difficulty and even disappointment, but he continued to stay close to the Lord. He continued to work out his salvation with fear and trembling, and that's the same before us. We don't see the full story of God's plan for us. We know his purposes are to glorify his name, to do good, but we don't know all the details. And while we are alive, we must remember that we are still living in warfare. Day by day, we need to be conscious of the fact that we do have an enemy. We have adversaries of Satan and his lackeys and demons. We are living life in the thick of combat, in a battlefield strewn with a carnage of those who have come before us. And the scripture speaks about this often, that we are given weapons, weapons for our left hand and our right weapons to fight the good fight of faith. We are given a sword, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. And so often we forget this, we meander through life. We forget that we are pilgrims headed to a country, a kingdom that is not of this world. A large part of why we forget is because most of the people around us don't have that worldview. They live with a faithless worldview as if the material is all there is. Well, we must never lose sight of the fact that our lives are epic, that our souls are eternal. Everything we do in the body has eternal consequences. We are not to stop thinking of our lives as being inconsequential and we are to think of our lives as God does, and walk by faith, not by sight. I think one of the greatest temptations before modern people is this. It's the temptation to live for nothing, of no purpose greater than just enjoying ourselves or enjoying the short years we've been given. There's a writer called Plantinga who wrote a book called Not the Way It's Supposed To Be, and this is, and I'll read the quote, it's so powerful. It says, "Many live life making a career of nothing, wandering through malls, killing time, making small talk, watching television programs until we know their characters better than our own children. Well, this robs the community of our gifts and energies, and shapes life into a yawn at the God and Savior of the world. The person who will not best stir herself, the person who hands himself over to nothing in effect says to God, you have made nothing of interest and redeemed no one of consequence including me." "C. S. Lewis has the devil's Screwtape explained to the junior devil wormwood that the man he is after can be drawn away from God by nothing. Nothing is very strong, strong enough to steal away a man's best years not, in sweet sins, but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why. And the gratification of curiosities so feeble that the man is only half aware of them, and drumming of fingers and kicking of heels, and whistling tunes that he does not like. The only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the enemy. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual one, the gentle slope, soft underfoot without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." Joseph thankfully remains faithful and he wins in this battle against this temptation. And this brings us to point 3, how to win against temptation in our lives? First of all, it's not a sin to be tempted. It is a sin to yield to temptation. As one writer says, "A mob may batter at the palace gates but if it's unable to enter in, there's no damage done to the kingdom." I'll give you three points to win against temptations. Tips first, forge a forceful argument using God's word, and we are to know God's word in order to apply God's word. You must make this argument with Satan sometimes, sometimes with people tempting you in your life, more often than not, with yourself. You have to learn to preach to yourself in particular in the moments of weakness, and you have to make a case. You have to convince yourself this is what Joseph was doing. He's making arguments. The sin Potiphar's wife was proposing would've been an outrage, yes, against Potiphar, but specifically against God himself. And a Christian can think of countless arguments, some of them specific to the certain sins you are tempted to commit, but many of the reasons we can marshal to not commit sin at any time in any way. How's this for one, how about the love of God that God loves me, I belong to him, that I am a son of God, that you are a son or daughter of God. That God loves you so much that he doesn't want me to die for my sins, therefore he sent Jesus Christ, the cross of Christ. How about the presence of the Holy Spirit, that we love the presence of the Holy Spirit so much that we do not want to grieve him. The damage to our own soul, that sin does have consequences. The unworthiness of it all, the fruitlessness in your life. The tendency of when you give into one sin that sin begetting another sin and then all of a sudden you are spiraling out of control. Well, what about the example to an unbelieving world? What about giving the evil one victory, the one who hates you? What about the fact that we will even as Christians be taken to a second judgment, a judgment where the Lord will judge us? What do we do in our body? What do we do with the gifts and talents he's given us? Joseph here is animated by his conviction that his life is not his own. That he has a God who is over him and a God who is with him, and a God who loves him, and a God who is not to be dishonored. He did exactly what Jesus Christ was doing in the desert when Satan comes to tempt him. Christ marshaled arguments from the word of God. The apostle Paul in Ephesians 6 when he talks about fighting the good faith and spiritual warfare, he says, "Take up the sword of the spirit." It's the word of God, meaning the stress there is on the precise application of the word of God when we are tempted, so we are to know the word of God and apply it specifically. Second is avoid tempting situations. Joseph did as best as he could. As soon as he saw Potiphar's wife's interest, he tried to avoid her all to together. The father in Proverbs says, "Do not go near the door of her house." Why? Because of the attraction of sin. It does lure us. It's like the closer you get, the more powerless you become. And such as the power of sin, even our love of it that we often want to get as close as possible without breaking the commandment. This is what Robert Murray M'Cheyne, a holy man as there ever was. He wrote the following, "Satan tempts me to go as near to temptations as possible without committing the sin. This is fearful, tempting God and grieving the Holy Spirit. It's a deep-laid plot of Satan." This is what Romans 13:11-14 says, "Besides this, you know the time that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep for salvation is near to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone, the days at hand, so then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires." And third is flee temptation. When Joseph had nothing else to do, he took flight and it was deliberate act of the will, abrupt, decisive and he runs. 1 Corinthians 6:13-20, the apostle writes, "The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make the members of a prostitute? Never. Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her. For as it is written, the two will become one flesh, but he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexual and moral person sins against his own body." "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God. You are not your own, for you were bought with a price to glorify God in your body." And then 2 Timothy 2:20-22. In this text, I just notice the connection between righteousness with sexuality and our usefulness to the Lord. And I'll never remember this text, I was 13. I was at Slavic Youth Camp. If you don't know, I was raised in Slavic churches. And at 13 they got all the boys in one room and they're like, "We're going to have a talk." And then they bring in just a savage, this old dude, just a savage guy, bearded, just massive hands, although he was 85 he could still kill you. And he walks in and he just said, "Gentlemen, remember this. 2, 2, 2. 2 Timothy 2:22." He said, "Memorize this and live by it, and the Lord's going to keep you from sin." And just look at the connection between usefulness and righteousness. 2 Timothy 2:20-22, "Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." Flee youthful passions and pursue these great things, don't do it by yourself. Do it with others, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. So flee when faced with temptation, don't tarry. Thomas à Kempis in his famous description in The Imitation of Christ, he gives these successful steps of temptation. He says, "First, there is first the bare thought of the sin. Then after that, there's a picture of the sin formed and hung up on the secret screen of the imagination. A strange sweetness from the picture is then let down drop by drop into the heart. And then that sweetness soon secures the consent of the whole soul and the thing is done." Today, is Communion Sunday, and I do want to think through fighting temptation from the perspective of the cross that when we are faced with temptation, you've got to ask yourself, how can I sin? How can I, for whom Christ died, continue to sin? How can I, the object of God's electing grace, the object of the work of the Holy Spirit, the object of God's efficacious grace, he sought me when I was lost. He converted me. He regenerated. He filled me with the Holy Spirit, how can this great God that bled from me, how can I sin against him? What about those who have given into temptation? Well, that's every single one of us. We have all sinned. And what are we to do? Well, do you see the wickedness that your sins are before the Lord? Can you say, "Yes, I have done this egregious thing against God?" Do you understand that you are condemned because of your sin, that you will be judged for your sin? And once you do, once you understand that, well, then flee to Christ for refuge, then flee to him to receive everlasting life. The comparisons between Joseph and Jesus... Well, they're not just incidental. I think it was all part of the story, but you see the comparisons. Joseph was the A beloved son of the Father. Jesus Christ was the beloved son, the only-begotten son of the Father. Joseph was sent by the father to the brothers and Jesus was sent to his brethren by the Father. Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery, Jesus was as well. Joseph later on forgives his brothers. Jesus Christ forgives those who are crucifying them. On the cross Jesus said the following, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do," he's forgiving them. But also notice that not knowing that you're sinning against God is not enough. That's not enough of a defense. We all know that we have sinned. We all need forgiveness. Jesus Christ was numbered among the transgressors in order to intercede for us. Isaiah 53:12, "Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors." Upon the conception of Christ, the Messiah, and the womb of the Virgin Mary, the angel Gabriel, explained to another Joseph in Matthew 1:21, "She will bear a son and you will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us." Because Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, he can be with us because Jesus Christ was rejected by the Father on the cross. "He said, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He did that so that we would not be forsaken when we come to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. We are now going to transition to holy communion, which is commanded in scripture to be celebrated as a remembrance of the suffering of Christ. For whom is holy communion? It is for repentant believers in Jesus Christ. So if you do not trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, we ask that you refrain from this part of the service. Or if you're living in unrepentant sin, also refrain from this part of the service. But if you trust in Christ and if you are repentant, you're welcome to partake. If you'd like to partake and don't have the elements, the cup and the bread, raise your hand during prayer and the ushers will hand them out. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we thank you that you did not leave us in our sins. We have all transgressed your holy commandments. We have all sinned against your holy name. And Lord, we come to you with humility and contrition of heart, and we repent and we ask, Lord, forgive us for our sins and our many transgressions. We thank you Jesus, that those transgressions were placed upon you. Lord, we thank you that at the moment of your greatest test when you were in Gethsemane under pressure that we can't even begin to imagine, and as the capillaries in your face were bursting and you were sweating blood and you asked if there's any other way, you said, "Father, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me, the cup of wrath, yet not my will but yours be done." Jesus, we thank you that despite the fact that you saw how difficult that would be, Lord, you gave into the will of the Father. And Lord at those moments of temptation, when we are tempted to do our will instead of the Father's will Lord give us more grace. Give us power, the power of the Holy Spirit to be a righteous people continuing to be useful to you. Lord, bless this time, the holy communion. Jesus, we meditate upon your sufferings. We thank you that your body was broken so that we might be healed and your blood was shed so that our souls might be cleansed. Lord, we thank you for the gospel. We thank you for the gift of grace. And Lord, right now minister to us as we partake in holy communion. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. If this is your first time with us, the bread is at the bottom, open that up. On the night that Jesus Christ was betrayed, he took the bread and after breaking it, he said, "This is my body broken for you. Take eat and do this in remembrance of me." Then he proceeded to take the cup and he said, "This cup is the cup of the new covenant of my blood, which is poured out for the sins of many. Take, drink, and do this remembrance of me." Heavenly Father, as we meditate the sufferings of Christ, we also remember the perfection of Christ. Lord Jesus, we thank you that you never sinned. We thank you that you never gave in to temptation, not even once. And because of Jesus, your faithfulness, you provided a way for us to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Lord, make us the people that on a daily basis choose to remind ourselves that we are yours and we're not yours just once because you've created us, we're yours twice because you have redeemed us by the blood of Christ. Therefore, make us the people who live in a manner worthy of this gospel. And we pray all this in Christ's name. Amen.
Weak Men Create Hard Times
May 28, 2023 • Jan Vezikov • Genesis 38
This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston, or donate to this ministry, please visit http://mosaicboston.com Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us your holy scriptures, and we thank you that all of the counsel of God is given to us as revelation, and all of it is profitable. Lord, we thank you that some texts that we come across are encouraging, and some are edifying, and some come as a warning that there is judgment, there is corruption that we will reap if we sow folly, if we sow to the flesh. But when we sow to the Spirit, when we sow repentance and humility, when we sow desperation, when we stand under the Word of God with trepidation and contrition of heart, Lord, you speak to us and you meet us right where we are. Lord, if there's anyone caught in the thick of sin today, if anyone is not yet a Christian, or is not living a victorious life as a conqueror, I pray today, Lord, give us the power and give us the grace to repent, leave our sins, turn from them, turn to you, and give us power to fight the good fight by the power of the Spirit. Holy Spirit, we love you, we welcome you. Help us understand this text, illuminate it for us, and lighten our minds and hearts, and also help us see your incredible love and grace toward us. Jesus, we thank you that you died on the cross for our sins. We deserve that death, we deserve that condemnation. We thank you that you rose for our forgiveness, and we thank you that you do give us grace. We pray all this in Christ's holy name. Amen. Amen. We're continuing our sermon series through Genesis 37 through 50. We're entitling it Graduate Level Grace: A Study in the Life of Joseph. We will never graduate from needing grace, but there are some seasons where we need an extra level, extra dose, measure of grace, grownup grace for grownup situations. That's what the series is about. Today, we are in Genesis 38. The title is Weak Men Create Hard Times. In Genesis 37, we see that Joseph has been sold into slavery by his brothers. The story of Joseph ends at the end of 37, we come back to him at the beginning of 39. But here we get chapter 38, and at first reading it seems like just an excursus. It sounds like some sort of sordid regression, digression. It's weird, it's lurid. I actually came across a wonderful commentary, just brilliant in its analysis of the Hebrew, all the hermeneutic, exegetical stuff, and at the end of the commentary, the chapter, he gives homiletical tips, homiletical purposes. And then he has one sentence and he said, "This chapter has no homiletical purposes. Do not preach this chapter. Under any circumstances, do not even touch this chapter." We believe all scripture's God-breathed and profitable. If the text is here, it's here for a reason. John Calvin, in the Institutes, commenting on the doctrine of election, but that comment applies here as well about difficult texts and difficult doctrines. He says the following, "Lest we seem to scarf at the Holy Spirit for publishing what we ought to suppress." He said, be careful looking at these texts and shunning them, because in doing so, you are suppressing the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit decided to include precisely this chapter, precisely here. Why? Well, it will only become clear later, but when it does, we'll see that chapter 38 is fundamental to understanding the entire redemptive arc of Jacob's family. To truly understand the climax of the story, where Joseph forgives his brothers, welcomes them into his presence, to truly understand that moment, to truly see how amazing God's grace was on this family of sinners, we must work our way through this most sordid chapter in the Bible, as one commentator put it. This is God's Word, it's part of the counsel of God, and we love scripture, even when it's messy. And I commend you, Mosaic, that you are a church that welcomes even the difficult text; that you do not bristle against difficult texts, because we believe it's God's Word. At first glance, it appears that this chapter has nothing to do with the story of Joseph. It's almost as if the text shows us that God had to get Joseph away from his family and the corrupting influence of his older brothers and Canaan. But the story of Joseph is a story of his family, the whole family, and the redemption of Joseph begins with the redemption of his family, and this was God's plan for redeeming humanity. If you remember in Genesis 12, God's plan to redeem humanity was started with Him choosing Abraham, and saying, "I'm going to bless you with a family, and through your family, I'm going to provide a means of blessing for all the families." This is Genesis 12:1-2. "Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you, I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."" God said, "I'm going to bless you, and through your family is going to come the Messiah, who's going to bless all of the families from whom blessing can be found." So we learn here in the beginning as we look at this family, and it's very messy, it's very dysfunctional, very broken. We say, "Where's the blessing?" It doesn't look like a blessed family. And what we learn is that having a blessed family is a lot of work. It takes a lot of grace, it takes a lot of graduate level grace. In this chapter, we take a break from Joseph to learn about his older brother, Judah. In many ways, a wicked man we're about to see. But here I do want to offer a glimpse of good news, because as we're making our way through the chapter, you're like, "Oh, I can't believe, this is terrible, this is so discouraging." Let me just show you. There is encouragement that comes, and it comes in the fact that Judah is redeemed at the end of the story. So much so, that it will be from Judah that will come the seed of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent. It's from Judah that we get the Messiah, through whom all the nations of the world will be blessed. Judah's story ends with such honor, distinction, blessing. But here in this chapter, he's despicable, thoroughly disreputable, utterly blind to his own sin, treating others with contempt and cruelty. He's a member of the chosen family of God, covenant family, but that means nothing to him. And the God of his family means nothing to him either. He forgets Yahweh and his familial identity. He's a man living as he pleases, driven by his lust, not led by his faith. We see him as a hard-hearted man, a callous man getting worse by the year. He sells his brother into slavery, makes his way down to the idol-worshiping Canaanites, raises sons who are so evil that God has to execute them while they're relatively young. He arranges marriages for his sons with pagan women, and he lies to his daughter-in-law, and then ends up lying with her. However, Judah ends up as the patriarch of the family, replacing Jacob, not Joseph. Judah is the one who's chosen to lead this family, but here he's revealed to be weak in faith, and therefore responsible for much of the pain in the lives of those closest to him. It's only when he realizes his sin, his wickedness, when sin becomes sin to him, when God orchestrates the public exposure of his sin, that we see that Judah does repent, and there is a turning, and there is the beginning of a change. Before we see how suffering strengthened Joseph's faith and forged his character, we see how Judah's weak faith corrupted his character and caused suffering to his family. Before God redeems this family, He reveals their moral corruption, and before He saves them from famine, He saves them from their sin. To frame up our time, I'm going to use Galatians 6:8-7. There's a timeless principle here, implacable. It says, "Do not be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." So four points to frame up our time as we walk through the text together. First, Judah sows to his own flesh. Second, Judah reaps corruption. Third, Judah sows to the Spirit. And fourth, Judah reaps eternal life, even Judah. So here first, Judah sows to his own flesh. This is Genesis 38:1. "It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah." So, here the language is indicative of spiritual disintegration, spiraling down, turning aside from the straight and narrow. Perhaps it's because after selling Joseph into slavery, Judah could not bear to live in the presence of his father, who's still mourning. And his father Jacob thought that Joseph was truly dead, and he was still in mourning. How could a man live like that, knowing that his father believed this lie? He couldn't be around his brothers. So we see the covenant family is disintegrating. There's no transcendent value of holding the family together. And the time that passes in Genesis 38 is probably around 22 years. And the events of this chapter span the time that Joseph is in Egypt. So Joseph is sold into Egypt, he's in captivity in prison for about 13 years, and then he's promoted, and then's seven years of plenty, and then two years of famine. And then that's when the family goes to meet Joseph. So Genesis 38:2... Oh, a word about this guy, Hirah the Adullamite. We're not told much about him, we just know that he is not a worshiper of Yahweh. And later on, we do see that Judah, with Hirah, they go and they partake of sin. So what happens is Judah leaves his family that potentially held him accountable to the faith, and now he goes and he just hangs out with this pagan. This is his party friend, so to speak, Hirah. So this is what he's doing, walking away from the Lord. And then verse two, "There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and he went into her." Evidently, the text shows us it's lust at first sight. They have a union that's based on physical chemistry, not principle. Certainly there wasn't a mutual faith in God, or a shared vision for life, reality, meaning, purpose, children, how to raise children, et cetera. The language here describes the relationship, and the language is very minimalist, it's abrupt. And we see the combination of "he saw" and "he took". Same language that's used in Genesis 3, where Eve sees and she takes the fruit of the forbidden tree. Same language here. Judah approaches sexuality and he approaches family in the same way that Esau did; with God completely out of the equation. Genesis 26:34, "When Esau was 40 years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah." And then in Genesis 27:46, "Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?"" We know that trouble is in store the minute that Judah goes out to find a woman of the land, as the text says, a woman of the world, a Canaanite, a woman that wasn't raised in the faith and has nothing to do with Yahweh, doesn't think of Yahweh. Yahweh's not precious to her. Samson did the same thing in Judges 14:1-3, "Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother, "I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife." But his father and mother said to him, "Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?" But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes."" Driven just by superficial, just by the physical, and just by lust. Our passage in Genesis 38 doesn't even give us the woman's name, she's just described as Shua's daughter. All Jacob's sons had long known, from Abraham, from Isaac, they all knew that they should not, and that they're forbidden of marrying pagan women. Abraham had solemnly charged his servant, Eliezer, in Genesis 24:3, it says, "that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell." When Isaac sent Jacob off to Mesopotamia, he called Jacob and he blessed him. This is Genesis 28:1, "Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women."" So Judah, and Judah by the way, is Jacob's fourth-born son, but he now occupies the place of birthright, because his three older brothers sinned so egregiously against their father... Judah should have known better, that he is not to marry a woman who is not a worshiper of Yahweh. And the same principle applies to us today. The apostle Paul in the New Testament sets forth in the plainest language possible. 2 Corinthians 6:14-15, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?" This is a biblical principle from the very beginning to the Book of Revelation, all throughout scripture, over and over, we see warnings that believers are not to marry unbelievers. Why? Because there's no yoke that is more of a yoke than that of marriage. He sows folly to the flesh, and story continues. Verse three. "And she conceived in bore a son, and he called his name Er. She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she bore him." All this should be cause for celebration, but Judah's weak faith is transferred to his wife, and he's out of the picture. She does the naming of the sons, not him. And then their weak faith is transferred to their sons. Lesson here is obvious, first of all, don't marry unbelievers. Second of all, when it comes to children, fathers, you are the faith thermostat in your household. Fathers, you set the faith thermostat in your household. And faith is to be taught to our children. We are to disciple them in the faith, that is commanded. We don't let our children choose the faith. No, we give them the worldview, teach them the scriptures. But faith is not just taught and must be caught. And usually, faith is caught from the father. And the children see, "Dad, you're teaching me this, but do you really believe it? Dad, you say I am to love God, but do you love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind?" Are you interested in the things of God? Are you passionate about God? Are you excited about God? Is God a priority to you? Do you build your life around God? Children see all of that. What do men get passionate about nowadays? Men get passionate about sports. I haven't mentioned sports in a while, because I've been bored. I've been bored with the sports team in Boston, but last night, come on in. I heard it was good. I didn't watch. I work on Sunday mornings. But ESPN tells me that we won in 104 to 103. I don't care how you care, I don't. It doesn't matter if you care about the Cs, the Celtics. Man, the passion, the passion that you see for a leather ball going into a basket. The passion that you see for something that's absolutely meaningless, it's fun, but it's meaningless. And I'm not knocking the passion, like it's fun. But can we, men of God, fathers, we have that same passion, even a modicum of that passion, when it comes to sharing our faith with our loved ones? Judah did not have that passion for God, and a lack of a passion of God, for God, faith for God, it was transferred to his sons, unfortunately. So Judah does reap corruption. We see this in verse six. "And Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah's firstborn was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death." Er, the name Er, is evil spelled backwards in Hebrew. So, here we see that Judah probably didn't play a part in naming his son. If he didn't name his son, probably didn't care for his son. There's a play on words here, of course, and one commentator seeks to bring it out in the English by translating the text as "Er erred." He made an error. The Lord does kill people sometimes, even believers. He takes their life. There is a sin unto death, even in our age. Remember, in 1 Corinthians 11, where it says that some have fallen asleep in Corinth because they have profaned the Lord's supper. They were just going through the motions, and taking communion, and they weren't thinking of the suffering of Christ. So here, God does take the life of Er. In verse eight, "Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother."" So this is a custom called a levirate marriage from the Latin word levir, L-E-V-I-R, which means brother-in-law. This was later incorporated into the Mosaic Law, showing it has approbation of God, and it was a fixed custom already in this culture. That's why the phrase, "perform your duty as a brother-in-law" is a single verb in the Hebrew. And the system was designed to preserve the name of the brother and also his inheritance. So by this custom, Tamar's first child, though sired by Onan, or supposed to be sired by Owen, would legally be born to Er, and heirs were bear his name and receive his property. So the son would not be Onan's son, and he would not get the firstborn privileges. This was a sacred obligation, that's the word. The word duty is used, and it was to protect the widow as much as it was to make sure that the man's name wasn't blotted out of Israel. Now, Onan married Tamar, but he refused his duty, his responsibility, because he wanted the right of the firstborn for himself. So he's driven by greed and he's driven by selfishness. He doesn't care of the things of God, of the law of God, he doesn't care what his father tells him to do. Onan, in many respects, is very much like his father, Judah. So Genesis 38:9. "But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went into his brother's wife, he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and He put him to death also." The word "whenever" is used, so he committed the sin unto death through his persistence, he just kept sinning, and it's a serious thing to sin persistently against the Lord God. So, first two sons are dead, and there's no mention of Judah's grief over the death of his sons, which, if you contrast that with Jacob, was inconsolable in his grief over what he thought was the death of his son Joseph. So here, this man is unfeeling. He's presented as callous and heartless. It's the same man that at the end of the chapter, he would call for his daughter-in-law to be burned for the sin that he also partook in. This is the same man, of course, whose idea it was to sell Joseph into slavery to make some money. Genesis 38:11, the text continues, "Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house, till Shelah my son grows up." For he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father's house." So, Judah doesn't believe in Yahweh, but still, you got to believe in something. So here, he's superstitious. Instead of realizing, "Oh, my God has judged my sons." Instead of taking that responsibility upon himself, that, "I did not raise these boys well." No, he blames everything on Tamar. He thinks that she's cursed, hexed, he thinks that she's the problem. So he sends her off to her father's house for protection, until, he says, my third son grows up and then you guys will get married. So he puts her off. Now, in the backdrop of this tale, we see, and this is next chapter, in Genesis 39, we see that Joseph's character is contrasted, his priorities stand out strikingly against the description of Judah and his sons. Especially if you think about Joseph being tempted by Potiphar's wife, that's next week. And then he flees from that sexual temptation. Here, his older brother goes head first into it. And what we see in this text is that every single one of the people that we meet are working their own angle, they've got their own agenda. Judah's got his own, Tamar's got her own, Onan has his own, whereas Joseph's priorities are to honor his God. So, Genesis 38:12. "In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua's daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheep shearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. And when Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep." She took off her widow's garments, covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage." So, the whole section of verses 12-26, this whole section and the plot here, revolves around Tamar's rights to be the mother of Judah's heir. She was the wife of his firstborn, and she had the right to be the mother of the heir to Judah. So she sees a window of opportunity, it comes when her father-in-law, Judah himself, becomes a widower, and she knows his character. She discerned that he is a man who does frequent prostitutes. He would consort with a prostitute. And she knew that after he was comforted over the death of his wife, he would seek female comfort elsewhere. Tamar also knew that he would be sheep shearing, and she knew that he was friends with Hirah, and she knew what kind of character Hirah had. And Tamar, as a Canaanite, also knew that cultic prostitutes would be out selling their services as fertility magic, to ensure the growth of fields and herds. And in a flash, she disguises herself as a prostitute and seizes the opportunity to produce a child for her departed husband. What do you think the text is telling us here? What do you think Moses is telling the people of God through this text? Well, Moses is giving you his clear judgment on the morality of this passage. And by sandwiching this passage between Genesis 37 and 39, he's showing us the incredible character of Joseph and his morality. Incredible contrast. What happened to Judah? And this is what Moses wants the people of God to know and wrestle with. What happened to this guy? He grew up in a household of Jacob, and Jacob probably shared all the stories of God's work and his life, God's miracles. He knew about Yahweh, what happened to him? Well, it's not that Judah just lost his faith, it's that he was sucked into a culture that was absolutely opposed to God. It was the Canaanite culture. He was sucked into their value system, their lifestyle. The practices of the Canaanites became his practices, because he married into them. It was his own choice. And I do want to say to the young people who have not yet chosen a mate, you're looking for a mate, praying for a mate. I just want to say that there's nothing more important than that you choose a mate who shares your faith. Not acquiescence to your faith, not will respect or honor your faith, not will go to church with you once in a while. No. You want to marry a person whose heart beats for Christ as strongly as yours does. In Genesis 38:15, "When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He turned to her at the roadside and said, "Come, let me come in to you," for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?"" While sex with a prostitute was sinful, sex with his daughter-in-law was a crime punishable by death. Verse 17, "He answered, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." And she said, "If you give me a pledge, until you send it." He said, "What pledge shall I give you?" She replied, "Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand." So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil, she put on the garments of her widowhood." Judah didn't want to wait to satisfy his appetites, though he was quite willing for Tamar to wait for years to receive what was rightfully hers. Tamar drives a hard bargain here; she sees his lust, and it results in him giving her a very serious pledge. One commentator says it's as if he gave her all of his credit cards, his license, and his passport. These things would have unmistakably belonged to Judah, clear evidence that he had given them to her. Genesis 38:20, "When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman's hand, he did not find her. He asked the men of the place, "Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?" And they said, "No cult prostitute has been here."" You will remember that in some of the religions of the ancient East, it was accustomed for prostitution to be associated with worship, and there were temple prostitutes, and that's how Tamar disguises herself. And since the gods were gods of fertility, the act of fornication with a temple prostitute was regarded as a worship act. Well, you say, how does a culture get to that, where this becomes their worship? Well, they didn't believe in God. They don't believe in a God that's transcendent over everything, they don't believe in a God that is creator of everything. A God that commands us to live a certain way, a God that is God over sexuality. Once you get rid of God, this is the way human beings are wired. We still long for the transcendent and the closest that we get is sexuality. That's why they worshiped sex. They didn't just worship with sex, they worshiped sex, and it became a cult. And everyone in that society, you just assume these are the cultural values that matter, it's normal, therefore you think it's normative, or it's how things should be. And I like that it's called a cult. And we live in a culture where, yes, we have gotten rid of God en masse, and as a society, we do not worship. In God we trust, that's only on our money. We, as a society, do not trust God. If you get rid of God, what happens? We start worshiping sex. It does become a cult, and seems like everyone is in this cult. And you see Judah, Judah, you should have known better and he's immersed in it. Genesis 38:22, "So he returned to Judah and said, "I've not found her. Also, the men of the place said, "No cult prostitute has been here."" And Judah replied, "Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her." About three months later, Judah was told, "Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has been immoral. Moreover, she's pregnant by immorality." And Judah said, "Bring her out, and let her be burned."" Incredible hypocrisy. He goes for the extremist penalty, worse than any forms of execution that the law allowed. Tamar's sin would've been adultery, because she was still betrothed to the youngest son, Shelah, even though Judah had no plans of giving her to him. But this is the ultimate double standard. Under Old Testament law, if Tamar is guilty, so is her partner. And the Old Testament explicitly forbids a different moral standard for men than for women. So what happens now? Judah, you are exposed. What happens now? Well, this is our point three, Judah sows to the Spirit. And, "As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, "By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant." And she said, "Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff."" You can imagine Judah is crestfallen. And the language used here is parallel to the language used in Genesis 37:32, where they sent the robe of Joseph, the brothers did, to their father Jacob, and it says, "They sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father, and said, "This we have found, please identify whether it is your son's robe or not."" Judah was deceived, as he had deceived his father Jacob regarding Joseph. And Jacob, in the same way that Jacob had deceived his father, Isaac, if you noticed. On all three occasions, a goat was involved, and a piece of clothing was involved in the deceit. It's a subtle indication that God knows everything, that there is no hidden sin that will not be exposed, and God will bring judgment down on every single sin. Judah deceived, but will succeed no more than his father before him. Genesis 38:26, "Then Judah identified them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son, Shelah." And he did not know her again." He says, "She's more righteous than I. She is more in the right than I am." And the confession is actually even stronger in the original than it is here or sounds here in the ESV, than the English Standard Version. The two principle Hebrew grammarians and the best commentators agree that the Hebrew should not be read as a simple comparison, but what's called a comparison of exclusion, in which the subject alone possesses the quality of the adjective. The subject, she, the adjective is righteous, so it should be read. "She is righteous, not I." She is righteous, not I. He's publicly exposed for his sin and his hypocrisy, and at this moment, he has a choice to make; is he going to continue down the path of running from God and things of God? Or is he going to stop, and turn? We have the evidence of the first beginnings of a turn in which he does own his sin. It's a turn that, when complete, will make Judah one of the most righteous sons of Jacob. For the first time, we see Judah in the way of God's mercy. For the first time, he's acknowledging his sin honestly and openly. And then when he renounces his sin, we see that he does everything possible to live in a manner worthy of that repentance. The Lord is clearly at work in his heart, his conscience has been awakened, his behavior has finally troubled him for the first time. He condemns himself, he stood, self-condemned, on account of what he had done. He couldn't live on like this anymore. Sin had become sin to him. Judah becomes a changed man, used powerfully by God. He does return to his family of origin and to the ways of Yahweh. He, later on in the text, becomes a spokesperson for his brothers. When he stands before Joseph, he doesn't know it's his brother. He's the one speaking. And then when Joseph, to test his brothers, asks for Benjamin to be brought, his youngest brother and Jacob's youngest son, and then he wants to keep Benjamin, what does Judah do? He gets on his face and he beg, he pleads with Joseph, "No. No, my father has been through too much. Take me. Take me into captivity, not him." What is that? That's a man who's been converted. That's a man who's been regenerated by the grace of God. As Blaise Pascal wrote, "There are only two kinds of men; the righteous who believe themselves sinners, and the rest, sinners who believe themselves righteous." Friends, that's the only thing that separates a Christian from a non-Christian. A Christian just reckons, "Lord, I am a sinner. I am a sinner, Lord, forgive me, I repent my sin." And you become righteous because Christ's righteousness is imputed to you. The great turning point is reached in the life of every single man, woman, boy, or girl when they recognize their desperation. "Lord, I need forgiveness." God may have to do a great many things in the life of a person to bring them even to ruins where they finally recognize that and they turn. But turning is all that God requires. Turning from sin and turn to Him for forgiveness. What can possibly come of a story of like this, of lives like these, of a history like this, of cruelty like this, infidelity, hardness of heart, sexual promiscuity, incest, moral stupidity? What can come of the most sordid chapter in the Bible? Well, this chapt teaches us that when sin abounds, and we turn to God, grace abounds all the more. That Jesus Christ Himself, in His physical line through Joseph and Mary, descends from this disgusting act of incest. Well, that's one of the grandest pictures of God's grace overcoming sin in all the scripture. And of point four, is Judah does reap eternal life. In Genesis 38:27, "When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, "This one came out first." But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" Therefore, his name was called Perez. Afterward, his brother came out with a scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah." Here, the chapter ends with a prenatal struggle between Perez and Zerah, similar to that of Jacob and Esau. And we see that Perez is chosen as the firstborn, despite the judgment of the midwife. And Perez is the grandfather of Jesus Christ. He is the progenitor of Jesus Christ, the ancestor of Jesus Christ. Remember Matthew 1, the chapter that everyone skips, you open a New Testament and you're like, "Ah, lots of names I can't pronounce. I'm skipping it." And we want to get to Jesus. But before you get to Jesus, you got to figure how did Jesus get here? Well, in Matthew 1:1-6, we see, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king." Tamar, the same one from our story, becomes one of the only women listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Perez becomes the grandfather, a grandfather of Christ, the Messiah of Israel, the savior of the... Jesus had the blood of Canaanites coursing through His veins. And what does this tell? Why does this happen? Because God, we worship a God that loves to turn evil, even the worst evil, to His own purposes, and bring blessing from curse, redeem that which deserves destruction. When we think of Genesis 38, by the way, don't just be so quick to judge Judah. As I was writing this, I'm like, imagine if the Lord included one of us in the Book of Genesis? Imagine if the Lord—a chapter on us— the worst of the worst that we've ever done. We are at rock bottom, a whole chapter. So that years will go by, and commentators will study that chapter, and they, at the bottom of their commentary, will say, "There's no homiletical value. Stay away from this chapter." Each of us deserves this. We all deserve, this is what the text is showing, we all deserve this condemnation. We are all sinners, just like Judah is. And if there's hope for Judah, that guy, there's even hope for us. And I want to show you just how incredible this story of redemption is. If you think of Genesis 38 and then read Revelation 21, you gain just incredible sense of how astonishing the world of divine grace is. In that text, we see a glimpse of the new Jerusalem. It's a vision of heaven. Revelation 21:9-12, "Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with 12 gates, and at the gates 12 angels, and on the gates, the names of the 12 tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed." In other words, the name of Judah is inscribed at the gate of heaven, the city of God. This guy, Judah, ugly in many ways, a cruel, hateful... He becomes a sign of God's grace. A man who was loved by God so much, that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who came from Judah, to die for the sins of Judah, to redeem the story of Judah. And also, do you remember the marriage of Ruth and Boaz? Ruth was also from a pagan family, as Tamar was, but she cared about God. She cared about God's covenant and she joined herself to God's people, and she marries Boaz. And then the elders pray for Boaz a prayer of blessing. This is Ruth 4:11-12. "Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming to your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman."" So what we read, and we're like, "What? This incestuous relationship, the names of Judah and Tamar?" They become a blessing. Like, "May your house be as blessed as the house of Judah and Tamar and Perez." Incredible. This is a picture of God's grace and what God can do with His grace in our lives. Whatever our sins, however hidden, however polite, all of our sins will be exposed one day. What we'll do with... Well, we are to reckon with them now before they're exposed. And if we do reckon with them, we are forgiven, and we are restored. There's a doctrine in Christian spiritual theology that one rarely hears about, perhaps... If misunderstood, it's dangerous, but it goes by the Latin name, O, felix culpa. O, happy guilt. And it's the recognition of this chapter and of scripture, and part of the doctrine, perhaps the main part, is that if there had been no sin, if there had been no fall, then there would've been no need for atonement, there would've been no need for the cross, and we would've never known the love of Christ. As Augustine once wrote, "God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist." George Fox was so bold as to say that he thanked God more for his sins than for his good work. John Bunyan said the same thing, "The guilt of sin did help me much." Samuel Rutherford reminded one of his correspondents by saying the following, "Christ has a use for all of your corruptions." Well, isn't that encouraging? Isn't that true with you? Isn't that true with me? I know personally, it's my sin that has taught me to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ through thick and thin. It's my sin that, again and again, has humbled me and made my pride seem as ridiculous as it is. It's my sin more than anything that keeps me at work on my salvation. Work out your own salvation with fear and troubling, the Word tells us, through watching, praying, reading, obeying. It's the forgiveness of my sins, experienced time and again, that keeps the greatness of the love of Christ and the power of the cross alive in my heart. Would not David say the same thing? Would not Peter say the same thing? Lord, thank you that you exposed my sin. You brought me to a place where I couldn't but repent. That's all I could do. Well, friend, may God help you see your guilt and help you see your condemnation. That, apart from Jesus Christ, your condemnation's still on you. Apart from Jesus Christ, you will reap the wrath of God that you deserve for the sins that you have sowed. But thanks be to God that God didn't leave us in our sins, He sent His Son Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ, whom you know sin became sin. He became our sin on the cross, so that if we repent of our sin, we are forgiven, and His righteousness becomes ours. I love grace, because grace is God's unmerited favor. You can do nothing to earn God's grace. It doesn't come to you by joining a church, although you should join a church. This church in particular, you get more grace, graduate grace. But that's not how you're saved. It's not through joining a church. It's not just through praying a prayer. It's not through doing good works or religious works. No, we're saved of our sin the very second that we see our desperation, we repent, we turn from the sin, and we turn to Christ. So if you are not yet a Christian, come to Christ today. Put your trust in Him. Find deliverance and the forgiveness of sins. And if you are a believer, where are you sowing in your life to the flesh? And just know that, just know God is not mocked. He will not be mocked. You will reap the corruption. No, no. Do not sow that. Sow to the Spirit and you will reap eternal life. Amen. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this tremendous text. We thank you for this reminder that despite our greatest wickedness, your grace is powerful, to take it and redeem us, and to take the curse that we deserve and turn it even into a blessing. Jesus, we thank you that on the cross, when you hanged on that tree, you became our curse. And Lord, you went through all that to extend to us a blessing. And Lord, we pray that as we enjoy the blessings of grace, that you give us opportunities to share our grace with those around us, and the message of grace that's found only in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and in whose name we pray, amen.
Reject Victimhood
May 21, 2023 • Jan Vezikov • Genesis 37
Audio Transcript: This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston or donate to this ministry. Please visit http://mosaicboston.com Lord God, we thank You for giving us the holy scriptures, and we know that the center of the holy scriptures is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Jesus, we thank You that You lived the perfect life on our behalf, fulfilled all of the commandments of God, all the will of God perfectly, and then Lord, You went to a cross, so You were crucified on our behalf, burying the wrath of God that we deserve for our law-breaking. Then, Lord, we thank You that You didn't stay dead, but You rose victoriously over Satan's sin and death, and because of Your resurrection, You offer us salvation, You offer us both mercy and grace. Mercy in that, You do not give us the condemnation we deserve. Grace in that, You give us the righteousness of Christ, and we thank You, Lord, for Your grace. We thank You that we are saved by grace through faith. If there's anyone here who's not yet a Christian, has not had their sins forgiven, I pray today, Lord, draw them to Yourself. By the power of the Spirit, convert them, and, Lord, use this sermon series to teach us that we will never graduate from needing grace, and at some seasons in life, we do need a graduate-level grace, and if there's any one season like that now, a season of suffering, trial, tribulation, I pray be especially close to them. Show us that because of what You did with Christ, You took the greatest evil ever in the crucifixion of Christ, and You turned it into the greatest good ever, the resurrection of Christ. You can turn our evil into good as well. Bless our time in the holy scriptures, and we pray all this in the beautiful name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Today, we're excited to start a new sermon series through Genesis 37 through 50. We're entitling it Graduate Level Grace: A Study In the Life of Joseph. The idea behind this text and behind the series is we come to know the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ when we're saved by grace through faith, but that's just a start of our relationship with the Lord, a walk with the Lord, and then often, the Lord does take us through seasons in life where it seems like we're about to embark on the next level, and with the next level, we need next-level grace. The title of the sermon today is Reject Victimhood. Why this series? It's a story about a young man, who goes from just a shepherd to a Prime Minister in 13 years, but those 13 years include a lot of suffering. We're going to learn many lessons, Lord willing, glean much wisdom about the most important things in life, the most important parts of life, family, relationships, work, prayer, vision, godliness, influence, authority, leadership, integrity, rejection, betrayal, reconciliation, forgiveness, adversity, and prosperity. A quick recap of where we find ourselves, Genesis is the book of beginnings. In the beginning, we see a personal, loving, sovereign God, who creates the universe and rules over it, and God creates humanity in His image and blesses them with the mandate, "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and govern it, reign over it. Love God," He tells them, "And love one another, have a family, raise your children to do the same." That was God's vision for humanity, but in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve, man, humanity, wickedly rebels against God. They seek to be equal with God, and so sin introduces the reign of death in the world, but God is a good God and He doesn't leave us in our sin. To save humanity, God promises to send a Savior, who will come from the seed of Abraham to save the world. The Lord chooses a family, chooses Abraham and says, "Abraham, I'm going to bless you with a family, and through your family, I'm going to send a Savior that will bless the families of the world." Abraham, Isaac, and then Jacob. We find ourselves here in the story of Jacob. He takes us Genesis 25 through 50, half the book. He is Israel after all, the direct ancestor of the nation of Israel and the father of the 12 sons from whom would come the 12 tribes. The thing that we notice about the life of Joseph is he comes from a big, dysfunctional family, a family that's riven by jealousy and hatred. They're a covenant family with God's blessing upon them, but they're torn apart by conflict, through intermarriage with pagans, et cetera, but we see that the Lord uses Joseph and his suffering to bring this hate-filled family together, and at the end, we see the family reconciled, purified, and preserved in safety in Egypt. Look at the stories of redemption in scripture. One of the greatest is the apostle Paul. He goes from being a terrorist of the Church, a persecutor of Christians to being the apostle, the evangelist to the Gentile's incredible redemption, story of redemptive arc, but ultimately, this story of Joseph is arguably even greater of a redemptive story. The story is about how God intervenes despite the brokenness, despite the sin, despite the folly, we see His grace intervene, and He takes all of the evil, the sin, the brokenness, and He brings it all together for the good of both this family and us. Toward the conclusion of the great narrative, when Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, this is what he says in Genesis 45:7, "And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over the land of Egypt." What a God He is, because He's not just a God of the extraordinary, but a God of the ordinary. He takes the ordinary actions of people despite their folly, despite their sin, and He turns it all around to fulfill His perfect plan. Three points to frame up our time as we walk through the text in Genesis 37. The first is for those who love God, all things work together for good. Second, beware the soul-rotting sin of jealousy and covetousness, and three, replace a victimhood mindset with a sovereignty mindset. So first, for those who love God, all things work together for good. We get this from Romans 8:28, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose, and this, we see over and over in the life of Joseph and his family. The story begins in Genesis 37:1. "Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan." In the previous chapter, Jacob's older brother, Esau, forsakes the land of the promised Canaan, and he goes to the land of Seir, so this acknowledges that Jacob has a right to the promised land, so Jacob settles down. In verse 2, "These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being 17 years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the songs of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives, and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father." Joseph was the second to last son, so he's number 11. Benjamin came after. Joseph lived 17, and this is a fun fact, but I think it's important for parents, in particular. The first time my oldest daughter made me an omelet, I said, "Oh, my. Finally, a little ROI. A little return on investment," but you look at Jacob, and Jacob raises Joseph for 17 years, and then he doesn't see him again until the end of the book, and then, Jacob, when he and his family moved to Egypt, he lives with Joseph for 17 years, the last 17 years of his life, but here, we see conflict between the sons of Joseph's older sons. The fact that there were bad things to report on shouldn't come as a surprise. We've already learned that they had significant behavior issues, sin, et cetera. Reuben, the oldest, slept with his father's concubine. Simeon and Levi slaughtered the Shechemites because of their sister's disgrace, so these were hard, rough, and reckless men, that were the older brothers of Joseph. Would this endear him to his older brothers, that he's bringing a bad report about them to his dad? No. Of course not. They would consider him a tattletale or a snitch. The word for brothers here is used 21 times in the text keyword, but there's dramatic irony every time the word's used because though outwardly, these men were brothers, but inwardly, spiritually, they were the furthest from the truth, so Joseph's bad report reflects badly on all of them, the brothers because they were bad things to say, and Joseph because he chose to say them. So we see resentment smoldering in the hearts of the brothers of Joseph, and we're only at verse 2. In verse 3, "Now, Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a robe of many colors." Favoritism had been a generational sin in Jacob's family. If you remember Isaac preferred Esau over Jacob, and if you remember, Rebecca loved Jacob more than Esau, and recall that Jacob loved Rachel and her children more than Leah and her offspring, and Jacob probably could not even help his feelings of favoritism because Joseph was the son of Rachel. She had passed already, but she was his never-forgotten first love, and Joseph had been born late in life after many years of frustration. Also, along with all of this, Joseph seems to be free from the sins of his older brothers, which was a source of solace and joy to his father. Nevertheless, Jacob's blatant favoritism was unconscionable. The lifelong hurt inflicted by his own father's favoritism should have made him weary even a hint of not being even-handed with his children, and he made him a robe of many colors, so not only did everyone already know this, but now, everyone sees that Joseph is the one who's loved most, through this public mark of Jacob's greater affection. So it doesn't surprise us that his brothers hated him, even more after the father lavished his gift on them. Quick word to parents, fathers in particular, fathers, don't be as stupid as Jacob was. Very simple lesson here. "Don't exasperate your children," the apostle Paul says. One of the ways that children can be exasperated is if you love one more than the others. How do I do this? I do it like this. I equally favor each of them, so I tell them when they're one-on-one, I was like ... I have four daughters. I tell them, "You're my favorite. Don't tell the others," but it's okay 'cause I say it to all four, so that's fine. The point is we got to love our children equally, uniquely, yes. We, uniquely, parents need to know our children's hearts, how they're wired, et cetera, but equally, we are to love them. Genesis 37:4, "But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him." So young Joseph's sudden appearance, in his distinctive robe, ignites their hatred, so he's alienated from them. They can't even speak civilly to him. The robe inflames their burning rage. They loathed his presence. Insult to injury, Joseph gets a few dreams, and he decides to share them. Verse 5, "Now, Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, 'Hear this dream that I have dreamed. Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright, and behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.' His brothers said to him, 'Are you indeed to reign over us, or are you indeed to rule over us?' So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words." So fuel here is added to the relational strife in the form of these Joseph-exalting dreams. Was he excited about the dream? Of course, he was. He was so full of the dream. He was compelled to pour it our to his brothers, tactless, insensitive perhaps. The brothers had no difficulty interpreting. They know exactly what he's trying to say. They don't believe it, of course, and what was the expected reaction from him? What did he expect from them? We don't know, but they respond with hatred. Verse 9, "Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, 'Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars were bowing down to me.'" Repetition here in the book of Genesis when it comes to dreams, repetition is a sign of certainty, so Joseph, when he interprets the dreams of Pharaoh, later on in the book, in Genesis 41:32, it says, "And the doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about." So Joseph knows this God communicating to him. In the second dream, for him sealed the matter. God would sovereignly bring this to pass, and that perhaps was the reason why he found the audacity to share with his family the content. His father loves him, and his father has been doting upon him, but even his father rebukes him at this point. This is verse 10. "And when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, 'What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?' And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind." To his credit, even though Jacob rebukes his son, he didn't dismissed the dream, as the brothers did. He knew Revelation when he saw it and when he heard it, so he keeps the matter in mind. Without the dream, there would be no Joseph story. Without the dream, his brothers just hate him for the robe, but God does send the dream, and He sends two of them, and because of the dreams, Joseph can't, but share the dreams with his brothers, which sets the whole story in motion, that God sovereignly sealed and ensured the rejection of young Joseph. Do you see what that tells us? It reveals that any of us, who follow God, will live a life that will sometimes get very tangled. At times, complications will arise from our own sin, as with Joseph, or from the sin of those around us, and we live in this world that is fallen. People around us are fallen, and this world is caught in a web of sin, and it constantly casts you webs, but we know that amidst life complexities, God's creative power is at work to do us good. This is true when we get sick. This is true when we have trouble with our children, our grandchildren, when professional problems engulf us. We have the providence of God, a God who sustains our souls and all of life, perpetually working good. This is a truth to learn because life is not going to get easier, from this moment, friends. Your life is not going to get easier. With every coming day, as you get older, as we get older, with every day, it seems sometimes that the crosses that God entrusts to us get bigger, and God promised us, "If you want to follow Me, you got to deny self and take up your cross?" In fact, the more you follow God, the more complicated life will become, because your life's cores will buck against this world. So what are we to do here? Take heart that God is at work in our lives to do us good because we belong to Him, so rest your soul in that and submit yourself to Him in great processes of life and follow Him. Second is, "Beware of the soul-rotting sin of jealousy and covetousness." This is Genesis 37:11. "His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind." This entire story of the 12 sons and their animosity and eventual reconciliation begins with God, making a clear distinction between Joseph and the other brothers, thus, the significance of the dream. Joseph got the dream, the others did not. Here's a fact of life, and one perhaps that we struggle with in one way or another as the brothers struggled with. God does not treat us all the same. No. He does not give us all the same things. He does not give us all the same favor. He does not give us all the same blessings. Some Christians are smarter than others. Some are better-looking, more athletic, more successful financially, marry to lovelier and more impressive spouses, some have better jobs than others, some have higher-achieving children, some have better health and live longer lives. Some people seem to step from one victory, one triumph to another, and others never seem to be able to escape the long reach of trouble, only sometimes of their own making. Even among Christians, for someone it seems they're just naturally wired to be better Christians. Some are naturally sweeter, some are naturally more patient. The rest of us got to work a lot harder, so you look at this and you're like, "It's not fair. This isn't fair." Well, we learned this through Jonah, we learned this last week. "No, no, no, grace isn't fair." Of course it's not fair because no one earns grace. Grace is unmerited favor. Samuel Eliot Morison, the American historian and writer, he puts it like this. He says, "Life is like a card game. God deals a deck, and He gives some a strong hand and some a weak hand, and some people with a strong hand, they squander, and some people, the weaker hand, they play to the best of their ability and do well," but if a great hand is dealt and a great hand is played well, it's unbeatable, and Joseph was dealt a great hand, a mom and a dad that absolutely love him, and his father, I think made a lot of mistakes with the older sons, and by the time he gets to 11, he's like, "I think I got this," but then, he messes up with the favoritism part, but God chooses Joseph for prominence. He chooses him for power. He puts him in the position of the Egyptian core, and so the brothers have some ... They got to decide what to do. Clearly, this younger brother is blessed in a unique way. How are we going to respond? And they respond with jealousy and covetousness, and they respond with the resentment and bitterness at Jacob, at Joseph, and even at God, and they tried to resist God's will, which obviously is futile. In fact, everything they did, every evil motion, every evil act only served to fulfill God's plan. We must recognize that the way in which the Lord gives to others things that He has not given to us is an opportunity for us to step back and say, "What is grace? What is the principle of grace?" Paul would later ask, "What do you have that you have not received? Who makes you to differ?" Well, it's God, of course, who gives us what we have. If God wishes to give one of His children something He has not given you, what is that to you? Everything He gives, He gives in defiance of the fact that we don't deserve anything, except for His punishment. And who are you to tell the Almighty and your heavenly Father how to run His own family? We're called to put on humility, right? The root of all sin is pride, and I will say that if you have been given less than others, entrusted with less to steward, well, then your path of humility is a little easier than theirs. Listen to some of the wisest Christians before us about goals. Thomas A. Kempis says, "Desire to be unknown." Jeremy Taylor says, "O, teach me to love to be concealed." Archbishop Leighton says, "Be ambitious to be unknown." Augustine says, "if you ask me what the first thing in religion is, I should reply the first, the second, and third thing is humility." Alexander Moody Stuart, "There is not a humble heart in all the world that the high God is not dwelling in." Pascal, "Without humility, all our other virtues are but vices." Joseph, you do get a little hint of arrogance here. Yeah, he's dressed better than everyone else. By the way, when you're dressed nice, you know there's something there, and so you walk on a ... There is a little arrogance. There's arrogance in his speech, the dreams he could not wait for the brothers to hear. Gentlemen, do you see what's ... And how long did the Lord take to humble Joseph? His path to humility was so much harder, in many ways, than his brothers. If God wishes to exalt Joseph, that was God's doing, and it's our duty to acknowledge that it's His right to do so, and so adore God's wisdom and sovereignty. Verse 12, "Now, his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, 'Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.' And he said to him, 'Here I am,' so he said to him, 'Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.' So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem." A path, a journey of about 50 miles, or it definitely took a significant time, and so he gets to ... By the way, before he gets to Shechem ... I'll give you a little backstory. So you know the backstory where his brothers can't stand him, but the other backstory about Shechem is the Shechemites can't stand the sons of Jacob, because his two older sons went in after their sister was disgraced, and they slaughtered a bunch of the Shechemites, so they're in peril and the father wants to know, "Okay, how are they?" By the way, this is a tall ask for Joseph. Joseph knows, "My brothers hate me. I'm going to a dangerous place. This is going to take a long time," and all we hear from him, when his father gives him this duty, all we hear is, "Here I am," so he's presented as diligent, as hard-working as an obedient son, even doing an unpleasant bidding. Verse 15, when he's at Shechem, "And a man found him, wandering in the fields, and the man asked him, 'What are you seeking?' 'I'm seeking my brothers,' he said. 'Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock,' and the man said, 'They've gone away, for I heard them say,' 'Let's go to Dothan,' so Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan." So Dothan is another 14 miles that he's got to travel further, and here too, is a hidden hand of divine providence of the careful reader, is to know and to ponder Joseph, it says, "Is wandering in the fields." How long was he wandering? I don't know, but probably a significant time for it to even be mentioned he's wandering around. Perhaps, he feels like he's wasting time. Perhaps it feels like it's all aimless. "What am I doing here, Lord?" "Why am I stuck in this field?" Well, this is how the providence of God often works in our daily lives. You'll have a job to do, you'll get to a place, and here, he knows he's wasting time. It's a waste of time. It's aimless, and it's brought from the perspective of the story had he not taken this little hiatus at Shechem, had he not paused there, he would not have gotten to Dothan in time to coincide with the caravan of the Ishmaelite traders. So we see God pauses him on purpose. If he were not paused, the brothers would've killed him, instead of selling him into slavery, and this is what the scripture teaches, that often, in our lives, God works through the ordinary details, and if we are not paying attention, we miss the lessons. Scripture teaches that every single moment of life is supercharged with significance, because every piece of it is falling through the fingers of your heavenly Father. One of the biggest fallouts of living in a secular society, where people just don't acknowledge that there is a transcendence, supernatural, sovereign God over us, who cares about us and cares about the details of our lives, one of the things that we miss in this culture, where we don't believe that God is over all and in all and through all, we miss the purpose of just everyday life. We miss the purpose-filled infusion of God in everyday life, and I think that's why a lot of people are bored. Perhaps you in your daily walk with the Lord, you feel this boredom, this ennui sometimes, because you don't realize that God is working every single detail for your good, so we are to pay attention to the details of our lives, knowing that God is sovereign. Verse 18, "They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him." They recognized him from his distinctive robe, and now, they hatch a plan. Verse 19, "They said to one another, 'Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then, we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we'll see what will become of his dreams.'" Dreamer here obviously is used sarcastically. They would prove his dreams wrong by killing him. They want to throw him into a pit, which was a cistern hewn out of rock for the storage of water, found all throughout. Israel served as an excellent dungeon, and they wanted not just to kill him, but to kill him in the most dishonorable way to kill him, and throw his body in the cistern, where he would not be buried. Genesis 37:21, "But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, 'Let us not take his life,' and Reuben said to them, 'Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him, that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.'" Reuben, now, we learned in the previous chapters, if you read, he had fallen from his father's favor, because he had an affair with Bilhah, and he couldn't further afford anymore animosity or from his dad, so he knows he's going to have to bear the responsibility, so he steps into rescue his brother seemingly. In verse 23, "So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore, and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty, there was no water in it." We're only left to imagine Joseph's response. How did he respond? Did he scream? Was he terrified? On Genesis 42:21, the brothers recollect exactly how Joseph responded. "Then, they said to one another, 'In truth, we are guilty concerning our brother. In that, we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.'" By God's grace, their posture of heart changed toward the end, but what was their posture of heart at this moment, after beating him, stripping him, mocking him? It says in verse 25, "Then, they sat down to eat, and looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead, and their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh on their way to carry down to Egypt." We see callousness, we see heartless barbarity as they sit down to eat the meal that Joseph had brought them from their father. Verse 26, "Then, Judah said to his brothers, 'What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh,' and his brothers listened to him." So Judah is right after Reuben, and was he trying to save his brother placate his own conscience, make a little profit? We're not told, but we see that God does use this situation to save Joseph's life. Verse 28, "Then, Midianite traders passed by, and they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for 20 shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt." So Joseph was sold to a non-covenant people. The brothers had disposed of Joseph and his dreams, or so they thought. Verse 29, "When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes and returned to his brothers and said, 'The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?'" Oh, Reuben knows the agony that his father is going to experience. He asked his brothers, "What do we do? What do I do?" And the only response from them is silence. Verse 31, "And they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood." This real irony here, Jacob had deceived his father by taking his brother's clothes and used a goat in order to deceive his dad. Jacob's youthful sins come full circle, his deceit. His deceit comes back to bite him. In verse 32, "They sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, 'This, we have found. Please identify whether it is your son's robe or not,' and he identified it and said, 'It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.'" Verse 34, "Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on 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 said, 'No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.' And thus, his father wept for him." Conventional grieving lasted a week for a child or a parent. For Moses, it was a period of a month. Jacob refused to be comforted and promised here to continue mourning. We see the titanic hypocrisy in the sons. They're attempting to comfort their father in the death of his favorite son when they knew very well he wasn't dead and what had happened. Verse 36, "Meanwhile, the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard." Narrator reminds us that while Jacob struggled to adjust to the tragedy, Joseph was beginning a new life in Egypt at the age of 17, and this brings the point, three, replace a victimhood mindset with a sovereignty mindset, and I say it because that's the only way to understand what happened with Joseph. For this next 13 years of suffering, this is a man of God that pressed into the suffering, instead of blame-shifting and being immobilized by a victimhood mindset. Scripture teaches that God is sovereign, therefore, we are responsible. Look at Joseph. He's dragged naked from the pit, tethered to a beast of burden. He himself is probably carrying stuff all the way to the Nile, and he began the story as a robe prince in Israel, and he ends as a slave. He, of all people, had a massive case for victimhood. Why not pity himself? He was indeed pitiful. He had done nothing to deserve this. His biggest sin was he had a big mouth and he didn't know to keep it shut when he should have. And where was God in all of this? Why didn't God intervene? "God, why didn't You protect me from my brothers?" "God, why didn't you protect me from this caravan bound for Egypt? Why, why, why?" What's fascinating is Joseph takes absolute responsibility for himself in Egypt. He knows who he is, he knows who's he is, and he lives his life as you and I live ours. He had God's word guiding him, and he had God's Spirit with him, he had an imperfect understanding of life around him, he had his own besetting sins, but he knew that he was with the Lord. Joseph had ample reason for self-pity, for rage, for anger with God and revenge, and he doesn't do any of it. It's as if he forgets what lies behind, and he's ready to lean into what God was teaching. I say that because in this family, you see the victimhood mindset arise every once in a while. Jacob. Jacob had ... He could blame everybody. "Laban, you weren't righteous to me. Esau, you weren't righteous to me. My parents, you weren't righteous to me. It's all your fault." "It's all your fault," even with the brothers, Reuben. Reuben could've said it to Jacob, "My dad didn't love me." Judah could've said the same thing, "That's why I am the way I am. It's all their fault." That's a victimhood mindset. "I'm a victim of someone else's sin." Joseph could have done that. He does not. He rejects it because he believes in the sovereignty of God. "God allowed this in my life, therefore, God has purposes for it." He knew Abraham, of Abraham, his great-grandfather. He knew that God had spoken to him. Joseph believed that same promise that was handed down from Abraham and Isaac, and he knew that God is with him, that God will bless him, that God will use him. He had an immense view of God, and thus, reason that God was doing his will throughout the inscrutable drama that we see. Friends, no one will escape the will of God. No one will escape the hand of God, the rule of God, the plan and purpose of Almighty God, for children of God that comes as a great comfort, and no matter what, God is going to use all of these things in my life to bring about good, but for enemies of God, or for those of you, you're not sure if you're a child of God or an enemy of God, well, the fact that God is sovereign, no one will escape His reach or His plan should send a shiver down our spine, so what are we to do? We are to seek mercy and seek grace. As Dante puts it, "In His will is our peace." Yes. Can you say, "God, thy will be done," because thy will is good, because you are loving? Our heavenly Father orchestrates our lives moment by moment, we know His love, we know His wisdom, we know His faithfulness because we know His Son, Jesus Christ and what Jesus did for us. The love of Jesus Christ, the kindness of Christ, that's what separates Christianity from every other religion, it's that God offers us grace, and how does God offer us grace? Through both the sacrifice of Christ and His suffering that comes to us. Also, as an example, 1 Peter 2:21-25, "For to this, you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return, when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His Body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness." "By His wounds, you have been healed, for you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." If there was ever a victim, it's Jesus Christ, but even Jesus turned that tragedy into a great victory. In Christ, we see that we can be more than conquerors. The story of Joseph is incredible in many ways, but it does point to the greater Joseph, Jesus Christ. Many ways, Joseph's life is a type, a typology of Christ. Joseph was rejected by his brothers, sold into captivity, and it is through that, through the fat that he was enslaved through his suffering that his brothers are freed in the end, his brothers are saved, that reminds me of a story where Pilate has Christ right before him, and they had this traditional Passover week, where he would release a prisoner, and he says, "Do you want me to release Jesus to you?," and they said, "No." The text is clear that they had brought Christ to be crucified because they envied Him. Matthew 27:15-23, "Now, at the feast, the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd, any one prisoner whom they wanted, and they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas, so when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, 'Whom do you want me to release for you, Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?,' for He knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered Him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, 'Have nothing to do with that righteous Man, for I have suffered much because of Him today in a dream.' Now, the chief priest and the others persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus." "The governor again said to them, 'Which of the two do you want me to release to you?,' and they said, 'Barabbas.' Pilate said to them, 'Then, what shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?' They all said, 'Let Him be crucified,' and he said, 'Why? What evil has He done?,' and they shouted all the more, 'Let Him be crucified!'" We worship a God who took the greatest evil that was ever done, the crucifixion of the Son of God, and He turned it into the greatest event, the greatest good that could ever be, and that's the resurrection of Jesus Christ, through which we have forgiveness of sins. So if God can take the greatest evil and turn it into the greatest good in the life of Christ and the death, burial, and resurrection, well, He can do the same thing in the life of Joseph, and we'll see He does. He takes what they meant for evil and turns it into good. In the same way, when we entrust ourselves to the Lord, He can take everything in our lives, the good, the bad, the ugly, even the sin, even the evil, and He brings it all together, and He works out His good purpose. I'll close with Romans 8:31-39, "'What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?'" "'He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?' It is God who justifies. 'Who is to condemn?' Christ Jesus is the One who died, more than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of the God, who indeed is interceding for us." "'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?' As it is written, for Your sake, we are being killed all the day long, we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Now, in all of these things, we are more than conquerors through Him, who loved us, for I'm sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Amen. Let us pray. Lord, we thank You for this incredible word, and we thank You for You sovereignty, and we thank You for Your grace. We thank You for taking this really miserable account of brothers who hated one of their own, sold him into captivity. We thank You for the story, where You showed that You can override even our greatest acts of evil. Lord, we come to You and we come to the cross of Christ. We repent of sin of pride, of folly. Continue to lead us in the ways of sanctification and continue to produce much fruit through us, and pray all this in Christ's name. Amen.