our Bibles and turn with me to
the book of Genesis chapter 43. Genesis 43. We ended last time where Jacob's
sons, except for Simeon, had returned from Egypt only to find
that not only was all their corn they had gone to purchase found
in the sacks, but also their money was there too. And it scared them. They were fearful. And they couldn't
figure, what does this mean? What has God, that's what one
of them said, what's God done to us? They knew that something
was happening that was unusual. Well, they told the story of
what had happened while they were in Egypt. They had related
to Jacob, their daddy, concerning the demand that the man, the
ruler, back in Egypt had made concerning their younger brother,
Benjamin. And that grieved Jacob. His mind, Joseph, was dead. Now, Simeon, back in Egypt, being
held, and now they're wanting Benjamin. Benjamin was the second
of his beloved wife, Rachel, and he was And Reuben offers his two sons. He said, if I don't bring Benjamin
back, I'll give you my two sons. And that gave Jacob no comfort
whatsoever. He said in verse 38 of Genesis
42, he said, my son shall not go down with you. For his brother's
dead. He's left alone, if mischief
befall him by the way in the which he go, then shall you bring
down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Well, now we pick
up in verse 43, and it says in verses one and two, and the famine
was sore in the land. And it came to pass when they
had eaten up the corn, which they had brought, out of Egypt,
their father said unto them, go again, buy us a little food. Now, these scriptures, every
scripture, every one of these blessed words, I've said this
before, I'll say it again, Lord willing, I'll remind us and remind
us and remind us. These words are breathed of God. Everything that is said speaks
of Christ, the glory of Christ, the honor of Christ. And if we
miss him, we miss the message, we miss
the gospel. The famine was sore in the land. Now, according to the word of
the Lord, this place in which we live, is a land of trouble,
tribulation. Turn to John 16, 33. Look at
what our Lord says concerning this word. John 16, 33. The Lord Jesus said, these things
have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world, listen to this
word. Ye shall have tribulation. Be of good cheer. I have overcome
the world. Is that not a comfort to God's
people? We look around, I've said this before. It amazes me
when I look and read the old writers. Neil, you know what
I'm talking about here. When you read these old writers, I was reading
one of the writers that was writing, and he was in the late 1600s,
1700s, and he was talking about the utter depravity, filth, and
just, that was in that time, and I thought, man, you ought
to see today. You think it was bad then, but
it's like that in every generation. Men that are called of God know
God. Men and women that know the Lord,
they're like Lot. They're vexed. Every soul, Lot's vexed with
the filth that he saw. It just grieved him. Is that
not so with you? What we see, you think, how could
it be any worse? But I know this, the famine was
sore in the land, but that famine was mercifully sent by the Lord
who worketh all things. Now there's another comfort.
Whatever's going on is here by God's permissive will, determinate,
providential counsel. He worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will. He's going to drive his people
to himself, and he knows how. He told his sons, Jacob did,
verse two, it came to pass when they had eaten up the corn which
they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them,
go again, ask a little food. Now, here's another truth that
we behold. In this second verse, Jacob told
his sons, go again and buy us a little food. The food that
they had purchased needed replenishing. And do we not see the spiritual
application concerning a fresh need of eating? The child of
God keenly sees his need to feast again at the table of God's provision,
of God's blessing. Weren't you all here Sunday? Didn't we have two services Sunday
morning? Why are we here again tonight?
Because we need to eat again. Don't we eat every day? Did the
manna not fall from heaven every morning? The Lord provided that
fresh bread from heaven. There's a daily need to feast
upon him who is the bread of heaven. We got to eat. We've
got to drink of him, eat of him. We feasted yesterday. If the
Lord sustains us, we'll have to feast again tomorrow. Go buy us, he said. Go again
and buy us a little food. In verses three to seven, it
says Judah spake unto him saying, this man did solemnly protest
unto us. Now he heard what his daddy said.
I want you to go get some more, go get some more food. And Judah,
now he's gonna rehearse again the, requirement. Going back to Egypt,
Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest,
protest unto us, saying, You shall not see my face, except
your brother be with you. He says to his daddy, Thou wilt
Send our brother, if thou wilt send our brother with us, we
will go down and buy thee food. But if thou wilt not send him,
we will not go down. For the man said unto us, you
shall not see my face except your brother be with you. And
Israel said, wherefore dealt ye so ill with me as to tell
the man whether he had yet a brother? And they said, the man asked
us straightly of our state and our kindred saying, is your father
yet alive? Have you another brother? And
we told him according to the tenor of these words, could we
certainly know that he would say, bring your brother down? Now, here we see Judah, hearing
the words of his dad, his father telling him to go back, go back,
you buy again, some food, we're running out, we're running low.
And he set forth again the requirement concerning seeing the face of
the ruler. He said, the man, in verse three,
the man did solemnly protest unto us. He protested and solemnly
warned us. The margin, my margin says this.
He protesting protested. He told us, in other words, I'm
telling you right now, you listen to what I'm saying. I'm telling
you, if you don't bring your brother, you're not gonna see
my face. If we try to go, it's a wasted
trip. We're not gonna see him. You shall not see me. While father and sons speak among
themselves concerning the dilemma, I want you to notice something
that was very striking to me concerning the change rendered
by the Spirit of God concerning Jacob. In chapter 42, concerning
Jacob, it says, verse 36, it says, and Jacob,
42, 36, Jacob, their father, said unto them, me, ye have bereaved
of my children. Joseph is not, Simeon is not.
We'll take Benjamin away, all these things are against me.
The Spirit of God said, Jacob said that. But I want you to notice how
he was rendered whenever the Spirit of God moved. He's talking
now concerning that same man in verse six. And Israel said,
Wherefore dealt you so ill with me as to tell the man whether
you had yet a brother. Now, here's this one man, two
natures, just like us. One man, he's still struggling.
The spirit of God is setting forth something. Those who are
a prince with God. those who have struggled with
God, been taught of God, learned something concerning God. That
man, still struggling, but with an inquiring heart now. Now he
just said over in chapter 42, verse 38, he said, my son shall
not go down with you. He's not going down. But he heard
Judah say, The man said, protesting unto us, he said, if Benjamin's
not with you, if your brother's not with you, if your brother's
not with you, if your brother's not with you, you're not gonna
see my face. And Israel now asked, asked this concerning this situation. He said, verse six, How is it
that you dealt so ill with me as to tell the man whether you
had yet a brother? He's starting to inquire something.
Tell me, tell me something about exactly what he said to you.
How is it that you dealt with me like that? What are you saying?
In verse 17, and they said, the man asked us straightly. The man asking asked us. of our state and of our kindred saying, is your father yet alive? Tell me concerning your state,
tell me how things are with you back where you come from. Do you have another brother? Judah told his dad that the man
wanted to know everything about their family. He was very inquisitive. He wanted to know personal details. How is it that you said these
things to this man, you put me in such a state? How did you
do that? The man wanted to know about us. The man was interested
in us. And we told it. Just like we're
telling you, Dad. Never suspecting anything. Never suspecting that he would
demand for us to bring Benjamin. Never suspecting that he'd say,
if you don't bring Benjamin, you're not gonna see my face.
We just didn't suspect that. But Israel did. But while this requirement caused
so much perplexity among Israel's family. Consider the blessing
that set forth in this precious passage of scripture right here.
Verse three, again, Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did
solemnly protest unto us, saying, You shall not see my face except
your brother. be with you. Do we not behold here and type
and picture the glorious privilege that we have to have the one
who is our brother, our elder brother, the one made in the
likeness of sinful flesh, the one who took upon himself our
nature, made like unto us. I want you to turn over to Hebrews
2.17. I want you to look at what I've
just said. Hebrews 2.17. Was not the Lord made like it
does. That was the statement I made. Hebrews 2.17. Wherefore in all
things It behooved him to be made like unto his brethren,
that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of his people. Our Lord came into this world,
made himself, made himself of no reputation, humbled himself,
made like unto his Brethren. Brethren. Dad, the man said, if your brother's not with you, you're not gonna see my face.
Dad, if he's not with us, Father, if he's not with us, we'll not
see his face. We'll not see the face of the
Father. The Lord Jesus Christ said in John 14 6, I am the way,
I'm the truth, I'm the life. No man cometh unto the father
but by me. Dad, if our brother's not with
us, Benjamin right there, there's a precious picture of Christ
himself. If he's not with us, he's not
gonna see us. He won't receive us. You see,
before Adam sinned in the garden, he enjoyed the privilege of communion
with the Lord. Freedom. Walk with God. Fellowship of God. Talk with
God. But when he disobeyed God, as the Lord told him he would.
He died spiritually, and that communion and that fellowship
were severed. And a state of alienation now
existed. Man, because of the fall, needed
reconciliation with God. He needed his debt to be paid. He needed the importation of
life needed that righteousness, that God will accept the righteousness
of God. And that threefold need was only met by the Lord Jesus
Christ, only the Lord Jesus. by substitutionary death and
perfect obedience unto the law on behalf of his people could
span that great gulf of separation before God to bring us back to
God. Man being dead in trespasses
and sins could never reconcile himself. Christ is the way, he's
the way. And he's the truth. Man, having
believed the lie of Satan, is born now, groping in ignorance
and error because of the lie told him by the prince of this
world. And the way of reconciliation
to God is actually darkness, the way back to God. Turn with me to Proverbs 4.19.
The way back to God. Proverbs 4.19. The way back to
God is to the unregenerate. Darkness. Proverbs 4.19. The way of the wicked is as darkness. They know not at what they stumble. Man's ignorant. He's blind. He's
dead. He's deaf. He's in a mess. He's born believing a lie. It's darkness. The way is darkness
to him. Turn to Ephesians 4.18. Ephesians
4.18. Ephesians 4.18. the understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that's
in them because of the blindness of their heart. But those spiritually
blind to any understanding of reconciliation to God found in
Christ, part of Christ, He in whom is
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The regenerate knows
he's the truth. And he's the life. He's the source
of life. He's the giver of life. That's
what the Lord said. I give unto them. I know my sheep. They hear my voice. They follow
me. Man, dead in self, dead He cannot, he cannot stand before
God except it. He's alienated. Except your brother
be with you. You're not gonna see my face.
Dad, we can't go without him. We can't go without Benjamin.
We can't approach God without Christ, in Christ, found
in Christ. So Joseph solemnly protested
to his dad, Jacob. He's not gonna be seen unless
Benjamin's with us. And likewise, the Lord Jesus
Christ, our way, truth, and life, he ushers us, the bride, into
the very presence of the Father, who's well pleased with him. In him, we see the face of the
Father. Reconciliation has been made. He's well pleased, back
in Genesis, 43 verses 8 to 10, and I'll stop after this 10th
verse here for this evening. And Judas said unto Israel his
father, send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that
we may live and not die, both we and thou, and also our little
ones. I will be surety for him. Of
my hand shalt thou require him, if I bring him not unto thee. and set him before thee, and
let me bear the blame forever. For except we had lingered, surely
now we had returned this second time." Now here we behold the
beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who is the surety of the sheep,
that picture, Judah set forth, even the very name Judah, that
was the tribe from which our Lord came. He was the line of
the tribe of Judah. The surety, our surety, just
as Jacob, I mean Judah, made himself responsible for Benjamin,
our Lord made himself responsible for his sheep, made himself responsible
and liable for all the obligations, for all the demands that would
be demanded, rendered unto the sheep. Whatever the sheep owe, he made himself liable. That's
mine. For all of our sins, they're
mine. All the responsibility for righteousness, I'll establish
that. The Father gave this testimony
of Him. This is my beloved Son whom I'm
well pleased. Isn't that not a great comfort?
Whatever we owe, I don't even know what I owe. I don't know
what I owe. Can you imagine trying to know
what is owed to God for acceptance with God? Do you see the fallacy,
the silliness of telling men, all you've got to do is just
quote a few words. Make a few statements. Walk down
an aisle. Get in some water. Say a few
words of, you know, speaking in tongues or something. Look
at that which the Lord Rendered for us look at the life look
at the perfect life of obedience When he said I do always Only
those things that please him he never thought one thought
Never never had one thought the father said this is my beloved
son whom I'm well pleased and the father knew everything he
thought He knew him he knew him Can you imagine? having to render
unto God perfect, perfect obedience. Not one deviation ever. I've sinned enough since I've
been standing in this pulpit tonight to put a billion worlds
in hell. Don't know what's, I don't know
what's owed. I can say that, perfect obedience. I don't even know how to, I can't
even enter into that. the depth of that. And then to bear the judgment
of God on my behalf, he made himself liable for that, liable
for everything, made himself answerable. Judah for Benjamin and the Lord
Jesus Christ for his sheep, his sheep according to that everlasting
covenant of grace. God the Father had chosen a people
in Christ before the foundation of the world, entrusting all
of them into his hands, all of their care, into the hands of
the Lord Jesus Christ. The remnant, the remnant of God's
elect, all of them. I've said this, I can't even
imagine everything, all the evil acts, thoughts, deeds of myself,
just me, but for all of them, all of them, bore it all, agreed
to be responsible for every need demanded for their acceptance
and eternal presence with God. He would fulfill it. I'll make
myself liable in the fullness of time He came into this world
of a woman made under the law to redeem them that were under
the law and lived for him and died for him and finished the
work. Finished the work. And having
paid our debt at Calvary, died under the justice and judgment
of God, buried three days later, he rose from the dead for or
because of our justification before God. And now he reigns,
seated on the right hand of the majesty on high, interceding
as our great high priest, how thankful I am for every infraction,
every evil thought, every thought that didn't measure up, every
thought that you've thought since you've been here and I've thought
since I've been here, every one of them, he intercedes. pleading the merit of his blood,
his righteousness before God. I answered for that. I paid for
that. I paid for that. I paid for that. And right now,
by his spirit, he's powerfully bringing his own people under
the sound of the gospel. Think about how you got under
the sound of the gospel. You say, well, I was born in
this church. Well, by the grace of God, you were. By the grace
of God, your parents brought you or somebody, you met somebody,
you got here somehow. I'll tell you how it was. You
got here by the grace of God, by the will of God, by the counsel
of God. He put you under the sound of
the gospel, the power of God unto salvation. And he called
you by power and grace and made you willing in the day of his
power to cast yourself upon the mercy of God. to come to Christ,
and to come to Christ, and to come to Christ. And you that
know him, you're coming right now. You know why you're coming? Because he made himself responsible
to call you and keep you through faith, by power, through faith,
ready to be revealed the last time. That's the work of our
surety. Our Lord and our God robed you
in his righteousness. washed clean daily by the washing
of His Word. Every time we hear the Word of
God, God Almighty, just that powerful Word of truth, He washes
us. Oh, the mercy of God's compassion
and power. Judah, in closing, said, I'll
be sure to fall. And if I fail, Let me bear the blame forever. Don't you know that that blessed
promise will be laid at the feet of our Lord? If you fail, you'll
bear the blame forever. Scripture says he shall not fail. He shall not fail. There'll come a time when he's
gonna stand before the Father and say, Father, and the children
that you've given me. They're all here. This is the
will of God that sent me, the father that sent me, that of
all which he's given me, I should lose nothing but should raise
it up. He cried from the cross, it's
finished. Turn to this last passage right here, Romans 8. Romans
8, 33. Romans 8, 33. Here's the victory. Here's the victory. Here's the
effect of the, here's the evidence of the victory. Here's the truth
of the victory. Romans 8, 33 to 39. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who
is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died, yea, rather
that's risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, as it is
written, for thy sake we're killed all the day long. We are counted
as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we're
more than conquerors. through him that loved us. For
I'm persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Why?
Because he is victorious. I don't bring him back. I'll
bear the blame forever. Oh, and in that day, scripture
said, we'll bow before him, casting all of the honor, glory, and
praise. Thou has redeemed us to God.
You're worthy. You're worthy. We're more than
conquerors through you that loved us and gave himself for us. I pray God bless this to our
hearts for Christ's sake. Amen.