Let us turn again to the chapter
where we read in Genesis, Genesis chapter 45, and reading again
in the opening verses of the chapter, we read, Then Joseph
could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him. And
he cried, cause every man to go out from them, and there stood
no man with him. while Joseph made himself known
unto his brethren. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians
and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren,
I am Joseph. Doth my father yet live? And
his brethren could not answer him, for they were troubled,
or as the margin says, terrified at his presence. And Joseph said
unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. and they came
near and he said I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into
Egypt. One then to consider the significance
of this meeting the manifestation of Joseph onto his brethren is
the theme that we have in these verses thinking in particular
of the words that Joseph says here in verse 3 and then again
in verse 4 the beginning of verse 3, and Joseph said unto his brethren,
I am Joseph. And verse 4, Joseph said unto
his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph, your
brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Our theme then is this of the
manifestation of Joseph as he makes himself known now to those
brethren who had treated him so spitefully and so wickedly
and sought only his destruction. But first of all, before we turn
to consider the manifestation, to say something of the character
of Joseph. Isn't Joseph a typical character? He is a type of the Lord Jesus
Christ. You're probably aware that there
are some who would deny that, and I find it quite remarkable
that any could in any way question the fact that Joseph is a type. When we read through such scriptures
as we read in this chapter, does it not cause us to think of the
Lord Jesus himself? Joseph is a type. And we read
of him much here at the end of the book of Genesis. Remember that this book, the
first book of Scripture, is really the book of beginnings. We can think of the opening words
in the beginning. God created the heavens and the
earth. And so, this whole book is referred
to as the book of beginnings. It tells us of the creation of
all things out of nothing. The great work of God, how He
was pleased in six days, and we believe that they were literal
24-hour days. In six days, God made the heavens
and the earth, and then on the seventh day, God rest from all
those labors, and God sanctifies that day and appoints a Sabbath
to be kept. But besides being the book of
beginnings, we could also say that Genesis, in some ways, is
the book of the generations. Time and again we have that expression
in chapter 2 and verse 4. These are the generations of
the heavens and the earth. And then later, the beginning
of chapter 5, this is the book of the generations of Adam. Later in chapter 6 and verse
9, these are the generations of Noah. And you can go through
with the help of the concordance and see how there are these several
references as we read through the book to the generations of
one, the generations of another, and then we come to the last
of the generations that he's being spoken of here in chapter
37. And the second verse, these are the
generations of Jacob. And then immediately after that
statement we read Joseph being 17 years old, was feeding the
flock with his brethren, and the lad was with the sons of
Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and so on. Immediately after mention then
of the generations of Jacob who became Israel, we read in particular
of the history of Joseph, and that is significant. when we
bear in mind that this man is a type, a type of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Or think of Jacob who becomes
Israel. Israel in the Old Testament,
a typical people. We know that they are not all
Israel, that are of Israel. There was always in the midst
of ethnic Israel that spiritual people, the true Israel, the
remnant, the election of grace. He is not a Jew which is one
outwardly, neither is circumcision that which is outward in the
flesh, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and circumcision
we're told is that of the spirit. in the heart of
man, not of the letter but of the Spirit whose praise is indeed
of man. We are to think then in terms
of God's spiritual people and when we think of the events that
are recorded concerning the generations of Jacob and all that so bound
up with the history of Joseph Are we not reminded that that
spiritual Israel, their lives are all together bound up with
Him who is the antitype of Joseph, all together bound up with the
Lord Jesus Christ. Don't we see this man here to
be such a remarkable type of the Lord Jesus Christ? Back in
chapter 41 and verse 38 Pharaoh says, can we find such
a one as this is? A man in whom the Spirit of God
is. He's speaking of Joseph, who
is able to interpret the dreams. And he acknowledges that Joseph
is a man in whom God's Spirit is. And then we think in turn
of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is of course the Anointed One,
the Messiah. And God giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto him. Oh, if ever there was a man in
whom the Spirit of God is, and that man is the Lord Jesus Christ. So much more glorious than Joseph.
But then again we can think of Joseph as a man who is rejected
of his brethren and his brethren would seek only to destroy him
again those things that I'm sure we're familiar with words recorded
back in that 37th chapter where we're first introduced to the
history of Joseph look at what it says there in verse 19 how
the brethren speak they said one to another behold this dreamer
cometh come now therefore and let us slay him and cast him
into some pit and we will say some evil beast hath devoured
him and we shall see what will become of his dreams and Reuben
heard it and he delivered him out of their hands and said let
us not kill him but then subsequently Verse 26, Judah says unto his
brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal
his blood? Come, and let us sell him to
the Ishmaelites. And let not our hand be upon
him, for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were
content. Then there passed by Midianites,
merchantmen, And they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit,
and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.
And they brought Joseph into Egypt. Here is one so despised
of his own brethren. Oh, he is rejected by his brethren. And again we can think of the
Lord Jesus. He comes unto his own, and his
own receive him not. Oh, he is despised. and rejected
of men. And then when we come to the
end, what is the language of those Jews? Away with him! Away with him they cry. Crucify
him! And we not draw comparisons then
between what we read in the history of Joseph and what we're told
in the Gospel concerning the experiences of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And then again, when we see Joseph
so exalted in the land of Egypt, and that one who is next unto
the Pharaoh. And he is the one who makes provision,
so that in all those terrible years, those seven years of dearth
and of famine, there is a provision made. And it's Joseph who administers
these things. In the end of chapter 41 we're
told how the famine was over all the face of the earth and
Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold them to the Egyptians
and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt and all countries
came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn because the famine
was so sore in all the lands. Oh it is Joseph who makes the
provision opens the storehouses, and so they can come from Egypt
and all the places around Egypt. And again, we see something far
more glorious in the Lord Jesus, the Antitype. The Antitype, of
course, is so more glorious than what we witness in the time.
It is the case in all that we find typical in the Old Testament
Scriptures. Look at the language that we
have there in Isaiah 55. You know the passage. Here is
Christ opening the storehouses of His grace. So everyone that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come
ye by and eat ye. Come by wine and milk without
money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for
that which is not bread? than your labour for that which
satisfieth not. Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness." All that provision that is made for poor perishing
sinners in the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. What a provision! And those sinners
are welcome to come When we come to the very end of the Scriptures,
there in the very last chapter in Revelation 22, the Spirit
and the Bride say, Come! And let him that heareth say,
Come! And let him that is athirst, Come! And whosoever will, let
him take of the water of life freely. Does Joseph make provision? yes he does and they come and
he opens the storehouses he provides but how much more glorious is
that free provision or that gospel of the free grace of God I say
friends again that this man I believe to be a real type and a remarkable
type of the Lord Jesus Christ himself but let us come and consider
what I said would be our theme this evening how this man makes
himself known and manifest himself unto his brethren Joseph said
unto his brethren I am Joseph and Joseph said unto his brethren
come near to me I pray you and they came near and he said I
am your brother. Isn't this what the Lord Jesus
does when he comes to make himself known, to manifest himself, to
reveal himself to some poor needy sinner? Two things with regards
to this manifestation. First of all we see that it is
a personal manifestation. It is personal. There was no
man with Joseph while he made himself known unto his brethren. We see that quite clearly. There
in verse 1, cause every man to go out from me, you see. And
there stood no man with him while Joseph made himself known unto
his brethren. Oh, how personal it is, friends.
Do we know that? It is a very personal religion. the religion of the Lord Jesus
Christ and doesn't Christ speak in terms of manifesting himself
to his people remember the language that we have in John's gospel
in those discourses, those valedictory discourses in 14 15 and 16 of
John's gospel look at what he said there in John chapter 14 Verse 21, the Lord says, He that
hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me shall be
loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself
to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot,
this is the other Judas, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest
thyself unto us and not unto the world. You see, the way in
which Judas is thinking here, he is thinking of a bodily manifestation
of the Lord Jesus. He doesn't understand that Christ
is speaking of those things that would come to pass after he had
gone the way of the cross, after he had fulfilled the Father's
goodwill and pleasure by his obedience unto death, even that
death of the cross. How after the resurrection he
would come and he would manifest himself to his own disciples
exclusively and personally. Oh, we see it, do we not, so
clearly? He says there in that 14th chapter,
let a little while and the world seeth me no more, but ye see
me. And they did see him. And we
know how the Apostle Paul, certainly there in that 15th chapter of
1 Corinthians, makes mention of the various ones that the
Lord Jesus is pleased to manifest himself to as the proof of his
resurrection from the dead. That great chapter that speaks
so plainly of Christ's resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15.3 I delivered
unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, says Paul, that
he was buried, that he rose again the third day according to the
Scriptures, and then, what does Paul say? He speaks of manifestations,
that he was seen of Cephas, Peter, then of the twelve, After that
He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the
greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen
asleep. After that He was seen of James,
then of all the apostles, and last of all He was seen of me
also, as of one born out of due time. The Lord does come and
He does manifest Himself unto His disciples as He does not
manifest Himself unto the world. Nor it is that personal, Just
as Joseph is a cause, is everyone to go out from him. And there
is no man with him while Joseph makes himself known unto his
brethren. Well, so it is with the Lord.
It's a personal manifestation. It's a miraculous manifestation. It's what is spoken of in the
ministry of the apostles. Look at the words of Peter as
he speaks there in the house of Cornelius in Acts chapter
10 he speaks of the Lord Jesus him
God raised up the third day and showed him openly but he says
not to all the people but unto witnesses chosen before of God
even to us who did eat and drink with Him after He rose from the
dead." The Lord quite deliberately only
reveals Himself to those who are His chosen disciples. It's a miraculous manifestation,
it's a spiritual manifestation. Again, we can turn to the language
that is employed by the Lord there in that 14th chapter of
John that we've already made some reference to, how he speaks
so clearly here of the sort of manifestation that it will be. John 14, 16, I will pray the
Father, and he shall give you another comforter that he may
abide with you forever, Even the Spirit of Truth, whom the
world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth
Him, but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall
be in you. Oh, it is the work, the blessed
work of the Spirit in this manifestation. He goes on, verse 25, These things
have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the
Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send
in my name. He shall teach you all things
and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have
said unto you. And what will this Comforter
do? For when He is come, When the
Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father,
even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, he
shall testify of me, says the Lord Jesus." Oh, this is a blessed
work of the Spirit. When He comes, He reveals the
Lord Jesus Christ. Remember those words, There in John 14, 21, "...he
that hath my commandments," he says, "...and keepeth them, he
it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me shall be
loved of my Father, and I will love him, and I will manifest
myself to him." Now what are we to make of these words? Let
us beware of any legalistic interpretation. Is it really saying that we have
to keep the commandments? Do we have to obey the Lord of
Gods in order to know a manifestation of the Lord Jesus? He says, He
that hath my commandments and keepeth them, He it is that loveth
me, but see how He is speaking of my commandments. And what
are those commandments? Well, the Lord tells us previously
to that in chapter 12 of John and verse 49. He says, I have not spoken of
myself, but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment,
what I should say, and what I should speak. It's those who have that
revelation of the Lord Jesus that He spoke in the course of
His ministry. It's those who attend to the
things that are recorded in the Gospel. He comes not to do His
own will, but the will of Him that sent Him. and to finish
his work he comes not to speak his own words but the words of
the Father. I have not spoken of myself but
what the Father, but the Father which sent me says He gave me
a commandment what I should say and what I should speak. And
it's those who would attend to his works And as we come together
and we attend to His words, is it what we desire that there
might be that manifestation of the Lord Jesus? Or how He says
to those Jews, search the Scriptures. In them ye think that ye have
eternal life, and these are they that testify of me. What is all
our coming to the Word of God? All our reading of the Word of
God? All our hearing of sermons from the Word of God? If we know
nothing of that spiritual revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ in our
souls, for the Lord to come to us and to come in that personal
fashion, has it never been your experience to sit in a congregation? We are but few but we could be
many and sometimes maybe you've been in that situation where
there's been a chapel full of people and yet when the Lord
comes it's as if it's just that one individual it's me and it's
the Lord when the Lord is pleased to come and make his word so
real in our souls here is Joseph you see and he causes every man
to go out from him no man stands with him and Joseph makes himself
known unto his brethren and so too with the Lord Jesus Well,
I say again, friends, it's personal. It's particular. It's the individual
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Real religion is such a personal
thing. But then, not just a personal
manifestation. Now, what do we see here? It's
also a terrifying manifestation. What are we told concerning the
reaction of the brethren? At the end of verse 3, they were
troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren,
Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near, and he said,
I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. He had already
told them who he was, and how the news so terrified them as
I said in the course of reading the text just now in the margin
troubled we're told is really the word terrified his brethren
could not answer him and they were terrified at his presence
or when the Lord comes and reveals himself It's terrifying. He is the Holy
One. And that one that he reveals
himself to is a sinner. And now that poor sinner is made
to feel his sin. It was so, remembering the experience
of Simon Peter there in Luke chapter 5. Just a couple of weeks
ago we were looking at that experience of Simon Peter. Remember it? The miraculous draft of fishes,
there were those men experienced fishermen, they laboured there
at the Sea of Galilee, that was their daily business, the catching
of fish. And they'd been toiling and they'd
caught nothing. And the Lord appears and they're
told to cast the net on the other side and they take in a great
draught of fish and the boat begins to sink and it's the Lord
Jesus. And what is Peter's reaction?
He's overwhelmed, and he says to Christ, depart from me, O
Lord, for I am a sinful man. Why does he say such a thing?
Because he was terrified. He saw, you see, here, through
the veil of the human nature of the Lord Jesus, he sees something
of the glories that belong to the divine nature. He sees something
of the holiness of God and he cannot bear the sight. It is,
I say, a terrifying experience. So it was with these men. They
were so conscious stricken. They remembered, you see, the
wicked things that they were guilty of. Wasn't this the brother
that they had sold into captivity? Oh no wonder they were troubled,
terrified at his presence. It wasn't the first time that
Joseph had seen them when he was in this exalted position.
This is their second visit to obtain corn for their father
and for themselves. And remember what he says on
the previous occasion in chapter 42 Verse 19, he says, If ye be true
men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your
prison. Go ye, carry corn for the famine
of your houses, but bring your youngest brother unto me. They
told him that there was one brother that they left at home, the youngest,
Benjamin. That was the full brother of
Joseph. He was not with them that first
occasion. But now he will have that they leave one of their
brethren and they return with corn, but they are to come again. When they come again they are
to bring their youngest brother, and he says there at verse 20,
So shall your words be verified and you shall not die. And they
did so. And then they said one to another,
We are verily guilty concerning our brother. in that we saw the
anguish of his soul when he besought us and we would not hear. Therefore
is this distress come upon us." They didn't know that it was
Joseph that occasion. But by the way in which he's
dealing with them, they're troubled now. Their consciences are accusing
them. Joseph is having dealings with
them. Or doesn't the Lord Jesus come and have dealings with his
children? Does he not come sometimes and
prick us in our consciences? And he terrifies us. How the
similarities here are so remarkable. At the end when their father
Jacob has died. They are fearful now that Joseph
will seek his revenge upon them. Verse 15 in chapter 15, When
Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph
will peradventure ate us, and will certainly requite us all
the evil which we did unto him. Oh, but what does Joseph say? Verse 19, Joseph said unto them,
Fear not, for am I in the place of God. But as for you, ye thought
evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass
as it is this day, to save much people alive. Also here in this chapter, where
our text is found, chapter 45, Look at the words that follow
in verse 5. Joseph says, Now therefore be
not grieved nor angry with yourselves that ye sold me hither for God
did send me before you to preserve thine. Verse 7, God sent me before
you to preserve your posterity in the earth and to save your
lives by a great deliverance. Oh, what a man is this! I say
friends he is such a remarkable type of the Lord Jesus Christ
himself in the way in which he deals with them when at first
time he will speak to them it seems so harsh detaining one
of the brethren demanding that when they come they must bring
their younger brother and Jacob of course didn't want that they
should take Benjamin. He'd lost Joseph, so we thought
already, would he also lose Benjamin? And yet even in those dealings
we see something of the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ. It
is a good thing when the Lord comes and when the Lord stirs
us in our hearts and troubles us in our consciences. Is it
not a mark of the grace of God? when he comes and, as it were
so, deals with us as to soften our hard hearts. We've been reading
at home these past days through the book of Job, that remarkable
book. There are many passages difficult to understand in Job. The men that come to comfort
him, their poor comforters, in so many ways, and yet at times
they utter such remarkable words. And Job is not always the wisest
of men in the way he speaks to them, but then there are those
occasions when Job, just like Sam, says things that are so
striking and so remarkable. And here, in Job 23, Look at the language that we
have at the end there. Therefore, says Job, am I troubled
at his presence, when I consider I am afraid of him? For God maketh my heart soft,
and the Almighty troubleth me. And I think it's the same word
there, troubleth, as we have back in in that 45th chapter
of Genesis, terrifyeth. God maketh my heart soft, the
Almighty terrifyeth me. Oh, how this man was troubled
at his presence. Are we those who have ever been
troubled even at the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ when
He comes to show us the awful reality of our sinnership? True are those words of Joseph
Hart, law and terror do but harden all the while they work alone.
But a sense of blood brought part and soon dissolves the heart
of stone. Doesn't the Lord have to break
our hard hearts? And the Lord in a sense doesn't
do that. It's when we see the awfulness of our sins in the
light of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. when we look
upon him whom we have pierced. Isn't that what we're told there
in that book of the Prophet Zechariah? They shall look upon me whom
they have pierced, it says. And they shall mourn for him
as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness
for him. As one that is in bitterness
for his firstborn. Ought to look upon him whom we
have pierced as we come presently the church members to sit around
the table of the Lord? Or are we not there to look upon
Him in way of peace? When we celebrate that Holy Supper,
let us not forget whose sins it was that nailed Him to the
cross, whose sins pierced His hands and His feet, whose sins
caused that spear to be thrust into His side. whose sins caused
the flowing of that precious blood, it was our sins. And we're
to meditate upon these things, we're to think upon Him. And
it does, in a sense, trouble us. We have such a realization
then of what sin really is. Or what do we have here then?
We have a revelation, we have a manifestation. Joseph coming
and making himself known to his brethren. they didn't know who
the man was and he comes and he deals with them in his personal
fashion and yet at the same time it's terrifying they're so troubled
in their hearts but one final thing before we close this evening
oh what a satisfying feast what a glorious gospel feast look at what Joseph goes on to say, in verses
6 and 7, These two years of the famine been in the land, and
yet there are five years in the which there shall neither be
earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to
preserve you a posterity in the earth and to save your lives
by a great deliverance. Now what is this? What is this
great deliverance? Well, Joseph is going to make
provision for them. As we see later when they are
brought into the land, verse 12 of chapter 47, Joseph nourished
his father and his brethren and all his father's household with
bread according to their family. Oh, He makes every provision
for them. They will not want. Oh, they
will not want. Remember what we have seen previously
there in chapter 41, the end of that chapter, how Joseph is
the one who opens all the storehouses that are in Egypt. There is provision. There is an abundant provision. And now we see the Lord Jesus
Christ as that One who has made provision for His people, a feast
of fathoms, of wine on the leaves, of wine on the leaves, well refined,
the Gospel feast that the Lord Jesus Christ has provided. We sang of it just now when we
began our worship tonight, that lovely hymn of John Berwick,
a feast is now prepared for thee, in spite of all thy unbelief,
a feast of mercy, sweetly free for sinners and the sinner's
chief." Oh, this is the provision. And now does the Lord nourish
His people. What does Christ feed His people
with? He feeds them with Himself. That
is the amazing thing, is it not? You're familiar with that passage
in John? chapter 6 verse 53 following
in John's gospel we have no record of the institution of the Lord's
Supper but that is clearly spoken of in the synoptic gospels in
Matthew, Mark and Luke those gospels that are similar in their
content John's gospel of course is quite different to the other
three and there's no particular record of the Lord actually instituting
the supper that we're about to observe. But we do have that
remarkable 6th chapter where the Lord speaks of Himself as
the Great I Am and declares I am the Bread of Life. And what does
He say? My flesh is meat indeed and my
blood is drink indeed. Oh how the Lord, you see, will
have us come Eat, O friends, He says. Drink,
yea, drink abundantly, O Beloved. It is a Gospel verse. And there the Lord will have
us come. He will have us drawn near. Here in verse 3, Joseph says
unto his brethren, I am Joseph. Doth my Father yet live? And
his brethren could not answer him, for they were troubled at
his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren,
Come near to me, I pray you. And he said, I am Joseph your
brother. Isn't that how the Lord speaks
to the sinner? Come near to me, I pray you. and he says I am your brother
here is the man you see who receives sinners the man who eateth with
sinners how the Pharisees would throw that in his face all the
gracious ways of the Lord he will have sinners come all that
the Father giveth me he says shall come to me and he that
cometh to me I will in no ways cast out or were to be those who would
come. If we are those who have been
given to Him as a Father and maybe we are those who at times
are so troubled by the doctrine of election we know that the
Father gave a people to the Son in the councils of eternity in
the covenant of grace they were chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world He says, All that the Father giveth me shall come
to me. There's the mark, you see, of
election. Or do you come? Do you desire to come to the
Lord Jesus? He says, All that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, He that believeth on me shall never thirst. You see
what the coming is? It's believing. It's believing
in Him. It's trusting in Him. Although
the Lord speaks so graciously, He says, like Joseph spoke unto
his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And we read that
short sentence, and they came near. Or might we be those who
do truly come near, who draw nigh to the Lord Jesus, and know
what it is for the Lord Jesus Himself to draw near unto us. Oh, the Lord bless these things
to us. Amen.