I'm gonna ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to the book of Genesis chapter 44. Genesis
44. The brothers of Joseph have been
apprehended by the steward of Joseph and the silver cup. has
been found in the sack of Benjamin. And now Joseph's brothers stand
before him, stand before Joseph. They're unaware of his identity,
but they're now gonna have to give account. Gonna have to give
account for that which was found. that which they bore, that which
was theirs, as far as the accusation from Joseph and the steward.
And Judah, the spokesman for the family, he is standing with
his brothers before Joseph, and he confesses the guilt. He is going to tell out that
which he knows has been found out. And I don't doubt for one
second that he remembers years ago what they did, what they
did to Joseph. And he says in verse 16, as they
stand now before Joseph, and he says, Judas said, what shall
we say unto my Lord? What shall we speak? How shall
we clear ourselves? Obviously, the cup was in Benjamin's sack. And the brothers saw it. They
saw the steward take it out of his sack. How are we gonna clear
ourselves? There's no way that we're gonna
say we don't have it, we didn't do it. How are we gonna clear
ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity
of thy servants. Behold, we are my Lord's servants,
both we and he also with whom the cup is found. What are you
saying is this? We're all guilty. Truly, none
can teach as God teaches. That's what he said right here.
In the middle of that verse, verse 16, God hath found out
the iniquity of thy servants. By the Lord's Spirit, he convinces
his people of sin, and he brings the vessels of his mercy, sinners,
to see something of the indescribable depth of their true condition. They are made to know we are
sinners. We're sinners before God. Do you know why this congregation
is just not packed to overwhelming capacity? You know why it's not? Because man by and large is not
guilty. He's not guilty before God. He
doesn't need mercy. He does not need the forgiveness
of God. He doesn't need to hear the gospel.
He doesn't need to. Man by nature without the arresting
power of God's spirit will continue going through this world taking
no thought of his guilt now before God and judgment to come. Those that have been convinced
of sin. Those that know in whom they
believe. I know whom in whom I have believed.
I'm persuaded he's able to keep that which I've committed unto
him against that day. What my life, my soul. God's people, it's an amazing
thing. Those that have the greatest
reason to rejoice in Christ Jesus, knowing they're gonna leave this
world, those have the greatest assurance of hope in Him are
the ones that's most concerned about their salvation. They're
the ones that struggle the most. Man by nature. Judas said, God
has found out our iniquity. They're now begging for mercy
before the man that has all the authority and do whatever he
will with them. And here they are, now they're
gonna plead before him for mercy. And that marvelous thought of
pleading of mercy, I want you to turn to the book of Hosea,
but just going to Ezekiel and Daniel and then Hosea. And just,
you'll, look at Hosea chapter five. Now this was written in
the prophets. This is what the Lord said, this
is what my people are going to do. Man, by nature, he doesn't
seek for forgiveness, but God's people will. And look what the
Lord said, Hosea 515. I will go and return to my place
till they acknowledge their offense and seek my face In their affliction,
they will seek me early. That's one thing you can rest
assured. God's people, arrested by the Spirit of God, made willing
in the day of God's power, they're going to seek the Lord. And it
is a precious thing to behold how the Lord has set forth in
His Word how He knows and sees before I ever knew Him. He knew me in electing, redeeming,
regenerating grace. When I cared nothing for Him,
He everlastingly loved me and knew, there's going to come a
time, you're going to cast yourself upon me for mercy. And when it
pleased God, Paul said, Would it please God, who separated
me from my mother's womb, call me by His grace to reveal Christ
in me? Then I conferred not the flesh
and blood. I wasn't dealing with myself
anymore here. God has shown mercy to me. So here's these men. They're standing before Joseph,
and they're starting to confess their sins, and he tells them
that 16, Latter part, we are my Lord's servants, both we and
he also with whom the cup is found. Judas tell them, said,
look, we just were caught. We're your servants. We'll be right here with you.
And then Joseph says something amazing in verse 17. And he said,
God forbid that I should do so. He said, you guys just offered,
Judah, you just offered yourself and your other brothers to be
right here, be my servant. One that's got the cup with the
rest of you, you'll be here with me. He said, no, God forbid that
I should do so. But the man in whose hand the
cup is found, he shall be my servant. As for you, get you
up in peace unto your father. What he was saying is this. Benjamin's gonna stay with me.
And the rest of you, y'all go home. Benjamin, setting forth Benjamin as a type
of Christ, he'll be with me. Rest of you are free to go. But
in this blessed setting right here, Joseph is setting forth
some marvelous wisdom He's going to have all of his family with
him. And he knows. He knows how to
get his whole family there. I began to read that passage
this afternoon. I thought, oh, the ways of the
Lord. They're past finding out. The
best way to get his daddy, his family there with him, keep Benjamin
here with me. His daddy will come here. His
daddy loves his boy. No, you guys, you go on. And
then the scripture says that Joseph's brother, obviously having
no reason to suspect that the silver cup was put in Benjamin's
sack, they didn't suspect it. It doesn't say they did. All
they knew, for all they knew, Benjamin took it. They confessed their guilt. But
when they heard what Joseph said concerning the terms, you fellas, y'all all go home. Benjamin's gonna stay with me.
Y'all can go back. The scripture says in verse 18,
then Judah came near unto him and said, oh my Lord, let thy
servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my Lord's ears. and let not
thine anger burn against thy servant, for thou art even as
Pharaoh. What he said was this. Can I
talk to you in private? That's what he said. Oh, my Lord,
let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my Lord's ears. I want to talk to you as I'm
talking to Pharaoh. You have the authority. Then
Judah came near unto him. all the beauty in the approach
that was made by Judah unto Joseph. Now here's a marvelous picture. In just a few minutes, we're
gonna get down to the end of this thing, where Judah's gonna
tell him, he's gonna admit to him, I made myself surety for
this boy. He hadn't said it yet, but I
wanna just look at how he spoke to Joseph. Can I just, can I
have a little moment with you? What he's saying. Can I just
talk, just me and you. Can we talk? Just, can I speak
in your ears? He came near unto him. Is that not a beautiful picture
of the communion that our Lord, our mediator, our surety has
with the Father? Can I just, can I just talk?
Oh, the precious, nearness of our Lord and Savior, our intercessor
in the midst of the throne of God. The only one that can speak
on his own merit to hold your place right there and turn to
Revelation 5. Revelation 5. You know, we need one to speak on our behalf
that's near God. It's accepted of God. Revelation
5, verses 1 to 7. And I saw in the right hand of
him that sat on the throne a book written within, on the backside,
sealed with seven seals. I've said before this when we
went through Revelation. This book that's sealed with
seven seals, it's a completed book. This is the book. of the everlasting covenant of
God's grace in the redemption of God's people. What's required?
This book is sealed. It's a sealed book known only
to God. This is what is demanded. I saw in the right hand of him
that sat on the throne a book written within on the backside
sealed with seven seals. I saw a strong angel proclaiming
with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to loose
the seals thereof? Who is worthy? take this book
and to open the seals, fulfilling all the requirements of this
book of God's eternal purpose and covenant of grace. Who is
worthy? Verse three, and no man in heaven
nor in earth, neither under the earth was able to open the book,
neither to look thereon. And I wept much because no man
was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to
look thereon. One of the elders saith unto
me, weep not, behold the line of the tribe of Judah. The root
of David hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven
seals thereof. And I beheld in low in the midst
of the throne and of the four beasts in the midst of the elder
stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven
eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth. into all the
earth, and he came and took the book out of the right hand of
him that sat upon the throne. Here was Judah, and he came near
unto Joseph, and he wanted to speak in his ears. Can I talk to you? Can I talk
to you? And then he says, and I like
to read verses 19 to 29, My Lord asked his servants saying,
have you a father or a brother? Now remember, this is just Judah
and Joseph talking. And now Judah is starting to
relate to him what has transpired. And we said unto my Lord, we
have a father, an old man, a child of his old age, a little one,
and his brother's dead. And he alone is left of his mother.
and his father loveth him. And thou saidest unto thy servants,
bring him down unto me that I may set mine eyes upon him. And we
said unto my Lord, the lad cannot leave his father. For if he should
leave his father, his father would die. And thou saidest unto
thy servants, except your youngest brother come down with you, you
shall see my face no more. And he came to pass when we came
up unto thy servant, my father, we told him the words of my Lord.
And our father said, go again and buy us a little food. And
we said, we cannot go down. If our youngest brother be with
us, then we shall go down for we may not see the man's face,
except our youngest brother be with us. Thy servant, my father said unto
us, you know that my wife bear me two sons. And the one went
out from me, and I said, surely he is torn in pieces. And I saw
him not since. And if we take this also, and
if you take this also from me and miss you before him, you
shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. As we consider for a moment,
this sweet and tender reasoning that's offered. unto Joseph by
Judah, and we contemplate the blessed tenderness of our Lord
as he ever liveth to make intercession for us." Hold your place there.
Turn to Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4. Now, you just remember. Hebrews
4.15 is what I'm going to read. But here's Judah. And Joseph has just told them,
he said, The one that had the cup, he's staying. He's gonna
be my servant, the rest of you can go. And Judah, he just wants
to reason with him. And he starts laying out everything
that's going on, everything that he said. We went through those
scriptures, we studied that. He said, this is what you said,
this is what we said. And we said what you said to
our dad, And our dad said to us, and we told him, dad, but
we can't do this. And here we are. And Joseph is listening to this. He's listening to the reasoning
of Judah. And as Judah is talking to him,
just beseeching him, You don't understand. You don't
understand is what Judah's saying to Joseph. You don't understand
what our dad is going through. And here's Joseph listening.
And you know it's just tearing his heart out. And he's listening
to the reasoning and the trials and the temptation and the trouble
that's going through this boy as this son is telling Joseph
about what his dad's going through. If we don't bring this boy back,
you're saying he's gotta stay here. Do you realize what kind
of a trial this is for us? Do you not get it? Hebrews 4, 15. For we have not
a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without
sin. Our Lord has been touched with
every temptation, every temptation that was ever levied against
any of his people. Whatever temptation, whatever
lustful thought, whatever, whatever, it doesn't matter. He was in
all points. You say, well, yeah, but you
don't realize how I've been tempted. He was in all points tempted
like as we are. And there's things that cross
our minds and our eyes, and you think, oh my, how could I, oh. Please forgive me for that thought. He was in all points tempted
as we are. He knows. As Judah was explaining
to him the tenderness that Judah felt for his dad's feelings,
how it was just tearing his up, and Joseph knew. Joseph was a
son. That was his dad, too. And he
felt it. And he's listening to this boy. And Judah laid all before Joseph. how hard it was, it was going
to be to have to explain to their dad, if this boy don't come back,
my dad's, this is gonna kill him. It'll kill him if he doesn't
come back. He said in verses 30 to 34, now
therefore, when I come to thy servant, my father, And the lad
be not with us, seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's
life. It shall come to pass, when he
seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die. And thy
servant shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant, our
father, with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became surety
for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee,
then I shall bear the blame to my father forever. Now therefore
I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad, a bondman
to my lord. And let the lad go up with his
brethren, for how shall I go up to my father and the lad be
not with me? Lest peradventure I see the evil
that shall come on my father. The total hope that Jacob, the
dad, had for Benjamin's safety was not only bound up in Judah,
his son's promise to be a surety for his brother. It wasn't merely
that Judah said, I'll be surety. Jacob's hope of assurance for
his youngest son's preservation was in whether or not Judah would
be accepted as a surety. Judah can say, I'll be a surety
for the boy. What if he's not accepted? What
if Joseph doesn't want him as a surety? that Judah would be accepted
as a surety was the only hope that Jacob, the daddy, had that
Judah's offer to be a surety be the sure foundation of Benjamin
being able to come back. The surety must be one who's
not only willing and able to fulfill all the requirements
in the stead of another, but he must be a surety that is accepted. He must be the one who will be
accepted that all the demands would be satisfactorily performed
by the one that was demanding. The silver cup belonging to Joseph
was found in the sack of Benjamin. And Benjamin bore the transgression. He bore the guilt of it. But
would Joseph accept Judah, Benjamin's place? Would that be adequate? Judah told him, he said, take
me, take me. I made myself surety for the
lad. Take me, let the boy go free.
I'll be your servant. Likewise, when Adam sinned in
the garden, and the whole of his transgression was imputed
to be found, not only to just himself immediately, but to all
that would ever come from him, In Adam, we all died. Here's a question. Christ, would
he be accepted? By almighty God, would he be
accepted before the law of God? To be the surety, to satisfy
the whole debt that was incurred by all of his elect. God Almighty
is a just God. He's a just God, he said, but
I'm a just God and a Savior. Now here's the question. Will
Almighty God accept one surety on the behalf of an innumerable? A number known only to God. God
Almighty is satisfied to accept one surety on the behalf of all
of his people. Would he? Turn to Hebrews 10
and let's find out. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 11
to 14. Hebrews 10, verse 11. Hebrews 10, 11, and every priest
standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same
sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this man, but this man, but
this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever
set down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting
till his enemies be made his footstool for by one offering
he hath perfected forever. Them that are sanctified, set
apart by God. This man, this man, by one sacrifice
for sins, Would Almighty God accept the
Lord Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son? Would He accept Him? Would He let that one man, that
one man lay down His life? Would He let that one man bear
all of the guilt, all of the sins, every infraction that you
and I will never know? We'll never know. We'll never
know the transgressions we've committed. We'll never know. All of the guilt, all of the
sins, all of it, of all of his people, from the garden to his second
coming, will one man be accepted as the surety to satisfy the
law of God? Will one man's obedience Death, be adequate to answer
the demands for all of the transgressions of his people. The scripture
says yes. For by one sacrifice for sin,
he is perfected forever. Them that are set apart, those
made holy in him. Thanks be unto God. There is
one There's one who, as a servant of Jehovah, was made, the scripture
says, a surety of a better testament. His meat was to do the will of
him that sent him. And what was the will of him
that sent him? This is the will of my father. Of everyone that
he's given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it
up. On the last day, he answered
the law's demand for justice. He answered the law's demand
for righteousness. He is the chosen and accepted
Lamb of God who has stood for us. At the call of Jehovah, the
Lord Jesus Christ, according to the everlasting covenant of
God's grace, bound himself as the surety of the chosen people
of God. obligated himself to perform
as the God-man mediator for the totality of everything that was
required to be accepted of God. All that he did in his obedience
was imputed to the account of this sheep. He was wounded by
our transgressions He freed us thereby by His one sacrifice
for sin. He freed us from the curse of
the law. Why? He was made a curse for
us. God accepted Him. Last verse. Here's the plea.
Here's the plea. Isaiah 45. Here is the plea for
every object of God's mercy that's been regenerated by His grace.
Isaiah 45, verse 24-25. Isaiah 45, 24, surely shall one
say in the Lord have I righteousness and strength. Even to him shall
men come and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall
glory. I made myself surety for the
lad. Let the lad go free. Oh, I pray that God be pleased
to bless this to our hearts, showing us all of our hope. We're guilty, we're guilty. All
of our hope is bound up in one man's obedience, one man's sacrifice
for sin. Lord Jesus Christ, our great
high priest that ever lived to make intercession for us, comes
near to the Father. and pleads our cause on his merit,
and he's accepted. God bless us to our hearts.