All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn with me to Genesis 42. Genesis chapter 42. I'd like to look at the first
five verses of Genesis 42. And as I consider these verses,
I want us to behold in the wording. You know that the Spirit of God
moved Moses to pen these words. Moses penned them. But these
words are all inspired of God. The Spirit of God spoke these
words. The Spirit of God moved on Moses
to write these words. These are God's words, and so
these words carry unimaginable, immeasurable blessing. In these first five verses, there's
an amazing display of the glorious gospel of God's free grace. In these five verses, we're going
to behold for just a few minutes the truth of man's in the garden,
the truth of God's purpose, eternal purpose to show mercy and compassion
to a people of his choosing. Then the faithfulness of the
Lord Jesus Christ promise to never leave nor forsake his own.
Then the blessing of regenerating grace, the blessed fellowship
of Christ and his people. All these things in five verses,
just in the wording of these five verses. Oh, the riches of
God's word. Now, let's just look for a few
minutes, and I want us to look at the reminder by the Spirit
of God. And God gives a man, woman, eyes
to see. Let's see. Look at verses one
and two. Now, when Jacob saw that there
was corn in Egypt. Jacob said unto his sons, why
do ye look one upon another? And he said, behold, I've heard
that there's corn in Egypt. Get you down thither and buy
for us from thence that we may live and not die. Now, let me
ask you something. just listening to what the Spirit
of God moved Moses to pen. Can we read, just reading the
name of the vessel of God's mercy and not be reminded of man's
fall in the garden? Here's what scripture says. Now
when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob, said unto
his sons. Verse two, behold, I, who speaketh? Jacob, I heard. Jacob saw. Jacob said. Jacob heard. Who was Jacob? Remember when
the Lord stopped him on the road at night? He said, what's your
name? He said, Jacob, that's my name. Supplanter, trickster. So here we see just in the spirit
of God giving us his name, we remember, you read the name Jacob.
And that's God's people, God's elect in the fall. That's who
we are. But now in this account here,
there was a famine, sin of God, but it was sent of the Lord for
a purpose, that he might draw his people to himself. Now, again, it says in verse
one, Jacob said unto his sons. Jacob said to his sons. Now I'm
gonna make a point here because I'm gonna show you something
in just a second, Lord willing, about this same group right here.
Jacob said to his sons. Can we not see here a picture
that we're all falling? Jacob said to his son, Jacob,
by natural generation, had some boys that came from Jacob, that
came from the loins of Jacob. But in picture and type, we see
that his boys were just like him. All have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. But out of the mass of humanity,
these sons of Jacob, There's something that is blessed concerning
the way that they're titled. They're sons of Jacob. When we
say Jacob, remember this, the Lord loved Jacob. Jacob have
I loved. Jacob had some sons and they
were just like him. Sons of Jacob. But just that
name, though it is setting forth man's depravity, oh, that blessing. Turn over to Malachi, Malachi
chapter three. Malachi three, verse six, there's
something about that title, sons of Jacob. Jacob said to his sons,
look at Malachi three, verse six. For I am the Lord, I change
not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob,
are not consumed. When it says sons of Jacob, oh,
that's telling us what we are. And we admit it. A believer is
gonna tell you right now, I'll be the first one to confess,
what's your name, Jacob? That's me. And you sons of Jacob,
but these sons of Jacob are vessels of God's mercy. The Lord said,
I changed not, therefore, You sons of Jacob are not consumed. So all to these blessed sons,
God Almighty, before the foundation of the world was pleased to enter
in and deliver in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, a people
of his choosing, sons of Jacob, to deliver them from a famine
that would be found in this world, a famine of the hearing of the
words of the Lord. Before this world was ever created,
God had a people. These people, these sons of Jacob,
God was going to show mercy. Look, he said, again, I'm still
in 1 and 2. When Jacob saw, Jacob said, Jacob
heard. How does any of God's sheep see,
say, or hear? of the mercy of God. He said,
I heard there's corn over in Egypt. There's something to eat
over there. There's a group of people sitting
here, and I'm convinced out of this group of people, there's
some folks sitting here that God's everlastingly loved. I
believe that. I believe that there's a group of people, and
you know what they want to do? You got one reason for being
here. I want to hear. I want to eat. You tell me about the bread of
heaven. Tell me one more time. About the eternal, true sustenance
of life. You tell me about him. You tell
me where he is. Tell me where I can find him.
He heard. You tell me where I can go and feast. Why are you sitting
here today? Why didn't you just pick something
else? Why didn't you just go, there's a lot of buildings around
here. Why'd you come here? Because this is where God's raised
up the gospel of God's free grace. He heard. How does any of them
hear? Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord and the Lord spoke. Scripture says, Genesis 6.13,
and God said unto Noah, build an ark. There was an Ethiopian
eunuch come out of Jerusalem, and he was heading back home. And the angel of the Lord spoke
to a man named Philip. And he said, go out in the desert. Crossed paths with an Ethiopian,
reading from the book of Isaiah. How did he hear? How does any
of God's sheep? How did Saul of Tarsus hear?
He was on his way to Damascus, had papers in his hand. How did
he hear? God's gonna have to give a man a woman a new ear.
Seeing eye and hearing ear, it's of the Lord. For Jacob saw that
there was corn in Egypt, he said unto his sons, that are part
of verse one, why do you look one upon another? Why do you
look? You know, man by nature's ignorant.
For all were spiritually ignorant in need. But in spite of our
need, Oh, the indescribable mercy of God to send directions. Jacob
said, I want you to go, I want you to go. And the scripture
says in verse three, and Joseph's 10 brethren went down to buy
corn in Egypt. If the Lord leaves us to ourselves,
we'll look to ourselves. That's what Jacob asked him,
why you look to yourself? I've heard that there's corn
over in Egypt. But he told them and they left. There was an urgency. Hebrews
chapter 11, verse 7. Hebrews 11, 7. Look what scripture
says concerning what happened when God spoke to a man named
Noah. 11, 7. By faith, Noah. being warned
of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared
an ark to the saving of his house by the which he condemned the
world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. So how the Spirit of God moves. And Jacob told his boys, sons
of Jacob, he said, I want you to go and go over there. And they did. It says, verse
three, Joseph's 10 brethren, but wait a minute. How did the
Spirit of God refer to these boys again? It was just said
in verse one, these sons of Jacob. Sons of Jacob. What did the Spirit
of God say about those 10 boys? In verse three, Joseph's 10 brethren. Same group, same boys. They were
sons of Jacob. That's what they are. But Joseph
is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. He sets forth, these
are my brethren. They've always been his brethren.
He said, I've loved you with an everlasting love. Joseph's
brethren. Isn't that a sweet thought? Who
are you? I'm the Lord's brethren. He's
my Lord. I'm his son. I'm his sheep. I'm
his bride. Yes, we're objects of God's mercy,
and the Lord knows us, Joseph's brethren. But you know, in closing,
we're still, here we are, born in this world by grace, mercy,
but you know what? We're still plagued with the
presence of sin. Verse four, but Benjamin, Joseph's
brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren, for he said, lest
peradventure mischief behold him. Now, you know, Jacob have
I loved. Jacob was an object of God's
mercy and compassion. Jacob had a love of his life. He married Leah and Rachel. He
loved Rachel. Jacob had two boys by Rachel. Benjamin and Joseph. And Joseph,
as far as Jacob is concerned, he'd gone. He'd been gone now
22 years. I don't know for years. He'd
gone. I don't have but one boy left for my beloved Rachel. I ain't letting him go. I'll send you other boys, but
not Benjamin. Beloved, again, we're plagued
and we struggle with the things of this world. Now, we wanna
hold on to them. But here's the, I said something,
how the Spirit of God wrote it. He's reminding us of something. Hold loosely the things of this
world. I am the Lord thy God, I have
no other gods before me. or we might think we're gonna
hold on and we're gonna, now you tend to go, but this boy
ain't going, because I don't want anything happening to him.
The Lord is gonna have our first. You seek first the kingdom of
God. Then it says in verse five, and
the sons of Israel. Well, I just think back on just
what I just read in verse one. Jacob saw Jacob's sons. It was Jacob, that's who he is.
But look what the Spirit of God says about Jacob as the Lord
has looked upon him in mercy. The sons of Israel. What did the Lord ask him? Asked
Jacob that night, what's your name? He said, my name's Jacob. He said, not anymore. Your name's
Israel. You're a prince with God. And
so here's these same boys, same 10 boys, same Jacob. This is
what he is in Adam. He's Jacob. This is who he is
in Christ. He's Israel. The sons of Israel
came to buy corn among those that came for the famine was
in the land I prayed that the Lord take these
five verses and just bless our hearts, just in the way that
the Spirit of God was pleased to write it and teach us of ourselves,
what we are, who we are, born in Adam, but we're vessels of
God's mercy. We're sons of Jacob. Jacob, I've
loved. God sends these 10 sons of Israel. That's who God says he is. And
I know the plague of our hearts still there. I ain't letting
that boy go. Oh, he's gonna go. I can tell you this. I guarantee
you. Go ahead and read through 42.
He's going, he's going. And the Lord's gonna teach him.
I pray God bless this message to our hearts for Christ's sake.
Amen. All right.