All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn back to Genesis 37. Genesis 37. Today, or this evening, we start
the scriptural revelation of one of the sons of Jacob, a man that sets forth as clearly
beautifully a picture and type of the Lord Jesus Christ than
is found in any other part of God's word. Now, from this point
right here to the end of the book of Genesis, we're going
to be dealing with the life of this son, Joseph. I pray that the Lord gives us
some light because this man right here is a beautiful picture of
how Almighty God has been pleased to rescue his elect, his remnant,
his church, his bride, his chosen from the bondage of sin and unbelief. This man, Joseph, is a type of the Lord Jesus, the one that
God's been pleased through whom he shows mercy and compassion.
Now, I want us to consider the first four verses of this, of
this book, of this chapter, chapter 37. And I want us to consider
the Lord Jesus Christ. This is about the Lord Jesus
Christ. All scripture is about him, about
him. That's what he said. He said,
these are they that testify. You search the scriptures, and
in them you think you have life. They are they that testify of
me. So as this man, Joseph, is considered,
we're going to see by the Lord's blessing, these scriptures just
blossom into the beauty of our precious Savior. So while we
look, these first four verses, all of them, we'll look at four
verses. But in these four verses, let's see if we can see him.
The scripture says in verse one, and Jacob dwelt in the land wherein
his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. Now, here we see the promise
of Almighty God being fulfilled by and through his people. had revealed to his people, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, he revealed to them that he was gonna give them
this land of promise. And here is Jacob, he's dwelling
in this land wherein his father was a stranger. Now Jacob, that
heel catcher, Jacob's a picture of all of us. all of the supplanters,
they are the ones that the Lord has been pleased, His people,
His Jacobs, those that He's made to be Israel. He has been pleased
to give them a land, and the land is called Canaan. But in this land, for all of
them, they were going to be sojourners in this land. Now, that land
that they would possess. I began to try to do a little
reading on Canaan. We talk so much about Canaan,
Canaan, and that land was a special place. It was prepared for them. It was a land of God's blessing. I want you to turn to Ezekiel
20, and I'll make a couple of statements here, Ezekiel 20.
This land was actually a type Canaan, now, is a type of being
found by a people of God's choosing to be in the presence of the
Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, to be in His presence
in regenerating grace. Then, finally, Canaan is a picture
of heaven, of being in that place with Him in glory. But listen
to what Ezekiel 20 verse 5 and 6, what the Spirit of God says
about Canaan. Ezekiel 20, verse 5, and saying
to them, thus saith the Lord God, in the day when I chose
Israel and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of
Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt,
when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the Lord your
God. In the day that I lifted up mine
hand unto them to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into
a land that I had aspired for them, flowing with milk and honey,
which is the glory of all Now, this land, Canaan, was, according
to the scriptures, a land especially spied out by God himself. This land represented that which
God gives to his people. That land that is said to be
one flowing with milk and honey. that has so much meaning. Milk in the scriptures, according
to the Spirit's revelation, speaks of the nourishment of God that
he gives unto his own, Christ, Christ himself, the word which
God's people grow thereby. Listen, as newborn babes, desire
the milk, the nourishment, the food, the feasting, the milk
of the word, that ye may grow thereby." Now this land that's
flowing with milk and honey, we're Right now, we're in a building
here, we're meeting together, and we're in a place where God's
raised up the gospel to be preached and proclaimed, the preaching
of Christ Himself. And in this assembly right here,
Here is what Canaan pictured, a promised land flowing with
milk, with the nourishment of the word of God himself. And
honey, milk and honey, it said. That which is said to be the
savory taste of the Lord Jesus Christ, the bread of heaven.
Hold your place right there and turn to Psalm 34. Psalm 34. This place, scripture says, is
gonna be one flowing with milk and honey. nourishment, and the
savor of Christ. Psalm 34, verse eight. Oh, taste and see that the Lord
is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in him. Now let me ask you something.
Can we not enter into that? Here is Canaan, that which picture.
They were gonna go over the Jordan River, they're going into Canaan,
a place that God had spied out for them. The greatest of all
the lands. Let me ask you something, spiritually
speaking, in this spiritual place where we are, I'm not, again,
I'm not talking about the wood and stuff like that. This building,
this building right here, built on the foundation of Christ himself,
the chief cornerstone. lively stones built up, this
place of spiritual refreshment, spiritual savor of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Is there a land like this land?
Is there a land in this world like this land right here? That
blessed savor of that honey, the scripture says concerning
the wilderness, the manna that felled in the wilderness set
forth Exodus, I'll read this to you, Exodus 16, 31. And the
house of Israel called the name thereof. They went out and the
frost was gone. God had promised them that he
was gonna send them food there and he was gonna set a table
for them in the wilderness. And they went out there and they
saw this stuff. What is it? What is it? They
called it manna. And it was like the coriander
seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers. made with
honey. So here we are, we're in this
place that God has spied out in this land. That was what Canaan
represented, the land of flowing with milk and honey. So back
in Genesis 37, and these are the generations of Jacob. 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 Joseph brought unto his father
their evil report." Now, here we see, in picture and type,
looking at the whole generations of Jacob, you know, the whole
generations of the remnant of God's elect. Here's the whole
generation. of all of God's Jacobs, here
he is right here, Joseph. That man that represents the
Lord Jesus Christ, in him alone, we're found. In Christ alone,
all the generations of Jacob, us. Here we are, God's people. You know in chapter 36, last
time we considered the generations of Esau, And there we looked
and we found this long list of these names that gave what the
world would consider importance. Dukes and kings, that which the
world views as being worthy to be mentioned. You start looking
back in genealogy and you start seeing, you know, find somebody
and it's got some royalty or something to it, you know, just,
you know, it was queen or whoever, related to king or this general
or somebody like that. You know, did you see what importance
the spirit of God put upon them? He just mentioned names and there
was no mention of anything other than this is who they were and
this is who they were born to. That is what the world thinks
is worthy to be honorable. But the generations of Jacob finds all of their hope, all
of their life, all of their security in one, Joseph, who is a picture of our
precious Savior. And the Spirit of God was pleased
to relate in these first Four verses right here. The details
of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're talking about a,
there's a man, but he's a type. He's a type. Let's just, let's
don't forget who we're talking about. Here's what the scripture
says. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph being 17 years
old. 17 years old. You say, well, now what kind
of significance does that have? Well, it gives us some truth
here. Now, if we were just merely talking
about the age of just a man, we'd miss the significance of
this detail. You remember this. Now, our Lord
told us, these scriptures speak of me, me. When we see that here's
Joseph's age, is being mentioned, it carries great significance. And here's what it does. It magnifies
the truth of God's humanity in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Joseph's age was mentioned. Joseph possessed an age. We all have an age. We're aging. Joseph had an age, but the Lord
Jesus Christ The Messiah. God-man. Totally God, totally
man. He had an age too. In the beginning
was the Word. And the Word was with God and
the Word was God. And John 1 14 says, and the Word
was made flesh. Almighty God was made in the
likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, that he might condemn
sin in the flesh for his people. Now here's the truth set forth
in here. We're talking about the generations
of Jacob found in one man, Joseph, a type of Christ. And Joseph
was 17 years old. He was a picture, he was a type,
but as a picture of the God-man mediator, who as man, he aged. He aged. Luke 2.52. This is an amazing passage of
scripture to me. And Jesus increased in wisdom
and stature. And the marginal reading is age.
And in favor with God and man. I'm going to read something to
you that I got actually from, I think it was from Robert Hawker.
I looked at quite a few commentaries. I wanted to see what these men
had to say about that because that scripture right there is
just an amazing scripture to me. The Lord Jesus Christ, the
man Christ Jesus, he increased in wisdom. Wisdom himself. He was made in
all points like unto his brethren. And he increased in wisdom. You
know, if the scripture didn't say that, Fred, I could never
say that. I couldn't say that. He increased in wisdom. And he
increased in stature, in age, and in favor with God and man. And here's what Mr. Hawker said. In his manhood,
He was in all points a true and proper man, yet without sin. As divine, He never changed. But as a man, His life of holiness
and purity became obviously more and more evident. Scripture declares
Him to have increased in wisdom and age in the eye of God and
man. Who is a God like unto thee?
God Almighty made flesh and increased in wisdom, increased in age. And then the scripture says back
in Genesis 37 verse 2, and Joseph being 17 years old was feeding
the flock with his brethren, feeding the flock. Now, he was
a shepherd, a shepherd, a wonderful type and picture of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who is the good shepherd, the good shepherd that
giveth his life for the sheep, that's John 10, 11. Now, God's
sheep, his people, we are the flock of his fold. We are the flock that He tends,
he watches over, he's the great shepherd, the great shepherd
who gives his sheep eternal life and they shall never perish.
He's the shepherd who ensures, Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd,
David said. He said, I shall not want. What are we not gonna want? What
are we not gonna lack? Well, we're not gonna lack guidance.
He's the way. He's the way to the Father. We're
not gonna lack truth because He is the truth. We're not gonna
lack eternal life because He is our life. The Lord is my shepherd. And I'm not gonna want, I'm not
gonna lack because He's gonna watch over. But it says that
Joseph, 17 years old, feeding the flock with his brethren. Notice it was with his brethren.
Now, do we not behold the picture and presence of our Lord with
us, his brethren? He said, you're my friends. No
greater love hath any man this. He laid down his life for his
friends. He said, you're my friends. You're my brethren. You're my
body. He's the head and we're the body. Did he not say, here
was Joseph, he was feeding the flock with his brethren. Now
did he, the Lord, not say to his disciples, as he commissioned
them to go into all the nations, baptizing in the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, teaching them, the scripture
says, to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them. And he
said, and lo, I am with you always. even until the end of the world. I'm with you. I'm with you. Now
we have the assurance. He was tending the sheep with
his brethren. That's what Joseph was doing.
He was a shepherd. Attending with his brethren.
Beloved, he is, according to his word, he is ever with his
sheep. He's the shepherd. He's the great
shepherd. He said, I don't leave you, I don't leave you. Now he
may withdraw the evidence of his presence and make us, as
I've told you so many times, Maurice Montgomery, he put you
out on a limb, make you think he's gonna leave you there, but
he doesn't leave. And we have that assurance, that's
comforting. What a land like this. And then
scripture says also in verse two, And the lad was with the
sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's
wives, and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now we're gonna learn just a
little bit more about that scripture in the next verse or two, but
here it says he was with the sons of Zilpah, his father's
wives, Bilhah, and he brought unto his father their evil report.
Now here we're introduced to this attitude that we're going
to find that permeates here in the next chapter or two, of his
brethren, of his brothers, against him and their attitude of their
jealousy toward him, toward this, their brother. The script is
going to tell us why in just a minute. Now, obviously, their
actions were hateful to him. It doesn't say right here what
They did, obviously they were doing something, but Joseph knew
it because he went and told his daddy about it, went and told
Jacob about it. And he related, he related their
actions. But now, do we not behold in
Joseph's actions to relate unto his father, their father, his
father, that evil report? about what they were doing. His
actions to expose that which they would naturally want to
be concealed. I guarantee you, they didn't
want their daddy to know what they were doing, but Joseph exposed
it. And what he was doing, he was
exposing the evil. And his brothers They were types
of all men by nature, but especially even us, before we knew Him. And after we knew Him, that presence
of sin, those that before converted, that love darkness rather than
light because their deeds are evil, He exposed their evil.
But listen to what the Lord Jesus Christ said concerning the world's
hatred. Now he exposed their evil. That's
what he did. They were doing something. Listen to what John
7 says. The world cannot hate you, but
me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof
are evil. Our sin is open before the Lord
God himself. He knows. But by the grace of
God, The Lord, for his people, was pleased not to leave us to
the penalty, but rather dealt with it and put it away by the
sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. But here is Joseph. He's out
there, 17 years old, feeding the flock with his brethren.
He was with the sons of Bilhah, the sons of Zilpah, his father's
wife. And Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now, how we start to see in verse
3, we start to see why. why there was an evil report
to be given concerning their brother. Now, Israel loved Joseph
more than all his children because he was the son of his old age
and he made him a coat of many colors. Now, how precious does
a special love that Israel had for Joseph set forth the indescribable
love of the Father toward the only begotten Son. Matthew 3, 17, and lo, a voice
from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased. The scripture declares, love
Joseph more than all his children because he was the son of his
old age. Now, how precious he was the
son of his old age. How, how gloriously precious
the thought of the eternal union of the father and the Lord Jesus. Proverbs 8.22 says, the Lord,
capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, Jehovah, the Lord
Jesus Christ speaking, possessed me in the beginning of his way,
before his works evolved. Israel, the scripture declared,
loved Joseph more than all his children because he was the son
of his old age. the eternal God and the eternal
union. The father loveth the son and
all found in the son. He loves them because he loves
his son. And the scripture says, and he
made him a coat of many colors. The word colors, it means pieces,
made a coat of many pieces. That coat declared the love that
Jacob had Israel had for Joseph. That special love that exceeded,
according to the scriptures, the love that he had for the
rest. He loved, Israel, verse 3, loved
Joseph more than all his children. That special love that he had
for that special son, that special son of his old age. Now, here
again, Do we not behold the love of the Father for the Son, and
giving Him that coat of many colors, many pieces is what it
meant. Gave Him a coat of many pieces. John 3.35, the Father
loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hands. The Father loveth the Son, giving
all things into His hands. John 17, John 17.2, as thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given him. He gave him this coat of many
colors, many pieces, that which represented, set forth in that
beautiful coat all the glorious attributes given by the Father
unto the Lord Jesus Christ as The man, Christ Jesus, the Father
blessed him, blessed him. And that distinguishes him as
the one mediator, all that coat of many colors, many pieces,
the one mediator between God and man. I just got to thinking
about that coat of many pieces, how those attributes that are
belonging to the Lord Jesus Christ, that one man, the Lamb of God,
the Bishop, of our souls, the bread of life, the branch of
righteousness, the bridegroom of his church, the brighting
morning star, the captain of our salvation, the cornerstone
and foundation upon whom his church is built, the Lord our
righteousness. I just, on and on and on. That
code of many colors, many attributes. Father loved him, loved him more
than all the rest. And then in verse four, and when
his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren,
they hated him and could not speak peaceably unto him. Oh, what an evidence of our carnal,
fallen nature. Joseph's brethren, when they
saw that Israel loved him more than all of them, They hated
him. They hated him and could not
speak peaceably unto him. His own brethren hated him. Scripture
says he came unto his own and his own received him not. Now is that not the very revelation
of the hatred possessed? I'm going to turn to John 15,
25 and read a couple of scriptures here. In John 15.5 is one of
them. Listen to this John 15.5. 15.25,
I'm sorry. But this cometh to pass, that
the word might be fulfilled, that it is written in their law,
they hated me without a cause. They hated the Lord Jesus Christ,
but no cause. No cause in Christ. What was
it? He was God's son. Holy God, holy
man, God almighty. Listen to Psalm 35, 19. Psalm
35, 19. Let not them that are mine enemies
wrongfully rejoice over me. Let them wink with the eye that
hate me without a cause. He came unto his own and his
own received him not. to Ephesians, I'm gonna wrap
this up. Ephesians chapter two, one to
three. Now here's us, Paul is talking
to church at Ephesus. Now listen to what he says to
the church at Ephesus now. Ephesians chapter two, verses
one to three. And you as the quickened, who
were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation,
our walk, our manner of living in times past in the lust of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others, toward
the Lord. We hated him without a cause. I tell you this. I can understand, naturally speaking,
I understand it, how man by nature hears of the sovereignty of God
and God's right to do what he will with whom he will. He has
a right. He's a potter with a clay. A
potter has power over the clay to make the same lump, one vessel
under honor, another under dishonor. I understand the hatred that
man by nature has. It takes a new heart to love
that scripture. It takes a new heart to bow to
that and say, Lord, you're right. Lord, if you left me to myself
and put me in hell, you're right. Lord, please don't leave me to
myself. Lord, if you did, you're right. You're God. You have the
right to do that. They hated him when they saw
that Israel, their dad, loved him more than them. They hated
him. They hated him. They hated him. And they could not speak peaceably. I thought the wording of that
was beautiful. Beautiful. Not only did they
not speak peaceably to him, they could not. They had no heart
for it. They couldn't speak peaceably
to him. Oh, we're all haters of God.
by nature, haters of God, walking in unbelief, and we by nature
could not speak peaceably toward him, possess no ability to do
so. All was lost in the fall. Everything
about the Lord Jesus Christ was resented by us. What a picture of our state in
Adam. And beholding that state, realizing
the mercy and the compassion that was shown unto us, How beautiful
does grace of God shine forth in those next few verses in Ephesians
2 when it says, but God, who is rich in mercy for his great
love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ. By grace, you're saved and hath
raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places
in Christ. that in the ages to come, he
might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. Generations of Jacob. Joseph, I pray the Lord bless
this to our heart.