So Lord may graciously help me
this evening. I return your prayerful attention
to Genesis chapter 49 and reading verses 22 to 24. This is the words that Jacob
spoke on his deathbed prophetically and looking back also over the
life of his son Joseph. Genesis 49 verse 22. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even
a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall. The archers have surely grieved
him and shot at him and hated him. But his bow abode in strength,
and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the
mighty God of Jacob, from thence is the shepherd the stone of
Israel. as we look at this text, I want
to really look at it in three ways. Firstly, it was Jacob was speaking of what Joseph,
his son, had passed through. This was true of the life that
Joseph had lived and it was also prophetic of that which was to
come as well. So there was a direct fulfilment
in the life of Joseph and his offspring. I want to then also
look about the fact that Joseph in many ways prefigured Christ. He was a type in that sense,
and even in the verse here we have that from thence is the
shepherd, the stone of Israel. Both those titles are given to
Christ, the shepherd of his sheep. I am the good shepherd, the stone
of Israel. It's spoken of, I shall lay in
Zion a tried stone, and he that Believer shall not make haste.
These terms and so much of Joseph's life portrays that saviour that
Christ is to his people. But then I want to also look
at these verses as they relate to a Christian, a child of God
that's walking through this world. and how the enemy is seeking
to destroy them, but the beautiful precious truth, but his bow abode
in strength. Well, firstly then, in the life
of Joseph himself, Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful
bough by a well, whose branches ran over the wall." We read that
Joseph was fruitful in the land of his captivity. He had those
two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. and how they became the two leaders
of the two half-tribes of Israel, and were often counted as tribes
in their own right, but they both came from Joseph. He was fruitful, and his tribes,
I understand, if you look through the records of the number, there
was many that descended from these two tribes. But we notice
that in the life of Joseph, he had much opposition. And we see that in here that
the archers have sorely grieved him. He sought to do his father's
will, he sought to be obedient to his father, his father's command,
to go and see how his brethren fared, and yet he ended up, you
see, being plotted against by his brethren, being thrown into that pit, and then
sold as a slave down into Egyptian slavery. The archers have surely
grieved him. It was a bitter path. It was a path of great grief
for Joseph. It was, we read later on, that
he pleaded. We find that out as the brothers
were talking together. They were questioning, why did
you not listen to him when he pleaded? You see, it was a difficult
pathway. He was sold away from his father.
He was one that was loved by his father greatly. Jacob loved
Joseph because he was the son of his old age, and the son of
his original wife, Rachel, was the one that particularly Jacob
originally wanted to marry. But the archers have surely grieved
him. And how Joseph was grieved by
his brethren, by his brothers. They hated him. They could not
speak peaceably to him. But you see, Joseph was given
grace to not render evil for evil. He did not give back. what he was given. He did not
shoot back the arrows at the people that were shooting arrows
at him. The archers that were sorely wounded him, he did not
take those arrows and shoot them back at those that were shooting
at him. I've heard it explained like
this, that he shot the arrows upwards to God in prayer. He prayed to his God. He used
his bow not to shoot his arrows back, but to shoot his arrows
up to God for help, for grace, for endurance, to walk godly
in a difficult situation. And in the chapter that we read,
in chapter 39 of Genesis, we have portrayed there this prospering
in Potiphar's house, and then the temptation of Potiphar's
wife, who sought to draw him away into a wrong relationship
and kept on at him and was persistent. And then when he very, very honorably
stood against her and would not listen and hearken to her, then
instead of being outwardly rewarded for his honesty and for his godliness,
he was thrown into a prison. and bound in fetters of iron. This is the life of Joseph. It
was difficult. It was a very difficult pathway. The archers have sorely grieved
him and shot at him and hated him. He was loved by his father,
but he was hated by his brethren. He was hated by Potiphar's wife,
in a sense. She thought, you see, that's
how you see lust. You see, lust was not love. She
didn't really love the person of Joseph, because as soon as
she couldn't satisfy her lust with him, she turned to be his
greatest enemy. You see, that's what lust is.
But you see, true love. It is a love for the other that
does them good. It certainly didn't do Joseph
any good, the lust that Potiphar's wife had towards him. And so,
you see, the archers have surely grieved him and shot at him and
hated him. All that was true of Joseph.
He endured it. Until the time that his word
came, the word of the Lord tried him. But we come on to verse
24. But his bow abode in strength. We have here a beautiful picture
of the sustaining of Joseph in difficult, tremendously difficult
circumstances, where everything around him encouraged him to
sin, encouraged him to deny his faith, encouraged him to deny
his God. And yet Joseph plods on honourably
and receives dishonour and hatred as a result of his honesty and
godliness. But his abode in strength and
the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty
God of Israel. of Jacob, sorry, from thence
is the shepherd and stone of Israel. Well, a shepherd, what
does a shepherd do for his sheep? He feeds. That's what a shepherd
does, or one of the functions of a shepherd. He leads his flock
to feed. And you see, Joseph became the feeder of the
entire nation of Egypt and the surrounding nations. Joseph became
the shepherd in a natural sense, the natural saviour of the whole
area. Was it not for Joseph, the whole
area would have died due to the famine. And yet God raised up
Joseph to be that natural deliverer, to deliver all the land by his
God-given wisdom and his diligence and his leadership. the shepherd
and the stone of Israel. That one who was a foundation
stone and all his family, the 70 souls from Jacob and his other
brothers, they all came to live in Goshen. In that land, you
see, that was a place of security and safety when there was no
other place for them. He became that surety and that
stone. even by the God of thy father
who shall help thee. And so it goes on. So Joseph,
this was true of Joseph in a natural sense. He was upheld by God and
he became such a blessing to the people of God and his brethren. But I want to speak also of the
Lord Jesus Christ, because Joseph in his humiliation and then his
exaltation, there is so many similarities in type to one that
was greater than Joseph. And the names you see, A Fruitful
Bough, Another name is given, a bough or a branch, that's one
of the names given to the Lord Jesus Christ in Zephaniah. In Zechariah chapter 3 verse
8 we have, Here now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy
fellows that sit before thee, for they are men wondered at.
For behold, I will bring forth my servant The Branch. It was another name that was
given to the Saviour. And like I said, with the Shepherd
is a name given to Christ. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good
Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep. And that text also
in Isaiah. I can just lay my hand on it. Isaiah 28 and verse 16. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried
stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation, and he that
believeth shall not make haste. Naturally, Joseph was a stability
of the whole region. and how Christ is the rock on
which the church is built. Joseph is a fruitful bough. Well, Joseph's seed was fruitful
as tribes in Israel. But you see, the Lord Jesus Christ
would have a seed. And if we go to Revelation we
hear that there is a number that no man can number of every kindred,
tribe and tongue shall be around that throne in glory. There shall
be a seed. there will be a fruitfulness,
you see. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even
a fruitful bough by a well. And we think of a well as a place,
we've just been singing of the river, haven't we, and the beautiful
type that is of a well. of the living water. But a well
is often associated, obviously, with water being in the well,
and the water being a picture of the Holy Spirit. And you see,
the Lord Jesus was anointed with the Spirit without measure. And
he was that fruitful bough, that branch, that precious cornerstone. But you see, this fruitful bough,
had grown out of the trunk, and even a fruitful bough by a well. And then it says, whose branches
run over the wall. You see, it was as if there was
these barriers to hold it in, and yet this bough grew over
them and overcame them. And we think of what the Lord
Jesus Christ did, you see, he came over that great obstacle,
that wall, that wall of separation, our sin, our sin. It is your
sins that separate between you and your God. And this precious
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is one who grew and overcame
and ran over the wall, it overcame
that wall of separation, so that there was therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus. This is a great blessing, you
see, that Christ has overcome. He's overcome sin. He's overcome
death, you see, that wall of death, that separation. He's
overcome it. The death of deaths and hell's
destruction land me safe on Canaan's land. Christ, you see, he overcame
walls of separation that nobody else could overcome. You see,
you have clever people today, but how can they overcome the
separation between a soul and God? How can they overcome death? They cannot. How can they overcome
the grave? How can they set us right for
eternity? These are outside the remit of
what they can do. But you see, the Lord Jesus Christ
is that fruitful bough, a bough by a well whose branches run
over all the wall, all the separations that separate between us and
our God. But then moving on to verse 23,
the archers have sorely grieved him. The Lord Jesus Christ, he
came unto his own and his own received him not. He was sold,
you see, for 30 pieces of silver. He was sold to the Gentiles as
Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites. He was carried away. as a slave,
sold in bondage, bound and taken away. As Jesus was, so was Joseph. And you see, he was falsely accused. The Lord Jesus was falsely accused. He was condemned on charges which
were false. And so Joseph was condemned on
charges which were totally false. He honourably kept the law. And
though Joseph, of course, was a sinner, the Lord Jesus Christ
is one who had no sin. There was no reason, but they
hated him without a cause. The archers have surely grieved
him and shot at him. and hated him. We read in Isaiah
that his visage, Christ's visage, was marred more than any man's. We read that they hated him. And Jesus says in his departing
speech in John's Gospel, don't be surprised if the world hate
you. It hated me before it hated you. It would not have me to reign
over them. And so we have here a picture
of the treatment that our Saviour received. The archers have surely
grieved him and shot at him and hated him. But his bow abode
in strength. You see, Christ gained the victory. He gained the victory at Calvary,
though all the foes came against him, though they all congregated
at those, this is your hour and the power of darkness. All what
foes he had and his friends all forsook him and fled. That captain
stood the fiery test. but his bow abode in strength. He had strength enough, but none
to spare, and the arms of his hands were made strong. by the
hands of the mighty God of Jacob. We read in Isaiah, Behold my
servant whom I uphold. Christ was upheld by his father
as he passed through those bitter trials. Upheld, behold my servant
whom I uphold. And then, from thence is the
shepherd, and the stone of Israel. Well, you see, then, as Joseph
was a shepherd in the sense of providing for all those people
of Egypt and his own family too, so Christ then is a shepherd
for his sheep. He cares for them, he feeds them,
and he is that precious cornerstone that is there, that stability
on which the church is built. So we see here there's a picture
of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ in what he has accomplished,
even by the God of our fathers, who
shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with the
blessings of heaven above, the blessings of the deep that lieth
under, blessings of the breast and of the womb. So here the
Lord is able to bless his people. And as Joseph, you see, came
to that position of power and authority in Egypt, he could
then dispense, you see, of these storehouses to all the people
that came to him. So the Lord Jesus Christ, he
has been so rejected and despised and set at naught that we read
now he is being highly exhorted. And as Joseph was in that prison,
and yet in the same day, he went from being a prisoner to being
second ruler in the kingdom. Then, you see, he was able then
to use all he was able to store out that store up all those goods
for many years and then he was able to distribute them and able
to be such a blessing such a lifeline to all those that came to him
and so in Christ you see But as Joseph was building up
these stores, storehouses, filling them up in the land of Egypt,
Joseph's brothers had no felt need of those storehouses at
all. They were having plenty in their own land in Canaan.
They didn't see any need for the food in Egypt at all. It seemed to them unnecessary.
They had no seeming interest in it at all. And how you see,
Christ laid down his life, a ransom for many. He laid down his life
before his enemies. While we were yet enemies, Christ
died for us. Enemies. Saw no value in his
death, saw no beauty in it at all. Joseph was quietly filling
up those storehouses. so that when those people suddenly
realised, with the famine, they realised their need, they realised
their poverty, they realised their emptiness, there was one
command, go to Joseph. Go to Joseph. He was the answer
in time. is go to Christ. He is the supplier. He is those storehouses of grace
to give to his church. But his bow abode in strength,
and the arm of his hands were made strong by the hands of the
mighty God of Jacob. From thence is the shepherd the
stone of Israel. So we see then that this is the
Lord Jesus Christ. There is a picture of Christ
here, a picture of his supplying the needs of his people, how
God hath highly exhorted him, given him a name which is above
every name. You see, when Joseph was exhorted
to that high position, there was one that went before him,
bow the knee, bow the knee, before Joseph as he rode in his chariot.
We read of the Lord Jesus, he is exalted and given a name which
is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
shall bow. This, Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. But don't let us forget, the
archers have sorely grieved him. They shot arrows at him. They
grieved him. But his bow abode in strength. The Lord continued. He set his
face as a flint towards Jerusalem. He set his face. He was going
to, I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straightened?
He would be about his father's business. Wist ye not that I
must be about my father's business? He had this great work to do.
He had a mission. He had a purpose, and it wasn't
for his own enjoyment. I came not to do mine own will,
but the will of Him that sent me. But then coming on to looking
at this, not just as literally Joseph, or as a type of Christ,
but thinking of this today as Christians. walking through this
earth. You see, we are, Joseph is a
fruitful bough. You see, we're told in John's
Gospel, chapter 15, about, I am the vine, ye are the branches. We are to be branches connected
to that vine. and bringing forth much fruit. We are to be fruitful. We are
to bring forth that fruit. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even
a fruitful bough by a well. There is to be, we are to be
as those people that draw water, we read, and with joy shall they
draw waters from the wells of salvation. We are to be close
to that well, we are to drink from that well, the water sweet
of Bethlehem's well. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even
a fruitful bough by a well. We need the Spirit. If ye walk
in the Spirit, ye shall not fulfil the things of the flesh. Think
of Romans 8, so full of all what it is to walk in the Spirit and
how we should be walking by faith. This is to be a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a well. We need that well of living waters. The Word of God will be in us,
a well of water springing up unto eternal life. Jesus speaks
of this living water to the woman of the well of Samaria. He speaks
of living water, living by this well, drinking from it, and benefiting
from its supply, whose branches run over the wall. You see, by
their fruits shall ye know them. You see, we are to be, as Christians,
we are to be seen. by those around us. We are to
demonstrate, ye are my witnesses, known and read of all men. We read of the apostles that
they marveled, and they took knowledge that they had been
with Jesus. And you see, we are then to show
forth the praises of him. We are to be those branches that
have that union with the trunk, the vine,
where to grow and bring forth that fruit, where to be by the
well, and where to show that forth
over the wall, so that it's not just the inside, the garden that
can be seen, it can be seen also by others outside. But here this
will be true of us too. The archers have surely grieved
him. You see, just like our Saviour
was grieved, just like Joseph was grieved, the enemy will come
in like a flood. And you see, we need to be prepared
for this. We need to be prepared for the
attacks of Satan. The attacks of Satan which would
seek to change your course would seek to cause you to give up
and to go back and to walk no more with him. The archers have
surely sorely grieved him. It was difficult for him. He
was wounded. He thought that he had brethren,
and they mistreated him, and abused him, and sold him, and
despised him, and rejected him, and would have nothing to do
with him. He felt it. Christ, you see, was sensitive.
I like to think of this, if you read the psalm, Psalm 22, you
have a sensitive Christ. One that felt every lash of the
whip, felt every unkind comment that was hurled at him, he felt
it. He wasn't somebody that said,
well, I don't mind how many people say unkind things to me. I just
ignore them. No, he felt it. It didn't stop
him. It didn't stop him continuing
with that work that his father had given him to do. But he was
tender. He felt it. It hurt him. It hurt Joseph. The archers have
surely, sorely grieved him. and shot at him. They shot at
him. They hurt him and hated him. It was the cause that then we
read in, to do with our Lord Jesus Christ, that Pilate perceived
that for envy they had delivered Christ up. They hated him. They
couldn't stand him. We will not have this man to
reign over us. But the archers have surely grieved
him. and shot at him and hated him. And that's difficult, you see,
in our pathway. But we need to be encouraged.
We need to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. You see, what would
you say to a soldier that went in the army and said, I will
only continue in this army provided we have no opposition, provided
the enemy never takes a shot at us, provided we have no damages
as a troop, then I will continue and I will be a wonderful soldier
in this army? You'd say it's nonsense. If you're
going to fight in an army, there's going to be wounds, there's going
to be opposition, there's going to be battle, there's going to
be fighting, there's going to be opposition. But his bow abode in strength. You see, there's this idea of the damage
and the pain and the difficulty that comes towards this child
of God. But what is he to do? Give up?
Go back? Walk no more with him? Is he going to say, well, if
this is the difficulty, like Pliable in Pilgrim's Progress,
in the Slough of Despond, he was so keen to go on the Christian
pathway, he was adding up all the benefits that would come
to him as he was travelling to the Celestial City, until he
met the first hurdle, the Slough of Despond. And then, where are
we now, Christian? And it wasn't long before he
said, well, you can gain the city alone. I'm going back. I'm
not having this. If we've had difficulties already,
I'm back. I'm out of it. No, you see, we
have to run with patience. The race that is set before us,
looking, unto Jesus. Looking unto Jesus, not throwing
in the towel like we feel like doing sometimes, but looking
unto Jesus. The archers have sorely grieved
him and shot at him and hated him. It's not nice to be hated,
you know. It's not nice to be hated. It's horrible to be hated. to feel that people hate you,
people are just trying to trip you up, trying to twist and turn
everything against you, and hated him. But his bow abode in strength. You see here a security for a
child of God, a security. Christ His God is the security. Yes, these enemies fire at him. They wound him, they hurt him.
They say things that really grieve him. The things that make him
shudder. But his bow abode in strength. There's a serenity here. There's
a safety here. It doesn't matter how much is
thrown at Joseph. He continued in the situation
he was, acting and walking godly. Tremendous example. He doesn't
say, well, if you put me in this and this position, then I'll
walk godly. No, he walked godly in Potiphar's house. Then he
was mistreated and abused again, and then he walked godly in the
prison. He doesn't end up with a chip
on his shoulder saying, well, everything's against me and now
I'm just going to walk ungodly and fire back everybody that
fires at me. No, the archers have surely grieved
him and shot at him and hated him, but his bow abode in strength. There's a security here and this
is something precious for the people of God. and his arms and
the arms of his hands remained strong. by the hands of the mighty
God of Jacob. What a lovely, lovely thing,
isn't it? You have the serenity here. You
have the world with all their river of evil and hatred against
the children of God, seeking to trip them up, seeking to debaunch
them at every turn. But we have this one, a child
of God, pictured in the life of Joseph as one whose bow abode
in strength, that he was unmoved by all the onslaughts of Satan. And they were tough. They were
tough. She spoke to him day by day,
seeking to allure him, seeking to entice him. But his bow abode in strength,
and the arms of his hands were made strong in the hands of the
mighty God of Jacob. You see, he was an overcomer.
because he had union with Christ who overcame. His captain had
stood the fiery test. The Lord Jesus had passed this
way. He had entered. He had gone through death. He
had risen victorious over sin, death, hell, and the grave. He
is now exhorted to give repentance and remission of sins. But his bow abode in strength,
and the arms of his hands were made strong. by the hands of
the mighty God of Israel. From thence is the shepherd the
stone of Israel." So the Lord's people are then nurtured and
cared for by this good shepherd. The good shepherd who gave his
life for the sheep. There's security, there's stability,
there's foundation. Well may we by God's grace be good
soldiers of Jesus Christ. We have a battle on. There is
many things that are seeking to turn us aside from the Word
of God, from the ways of God, from a right way of living in
this world, living humbly before our God, walking humbly before
our God. We have a world that walks in
pride, that seeks us to be proud, seeks us to dance to their tune
in so many things. But Joseph didn't. was hated for his adherence to
his God. He was hated for it. He was hated
by Potiphar's wife. Why wouldn't he just oblige and
do what she wanted? Why wouldn't he just do that?
No, he said, how can I do this great evil and sin against God? He didn't diminish sin. He exposed
it for all that it was. and stood firm and suffered for
it in the short term. But then he was exhorted to a
position of authority. And it's interesting, you see,
that that horrible accusation that was against Joseph of rape,
he was in prison for rape. How could you ever be cleared
from that? People would say, well, how could you ever be sure
that you didn't commit it? But it's never mentioned again.
He was risen to that second ruler in Egypt. We never ever hear
of that accusation against him again. He was highly exhorted. And so the Lord Jesus was exhorted,
and so his people will be upheld and kept. And they will ultimately
be vindicated. very precious to me in Psalm
37. I'll just close with this. A well-known text, Psalm 37,
verse 5. Commit thy way unto the Lord.
Trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. The next verse
is not so well known. And he shall bring forth thy
righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Joseph was vindicated before
his enemies. Before those that hated him,
he was vindicated. And he didn't do it by shooting
back. He didn't do it by aiming those arrows back at the people
who were aiming the arrows at him. And we're so tempted to
do that. It's such a temptation and it's
so wrong. But his bow abode in strength
as he shot them up in prayer to his God. And God did vindicate
him. And he didn't just bring him
out of prison, he set him as the second most important person
in the whole land of Egypt. As for God, his way is perfect. Amen.