Genesis chapter 50. While you're
turning, there's a three-letter word that flows in and out of
our conversation pretty much daily, and that little three-letter
word is but, B-U-T. The word is used several ways.
As a conjunction, the word but means on the contrary or except
or unless. As a preposition, the word but
means apart from, or except, or with the exception of. As
an adverb, the word but means only, or just, or no more than. We've used this word several
ways. As a noun, the word but means an argument or an objection
against. The word but, little word, when
used in conjunction with the word God, makes way for an appropriate
pause. It's as though we stop and we
reflect, think, and consider God's mercy and His grace toward
us. But God. The phrase but God means
that God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we
could think or ask. He can do anything. He can do
everything. Paul in 1 Corinthians 2 9 wrote,
but as it is written, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him. Our eyes are too blind to see
by nature, our ears too deaf to hear, our hearts are too deceitful
to understand. And then Paul said this in verse
10 of that chapter in 1 Corinthians, he said, but God hath revealed
them unto us by his spirit. All the but gods of scripture. They become more precious to
me every single day. What an amazing exception throughout
the history of the Bible for undeserving wretches like you
and I. even though our great and sovereign
God is the author of every blessing, and He is. However, after Adam's
fall, man's sinful nature continues to rage and to rebel against
Him. When Paul wrote, but what I hate,
that do I, he was letting us in on the impossible task that
we have to escape from the sin that's within us. Dear sinner,
unless or except but God sovereignly and divinely intervene with an
omnipotent and almighty intervention, we're gonna die in our sin. But
God giveth the increase. Sadly, there are many even multitudes
of professing Christians today who do not recognize the sovereign
omnipotent God to be the one with whom we have to do. Sadly,
many today attribute everything to three fatal mistresses called
Miss Fortune, Lady Luck, and Mother Nature. But God will not
allow his elect to be deceived. Our Lord Jesus said, for there
shall arise false Christ and false prophets, and they shall
show great signs and wonders in so much that if it were possible,
they would deceive and seduce even the very elect of God. But
I have good news for you. It's not possible. And the reason,
but God. Before we get into our text here
in Genesis chapter 50, let me tell you an ancient Chinese story. There was an old Chinese farmer
that had an old horse, and that old horse had for years tilled
his fields. And one day, that old horse just
got out of the pen, out of the stall, and just took off to the
hills. And when the Chinese farmer's
neighbors heard of this, they sympathized with the man, and
they told him that they were sorry of his bad luck. And the
old farmer would just say, bad luck? Good luck? Who knows? A week or so later, that old
horse returned with a herd of wild horses following him right
into the farmer's corral. And then all the neighbors congratulated
the farmer for his good luck, but all the old farmer would
say, good luck, bad luck, who knows? A short time later, the
farmer's son was trying to break one of the wild horses and it
threw him and he broke his leg severely. And again, here come
the neighbors and they gave their condolences to the son's bad
luck. But the old farmer never said
anything but bad luck, good luck, who knows? Some weeks later,
the emperor's army rode into the little village and drafted
every able-bodied young man that they could find. But when they
saw the farmer's son all laid up with his badly fractured leg,
they let him be. Was that good luck? Bad luck? Who knows? It seems that folks
in this world believe this world to be a spinning roulette wheel. When your number hits, whether
good or bad, it's a matter of chance and nothing more. But
anyone who knows anything about the God of this book, the God
of this Bible, the Word of God, knows that luck, chance, and
fate have nothing to do with it. Absolutely nothing. It all
goes back to, but God. Now here in Genesis chapter 50,
we have the continued story of the man named Joseph and his
brothers that we looked at last week. Our subject last week was
on divine revelation. Our subject this week or today
is divine providence, or we could just simply call it, but God. We saw last time that Joseph
was a very accurate and a very beautiful picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ, of Christ revealing himself to his brethren as Joseph
did to his. Jacob, in the story today, their
father had died. And we pick up the story in verse
14, and we read, and Joseph returned into Egypt, he and his brethren,
and all that went up with him after he had buried his father.
And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they
said, Joseph will peradventure hate us and will certainly requite
us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger
unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the
trespasses of thy brethren and their sin, for they did unto
thee evil. And now we pray thee, forgive
the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. It's
obvious from these verses that Joseph's brothers are trying
to cover their own backsides and they're looking out for themselves. And you know what? So would we.
Now they're gonna do anything and everything to make sure that
Joseph, now who is a very powerful man, they are wanting to make
sure that he doesn't give them what they have coming. I don't
want what I have coming to you. However, Joseph is a type of
Christ and a beautiful type, as I said, is once again going
to show mercy and compassion. And the last sentence in verse
17 tells us, and Joseph wept when they spake unto him. This
hurt Joseph a great deal that his brothers would think such
a thing after all the love and the kindness and the mercy and
the grace and forgiveness that he'd already shown them. And
sending these messengers to Joseph was not all these brothers did.
Verse 18 tells us, and his brethren also went and fell down before
his face. And they said, behold, we be
thy servants. Verse 19, and Joseph said unto
them, fear not for am I in the place of God. Now what he meant
there was, am I God that you should bow down and pay homage
to me? Am I not under God the same as
you are? Am I in the place of God? Is it in my power to change God's
purpose, to alter God's providence, to contradict His will, to do
hurt to those whom He's blessed? Joseph is simply saying, I'm
not God. You got no reason to fear me.
Why would you fear me? A man who could, yes, kill the
body, but cannot kill the soul. You should fear God who can kill
both body and soul in hell. Now look at verse 20. This is
my text. This is what I want us to consider
in light of all that we've said thus far. Joseph says, but as
for you, ye thought evil against me, but God, meant it under good
to bring to pass as it is this day to save much people alive. So let me ask, for Joseph, was
it lady luck? Was it misfortune? Was it good
luck, bad luck? Or as the old Chinese farmer
said, or who know? Well, I tell you who knows, God's
people know. It was divine providence, but
God, but God. It was God working together for
the good of one of his sheep, one of his elect named Joseph,
one who loved the Lord, one who was be called according to God's
purpose. What Joseph's brothers did was
meant to be evil against him. And no doubt it was, but God
meant it unto good. You know, we talked a little
last time about Joseph's road to the throne of Egypt. And all
those chapters, you never read where Joseph murmured. You never
read where he complained. Not once. He never charged God
foolishly. He submitted to God as the first
cause of all things. Oh, that God would enable me
to do that. When his brothers threw Joseph
in the pit without food or water, they meant it for evil, but God
meant it for good. The way to the palace was by
the way of the pit. Acts 7 verses 9 and 10 read this
way. And the patriarchs, speaking
of Joseph's brothers, moved with envy. Oh, they hated him because
his father loved him. They sold Joseph into Egypt,
but God was with him and delivered him out of his afflictions and
gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of
Egypt. And he made him governor over
Egypt and all his house. As a servant in Potiphar's house,
Potiphar's wife made advances toward Joseph, and he acted very
respectfully. He would leave her presence as
soon as he could. She actually tore his clothing
one time, trying to escape her advances, and she used that clothing
against him, claiming that he tried to rape her. Joseph was
falsely accused and he was sent to prison for rape. I don't know
about you. I don't think you're any different
than me, but that wouldn't fly with me. I would be screaming
my innocence at the top of my lungs. He was falsely accused,
but he never one time tried to defend himself. Nowhere in the
scripture will you find it. When Joseph was cast into prison,
he never charged his accuser. And more importantly, he never
charged God foolishly. Why? Because the Lord was with
him. And the Lord thought it unto good to bring to pass his
sovereign will and purpose as it is this day to save much people
alive. He who once served in Potiphar's
house would very soon be ruling over it. Thirdly, sitting in
the dungeon of the prison. He didn't know that he would
be soon sitting on the throne of Pharaoh, but he would. And God meant it unto good because
Joseph was one of his. Oh, this is what I want you to
see, child of God. God is out to do you good. Did
you notice the wording in the text there? Again, verse 20.
But as for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it
unto good. Unto good. Now, at the time Joseph
was betrayed, at the time he was taken as a slave, at the
time that he served in Potiphar's house, at the time he was wrongfully
accused, at the time he was in prison, it didn't seem good. Not at all. It was uncomfortable. It was painful. It was unpleasant. It was miserable, even unbearable
at times. You know it had to be. But God
meant it unto good. God is working all things together
for good. Do you believe that? That's what
the Bible says. For the good of the whole world?
No, for the good of his elect people, for the good of his sheep. And he doesn't do it because
it's good. It's good because he does it.
Being the first cause of all things, the scripture declares
that he does all things well. It is well with my soul because
of that. And this is the amazing thing
about our God. When Joseph told his brothers,
you thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good. There's no contradiction. There's
no controversy. There's no disharmony between
their actions and God's actions. And it's the same with us. There's
no disharmony here between our actions and God's actions. And
if I've learned anything at age 65, my 65 years, on this earth,
I'm thoroughly convinced that men and women do what they want
to do. When it comes right down to it,
they do what they want to do. When all is said and done, we
will pretty much do what we want to do. I know there are some
exceptions, but most of the time we do what we want to, and what
we don't want to do, we don't do. If we really want to do something,
we do it. And if we really don't want to
do it, we don't do it. Yet at the very same time, God will
do exactly as he pleases and purposes. And if God lets man
have his way or God doesn't let man have his way, God in his
sovereign providence makes all things, everything work together
exactly as he wills. And he means it unto good. Now, let me give you three simple
things that we see from this inspired verse. First, nothing
can alter God's purpose. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. God is sovereign over all, even
the evil that people do. Now, I don't understand that.
just like the evil of Joseph's brother. God took their evil
and he made it unto good. That's what the verse says. God
is a God of providence. God is a God of purpose, not
luck, not accidents. God ordains every situation and
every sinner to accomplish his sovereign will and purpose. But
God, no accident. Everything is predestinated according
to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel
of His holy will. In Acts chapter two, verse 23,
we're told that Christ died according to the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God. Now, let me say again, men did
what they wanted to do. Their wicked hands, they crucified
God in the flesh. He tells us that right there
in that very verse. But it was determined by God.
That's what determinate counsel means. When did God know about
it? Well, his foreknowledge was before
the foundation of the world, before time ever was. God can't
be charged with the evil that came from man's desperately wicked
and deceitful hearts. Man sinned on his own. Sinful
men and women did exactly what they wanted to. They crucified
and killed the Lord Jesus Christ. but it was according to God's
determined purpose, and his counsel shall always stand. And I'll
say it again, I don't understand that, and I'll never understand
it. Why? Because his ways are so much
higher than mine, and his thoughts are so much higher than mine.
Who can know the God of heaven and earth in the depths of his
wisdom and providence? But by his grace, I'm gonna simply
believe it. Because that's what God says
in this book, the Bible, His Holy Word. But God, but God meant
it unto good to bring to pass as it has always been and as
it is this day to save much people alive. The Lord will not forsake
His people. Why? For His great name's sake.
Why? Because it pleased the Lord to
make you His people. Aren't you glad your Savior is
sovereign? If we're to have any confidence
that God has saved us, if we're to have any assurance whatsoever
that we stand perfectly righteous before a thrice holy God, if
we have any hope whatsoever of being saved, God must show us
that it has nothing to do with anything good or bad that we
do. Now, you can't say that in every
church. They'd be throwing hymn books
at you. It doesn't have anything to do with my righteousness,
first and foremost, because I have no righteousness to call my own.
So it can't be that. And it has nothing to do with
my sinfulness. You see, every saved sinner has
come short of the glory of God. We're all in the same boat. If
God doesn't forgive our sin, none will be saved. Salvation's
of the Lord. Well, what does that mean? It
means exactly what it says. Salvation is of the Lord. We're
saved because of the Lord Jesus Christ. He took all our sin. He gave us all His righteousness. We were made the righteousness
of God in Him, and it doesn't have anything to do with me.
Why does that make folks mad? I'm relieved. It doesn't have
anything to do with me. It has to do with His mercy,
His grace, His love, His forgiveness. I walked according to the course
of this world. I had my conversation, that word
means way of life, in the lust of my flesh. I was by nature
a child of wrath as every other man and as every other woman
born of Adam, even as others, God said. But God, but God who
is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us,
even when we were dead in sins, God hath quickened. God hath
made us alive together with Christ. By grace are you saved. Nothing
can alter his sovereign purpose. And I'm so glad. Second thing. When it comes to His chosen people,
God is good in everything He does. Now I said, I clarified
that. When it comes to His people,
God is good in everything that He does. There are two young
boys walking down the street and they encounter a big dog
blocking the sidewalk. And the more courageous boy says
to the timid young man, don't be afraid, his tail's wagging. He said, my dad told me that
when a dog wags his tail, he won't bite you. And the other
little fella said, well, that may be, but I'm looking at his
teeth, not his tail. This dog gonna eat us alive.
The question is to you, child of God, which end are you gonna
believe? When the trials of this life
come our way, blocking us from continuing down this street of
life that we walk, what do we see? Do we see the wagging tail
of God's promises in that trial? Or do we see the teeth of God's
justice that we feel we deserve? Can we say with David, it's good
for me that I've been afflicted. If you belong to Christ, whatever
God sends you, he meant it unto good. In Jeremiah 29, verse 11,
God says to his people, for I know that the thoughts that I think
towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of
evil, to give you an expected end. An expected end. If our hope is in Christ, then
God intends to do us good. Every trial is meant for good,
to bring an expected end. What is that end? Good. It's good. Whatever it is, it's
good. A desirable end and an end to
all troubles forever. In Christ, all God's thoughts
toward us are of peace. Boy, I tell you what, that ought
to be good news to you because the Word of God says God's angry
with the wicked every day. But His thoughts toward His people
are thoughts of peace. Oh, the peace of God that passes
all understanding, and it does, doesn't it? Oh, I can't understand
it, but I'm thankful for it. I'm thankful for it. God no longer
gives us what the law says we deserve. Why? Because Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. Even
in the trial of a terrible famine, God was out to reunite Jacob
with his beloved Joseph. He intended to provide all his
needs for the rest of his life. Is that not what Christ does
for us? "'Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself
and God, "'even our Father, which hath loved us "'and hath given
us an everlasting consolation "'and good hope through grace,
"'comfort your hearts,' Paul said," in 2 Thessalonians 2.
Then thirdly and lastly, we must trust the sovereign goodness
of our God in all our trials. Boy, that's easy to say when
everything's going well. but it's quite another thing
to believe when they're not. I think about Joseph waking up
every morning for years in that Egyptian prison, that dungeon,
cold, dark, wet, miserable. He must've said, Lord, I trust
that you're doing this for my good, even though I don't understand
it. You know, if he hadn't felt that
way, I don't believe we'd ever heard him tell his brothers,
you didn't send me. You didn't do this to me. God
sent me here. God did this. And God meant it
unto good. You might say, well, I can see
God being gracious and merciful to a righteous man, to a good
man. But what about an ungodly one
such as I? Well, friends, let me tell you
first and foremost, that you're in a good place if you see yourself
as ungodly. Because that's who Christ came
to save. Let me give you those two words. But God, but God commended
his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, ungodly
at that, Christ died for us. But God. Do you feel like Joseph's
undeserving brothers? Will you like them, in verse
17, cry to your great Joseph? Look what they said. The Lord,
will you cry to your Savior? Forgive, I pray thee now, the
trespasses of thy brethren and their sin, for they did unto
thee evil. And now we pray thee, forgive
the trespasses of the servants of the God of thy father. Is
that your prayer to the Lord? Well, take comfort. In the words
of the one whom Joseph is but a type and a picture of, look
at verse 21. He says, now therefore fear ye
not. I will nourish you and your little
ones. And he comforted them, and he
spake kindly unto them. And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, and
he in his father's house. And Joseph lived 110 years. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children
of the third generation. The children also of Makar, the
son of Manasseh, were brought up on Joseph's knees." That's
talking about Joseph's great-grandchildren's children. Oh, his mercy endures
forever. Verse 24, and Joseph said unto
his brethren, I die and God will surely visit you. The Lord Jesus
said, if I don't die, if I don't lay down my life, the Holy Spirit,
the Comforter can't come. He said, I die and God will surely
visit you and bring you out of this land unto the land, which
he swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. That's what our
Lord says to us. He said, I've gone to prepare
a place for you, that where I am, you may be also. Beloved, I'm
gonna say it again. God is out to do his people good,
to bring to pass as it is this day to save much people alive. So, The next time trouble comes
your way, remember that there hath no temptation taken you,
but such as common to man. But God, but God is faithful
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that that you're
able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that
you may be able to bear it. May God be pleased to add his
blessings to his word. But God and what a God he is.