Genesis chapter 41, if you have a Bible, I encourage you to try to follow
along with me in order to fully appreciate this story. One of the clearest pictures
of Christ, of Jesus Christ, and of salvation in the Bible. And one of the most beautiful
stories that I know of in all of the Holy Scriptures are found
here in the book of Genesis in the life and the times of this
man named Joseph. I've heard it preached time and
time again. I've attempted it. Myself, very
recently, our brother, I believe, did a Bible study on Joseph and
his brethren. But every time I hear it, or
every time I read it, I get a new blessing. And I hope the Lord will do that
this morning. I hope we'll see something this morning. Now,
there are innumerable gospel messages within this story, innumerable. You can take event after event,
after story after story within the life of Joseph and all that
transpired in his life and between his brethren and preach a message
on each one. There's innumerable stories and
messages, gospel messages within this, the whole. But there are
four characters I want you to consider with me this morning.
characters in our story and who they represent. First of all,
there's this man named Joseph. Now, we're not going to, Joseph
is not the principal character in our story today. Joseph, in
our story, is going to represent the law of God, the law of God. And then there is the principal
character in our story. There's one of the brothers named
Judah. Judah now Judah will represent
the Lord Jesus Christ and then there's the third character Jacob
or Israel the father of all of these boys and he will represent
God the father and then lastly the youngest son named Benjamin
will represent the center or you and I or anyone who comes
to God by Christ. Now, there was a famine in the
land. I'm going to rehearse this story a little bit for those
of you who do not know it back in ancient days in the land of
Egypt and throughout the known world. There was a dreadful and
severe, sore famine going on, just as Joseph predicted and
revealed in a dream. Look at chapter forty-one with
me, beginning with verse fifty-five. And when all the land of Egypt
was famished, verse fifty-five of chapter forty-one, when all
the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for
bread. And Pharaoh said unto all the
Egyptians, Go unto Joseph. What he saith to you, do." Pharaoh
had left everything in the then known world, all material goods
and the doling out or distribution of all blessings in the hands
of a man named Joseph. And Joseph was captain or ruler
over all of these things. Now, verse 56, "...and the famine
was over all the face of the earth." And Joseph opened all
the storehouses and sold unto the Egyptians, and the famine
waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt
to Joseph for to buy corn, because that the famine was so sore in
all the lands. Joseph, now, this man named Joseph,
was a son of Jacob, or Israel, and he, through God's sovereign
providence, had been put in charge in the land of Egypt. In this
wicked and idolatrous land, there was a good man in control, a
good man sent by God to take care in this time of famine. And Joseph was in charge of all
the blessings, of doling out and distributing all of the blessing. Joseph was the firstborn son
of Jacob. He was the forerunner. Joseph was the son, and he was
in Egypt. Now look at chapter 43, verse
1. Joseph was in Egypt, and he was
a son of Jacob. But they didn't know it. Jacob
didn't know it, and the young men didn't know that Joseph was
there and in charge of everything in Egypt. Look at chapter 43,
verse 1. And the famine was sore in the
land, and it came to pass when they, that is, the house of Jacob,
these Jews, had eaten up the corn. which they had brought
out of Egypt. They went to Egypt one time and
came back. And after they'd eaten up all
of that corn, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a
little food. So Jacob sent all of his sons
to Joseph. Though they didn't know him,
Jacob sent all of them to Joseph. Joseph was the eldest or oldest
son of Jacob. And he had the corn, and the
scripture says he opened the storehouses to his brethren. And right here, Joseph represents
the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the eternal Son of God Almighty. God Almighty sent his Son into
the world to be Lord, to be captain, to be ruler, to be in charge
of all of the blessings of opening up the storehouses of heaven.
The unsearchable riches of God were in Christ's hands to give,
and Christ the Eternal Son was the firstborn, just like Joseph. He was the forerunner, sent before
his brethren to preserve life, he said in one place before them. And all of the sons of God, just
like Jacob said to his sons, every one of you now go down
there and get some corn. All of the sons of God, from
the very beginning of time, have been sent to Christ for mercy,
for grace, and salvation. Christ was with the Father in
the beginning, and Christ was with all men from the beginning. All the sons of God who were
saved, who God dealt with, they dealt with God through Christ
the mediator there many examples in the Old Testament of the angel
of the Lord or the Lord himself appearing to me and to speak
with the first example is when the voice of God came walking
in the Garden of Eden when man the first man failed. I believe
that was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who
is the Word of God, the voice of God. You see, you cannot speak
to God and live. You cannot see God and live. You cannot be spoken to by God
Almighty and live. You've got to have a go-between.
You've got to have a mediator. You've got to have someone represent
you to the Father. And that has always been and
will always be the Lord Jesus Christ. And God sent Christ in
many bodily forms to his sons, to his saints throughout Old
Testament times. Melchizedek, you remember, when
Abraham came, he received gifts. He received gifts from Melchizedek,
bread and wine. So the Lord Jesus Christ, the
firstborn of God among many brethren, the forerunner who went within
the veil. has appeared to all of God's
people from the very outset. If any of God's people were to
come to God, they had to come by Christ. They had to go to
Christ to get the blessing. And though our brothers, now
listen, just like Joseph's brethren didn't know him, though our brethren
in Old Testament times may not have known Christ to the extent
that we do, They still were fed by the Lord Jesus Christ. He
was the one. He was the manna. He was the
rock. He was the cloud, the pillar
of fire. He was the elder brother that
took care of all of his brethren from the very beginning, even
though they didn't know it. Even though they didn't know
it. Now, the type is going to change here. Now Joseph will
represent the law. from here on out in our story.
OK. Joseph will represent the law. Now, all of these sons of
Judah are sons of Jacob. I mean, all the sons of Jacob
or Israel is his new name. They were all to appear before
Joseph. Joseph was the ruler in Egypt.
Joseph was the law in Egypt. Joseph was the one who decided
who, what, when and where and how. Joseph was the lawgiver
in Egypt now look with me at chapter forty two verse seven
and here these men come down to appear before Joseph to try
to get some corn from him get some blessings get some gracious
gifts at this man's hand. Genesis forty two verse seven
all the sons appear before Joseph here in verse seven and Joseph
saw his brother he knew they were his brother he knew him
knew all about him, but he made himself strange unto them. And
it says he spoke hard things. He spoke roughly unto them. He said, where do you come from?
They said, we came from the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph
said, verse 9, I know you're spies. You're no good, treacherous,
traitorous spies. And he spoke roughly to them. In verse 21, after Joseph got
through dealing with them, roughly, they began to feel guilty about
something. They began to think about their
past. They began to think, God is repaying
us for what we have done. And they remembered what they
had done to their brother Joseph, who they didn't know was right
before them. You remember the story, the sons When they were
all young, they sold their brother Joseph into slavery in Egypt. You remember that? They all resented
and were jealous of and envious of Joseph because the father
loved Joseph more than anybody else. And one time some Egyptians
came along and the brothers got Joseph and put him down into
a pit and then sold him in slavery to Egypt and made it look like
he died. Well, all of this came back to haunt them when this
ruler, this lawgiver, began to examine them and say, no, you're
spies. You're treacherous men. You're traitorous men. You're
no good evil men. I can see right through you.
I know who you are. You're no goods. And he spake
roughly to them. Roughly to them. And they began
to feel their guilt. They said, we're guilty. Verse
21. We are verily guilty concerning our brother. Our brother Joseph,
that is, who we saw the anguish of his soul, he besought us and
we wouldn't hear. That's the reason all this has
come upon us. And then it says that Joseph
took their brother Simeon captive. He spoke roughly to him. He took
Simeon captive and they were in a mess. They were in a mess. And all of us. Everybody in this
room must stand before the holy law of God Almighty. Whatsoever
things the law saith, God's law, it saith to them that are under
the law, who's that? Every man and woman born on the
top side of God's earth is under the law, and what it It says
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty,
guilty. And whenever the law, whenever
the word of God first deals with a man, it's not in mercy, it's
not in grace, it's not in salvation. No, Christ said it. When the
Holy Spirit, when the law of God comes, the Holy Spirit, when
God speaks first to a man, he'll reprove, he'll convince that
man of what? Sin. Guilt. And all of us must stand before
God's holy law, and it doesn't speak peace to us. It speaks
roughly. And it says unto us, you're guilty. You deserve to die. I know who
you are. I can see right through you. You're a spy. You're a traitor. You're a rebel. You're a no-good,
thankless, ungrateful wretch is who you are. That's what the
law of God says to us, doesn't it? And what do we do? Well,
if you're, in verse 19, if you're like Joseph said to these men,
if you be true men, if you're honest, you'll admit
when God's law speaks, I'm guilty. All this has come upon me because
of my guilt and my sin. I get what I deserve. death,
judgment, and the law of God takes us captive, like Simeon,
binds us under its curse to be condemned to die. The law of God has every human
being under its curse of death and judgment guilty. sentence to die awaiting punishment
captive to the. So they had come for corn. These brothers had come down
here to Egypt for corn and Joseph recognizes them he speaks roughly
to him he takes one of them captive and he says now you're not going
to come back to see me again you go home. And you know we'll
come back see me unless somebody's with you. Something got to be
done before you can ever stand before me again. Somebody's got
to be with you, and something's got to be done. Now, let's look
at chapter 43 again, verse 1. So they went back, and here's
where our story really begins. They went back to their father,
Jacob. And they told their father about
this, and he said, no, y'all can't go. Reuben said, I'll go.
I'll take Benjamin. No, you can't take him. He won't
do it. I think Reuben represents the law there. But Reuben said,
I'll take Benjamin back with me. We'll go. I'll lead him.
No. Father said, he can't take him. He won't. He won't do it.
You won't do it. It just won't be. So they, I
don't know how long they stayed at home there, but it was long
enough for the corn to run out. When they got good and hungry,
they were bound and determined to do something. Now look at
verse 1. And the famine was sore in the land, and it came to pass
when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of
Egypt, their father said unto them, You got to go. Somebody's
got to go and buy us a little food. We're going to die. all the corn was gone. And then Judah speaks up. Verse three, remember that name. Judah, it's got five letters
in it, spake unto Jacob his father, saying, Now the man did solemnly
protest And I say, and you shall not come back down here. You
won't see my face, except your brother, your youngest brother,
be with you just to prove you're not. Now, if you'll send our
brother with us, we'll go down and buy you some food. And if
you won't send him, we will not go down. But the man said, you
shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. See,
father, we've all got to stand before this man in Egypt. Father,
it's just the way it is. The man said, all have to appear. Our youngest brother, who's at
home, all must appear before this judge and this ruler in
Egypt to receive corn. They all must stand before this
sovereign judge. Now, Jacob had a younger son. He had a boy at home. Just a lad, I don't know how
old he was, maybe 15, 16, 17, maybe in his early 20s. And he
loved this boy. He was his youngest. He's his
baby. And he was the apple of his eye next to his oldest son. You see, Joseph really, or Jacob,
really only had two sons, two legitimate sons. His first born,
Joseph, who died, and his last born, Benjamin, who was at home.
And he loved these two boys more than all the rest. And he loved
Joseph, but Joseph was not. And Benjamin, though this youngest
boy, was still at home under the care of his father. And he
was loathe to send him. He didn't want to part with Benjamin.
Joseph was gone. He didn't want to let go of Benjamin.
But he knew, according to the wisdom of Judah's word, yeah,
he's got to stand before it, too. If he's going to get any corn,
if I'm going to get any corn, If all the brothers are going
to get any corn, Benjamin's got to go. He knew that. So look at verse 8 with me. Judah knew of his father's love
for Benjamin, and he says this to his father. He said unto Israel,
his father, send the lad with me. Don't worry, father. Send the lad with me, and we
will arise and go. that we may live and not die. Both we and thou, you'll live. And also our little ones, our
whole family. Verse 9, look at it. I'll be surety for him. Send the lad with me, put him
in my charge, Judah said. I will arise, I'll go to Egypt,
I'll appear before the judge and the lawgiver there. I'll
represent you and our entire family. I'll represent Benjamin
and all of our house. I'll take good care of him. Your
name will live. Ben, brother Ben, will live. I'll live, and everybody that's
represented by me. I'll be the surety. I'll take
charge here. Put them in my control, my hands. Now, the word surety here is
has a blessed name. When he said, I'll be surety
for him. That word surety means to be
totally responsible for someone, everything about to be totally
responsible for that person's safety, for that person's welfare,
to take care of all outstanding debts against that person. to
be instead of or the representative of that person, to be held accountable
for everything that person does do that he wasn't supposed to
do or does not do, which he is supposed to do. The surety is
held accountable for the one he takes assurance of. And Judah
says, let Ben go with me. I'll take care of him. I'll be
a surety. And look at verse 9. And if I
bring him not unto thee, of my hand shalt thou require him.
If I bring him not unto thee and set him right where he's
sitting right now, you let me bear the blame and the shame
forever. Give him to me. Now turn with
me to Revelation chapter five. The Revelation chapter five.
Keep your place back there. Now, this earth, stay with me,
folks, this earth for four thousand years after the fall of man was
in a famine, dark ages. Oh, some men got a little corn.
There's a few men who went to Joseph and got a little corn,
went to Christ by faith and got a little corn along the way,
but just a few. There's one time when a flood came along only
eight people got any got the blessing salvation of God but
for four thousand years there was famine. The word the brain. Hadn't appeared on the scene.
And after Malachi Malachi the last book in the Old Testament
after Malachi God didn't speak for four hundred years. God hadn't spoken. God's people
were in captivity, just like Osimia. In captivity, they were
in darkness. The world was full of sin, violence,
corruption, judgment. God was silent. A long famine
of the Word of God. But Scripture says, God, who
is rich in mercy, and for his great love, wherewith he loved
a people. He loved a people, and God chose
a people, and he wrote their names down in a book. It's called
the Lamb's Book of Life. Look at chapter 5 of Revelation,
verse 1. And John, looking over all of
this, he says, I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne,
in the hand of God, a book, a blessed book. There's some names in it,
a book of salvation. Everybody's name who's in that
book gonna be saved. All's not hopeless. There's a
book, got some names in it, the book of life, written within
and on the back side, the book of love. But, verse 2, I saw a strong angel
proclaiming with a loud voice, Let's open the book and loose
the seals. Who is worthy? There's none righteous. No, not one. There's none that
doeth good. No, not one. They're all together become filthy,
unprofitable. They're all guilty, vile, wretched
sinners condemned to die. All have been judged by God's
law and stand guilty before God's law. No man is worthy to open
this book. No man is worthy of having this
life that the Father has promised. No man. And I might add this
for this Romish doctrine. No man is worthy. No mere man,
not Abraham. The Jews thought it was Abraham.
He's not worthy. Not Peter. Peter's not worthy. He's just a man. Not even a woman. Not Mary. No saint, saint this,
saint that, can go before God for us. None is worthy to stand
before this holy God for man. But one. Look at verse five with
me. And it says that John wept because
no man was found worthy. But one of the elders said unto
me, Weep not. Behold, the lion of the tribe
of Judah shall open the book. The kingly tribe. You see, Judah
is where the lawgiver came from. Judah is the kingly tribe. Shallow,
the king of peace comes from the line and the lineage of Judah. The king comes, and the angel
says, the elder says, he alone is worthy. He is the only most
high potentate or pope. He alone is the blessed and only
king of kings, lord of lords, the only mediator between God
and men, the man. the line of the tribe of Judah.
He has prevailed, and he'll open the book. The surety is come. Four thousand years. Famine. And the Lord Jesus Christ, and
it says, verse seven, he came. And he came. The Lord Jesus Christ,
just like Judah, in the beginning, before the foundation of the
Christ appeared before his Father, just like Judah with Jacob, in
an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things insure, and appeared
before God the Father and said, You've got a people. You've got
some brethren, some chosen little ones. I know you love them. You've
set your love and affection upon them. They're dear as the apple
of your eye. But I'm the firstborn, and I'll
go for them. Send me. Send the lads in my
hand. I'll go to earth for you. Put
all of your sons into my hand. I'll go to earth. I'll obtain
the mercy they need. I'll obtain the grace they need.
I'll pay for the pardon they must have to be back with you
in the end. I'll go before the holy and righteous
just law of God and face him personally. I'll represent them. I'll be their advocate. I'll
be their substitute. Give them to me. I'll take care
of them." Yea, I'll save them. Save them all. And if I don't
bring them back and set them down at the right hand of God,
you require this forever at my hand. I'll be sure of that. So
there. Sure of that. And so God Almighty,
the Scripture says, put them all into Christ's hands. I said,
OK. They're all yours. And Christ
said, now I'm going to give them eternal life. And they'll never
perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. The Father which gave them to
me is greater than all, and no man will pluck them out of the
Father's hand. His life is bound up in me. I'll go. I'll become
the surety, and Jesus Christ, the Elder Brother, as it were,
takes us by the hand and leads us in the promised land. I have taken it upon myself to
become her surety, to ensure her safety. And there are times,
whenever we approach a dangerous street or a parking lot, I grab
her hand. Now, she's getting a little older,
and there are times when she thinks, I can do it myself. What
do I do? Let her go? No, there's danger
there. I'm never going to let her cross
the street without grabbing her by the hand. And I grab her by
the hand and say, And we're going to make sure you get across that
street. And the Lord Jesus Christ himself
takes his people by the hand. And there's times when we say,
I'd do it myself. He says, no, you can't. You're with me. You see, not only is your safety
at stake here, but my glory and honor is. If I don't get you
across that street, if you die and perish, I'll be charged with
this. You're coming with me. You're
not walking alone. And that's the way I want it.
That's the way I want it. Now, look back at the story in
chapter 43. Judah knew he couldn't appear
before the judge without Benjamin, and he knew he couldn't appear
before this lawgiver in Egypt without something in his hand.
Judah knew that he couldn't go empty-handed. There was something
to be taken with him. So Judah bore some precious gifts
unto the lawgiver. Look at verse 11. And it says,
The Father Israel said unto them, If it must be so, well, it is.
They're going to die if it's not so. Do this. Here's what you do. The Father
said to the Son, Take the best fruits. the best fruits in your
hand, the best fruits in the land in your vessel. Take a vessel,
put the best fruits in it, and carry down to man a present.
Take a little balm, ring any bells? Take a little
honey, spices, myrrh. Take some myrrh, nuts, fruits,
almonds, and don't forget this, verse 12, double money. Take
double money in your hand. And the money that was brought
again in the mouth of your sack, whatever they brought back, you
take it too. Carry it again in your hands
and take your brother. Take him and stand before that
lawgiver bearing these precious gifts and the prize. And Jesus
Christ, Jesus Christ came to the earth, not empty-handed,
no. He came bearing precious spices. He came bearing the sweet-smelling
myrrh of his own righteous life, righteousness. We had to have
it. We wouldn't go free without it. We had to be made righteous
before this holy God. And Christ did it. He brought
balm. Oh, you can't go free without
the balm. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission
of sins. Can't go free without the balm.
And Christ shed his own precious blood for the life of his people.
And honey and almonds. And Christ bore a fruitful life
to the glory of God. God said, you must glorify me
in all that you do. You must bear fruit under the
glory of God. And Christ said, I'll do it.
I'll take it. I'll take it down there. And double money, don't
forget that. Double money, and Isaiah said
in chapter 40, verse 2, we've received of the Lord's hands
double for all of our sins. Christ didn't just pardon us,
say, well, let bygones be bygones. I forgive you for being a sinner.
No, he justified you. He didn't just pardon you, forgive
you. He justified you, double. He
didn't just forgive us. approves of us. He accepts us. He doesn't just say, I forgive
you, and that's it. Now go on your way. No, he says,
I approve of you. You look good to me. He doesn't
just wash us. He makes us sweet-smelling and
savory. He doesn't just justify us, he
sanctifies us, makes us like Christ himself. He doesn't just
acquit us and say, well, you're free to go, all your sins will
be taken care of, that's okay, go on. No, no, he takes the sin
aside. Double from the hands of the
Lord. Verse 23, look at this. And he
says unto us, like Joseph said to these men, peace be unto you.
Fear not, fear not, God the Father, the God of your Father hath given
you treasure in your sack. I had your money, and he brought
Simeon. He said, go let Simeon go. The
price has been paid. Fear not, mercy's been found. The price of the ransom's been
found. Let Simeon go free, and nobody be afraid from here on
out. And we're going to sit down and eat and have a big old time.
And Christ says to us, peace, peace from God the Father. How? By just saying peace? No, he
made peace by the blood of his cross. He satisfied God's wrath
and justice against our sin, and made peace by the blood of
his cross. And he says unto us, fear not,
the price has been paid. The price has been paid, and
he brings his people out of judgment and condemnation, and under the
curse of the law, by being made a curse for us, and sets us free. Now, it says that old Benjamin,
the youngest, the last, he got the most. Look at verse thirty-four. Benjamin was the last, but he
got the most. Joseph took Benjamin, sent his
messes unto them from before him, and he said, But Benjamin's
mess put five times more in his sack. The last shall not be least,
he'll be the greatest. Put more in his sack. And they
drank, they sat down and communed and had a big dinner, and Benjamin
went away from that place five times richer than he came. And
Christ said, Though we may be the least, the poorest, the worst,
the chief of sinners, Christ said, Verily I say unto you,
There is no man that hath left house or brethren," See, Benjamin
may have been reluctant to go, but he did. He left his daddy
and went to be with this man. And Christ said, Any man who
has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother,
or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the gospel's,
he shall receive an hundredfold. Now, you lost your house, apartment
that you held so dear? Why, you've got a hundred of
them. Well, you needn't even just one. Got houses over in
Danville, Kentucky, got houses down in Paul, Louisiana. You
got houses up in Fairmont, West Virginia. You got houses up in
Ashland, Kentucky. You got places you don't know.
Houses everywhere. Condominiums in Florida. I don't
know about that. I go stay in mine all the time.
Five times richer than he came. And he And Christ makes us kings
and priests unto God, sits us at his table, and it says he
communed, or they drank and were married with him, and communed
with him. Christ says, he knocks at the
door of his people and bids them, let me in and we'll suck together.
We'll sit around the table together and have a good time, a merry
time, sit around the table and eat and drink together. And we
do, and he does. Good old times. A good old time. Well, so they
were all saved and lived happily ever after, and that's the end
of the story. Not quite. Not quite. Look at chapter 44 with me. You
see, Joseph, in his wisdom, had a trial in store for his brethren
to humble them. Joseph was going to humble them.
They had to stay humble. They were no good bums. I don't
care if they were sitting at the king's table. I don't care
if they had received gift after gift and all seemed to be well.
They were still no good, treacherous, traitorous bums, weren't they?
They sold their brother. They were worthless. They never
would be anything but worthless. Right? There's only one of any
kind out there, Joseph. And Joseph, in wisdom, had a
trial in store for his brothers, to humble them, to bring them
to repentance, to show them the sovereignty of God in all things. Otherwise, they wouldn't have
seen it. And he had his men take his silver cup. or chalice that
he drank out of. It says in one place that he
divined out of it. He drank a cup and he divined
or prophesied perhaps after drinking from this cup. And he had one
of his men take this silver cup and hide it in the sack of young
Benjamin and make it appear that Benjamin had stolen that cup.
And he sent the boys away back home to their father. Send them
away. And it says, look at verse 4,
chapter 44. And when they were gone out of
the city, and not very far away, Joseph said to one of his stewards,
Holy Spirit, follow after them. Go up, follow after these men,
and when you overtake them, say this to them. Why have you rewarded
evil? Go catch him, find that cup,
and you tell him, why have you done this? Why have you rewarded
evil for good? And they came, and they did as
old Joseph said to do. They tracked the men down on
their way home. Verse 11, they came riding up
on horses, and they said, now everybody get out. Get down,
open your sacks up. And they speedily took down every
man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack, and
he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at Reuben, and
left at the youngest, got down to Benjamin, searching these
sacks, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. What do you think Judah was doing?
The cup was found in Benjamin's sack, and they were And it says they ripped their
clothes off. We're guilty. And in all of that
stuff, Henry came right back to them again. We're guilty.
All this has come upon us because of what we did to our brother.
Guilty! I don't care if we were guilty
for this immediate crime. We're still guilty. We deserve
to die. And the law of God has not been
revoked. The law of God has not been nullified
or void, the salvation it has, but the law of God lives and
abides forever, the word of God. And even though God Almighty
has dealt with us in mercy and superabounding grace, we're still,
through the reading of God's word, found out to be sinners,
aren't we? We read it every now and then,
and we find out I've sinned. had done this evil, and God said,
I'm a sinner. Even though all appeared to be
well, God, Christ saved us, shed his precious blood, I believe,
everything, I'm headed for glory, everything's okay, but then the
law of God, the word of God comes to us at times and finds us out. But you're still a sinner, and
it grieves us, and we rip our clothes. And people say this
to us, we may fall in sin. The scripture says, be sure your
sins will find you out. And there's times when, God,
people do fall grievously, like David did. And people say things
like this, I thought you were a Christian. How could you act
like that if you were a Christian? I thought you were a Christian,
and you just have to say, I thought I was too. Now, I don't know. How could you act like that if
you were a Christian, huh? And you say, the only thing you
can say is, I don't know. Guilty. I'm guilty. Woe is me! What am I going to do?" Like
these fellows. And you rip your heart out if
you could. Why do I think such stuff? Why? How could I reward
evil for good? How could I sin against such
love and mercy and grace that's been shown to me? I've hid the
chalice. I've kept the gospel quiet. Stolen God's glory at times when
he should have got it all. How could I have done this? But you know who speaks up for
old Benjamin again? Look at verse 18. Look at verse
18. Then Judah came near. Judah! Oh, I like Judah more all the
time. Judah came near and said, Oh, my Lord! Oh, my Lord! Let
thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word. Let me speak a word in
my Lord's ear. Let not thine anger burn against
thy servant. Look at verse 32. Thy servant
became surety for this land. I said to my Father, I'll bring
him to you. If I don't bring him, then I
shall bear the blame forever. Now, therefore, listen, O Lord,
Let thy servant abide in his stead. If you seek him, let him
go and take me. Let me be a bondman under the
curse to my Lord." Let the lad go with his brethren. How am
I going to go up to the Father and the lad's not with me? Evil
will come upon my Father if he's not with me. And the Lord Jesus Christ, our
surety, speaks up time and time again on our behalf, right? We're
found out to be miserable, wretched sinners time and time again.
John wrote in 1 John, my little children, I write unto you that
you sin not, don't do it. Well, I've done it. Well, if
you have, there's an advocate. And Judah, Jesus Christ, speaks
up. He comes nearer to the Father.
Oh, Father, I have agreed to be a sinner. I know he's still
a sinner. He always will be a sinner. Like Maurice said, the surety
knew what he was getting when he got us. He knoweth our frame. He remembers that we're dust,
flesh, and blood. We'll never rise above that stand. And our
surety always, he ever liveth to make intercession for us.
Father, those that you gave me, I've kept them. I'm the surety. Let me bear the blame. Hold me
accountable for all that they have done, all that they're doing,
and all that they ever will do. Past, present, and future. The
line of the tribe of Judah came near to the Father and spoke
to him for us. And he said this in another place.
He prayed to the Father there in John 17. In another place
he said, Other sheep I have. but you're not of this fold."
That's you, Nancy Park. That's you, Terry Kinsella. When
Christ was talking back there, he said to the Father concerning
his immediate disciples, Father, let them go. Let them go on my
behalf, on my account. I'm their surety. And he said
in another place, "...other sheep I have which are not of this
immediate fold, them also I must bring." Why? The glory of God's at stake
here. The love of God will be called
into question. That's what they're doing, aren't
they, Henry, with this other guy? Calling into question the love
of God. He said in one place that the life of Jacob was bound
up in his son, in the Lamb. And the glory of God is bound
up in his love for his people, right? And if Christ doesn't
save him, that means the love of God is worthless, right? That means the blood of Christ
is in vain. And Christ says, I must bring
them. I must. Because great evil will come
upon my father. Great reproach will come upon
my father's name if I don't bring them. I am their eternal surety. I am their surety. Father, lay
not this to their charge. Time and time again. You better
have one. I'm telling you, you better have
a surety, or you'll not come back." Well, finally, one day, all of
Jacob's family got together. They found out who Joseph was.
Boy, were they surprised. And they lived happily ever after,
joyfully, safe and sound. And someday, Jesus Christ will
come and gather all of his sheep together, all of the fathers
elect, separate the sheep from the goats, one on the right hand,
one on the other, and then he's going to get, after he destroys
those goats, he's going to take those sheep. Somehow, he's going
to take them all by the hand. I don't know how he does it,
except to say that he's God, and he can do it. I think every
single one of them is going to lay all their little bitty hands
in that great big giant hand of his, and he's going to lead
them in. He's going to come into the halls
of glory, and he's going to say to the Father, Father, behold,
I and the children that you gave me, they're all here. Well, what
about Benjamin, that chief of sinners, the youngest one, the
most helpful? Yeah, he's here, too. The worst of the bunch,
he's here, too. Why? Because I have him. I took him. I took charge of
him. All safe and sound. Saved and
righteous. Safe and sound. Present and accounted
for. All because of the lion of the
tribe of That even sounds like Lord Jesus Christ. Lion, tribe, Judah. Lord Jesus
Christ. How sure it is. Amen. Stand with me and I'll
just listen to him pray. you