Would you turn with me in your
Bibles to Genesis chapter 41? Genesis 41. Let's ask our Father to bless our study
together to bow with me for prayer. Our most gracious Heavenly Father,
we come before your throne of grace and plead your mercy and
thank you for the access and acceptance that we have in your
dear son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that you'd be pleased
to reveal him to our hearts, to open the mystery of the gospel,
to shine the light of your grace in the face of the Lord Jesus
Christ upon us. We are a needy people. We ask it in Christ's name and
for His sake. Amen. I titled our study this
morning, What to Do in Time of Famine. What to do in a time
of famine. The famines in the Old Testament
that are often occurring are sent by God to represent a spiritual
famine. The famine that the children
of Israel were suffering in Canaan before coming to Egypt, the famine
that God sent throughout the whole world in the days of Joseph
was a picture of how it is that there is a famine in the world
of hearing the word of God. Let me show you that if you hold
your finger there to Genesis and turn with me to the book
of Amos to the book of Amos. One of those little short books
in the back of your Old Testament. Amos chapter eight. Amos, right after Hosea. Verse 11, Amos chapter 8, verse
11, "...Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will
send a famine in the land." Not a famine of bread, nor thirst
of water. There'll be plenty of physical
bread. There will be plenty to drink. It's not that kind of
famine. But of hearing the words of the
Lord. Notice it says, but of hearing
the words of the Lord. Not speaking, not preaching,
not reading. Plenty of that going on today,
but of hearing. That's where the problem is.
The famine that God sends is the famine of hearing the words
of the Lord. Verse 12, And they shall wander
from sea to sea, and from north even to the east. They shall
run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but shall not find
it. They'll hear, they'll have ears,
but they will not hear. Now, if there's ever a day, ever
been a day, when there is a famine of hearing the Word of God in
this world, it is the day in which you and I live. There's
a famine in the world, a famine of hearing. I don't suppose there's
ever been a time when the Word of God, or at least the Scriptures,
have been read more frequently or preached more fervently. With
the advent of television and radio and now the Internet, the
Bible is being broadcast throughout all the world. And men are running
to and fro, seeking to understand the Word of God. But the truth
is that it's bread that does not satisfy, because they cannot
understand it. They cannot hear it. In our text in Genesis chapter
forty one verse nine. I'm sorry. Yes. Genesis chapter
forty one verse fifty three. This message. Listen to me very
carefully. This message this morning is
for all of those who are unable to find any satisfying meal in
the world. Those of us who, and all of us
do, live in the world are unable to find anything. Anything in
friends or families or careers or material wealth or particularly
the religious world, we're unable to find anything out there that
really feeds the soul. And we're hungry. The Lord said,
I've come to feed the hungry, to give drink to those that are
thirsty. The truth is that God has sent
a famine in the land, a famine of hearing. Lord, if you don't
open my ears and enable me to hear, enable me to understand,
I'll suffer in that famine as well. This first 53 of Isaiah of Genesis
41 and the seven years of plentiness that was in the land of Egypt
were ended. You remember, God gave the Pharaoh a vision interpreted
by Joseph that there would be seven years of plenty. In those
seven years of plenty, Joseph was assigned the task of gathering
a fifth of the harvest every year and putting it away in order
to provide for the needs of the people during the seven years
of famine. Now the seven years of plenty are over, and the famine
has begun. And the seven years of dearth,"
verse 54, "...began to come, according as Joseph had said. And the dearth was in all the
lands, but in the land of Egypt there was bread." There was bread
in the land of Egypt because of Joseph. God had given Joseph
the wisdom, the understanding to put aside a treasury of meal
that would provide for the hunger of the people. Joseph, of course,
represents the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one that has the keys
to the kingdom of heaven. He's the one who opens the storehouses
of God's grace and provides for his people an understanding of
truth to feed their souls in a land of dearth, a land of famine. Turn with me before we continue
reading to Matthew 22. Matthew Chapter 22. The one thing that will cause. Two opposing forces to. Gather
together. will be a common enemy. The Sadducees
and the Pharisees were always at odds with one another. They
were the liberals and the conservatives of their day, and they didn't
agree upon anything. But when the Lord Jesus Christ
came and began to preach the kingdom of God, the Pharisees
and the Sadducees gathered together against Christ. And that's what
we have the story of here in Matthew chapter 22. The Sadducees,
not believing that there was a resurrection, presented a scenario
in Matthew 22 that they thought was impossible to solve. You
remember they said a man has a wife, he dies, he gives his
wife to his brother, he dies, he gives his wife to the next
brother, and the wife is passed down through several brothers
until they all die. Whose wife will she be in the
resurrection? Believing that there was no resurrection,
there'd be no way to answer this question. In verse 29 of Matthew chapter
22, Jesus answered and said unto them, You do err. You err, not knowing the Scriptures
nor the power of God. Now, that's the truth. of what it's like in a day of
famine. When God sends a spiritual dearth in the earth, there are
those who have searched the Scriptures like the Sadducees did. They've
memorized the Scriptures. They think they understand the
Scriptures. But the Lord says to them, you do err. You don't
know the Scriptures. You've not heard what the Scriptures
have to say. And you are ignorant of the power
of God. You have a form of godliness,
but you deny the power thereof." The power of God is in the person
of Christ. The Lord said to the Pharisees,
He said, you search the Scriptures because you think in the Bible
you have eternal life. You've read it, you've heard
it, but you haven't heard it because these are they which
testify of me. You do err, not knowing the Scriptures
nor the power of God. Look at verse 30 in this same
passage. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given
in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching
the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was
spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living. The only way you're going to
understand the Scriptures is for God to breathe life into
your dead souls. This gospel is not for the dead.
God is not for the dead. He's for the living. He's got
to regenerate you. He's got to cause you to live
and to breathe and to see and to hear and to understand. And
that's who the gospel is for. And when the multitude heard
this, they were astonished at His doctrine. Now look at verse
34. But when the Pharisees had heard
that He had put the Sadducees to silence, They were emboldened
and gathered together and presented a question that would support
their position. When they heard that the Lord
had put the Pharisees, the Sadducees in their place, the Pharisees
got bold and thought, well, we'll ask him a question, too. The
Lord responds to them by exposing their ignorance and saying basically
the same thing to the Sadducees that he said to the Pharisees.
They said to the Sadducees, you do err. You don't know the Scriptures. You've searched them, you've
read them, you've memorized them, but they're the famine of hearing. There's a famine of hearing and
you are suffering in that famine. Unless the Lord God is pleased
to breathe life into our spiritually dead souls, we will not hear. We will not hear from the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ, how critical it is for us to see
Him in the Scriptures. You remember the story of the
conversion of Saul of Tarsus in Acts chapter 9 on the road
to Damascus. and the light and the voice that
he heard. Saul cries out and he says, Lord,
what would you have me to do? And in that passage, the Scripture
says the men that journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing
a voice, but seeing no man. Hearing a voice, but seeing no
man. You see, the only way to be safe
from this famine that God has sent into the land, the famine
of hearing, is to see the one that's speaking. Until we see
the one that's speaking, we're like those people that were with
Saul of Tarsus. We hear a voice, but we see no
man. That's what the famine's about.
Men run to and fro trying to discover what the truth of Scripture
is. The truth of Scripture is a man.
He's the truth of Scripture. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ,
and these are written to testify of Him. In the volume of the
book, it is spoken of Him. So, it's important that we hear,
but that we hear from Him. He said, learn of Me and learn
from Me. I love that passage of Scripture,
they shall all be taught of God. If we're not taught of Him, then
we're just not taught. And we are doomed to die in the
famine. All right, let's go back to our
text in Genesis chapter 41. There was bread in Egypt because
Joseph was there. In verse 55, And when the land
of Egypt was famished, The people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Now, that's exactly what happens
with men naturally when they get hungry. Now, we're not talking
about physical hunger here. Amos has already clarified that.
This is not a famine of bread and water. Matter of fact, there
really has been no culture ever in the world that has enjoyed
as much bread and water as you and I enjoy. No one has had as
much prosperity. as many material things as we
have. This is not a famine of bread and water. This is a famine
of hearing the Word of God. These people in Egypt, they became
hungry. They realized that they were
going to die if somebody didn't feed them. And they cried out
to Pharaoh. And that's what men do naturally.
They come to a point in their lives at one point or another
when things are not going well, and they realize that they've
got a need, and they cry out to God. They cry out to the Father. Help me, Lord. They try to make
deals with God, and they try to buy from God His favor. But notice in verse 55 what Pharaoh
says to these hungry people. And Pharaoh said, unto all the
Egyptians, go to Joseph." Well, I don't want to go to Joseph.
No, go to Joseph. Go to Joseph. And whatever he
says, do it. I have put the keys to the kingdom
into the hands of Joseph. Joseph has been given the preeminence.
Joseph holds the truth to life. If you want to live, Go to Joseph. You cannot come to God without
coming through Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ said himself,
he said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. No man
can come to the Father except by me. God says, you want bread? Go to Joseph. And whatever he
says, do it. This is my beloved Son. In Him I am well pleased." And
how does that verse conclude? Hear ye Him. Hear ye Him. Now, the problem is that people
won't hear Christ. They won't hear Christ. The very
first words of the Lord Jesus Christ recorded in the Scriptures
in his earthly ministry after his baptism was in Matthew 4,
verse 17, where the Scripture says, And he went about throughout
the villages preaching and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of God
is at hand. You want bread? Go to Joseph
and whatever he says, do it. What does Joseph say? Repent,
for the kingdom of God is at hand. Now, that word repent means
to change your mind. And therein lies the problem.
No person will have their mind changed about anything until they're able to admit that
they're wrong. No one will have their mind changed
about anything until they're able to admit that they're wrong. I suppose AA's helped a lot of
people understand that, haven't it? My name is what and I am
what? An alcoholic. There's no cure
for alcoholism until a person is willing to admit that they're
addicted. There's no hope for a changed
mind until a person is able to admit that they're wrong. A sinner
will not see themselves as a sinner until they are exposed by the
light of righteousness. Go to Joseph. Whatever he says,
do it. What does he say? He says, repent. The way of your thinking is wrong.
Men by nature believe that somehow they can earn favor with God
through their good works. That is the natural mindset.
God says it's wrong. It's wrong. Turn with me to the
book of Daniel, chapter 10. Daniel, chapter 10. verse seven. I want everybody
to read this with me, Daniel chapter ten, verse seven, and
I, Daniel, alone saw the vision. This isn't a corporate thing. This matter of salvation isn't
a mass hysteria sort of thing like we see in religion with
throngs of people coming forward during the peak of an emotional
moment. This is a personal encounter with God, one-on-one, right where
you are, right where I am, all by ourselves, no help from anybody. And I, Daniel, alone saw the
vision, for the men that were with me saw not the vision, but
a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
They heard the voice, but they saw no man. And look at verse
8. Therefore, I was left alone. Have you been left alone with
God? I was left alone, and I saw this great vision. And when I
saw myself in the light of His glory, and that's what the vision
was. Go back with me to verse 5. I
lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed
in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Ophaz. His
body was like the barrel, and his face as the appearance of
lightning, his eyes as lamp of fire, and his arms and his feet
like the color of polished brass, and the voice of his words like
the voice of a multitude." Now, that's the vision that he saw.
He saw a person. He saw Christ. Others heard the
voice, but they saw no man. But Daniel saw it. And when he
saw it, there remained, look back with me to verse 8, there
remained no strength in me. My knees gave way. I could no
longer stand. I fell to the ground in fear
of this man. For my comeliness, that which I thought was gain
to me, my beauty, my good works, the things that I was proud of
in my life, the fact that I prayed and read the Bible and did good
things for other people. My comeliness, my beauty, when
I saw Him, turned within me to corruption. I realized for the first time
in my life that that which I thought was gain was actually to my loss. That which I was hoping in for
my favor with God was the very thing keeping me from God. I
had to have my mind changed. I had to hear. Joseph revealed himself to me,
and I heard him. My comeliness was turned in me
into corruption, and I retained no strength The Scripture says, For while
we were of little strength, Christ died for the ungodly. No, that's not what it says,
is it? For when we were without strength, without ability, unable
to help ourselves, the Lord Jesus Christ died for the ungodly. You know what that means? That
means Joseph has the keys to the storehouse. You want bread? You go to him and whatever he
says, you do it. What does he say? Repent, for
the kingdom of God is at hand. That's what he says. Have your
mind changed? Admit that you're wrong about
God's way of salvation and come to Christ. Isaiah understood or came to
an understanding of that truth. In Isaiah chapter 4 and 5, the
prophet Isaiah says six times, Woe are they. There are six woes
in Isaiah 4 and 5. Woe are they. Woe are they. Judged
of God are they. And he describes in each one
of those six woes, the things that will bring the judgment
of God upon man. And what happens in Isaiah chapter
6? I saw the Lord. I saw the Lord. He was high and
lifted up. His train filled the temple. The seraphim hovered
over Him and cried, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth was filled with His glory. The doorpost shook. And what
do Isaiah say? Woe are they? No. Woe is me. I'm the one that's undone. I'm the one that's separated
from God. I'm the one that's in need of God's grace. Woe is
me. Oh, it's easy to say, woe are
they. Have you found yourself like Daniel, like Isaiah, like
the Apostle Paul, standing before the throne of God's glory? Having
your communists turn within you to corruption and saying, woe
is me. I'm hungry. I've got to have
real bread. All the bread that the world
has to offer doesn't satisfy. All the bread that the religious
world has to offer doesn't satisfy. I'm dying. I need to be fed. What does God say? Go to Joseph.
Whatever he says, do it. Do it. Turn back with me to our text. Verse 56, And the famine was
over all the face of the earth. And Joseph opened all the storehouses
and sold unto the Egyptians." Now, there's two groups of people
in this story. There are the Egyptians and then
there are the sons of Jacob. Joseph sells that which is in
the storehouses to the Egyptians. Matter of fact, by the end of
the seven years, he has gained all the land and all the people
of all of Egypt for Pharaoh. They've all been sold into slavery.
In order to sustain their life, they sold everything they had
for seven years in order to be able to eat. But I want you to notice in our
story when Jacob, verse 42, saw that there was corn in Egypt,
Jacob said unto his sons, Why do you look upon one another?
And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt.
Get you down thither, and buy for us from thence, that we may
live and not die." Now quickly turn over to chapter 42 and verse
25. The brothers go down to Egypt.
They give to Joseph the money to buy the corn. Joseph sells
them. They think that he sells them
what they need, fills up their saddlebags, sends them back home,
and on their journey home, verse 25 says, Then Joseph commanded
to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money
into his sack, and to give them provision for the way. And thus
did he unto them. The sons of Jacob never bought
their corn. They never bought it. They got
it for free. Look at verse 35 of that same
chapter. And it came to pass, as they
emptied their sacks on the road upon the way, that, behold, every
man's bundle of money was in his sack. And when both they
and their fathers saw the bundle of money, they were afraid. Now,
here's the truth. There are two kinds of fear.
There's worldly fear and godly fear. Worldly fear will lead
to death. And that kind of fear is not
of God. Godly fear leads to eternal life. The law instills worldly
fear in the hearts of men. Grace instills godly fear in
the hearts of men. When these sons of Jacob received
back their money, they were afraid. They were afraid. Look at chapter 43 and verse
15. And the men took that present.
Now this is on their next trip. And they took double money in
their hand. And Benjamin rose up and went
down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. They took the money that
they found in their saddlebags along with enough money to buy
provision. And they thought, well, surely
there's some mistake that's been made. We'll return the money
that we got back and bring some more. And when Joseph saw Benjamin
with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men
home, and slay and make ready for these men, shall dine with
me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade,
and the man brought them into Joseph's house, and the men were
afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house." Coming into the presence of God
will cause true godly fear coming into His presence. And they said, because of the
money that was returned in our sacks at the first time we are
brought in, that He may seek occasion against us and fall
upon us and take us for bondmen and our asses. And they came
near to the steward of Joseph's house. They came to the one who spoke
for Joseph. They asked the preacher. Why
is it? They communed with him at the
door of the house and said, O sir, we came indeed down the first
time to buy food. And it came to pass, and we came
to the end, that we opened our sacks, and behold, every man's
money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. And we had brought it again in
our hand. We brought the money back. And he said, and here's
what every true gospel preacher will say about Joseph, Peace
be to you. Fear not. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people.
Speak comfortably to Jerusalem and tell them their warfare is
accomplished. Tell them that salvation is by God's free and
sovereign grace. Peace be unto you. Fear not.
Your God and the God of your fathers hath given you treasure
in your sacks." I had your money. I was the one
that put it in there. And he brought Simeon out unto
them. The Egyptians were sold their provisions, but
the Israelites got them for free. You know, there is a sense in
which observing The law of God will make your life in this world
better. There is a law of the harvest. What a man sows, that he will
also reap. A person who sows to the flesh
will reap destruction. A person who lives a moral life
will enjoy the benefits of that morality. Those who live under
the law will in this life enjoy some benefits to observing that
law that those who do not live under the law will never enjoy. I've mentioned this before. I'll
say it again. I'd rather live in a country that's ruled by
law than one that's lawless. It's a better place to live.
There are benefits that come from that. But the benefits are
temporal. The benefits only relate to the
profit that one gains in this world by being a moral person. As a matter of fact, the more
a person relies upon their law keeping for the hope of their
salvation, the more sinful they become in the sight of God. The
more outwardly righteous a person is, and hope in that outward righteousness
for their salvation, the more sinful they become in the sight
of God. All the Egyptians, the point
that I'm trying to make here, is that the Egyptians paid for
their bread. And they enjoyed being able to
eat bread in this world and to survive this physical famine. The Israelites, on the other
hand, they never paid for their bread. They got it for free. And not only did they have sufficient
physical bread to sustain their life in this world, but they
had the grace of God to give them life eternal. Go back to our text, if you will,
just briefly in conclusion. Notice in verse 55, When the
land of Egypt was banished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread,
and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph, and
whatever he says unto you, do. And the famine was over the face
of the whole earth. Joseph opened the storehouses, sold unto the
Egyptians, and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And
all the countries came unto Egypt, to Joseph, for to buy corn, because
the famine was sore in all the land." Jacob hears that there's
corn in Egypt. And notice in verse 4, chapter
42, verse 1, And when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt,
Jacob said unto his sons, Jacob said unto his sons, and here's
my closing question, Why do you look one upon another? What were these brothers doing?
They were all in the same boat. They were all in need of bread,
and they were looking one to the other. You know, the most popular thing
in religion today is priestcraft, where men set up other men to
supply their needs. What is God saying? You can't
help each other. Oh, you can help each other out
in your temporal needs, and you ought to. But when it comes to
the spiritual famine that has come into the land, the hearing
of the Word of God, I cannot help you and you cannot help
me. Why do you look one upon another? You cannot help yourselves
and you cannot help each other. The king of Israel had it right
when Naaman came to him wanting to be healed of his leprosy.
And what did the king of Israel say? Am I God? Why have you come
to me? Go to Elisha the prophet. He's
the only one that can help you. Men love confessing their sins
to the priest. They love setting up a hierarchy
of clergy. They love competing with one
another to see who's holier. Why is it that people find comfort
in support groups? Now, I suppose there's a place
for those to help people out through different troubles they
have, to associate with someone that's been through the same
thing you're going through. But that's the purpose of it,
isn't it? We find comfort in knowing that someone else has
experienced the same thing we've experienced. And so far as it goes in this
world, maybe that comfort is of some value. But when it comes to hearing
the Word of God, there is no support group that can give comfort
to your soul. Joseph's got the keys to the
storehouse. Whatever he says, do it. What
does he say? Repent. Don't think the way you used
to think about salvation. For the kingdom of God is at
hand, and the way that God saves is just the opposite of what
you think.