Joseph And His Brothers

Q: What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty in suffering?

The Bible teaches that God's sovereignty is evident in the suffering of His people, as seen in Joseph's story where God used suffering for a greater purpose. In the account of Joseph in Genesis 45, we see a profound example of God's sovereignty at work in suffering. Joseph faced tremendous hardship, from being sold into slavery by his brothers to enduring false accusations and imprisonment. Yet, through these trials, Joseph ultimately recognized that it was God who sent him to Egypt to preserve life and fulfill His divine plan. As he tells his brothers in verse 5, 'God did send me before you to preserve life.' This demonstrates that God can use even the most difficult circumstances for His greater purposes, teaching us that our suffering is never in vain, but part of His sovereign plan for our salvation and growth in faith.

Q: How do we know God loves us despite our sin?

The Bible assures us of God's love for us, even while we were still sinners, as demonstrated in His covenant and the story of redemption. God's love for humanity is prominently displayed throughout Scripture, exemplified in verses like Ephesians 2:4-5, where it states that 'God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins.' This means that God's affection and desire for relationship with us do not depend on our performance or worthiness. Joseph's story further reflects this truth; he loved his brothers despite the injustices they did to him. In the same way, God's love is persistent, seeking our recognition of that love, even when we have sinned against Him. This is a clear reflection of His incredible grace and mercy.

Q: Why is repentance important for Christians?

Repentance is essential for Christians as it aligns our hearts with God and acknowledges our need for His grace. Repentance is a foundational aspect of the Christian faith, as it signifies a change of heart and mind regarding sin and a return to God. In the story of Joseph, when his brothers are confronted with their past actions and their need for reconciliation, they express true repentance. Judah acknowledges their sin when he says, 'God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants' (Genesis 44:16). This acknowledgment is crucial as it reveals the necessity of owning our sins before God. True repentance leads to healing and restoration, which is reflected in God's relationship with us through Jesus Christ, who offers forgiveness and reconciliation. Christians are called to practice repentance daily, allowing God to change us and draw us closer to Him.

Q: Why did Joseph's brothers not recognize him?

Joseph's brothers did not recognize him because he had changed significantly and was in a position of power in Egypt. When Joseph's brothers came to Egypt during the famine, they did not recognize him for several reasons. First, he had changed drastically since they last saw him as a young boy; he was now dressed in Egyptian royal attire and spoke through an interpreter (Genesis 42:7). Moreover, the brothers had deep-seated guilt regarding what they had done to Joseph, which impacted their perception. They were not prepared to expect their brother, whom they had sold into slavery, to be alive and holding a position of such power. This encounter illustrates how God can transform individuals and situations in ways we cannot foresee. Joseph, acting as a type of Christ, ultimately revealed himself to his brothers as they grappled with the weight of their past actions, reflecting the divine truth that God can bring about good from evil.

That's a good looking bunch of
people. I've chosen a very simple text
tonight to read to you and push you on. It's in Genesis chapter
45. Genesis 45, and let's begin reading
in verse 1. I tremble to thank the Lord Jesus
Christ is in our presence. And I tremble to thank He wouldn't
be. I guess that's what the psalmist
meant when he said, rejoice with trembling, isn't it? We have
such a sovereign Lord and Savior in our midst. I'm going to read
a few verses, and then, instead of reading the whole chapter,
I want to look at it as I go. So if you'll let me read a few
verses, and you'll keep your Bibles open, then we'll refer
back to this chapter as we go. Let's look at the first four
verses. Then Joseph could not refrain
himself before all them that stood before him. And he cried,
Cause every man to go out from me, and there stood no man with
him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And
he wept aloud, and the Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh heard.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph, doeth my father
yet live? And his brethren could not answer
him, for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said
unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came
near, and he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold unto
Egypt. Look in verse 13. And ye shall tell my father of
all my glory in Egypt, and all that ye have seen, and ye shall
haste and bring down my father hither.' And he fell upon his
brother Benjamin's neck, and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
Moreover, he kissed all his brethren and wept upon them, and after
that his brethren talked with him." Now this is a very familiar
story, and most of you that have read your Bibles are familiar
with where I'm going with this. But I have broke right in the
middle of the story. You know that. So I want to go
back just for a minute and just remind you of what has happened
up until now concerning Joseph and his brother. You remember
when there was 11 of them and Joseph's brethren hated him. He was the favorite of his father. His father had made him this
coat of many colors and No doubt there was envy involved. They
were jealous of Joseph. And this jealousy caused them
to do a lot of things. Caused them to think evil against
their brother. And of all things, Joseph had
the dream that he had. And he dreamed that they were
out in the field and shocking corn is what you and I would
call it. They had their grain gathered up in bundles and he
said, your bundles came and bowed down to my bundles. And they
didn't like that. They said, you mean to tell us
that you're going to reign over us? You're going to rule us?
And he had another dream that the moon and the sun and the
eleven stars bowed down to him and did obedience unto him, worshipped
him. And they hated him the more because
of this dream that he had. And one day Joseph was sent of
his father out to check on his brethren where they were feeding
the flocks. And they saw him coming and they said, this is
our opportunity, we'll get rid of him, this dreamer. So they
agreed to put him in the pit. Reuben kept them from killing
him. And Reuben, Reuben, he was the firstborn. If you want to
see something hilarious and something that will make you chuckle, study
on the life of Reuben. And he reminds us so much of
ourselves. Everything he did, he failed
in. And he was going to try to deliver
Joseph, and he didn't. He's the one who told his father,
let me take Benjamin down there and if I don't bring him back,
you kill my two sons. Kill my two sons, that'll solve
the problem there. And when Joseph, remember when
Jacob come to bless his sons, he said, Reuben, you're unstable
as water. And Reuben didn't deliver Joseph.
They took him out of the pit, sold him as a slave down into
Egypt. His brethren went back home,
his coat in the blood of beasts and said, Dad, is this your son's
coat? He's obviously been killed and
eaten. Let their dad believe that for years. Oppress this
sin and this guilt and hid it from everybody. And as far as
they're concerned, their brother could have been killed. Let him
die. We hate him anyway. And they
lived with that for years. Joseph went down into Egypt.
Went to work in Potiphar's house. His wife accused him of attempted
rape. They put him in prison. Hurt
his feet in the stocks. He couldn't understand what they
were saying. He missed his dad, missed his
brother, and he often wept. Just a young man. And one day, after years, Pharaoh's
butler and baker was got in trouble. And they thought both of them
were going to have their head removed from their shoulders. He put
them both where Joseph was, there in the pen, in the prison, in
the dungeon. And they had dreams. Joseph interpreted
their dreams. And their interpretation was
true, come to pass. They hung the butler, the baker,
and exalted the butler back to his place with Pharaoh. And Joseph
said, would you do me a favor? Would you remember me? Two years,
he forgot him. Pharaoh has a dream. He dreams
these healthy cows were eaten up by these poor cows and nobody
could interpret this dream. Well, the butler was there and
he said, I do remember my fault today. There's a man, a young
man down in prison that can interpret your dream. Pharaoh sent, they
shaved Joseph's face, they gave him a bath, they brought him
up before Pharaoh, and Joseph said, God has showed you what
He's going to do. There's going to be seven years
of plenty and then seven years of famine is coming. You better
pick you out a wise man that can store up grain for seven
years and then when the famine comes you'll have plenty to eat
and sustain the people." And Pharaoh said, who's wiser than
you? So he puts this beautiful linen
on him. He puts the gold chain about
his neck. He puts his own ring on his finger. And he says, nobody is going
to lift a hand in my kingdom unless it's according to your
will. He puts him in a chariot and
has his men to drive him through the communities. And as he goes
through, they command, bow the knee. Bow the knee. And he sets him over his princes. He binds them at his pleasure.
He teaches his senators wisdom. He gives him a beautiful wife. He has two children. Manasseh,
the Lord has made me forget my toil in my father's house. He
has Ephraim. God has made me fruitful in the
land of my affliction. And he was a happy man. A happy
man. And we could end the story right
there, couldn't we? But that's where I want to begin. Right
here. He said in his dream, It's going
to be you fellas that are going to come down and worship me.
You're going to bow to me. And I'm going to reign over you.
That's going to take place then. It hasn't taken place yet. Joseph
is there on the throne. People come to Pharaoh and said,
we're out of feed. We don't have anything to eat.
Our animals are dying. He said, what are you doing here
with me? I can't do nothing for you. You
want bread? Go to Joseph. I put it all in
his hands. And he sustained everybody. Joseph fed the nations and nourished
them. And then the famine hit the land
of Canaan. Up there were Jacob and his ten
sons lived. And it got bad. And Jacob said,
You fellas are going to have to go get us some bread. I've
heard there's bread down in Egypt. So they come down here. That's
the first time that they come down. They don't know Joseph. He's seated on the throne. Last
time they saw him, he was in a pit. He was in handcuffs, sold
as a slave. Now he's on the throne. They
don't recognize him, but he knows them. And he says, you fellas are spies,
aren't you? Well, we'd be true men. We'd
be true men. We've got a dad at home, we've
got a little brother at home. What are you doing down here? We want some corn. He filled
the sacks full of corn, put the money back in it, and said, listen,
I don't want to see your face until you bring your brother
Benjamin with you. And I want you to know how serious
I am. He calls two guards, they throw
their brother Simeon down on the ground, tie him up, and he
said, put him in jail. You'll get him when you come
back with your little brother. Well, they went home. They told
their daddy, boy, the Lord of the land, that's what they kept
calling him, the Lord of the country, he dealt roughly with
us. And he told us right before we
left, don't you let me see your face, except you've got your
little brother with you. And it went on like that for
some time. And you know something, they
never went back. They'd have forgot about Simon. We're going
back down there. I know he's our brother. Let
him fan for himself. We're not going back. But the family, increased in
the land. And Jacob said, you go back or
we're going to die. He told us not to come back unless
we had Benjamin. You ain't taking him. I've done
lost one of my sons. I'm not losing him. Well, the
famine prevailed in the land. Go down there and get us some
bread, not unless you send him with us. Finally, he says, go. Go. They come down. That's the first time. That's
the first time. The second time is when the Lord
makes Joseph known and told. Why did he deal so roughly with
his brother? That's a good question, isn't
it? Why did he deal so roughly with him? He loved him. It's
obvious that he loved him. I read that to you in my text
here. But why did he treat them as he treated them? Why did he
throw their brother on the ground and bind him and put him in jail?
Why did he look at them with such sterned eyes and speak to
them so boldly, don't you see my face? Unless you've got your
brother. Let me give you three quick reasons.
First one has to be this, Benjamin wasn't with him the
first time. Joseph's dream said, you eleven
are going to bow down to me. Eleven of you. There was only
ten there. The little pet, you see. The little pet was home. The youngest. The one we're protecting
and looking out for. He's not coming down here. Oh
yes, he's coming. But he ain't going to know who
I am. That's the first reason. They all weren't there. That's why Joseph didn't make
himself known. And that's why he spoke roughly to them. They
wouldn't have brought him back if he'd have fell on their neck
and kissed them and said, oh, I love you fellas. Secondly, there was a matter
also of this sin, wasn't there? They had suppressed this sin
against Joseph. All this guilt they'd carried,
these lies for all of these years. They hated him. That was going
to have to come to the surface. That was going to have to come
out. That was going to have to be owned and confessed. And thirdly was this, and I think
this is right. They had this Familiarity with
Joseph. After all, he was their younger
brother. Bow to him. Worship him. All obedience to him. Why, he's
our brother. We're familiar with him. We know
him. You know him? Is that him sitting
on the throne? Ah, no, we don't know him. You
will. You will. This all had come to a head in
my text. But look back in chapter 44 and
look how it came to a head. Look in chapter 44. You remember
when Benjamin did come down with them and they ate dinner with Joseph in
Joseph's house. He put all the corn and all the
money in their sacks and he put his silver cup in Benjamin's
sack. And he let them head back home
and they got just out of town and he sent his servant and said,
you go check and whoever you find that silver cup in, you
bring them back here. They were headed home. He went
out and got them and said, one of you stole the governor's cup? Wow, they said, that's ridiculous.
That's utterly ridiculous. Why would we do that? If you
find that cup on us, the one you find it on, you can take
him back and he'll be his servant. He'll be his slave. Well, they
emptied all their sacks and lo and behold, there was the cup
in Benjamin's sack. They ramped their clothes, tore
off their clothes, went back to Joseph's house and there he
was. And look what he says in verse
14. And Judah and his brother came
to Joseph's house, for he was yet there, and they fell before
him on the ground. And Joseph said unto them, What
deed is this that ye have done? Wilt ye not that such a man as
I can certainly divine? And Judah said, What shall we
say unto my Lord? What shall we speak? How shall
we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity
of thy servants. We are all my Lord's servants,
we and he with whom the cup is found. God has found out our
iniquity. Didn't they know that to start
with? Surely they knew that God knew
what they had done. Lincoln, because God didn't bring
judgment on them so quickly for their sin against Joseph, they
thought he had forgot about it? Surely he's not a just God. He's
not afflicted us yet. He's not brought judgment on
us. I wonder if he's a just God anyway. So they just forgot about
it. Until God showed him, yes, I'm
a just God. Yes, I remember your sin. And he brings it to the surface,
doesn't he? He reminds them. He charges them. He arrests them. And they said,
God has found us out. We're guilty. We're in trouble.
Man, we're in trouble. God has found us out. Ah, we can go on when we find
ourselves out or our neighbors find us out, but let God find
us out. Oh, there's a difference, isn't
there? Joseph said, I'm going to keep
him as my slave. You fellas are going back home,
and that's when Judah came and made this petition before Joseph
and said, I told my father that I'd be a charity for him. If
I don't bring him back and set him before my father's face,
I've done told my father, I bear the shame and the blame forever. Joseph could not refrain himself
any longer. refrained himself before when
he saw his brother. He was weeping and he ran in
the back room and wiped his eyes and washed his face. Now he comes
back and this is the second time and he cannot refrain himself
any longer. It says here that he fell on
their necks and he kissed them. And he says, I'm Joseph. your
brother. He made himself known unto them."
Now, what can we learn from this? That took me a while to get to
this, but what can we learn from this? Joseph having to refrain
himself until the point where he could refrain himself no longer.
What can you and I learn from this? Well, we learn this. We
can learn something about the emotions The heartfelt emotions,
the affections, the love that Jesus Christ has for his lost
elect sheep. Don't we? There's never been an elect soul
who truly understood that when they lay dead in their trespasses
and sins, that the heart of a triune God yearned and longed after
fellowship with them." Did you understand that? Paul said, when God separated
me from my mother's womb. The Lord Jesus was there when
Paul was separated from his mother's womb. He separated him. Can you
imagine the emotion that stirred in the heart of the Son of God? This is mine. I've redeemed him. I love him. And don't you imagine
he had to refrain himself from falling up on that infant's neck
and kissing him with the kisses of his mouth. Oh, you never realized that,
did you? We still can't enter into this.
I love that passage in Ephesians chapter 2 where the Apostle Paul
was telling us about being dead in our trespasses and sins. And
he goes on to tell us about the enmity of our mind. Our minds
were full of wrath. We walked according to the prints
of this world. We fulfilled the desires of the
flesh and of the mind. We were just dead and ungodly. And then in verse 4, he makes
this statement. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when... That's a good place to stop. God loved us. Even when, can
you get that? He's rich in His mercy for His
great love where He loved us even when we were dead in sin. When did God love us greatly?
Even when we were dead in sin. His heart, His bowels yearned
upon us to make Himself known unto us. and to bring us in with
this sweet communion with Himself. Don't you love the story about
the shepherd going out after his sheep? He lost just one sheep. And he left the 99 in safety
and he said, I'm going after that one which I lost. He's mine. And he never quit searching until
he found Him. There's that old hymn. That says,
none of the ransomed ever knew the depths of the water's cross,
nor how dark the night the Lord passed through, or He found His
sheep that was lost. The Lord went to these blood
drops along the way, that mark out the mountain tracks. They
were shed for one who had gone astray, or the shepherd could
bring him back. But listen to this. But all through
the mountain, thunder-riven, and up from the rocky steep,
there arose a glad cry to the gates of heaven, Rejoice! I have found my sheep." That's
the Bible, ain't it? That's the Bible. He searches
for this sheep, and he finds it. And don't you know how he
dealt with it when he found it? If you had a dumb lost sheep
and he was laying there ready to fall over the edge of the
cliff and crush the life from himself, and you had a staff
in your hand with a big hook on it, what would you do? Can't
you just imagine the shepherd reaching and getting him on the
edge and pulling him, jerking him to himself? And he reaches
down with those big strong hands and he gets it in that wool and
he picks him up and he shakes him. He shakes him. He says, what are you doing here?
Why did you leave the foal? Is he going to kill me? Is he
going to throw me over? Can you see the sheep laying
these little ears back? Oh, what's he going to do with me? And he
shakes the dew out of him. Would you do your sheep like
that? I did my old dog like that when he ran off. I went looking
for him with a stick. You'll never leave again, boy. And then what does the shepherd
do? He puts him on his shoulders,
doesn't he? Puts him around his neck and
hugs him. And he begins to whistle and
skip. And he sings. And he goes back
to the foal and said, come rejoice with me. I have found my sheep
which was lost. But did the sheep know that? No. The first thing he does is
deal roughly, isn't it? Like Joseph did with his brother. Look here in Jeremiah chapter
31 quickly with me. Hold Genesis 45. Look in Jeremiah chapter 31.
Here's a good illustration of what I'm saying. Look in verse 18. Jeremiah 31.18. I have surely heard Ephraim be
mourning himself thus. Here's what he's saying. Thou
hast chastised me. You've whipped me. And I was
chastised. As a bullock unaccustomed to
the yoke, my neck is galled. Turn thou me, and I shall be
turned, for you are the Lord my God. Surely after that I was
turned, I repented. After that I was instructed,
I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, even confounded,
because I did bear the reproach of my youth." And look here what
the Lord says concerning Ephraim. The Lord had whipped him, chastised
him, hurt him. And then he says, it's Ephraim,
my dear son, Is he really a pleasant child? For since I spake against
him." I don't know for sure what he said against him, but Ephraim
did. One place, the Lord said, let Ephraim alone. Boy, if that's
what he said against him. And that got back to Ephraim.
The Lord said, for I shall let you alone, Ephraim, you are joined
to idols. Man, if that got back to him. No wonder he's humble. No wonder his neck was galled.
No wonder he began to cry, Turn thou me and I shall be turned.
But since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still. I can't forget him. I can't put
him out of my mind, my thoughts. Therefore, my vows, my emotions,
my affections are troubled for him. I will surely have mercy
upon him, saith the Lord. If the Lord loves us so dearly,
and His bowels yearn upon us, even when we're dead in trespasses
and sin, for this sweet communion, for us to know Him and His grace
and His love, then why does He treat us so roughly when He begins
to bring us to Himself? It goes right back to Joseph's
brethren, the very same reason. We've got all this sin, you see. We've been His enemy all of our
life. We're the enemies of God. There's this deep-seated hatred
of Jesus Christ and His gospel and His grace. And it's all got
to come to the top. It's all got to be made known. We can't hide it. We can't suppress
it any longer. We're going to acknowledge it.
We're going to acknowledge it. And then there's this matter
of our little Benjamins. Who is Benjamin anyway? Ah, it's
Benjamin. Our Benjamin out there. Little
Benjamin. We'll give everything we have,
everything we possess, but ourselves. It's ourselves we're holding
back from the Lord. I'll give a lot. I'll give just
about everything. But myself, I will not give to
the Lord. When He gets through with you,
you'll give a little Benjamin. When He shakes you, when He speaks
to you roughly, you'll start bowing. And then there's this
matter of this sinful familiarity. I don't know who wrote the song,
but I know who sung it. Dear old George Jones, me and
Jesus, we got our own thing going. Remember that? Why would a man,
an ungodly man, sing a song like that? He's too familiar, isn't
he? Boy, me and Jesus, we got it
all worked out. Arminianism. Free willism. He's not going to reign over
me. Who is He? Just a man. Oh, the
Pharisee said, we know Him. He's the son of Joseph. We know
his brother and we're familiar with him. So they sent out a
message. We won't have this man to reign over us. Oh, but when Peter was preaching
to them on the day of Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit had come,
Peter said, you've taken by wicked hands and you've crucified Him,
but God has exalted Him at His right hand. And He's made Him
both Lord and Christ. He's not the little Jesus that
you think He is. He's the Lord on His throne. Bow. And what did they do? What shall
we do? We're guilty. God has found us
out. And down they go before the Lord
of glory. I love Psalms chapter 2 where
the Father was talking about exalting His Son. My Son calls
Him a King. I've exalted Him. I've set my
King upon my holy hill of Zion. And then he says what he's promised
him. You ask of me, my son, I'll give you the heathen for your
inheritance. I'll give you the uttermost parts of the earth
for your possession. You can do with them as you will. You can break them with a rod
of iron. You can dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
They're yours. And then he turns to the mighty.
and says, you better be wise, O you kings. You better be instructed,
you judges of the earth. You better serve the Lord with
fear and rejoice with trembling. Why does the Lord have to speak
roughly to us? Well, you'll never be saved until
He brings you to fear Him. Paul loved to begin his messages
like this. men and brethren, and whosoever
among you that feareth the Lord." To you is the word of this salvation,
sir. The fear of God is the beginning
of wisdom. It's the beginning of God's work
in the heart. Until we fear Him, we'll never
have Him as our only Savior. He breaks us. And then He binds
us up. He kills us and then He gives
us life. That's why He must speak roughly
to us before He ever makes His love and grace known to us. Why am I dwelling on this? Well,
because, brothers and sisters, we've reached a time where men
think such silly nonsense that they can have Jesus as their
Savior, not their Lord. They hate His grace and yet call
Him their Savior? All this silly nonsense. And
there's only one thing. There's only one thing that will
clear all that away. And that's for the Lord to make
Hisself known unto them as the Lord of Glory. The Lord reigneth. Let the earth
tremble. I'm dwelling on this for this
reason. The Lord can use extreme measures
in bringing His people to Himself. I'm talking about initially,
when He first brings you to Himself, He can make you miserable. He
can turn your world upside down. And as He continually brings
us to Himself, sometimes He can use extreme measures. Look what
He did in Egypt. Man, he's in a famine. He brought
everything to a halt. Their plows was rusting out in
the shed. Their oxen was starving to death.
Probably a lot of people died. It got extreme. And it was all
for this cause, to bring Joseph's brethren to him. Yeah, it may get extreme. It may get extreme. We're told
one fellow had leprosy. Full of leprosy. And you know
why he had it? To bring him to Christ. One man
was born blind. Lived his whole life blind. And
you know why? To bring him to Christ. I don't
know what means God may use in bringing His elect people to
His dear Son to be saved. Sometimes it's extreme. But here's
something comparable. Behind that extremity is a heart
that yearns and loves His people. Don't forget that. Now look back
at my text quickly one more time. Look at Genesis 45. Look in verse
5. I love this. Their whole attitude had changed
now towards their brother Joseph. Before they hid what they did,
they probably hoped he was dead. But now they're mad at themselves
because of what they did. Look in verse 5. Now therefore,
be not grieved nor angry with yourselves that you sold me hither.
For God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two
years hath the famine been in the land, and yet there are five
years in the which there shall neither be earing, plowing, nor
harvest. God sent me before you to preserve
you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great
deliverance. So now it was not you that sent
me hither, but God." In the last chapter, in verse 20, he says
this, You thought evil against me, but God meant it for good
to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive. There's something here that's
so confident. You and I live in a sad world, don't we? Sin has made it that way. Our
sin. Now, one man's sin entered into
this world. And brothers and sisters, look
what it's done to us. It's awful. Look how devastating. Look how uncertain this world
is. Why? This is a dangerous world to
live in. And our sin has made it so. And sometimes, you and
I can get so angry with ourselves that we almost despair. Did you
ever loathe yourself? You get so angry with yourself
that you're not fit to live with. You almost despair and it gets
out of your heart and you direct it towards your other people.
Oh, I hate myself. Oh God, I hate myself. But it
reaches the point that you're so grieved with yourself. We
get mad at ourselves, we get mad at our spouses, we get mad
at our politicians, we get mad at our school system, and everybody
and everything's going to hell in a handbasket. And we just
grieve ourselves to death. Well, here's something to think
about. Look outside of that. Look outside
of your sin. Look away from this awful fall
if you can. And look how God has dealt with
our sin and the fall. He's brought something good out
of it. He's brought something good out
of it that otherwise would not have been out of this mess. Redemption. What would we know of God and
His love in Jesus Christ if we had not have fallen? What would we know of the kindness
of the Lord and the long-suffering of the Lord if we had not have
fallen into sin? I imagine Joseph, as he sat there
on the throne and his brother went out from him, I imagine
if I would have been them, I would have been a braggart and like
everything. You know who that is on the throne down there?
You fellas know who that is on the throne? That's Joseph. He's
my brother. Yeah, that's my brother. Yeah, that's him. He'd have never
been on that throne if his brother hadn't sold him. That's a good
way to look at it, isn't it? You know something, brothers
and sisters, if we hadn't have fallen into sin, Jesus Christ
would not have been on the throne in our humanity, our elder brother. Isn't that something to brag
about? Who's on the throne? Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Yes, and He's there in our humanity. Humanity rules in heaven. Humanity rules in this earth
in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm glad we failed. That may
be awful to say, but I'm glad we failed. Would you like to
be set in here this evening under a covenant of works? Would you like to be set in you
and fellowshipping with one another and eating and carrying on and
we're holy and we're happy and we're sinless, we're healthy? But our first Father over there
in the Garden of Eden held our destiny in His hands. He can still at any moment reach
up and get that fruit and sin against God and when He does,
down we all go. And this sharp dart smites our
conscience. And we say, what happened? Well,
our first father, he sinned. We're on a much better footed
now, brothers and sisters, than we were before. Don't be angry
with yourselves. It's much better now. It's better
now. Quit getting mad at our politicians. They can't have it. Who sent
them there? They're just base men. I feel
sorry for them. They've got to rule this mess.
Then they've got to go give account for doing it. Who sent them there? God's going to bring good out
of it. He will. One more time in my text and
I'll quit. Look in verse 9. Look in verse
9, Haste ye, and go to my Father, and say unto him, Thus saith
thy son Joseph, God hath made me Lord of all Egypt, come down
unto me, tarry not. Thou shalt dwell in the land
of Goshen, and thou shalt be near to me, thou and thy children,
and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds,
and all that ye have, and I will nourish thee. and I will nourish
thee. And he says in verse 13, tell
my father my glory in Egypt. And they go back down and they
tell Joseph, they tell Jacob, your son's alive. And he's lord,
he's governor. He rules everything. And Jacob
faints. He faints. He comes to himself
and he sees all the wagons that Pharaoh has sent Look what Pharaoh
sends the message in verse 17, look at this. And Pharaoh said
unto Joseph, saying to your brethren, This do ye, lay your beast and
go into the land of Canaan, and take your father, your household,
and come unto me, and I will give you the good of the land
of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. And thou art commanded to do
this, take your wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little
ones and your wives, and bring your father and come, and also
regard not your stuff, for the good of the land of Egypt is
yours." And in verse 46, you can read
that sometime there in verse 3, Jacob come to himself, he
went up to sacrifice to the Lord, he was so fearful about going
back down to Egypt, his dad and his grandpa had been down there,
got themselves in all kinds of trouble. And the Lord appeared
to Jacob and He said, Jacob, don't be afraid to go down to
Egypt. I'm going down there with you.
I'm going with you. I'm going to make of you a great
nation. That's the second thing He told
him. And Joseph, nobody's ever going to put him off of his throne.
He's going to rain, and He's going to put His hands on your
eyes when you die. He's going to be there to bury
you. Jacob goes down to Egypt. He meets Joseph, and he says,
I hadn't thought to see your face again, and God has shown
me your children. Oh, God's like that, isn't He,
brothers and sisters? He's able to do exceedingly and
abundantly above all that we ask or think. And He stands before
Pharaoh, and Pharaoh said, how old are you? And he said, I'm
130, and my days have been evil. Most of it I brought on myself.
God has tried me sore. Man has tried me. My days have
been evil. They've been tough. And I don't
look for it to get any better down here in this strange land. But you know something? This
old man lived for 17 years down in Egypt. And it was the best
years he had ever known in all his life. Sometimes you fellas that get
on your computers, get on your computer and take a tour from
Cairo all the way up to the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea
and go through this land of Goshen. It's got beautiful rich bottom,
goes up along the Nile, fertile river. They say up in there they've
got topsoil from 25 to 75 feet deep. It's cattle country and
it's rolling country and it's mountains. A beautiful country. And that's where this old man
spent the last 17 years of his life. Nursing, nussing, petting
his grandbabies and his great grandbabies. What am I saying? If Jesus Christ
has made Hisself known to you, He's going to nourish you, He's
going to cherish you, and it's all He can do. During
the time of your trials, your afflictions, your loneliness,
your heartaches, your family trials, He has to refrain Himself
from falling upon your neck. and kissing you with the kisses
of His mouth. And someday soon, He's going
to bring you to heaven and He is going to teach you of Himself.
He's going to reveal His love to you and His kindness to you
as you could have never known it in this world. He's going
to spend eternity making Himself known to you and falling on your
neck and kissing you with the kisses of His mouth. Ah, it's wonderful. Good way
to quit. God bless you, Todd.

Joseph And His Brothers

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty in suffering?

How do we know God loves us despite our sin?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

Why did Joseph's brothers not recognize him?

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Joseph And His Brothers

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty in suffering?

How do we know God loves us despite our sin?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

Why did Joseph's brothers not recognize him?

Sermon Transcript

About Bruce Crabtree

Comments

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