Before we turn in our Bibles
through the scripture tonight, I wanted to mention that we had
a couple visit this morning who were here because of seeing the
sign out on the property on Kirkendall. And they live in that area. And
so that was encouraging to me, and I know it is to all of us.
And I had a man to call also when he saw the sign that lives
out in that area. I just pray the Lord will continue
to bless. And in his time and God's good
providence, we will be able to relocate there. And we trust
it will be for God's glory. That's the only purpose, the
only reason. We've got a nice place here to meet. But I believe
that by being on a major road like that, we may have an opportunity
to preach to more people and new people. And that's the ministry,
right? To preach the gospel to every
creature. And I appreciate the men who
have been already going out into that area and giving out tracts,
inviting people to the service. And we just pray. It'll be a
miracle, I'll say that. But God can work a miracle. He's worked many. When he saved
you, when he saved me, That was a miracle of grace, wasn't it?
It always is. Now let's turn in our Bibles
to Genesis chapter 39. Tonight, we will continue to
look at lessons from the life of Joseph And lessons which we
trust will point us to the Lord Jesus. Remembering his words
in John chapter five when he said, search the scriptures for
in them you think you have eternal life, but they are they which
testify of me. The Lord Jesus Christ, he himself
is eternal life. And the scriptures testify of
him. And that's our purpose in looking
at the life of Joseph, that we might be pointed to Christ, we
may see him. Genesis chapter 39, verses one
and two. And Joseph was brought down to
Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh,
captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the
Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. And the Lord
was with Joseph and he was a prosperous man. I have three things I want
to point out to us that these verses tell us about Joseph and
see how they may point us to Christ. First, Joseph was brought
down to Egypt. That's what the scripture says.
And Joseph was brought down to Egypt. Suppose we ask this question. What caused Joseph to be brought
down to Egypt? What caused Joseph to be brought
down to Egypt? Someone might ask that question.
Well, he was brought down to Egypt because of the hatred and
jealousy and the malice of his brothers, his 10 brothers who
were jealous of him because of his father's favoritism. And
they put him in a pit, and then when the Midianites came by,
they sold him to the Midianites. So the answer to the question,
what caused Joseph to be brought down to Egypt? Some might answer,
well, it was because of his brothers. And that would be a correct answer.
That would be true. Someone else might answer, well,
Not so much because of the jealousy of his brothers, but the covetous
nature of the Midianites that they would be involved in buying
a person like they bought Joseph for 20 pieces of silver. And
they did so because they knew they could make a profit and
carrying him away from his homeland and selling him in Egypt. Now that would be. a correct
answer as well. What caused Joseph to be brought
down into Egypt? The hatred, the jealousy of his
brothers, the covetous nature of the Midianites. But both of
those answers, while they could be right and correct, they're
what we must call second causes. Second causes. I want you to
look at Joseph's answer as to why He was caused to be brought
down into Egypt. Keep your places here, but turn
to chapter 45 and verse 7. Genesis 45 and verse 7. When Joseph revealed himself
to his brothers when they came there into Egypt to buy corn,
notice what he said. God, not you, not my brothers,
not the Midianites, but God sent me before you to preserve you
a posterity in the earth and to save your lives by great deliverance. The first cause. This is a point
I want to make. Those other causes are true,
but they're second causes. The first cause of all things
is God. God's purpose. God's providence. And these other things are second
causes. And this is a very important
lesson for all of us to learn, and we learn it and learn it
and learn it. because we get upset and get
anxious many times looking at second causes and failing to
see the first cause of all things is God himself. Does this make
God the author of sin? What his brothers did was sinful. Jealousy, malice, anger, hatred,
all of the sinful actions of his brothers. and the actions
of the Midianites were sinful. But you say, Preacher, God's
the first cause of all things. Does this make God the author
of sin? Well, you know, in the New Testament,
the Apostle James answers that question once and for all. Once
and for all. Let no man say when he is tempted,
I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil.
Neither tempteth he any man. But every man is tempted when
he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death. God is not the author of sin. You say, well, how can that be?
The same actions. On God's part, a good thing. on men's part, an evil thing. And what's the greatest example
that we have in the word of God of this truth? It's the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ. What caused his death? Well,
someone might say, well, Judas betrayed him. Someone else might
say, well, the Pharisees and this priest, the high priest,
they convicted him in a mock trial. And someone else was,
well, Pilate. Pilate was his judge, his civil
judge, and Pilate pronounced him innocent. I find no fault
in this man. Nevertheless, you take him and
crucify him. What kind of a judge is that?
But you know, on the day of Pentecost, you remember the words of Peter,
speaking to the same group of of Jewish people who were involved
in crying, crucify him, crucify him. When they were pricked in
their hearts after hearing the preaching of Peter, this is what
Peter said unto them in Acts chapter 2 and verse 23. Him,
let me read verse 22 as well. You men of Israel, hear these
words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know
him. Now notice the first cause, being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. Now the second cause, ye have
taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. The same act on God's part was
good, that is, for the salvation of his people. On the act of
those who betrayed him and judged him, it was an evil act. They did what they did by their
wicked hands. Joseph's brothers and the Midianites,
they did what their sinful hearts desired to do. God didn't make
them do that. They did what they wanted to
do. Their evil acts cannot be blamed on God. On God's part,
it was a good act. On their part, it was evil. And
think about this, men will be judged for their evil deeds,
which they freely, freely do, and no one will ever be able
to blame God. Well, God made me do it. No one
put a gun to these men's head and forced them to do what they
did. They did what they did out of
their evil heart. And yet in doing what they did,
they did what God had determined before the foundation of the
world to be done. Someone said, I just can't accept
that. Well, you have to believe that
or you're in a world of confusion, my friends, absolute confusion. Someone's in control. Someone's in control of this
world. And we know who it is. It's God.
But you say, well, Brother Pledger, the first thing we see here is
Joseph was brought down to Egypt. How does that point us to Christ?
Well, turn with me, if you will, into Matthew chapter 2. Matthew chapter 2 and verse 13, Matthew chapter
2 and verse 13, And when they, that is the wise men, when they
were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph
in a dream, saying, Arise and take the young child and his
mother and flee into Egypt. Be thou there until I bring thee
word, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When
he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed
into Egypt and was there until the death of Herod. Now notice
that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet saying, out of Egypt have I called my son. In our text tonight here in Genesis,
we see Joseph being brought down to Egypt. But here in this passage
of scripture, we see that it was another Joseph, the husband
of Mary, who brought the child and Mary down into Egypt. And again, we see the second
cause. What caused them to go down into
Egypt? Joseph and Mary and the Lord
Jesus obeyed. What caused the malice, the hatred
of Herod, this wicked king? That was another second cause,
right? But the first cause was that
the scripture might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord. Out of Egypt have I called my
son." Now, you say, what scripture does that refer to? It refers
to Hosea, the minor prophet Hosea, chapter 11 and verse 1. And what Hosea is saying there
and showing the nation of Israel is, even though, and he refers
to the nation as his son, his child, that even though they
spent 400 years there in captivity and bondage, God loved them. God's love was upon them. And
it's to encourage all of God's children in every situation that
we find ourselves in, that God's purpose is being worked out. And even in dire circumstances
and horrible situations we think we're in, God's love hasn't changed. He loved Israel all the time
they were in bondage in Egypt. His love didn't change, but when
his time came, the time that he had determined, he called
his son out of Egypt. Matthew Henry's comment I've
found to be a blessing. He said this, and I quote, it
is no new thing for God's sons to be in Egypt, in a strange
land, in a house of bondage, but they shall be fetched out. They may be hid in Egypt, but
they shall not be left there. All the elect of God, being by
nature children of wrath, are born in spiritual Egypt. and
in conversion are effectually called out. So what the scripture
said about the nation of Israel, what the scripture said about
the Lord Jesus Christ is true of each and every one of God's
chosen people. Out of Egypt, that is out of
the world, have I called my son. Go back to Genesis 39, if you
will. So that's the first thing that
we see, that Joseph was brought down into Egypt. The second thing that we see
here, Joseph was brought to the slave market in verse one. And an officer of Pharaoh, captain
of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Midianites. Joseph was not only brought down
into Egypt, but Joseph was brought to the slave market. Now, none
of us can imagine what it must have been like for Joseph. Someone
after one of the messages I preached recently from the life of Joseph
said, if anybody could say, we know that all things work together
for good to those who love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose, it would have been Joseph. But I wonder, don't
you, when he was taken captive and being led down there to Egypt,
if he could say that. All things are working together
for my good. And when he was sold as a slave,
could he say, all things are working together for my good?
Now, we know they were. But could he say that at that
time? Could he realize that and know that of a surety by faith? We think of Joseph, who had been
his father's favorite, who was loved, the desire, we might say,
of his father. And now he is being sold off
as a slave. We can't imagine what that was
to be like. But you say, Preacher, how does
that in any way point us to the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, let
me show you. Joseph was brought into the slave
market. But the Lord Jesus Christ came
into the slave market. The Lord Jesus, let me say that
again, Joseph was brought into the slave market. The Lord Jesus
Christ came in to the slave market. One of the Greek words which
is translated redeemed or redemption concerning the Lord Jesus Christ
tells us precisely this. This is the way the Greek word
was used. A man went down into the slave
market and purchased, bought a slave, redeemed a slave out
of the market. And that word is used two times
in Galatians. In Galatians 3.13 and Galatians
4.5. And in Galatians 4.5, let me read the verse. It says, but when the fullness
of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman,
made under the law, now here it is, to redeem, to come into
the slave market and buy out of the slave market, to redeem
them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption
of sons. Now that Greek word, I would
pronounce it Agorazo, but it has that prefix X, E-X, out of,
out of what? Out of the slave market, out
of bondage. Christ came into the slave market,
not to be sold, but rather to buy out, to redeem those of his
people who were in bondage. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Father's
favorite, just like Joseph was his father's favorite. So the
Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to purchase out of the
slave market of sin, his people who were in bondage. You say,
well, how were we in bondage? How was his people in bondage?
Bondage to what? Well, first of all, bondage to
sin. Bondage and servitude, slavery
to sin. In John chapter eight, the Lord
Jesus told the Pharisees, he said, verily, verily, I say unto
you, whosoever, now that pretty well includes all of us here,
doesn't it? Whosoever. Whosoever committeth sin is a
servant, or the slave, of sin. And the slave, the servant, abideth
not in the house for ever. But the Son, that is the Lord
Jesus Christ, he abideth ever. If the Son, that is if the Lord
Jesus Christ, shall make you free, you shall be free Indeed,
he came into the slave market to buy out his people from the
bondage, first of all, of sin. But not only sin, he came to
buy us out of bondage to death, the fear of death. In Hebrews
chapter two, the scriptures tell us that men live in fear of death
all their life. Man, I think all men have a fear
of death, and they should. What's beyond the grave? There's
only one who's ever come back and told us, that's the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's the only one who's conquered
death. What's beyond the grave? The fear of death. Satan keeps
people in bondage through the fear of death, the scripture
says. But the Lord Jesus Christ came
into the slave market to redeem his people, redeem us from the
bondage of the fear of death. The sting of death has been taken
away. How? Through his death, through
the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I know none of us, no person,
naturally looks forward to going through the valley of the shadow
of death and dying. I'm sure of that. We don't know
what we may experience. But at the same time, we know
that to depart and to be with Christ is far better. He's delivered,
he redeemed us from the bondage of the fear of death. And then
of course, hell. The wages of sin is death, that
is eternal death. But the Lord Jesus Christ has
delivered us. And you know that word, that
Greek word, this is what's such a blessing to me, out of. He came into the slave market
to buy, to purchase, to redeem his people out of bondage, but
it also carries this meaning with it, to never return again. to never return again. Yes, we
were there, but we've been redeemed and by His blood and redeemed
so as never to be returned there again. Isn't that a blessing?
Amen. It is to me. All right, here's
the third thing if you look in our text. So Joseph was brought
to Egypt. The Lord Jesus Christ himself
as a child was brought into Egypt that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Joseph was brought to the slave market. Our Lord was not brought
to the slave market. He came to the slave market.
He came on purpose to purchase his people. Notice the third
thing this verse two tells us about Joseph. The Lord was with
Joseph and he was a prosperous man. You know, his brothers and
the Midianites, they were able to separate Joseph from his father. They did. Joseph was taken away
from his father. They could do that, and they
did that, but they could not separate Joseph from his God,
from his Lord. The Lord, the scripture said,
the Lord was with Joseph. And this is a wonderful truth
for every child of God. When born of the Spirit, born
again, God the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. And nothing is able to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. The Lord was with Joseph. And
the Lord is with each and every one of his children. There's
never a time when he leaves us, never will leave us. I've told
you this before, but as a pastor visiting sometimes people who
are going in for surgery of some kind or the other, I always like
to remind them that while they're taken away from us and taken
away from their family, they're not being taken away from the
Lord. He has promised to be with us, always with us to the end. And then it tells us that Joseph
was a prosperous man. Now how do these two things refer
to the Lord Jesus Christ? God was with him. God was with
Joseph. Well, we know that he is God.
The Lord Jesus Christ, he is God, but And let's never forget,
he's also man. Perfect God and perfect man in
one person. And the Apostle John in his gospel
tells us this, that the Spirit of God was given to him without
measure. The Holy Spirit came upon man
in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit was poured out
on the day of Pentecost. No man other than the Lord Jesus
Christ has ever had the Spirit of God without measure, but He
did. God was with Him. He is God. I know it's hard to say this,
but He is God, but yet God was with Him. God the Holy Spirit
was with Him, and He said this. The Lord Jesus Christ said this
the night before His crucifixion. He said, The hour cometh, yea,
is now come, that you shall be scattered, every man to his own,
and shall leave me alone. And yet I'm not alone. I'm not alone because the Father
is with me. And he's a prosperous man. Every
child of God is a prosperous man. Every believer. I mean, how could you be more
prosperous than to have God as your God? How could you be more prosperous
than that? He that spared not his own son,
but with him will freely give us all things. Joseph was a prosperous
man. And God willing, if we go ahead
in the weeks to come, we'll see how He was prospered there in
Egypt. But what about the Lord Jesus
Christ? Is he a prosperous man? He didn't
have a place to lay his head. He never owned any property in
this world, and yet the whole world is his. Look with me to
Isaiah 53. Is he a prosperous man? You know, the world, it seems
like, is all concerned about material prosperity. Material prosperity. And yet,
as we read there in the Psalms, Psalm 39, at the beginning of
the service, man laith up treasures he don't know who it's going
to go to. Spiritual prosperity. That's the prosperity we're interested
in, isn't it? Spiritual prosperity. To walk
with God. Fellowship with God. To know
Him. To enjoy God. I know we need
food and clothes and many things in this world. I understand that.
Provide for your family. But I'm convinced that many of
us put way too much emphasis on material prosperity, spiritual
prosperity. That should be our goal, our
desire, always. But was the Lord Jesus Christ
a prosperous man? Well, look here in Isaiah 53
in verse 10. And you know this chapter well. It says, yet it pleased the Lord
to bruise him. He hath put him to grief when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, now notice this, and the pleasure
of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. What is the pleasure
of the Lord that prospers in the hand of Jesus Christ? It is the redemption of his people. It is the saving of his people.
Yes, he is a prosperous man. He was able to say to the Lord
in prayer, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to
do. And he finished everything in
order to the saving of each and every one of his sheep. He finished the work. And if
we try to add anything to his work, we mar that work. His work is finished. His work
is perfect. We're saying that him, my faith
has found a resting place, not in device nor creed, but in the
ever living one, in Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen. I pray the Lord would bless these
thoughts to all of us here tonight. If you will, let's sing this
hymn to God be the glory number 449 to God be the