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Genesis 45:4-9

God Works it out!

I love a happy ending. Many modern movies and stories are developed through flashbacks and moving through time as if there is something wrong with telling a story from beginning to end in chronological order. I wouldn’t say I like the artsy way the current producers and writers feel it’s more creative to include a bunch of flashbacks in their stories and movies. I guess I’m old-fashioned. I’m also disappointed in many of the endings of some of the stories you see and hear today. The “Perfect Storm” is an example. If everybody dies in the storm, including Robert Redford, who is left to tell the story? Some say today that “happy endings only happen in fairy tales.” Hogwash! Joseph is a story told from beginning to end and has the happiest ending imaginable. Not only does Joseph’s early childhood dreams come true as he rules not Just over Egypt, but in effect, over the whole known world, but also he saves his entire family and much of the world from the famine, and he is reunited with his family. He is a true life hero and doesn’t need a cape. Here’s the best part: His brothers plotted his murder and sold him as a slave. He had every reason to, and justification, to strike back in vengeance and “get even” or “ahead.” But that would not have constituted a happy ending at all.

But instead, he tested their repentance. He recognized that they were sorry for their deed and had changed because now they would not desert their little brother Benjamin. Joseph wept with joy and fell upon them! That means he hugged and kissed them all! But the real happy ending is Joseph’s recognition of God’s hand in it all! In his complete forgiveness of them, Joseph says, “But don’t be upset and don’t be angry with yourselves.” This was because Joseph was not angry with them. He goes on in 45:5, “It was God who sent me here.” In 47, he says, “It was God.” In 48, he repeats, “So it was God.” And they lived happily ever after! Well, as much as you can in a sinful world. Seeing God’s hand in all the events of your life and knowing that God will work all things together for good is essential to living happily ever after regardless of the circumstances of your life. Joseph did not diminish what the brothers did. Yet he saw that God’s purpose in it all was more significant than the brothers’ evil. I’ve preached several sermons with the key verse being Jeremiah 29:11: “I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I know some argue that it’s not for believers today. It was written to tell the exiles in Babylon that God would restore them to their land after 70 years. If the Bible is only interpreted like that, it might just as well be relegated to ancient history. God is not only interested in world history, but he is interested in you and me.

Guzik writes, “All Joseph’s sorrows were for a purpose. God used them to preserve his family and provide the conditions to become a nation. Joseph was a victim of men, but God turned it around for His glory. None of it was for a loss. If this family did not go into Egypt, then they would assimilate among the pagan tribes of Canaan and cease to become distinctive people. God had to put them in a place where they could grow yet remain a distinctive nation. Years ago, Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote a remarkably wide-selling book titled When Bad Things Happen to Good People. It sold more than half a million copies before going to paperback and was on the New York Times best-seller list for a whole year. The whole point of his book was to say God is all-loving but not all-powerful; that God is good but not sovereign. So, when bad things happen to good people, it is because events are out of God’s control. Kushner advised his readers to “learn to love [God] and forgive him despite his limitations.” Whatever Kushner described, it was not the God of the Bible; the God displayed in Joseph’s life. Joseph realized God ruled his life, not good men, not evil men, not circumstances, or fate. God was in control, and because God was in control, all things worked together for good.”1. I don’t see any other way to read the Bible! If God is for us, no one and nothing can stand against us in the long run.

1 David Guzik, Genesis, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Ge 45:4–8.

Genesis 44:18, 1 Corinthians 15:3

From the tribe of Judah!

Henry Thoreau says, “The mass of men leads lives of quiet desperation.” This may be true, but I don’t see anything “quiet” in Judah’s desperation as he pleads with the Egyptian official for the life of his little brother, Benjamin, who had been found guilty of stealing from the man in charge of all Egypt. In Genesis 44:18, the plea reads, “Oh, My Lord, please let your servant speak a word …for you are like Pharaoh.” The tone of Judah’s plea with the official shows us a desperate man. In a frantic barrage of quick sentences, Judah tells him how he pledged his life for Benjamin’s. Judah tells him how his father’s life is bound up in the life of this little boy. Lives are at stake! It is indeed a matter of life and death. Will Joseph hear his desperate plea for help? This is precisely where Joseph wanted his brothers. Over 20 years earlier, the tables were reversed. Joseph was in the pit, and he cried for mercy. But the ten brothers did not show him mercy. It was Judah who led the discussion and decided to sell Joseph. In Genesis 42, verse 21, the brothers say to each other about Joseph in the pit, “in truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us and we did not listen.”

Guzik says, “Judah’s impassioned appeal to Joseph is a model of a heartfelt, desperate appeal.” He then goes on to quote others that have similar things to say about Judah’s speech to Joseph: “Of Judah’s speech, F.B. Meyer wrote: ‘In all literature, there is nothing more pathetic than this appeal.’ H.C. Leupold wrote, ‘This is one of the manliest, most straightforward speeches ever delivered by any man. For depth of feeling and sincerity of purpose, it stands unrivaled.’ Barnhouse called it ‘the most moving address in all the Word of God.’”1 It is what happens next that cements Judah’s place as the leader of the clan. Guzik goes on to describe it for us, “Judah dramatically offered to lay down his life for the sake of Benjamin. This was a dramatic change from 20 years before when the brothers did not care about Joseph, Benjamin, or even their father, Jacob. Judah distinguished himself as the one willing to be a substitutionary sacrifice, out of love for his father and his brethren.”

Earlier in Genesis, we see Simeon as a substitute taken by Joseph to be imprisoned for the sake of the other brothers. He was taken and bound involuntarily to expose the others of their taking and binding Joseph years earlier. But with Judah, he offers himself. Jesus will be the “lion from the tribe of Judah.” I’m not sure that Judah was well known and lauded as one who would sacrifice himself for others, but it looks like that’s what is happening here. Here is another picture of Christ’s substitution for us and our sins, albeit a clearer one. When Paul writes to the Corinthians in his first letter in chapter 15, verse 3, he explains this doctrine’s importance. It’s of “first” or “primary” importance. The passage says, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.” Could it be that this descendant of Judah, Jesus, was possibly considering this offer of substitution made by his ancestor in one of the passages he referred to when he said, “according to the Scriptures?” It appears that the only Scriptures available at that time were the Old Testament. When Jesus said that the Old Testament, especially the writings of Moses, were about him. We can sure see his substitutionary atonement in the life of his ancestor Judah. As Judah pleaded for the life of his brothers, so too does Jesus make intercession for you and me with an impassioned plea that includes the offer of his own life.

1 David Guzik, Genesis, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Ge 44:33–34.

Genesis 44:13

It’s Good for the Soul

Have you ever felt pretty good about yourself when you shouldn’t? I have. Back in my early high school days, I had to take extra classes in the summer of 1962 because I didn’t pass all my classes at Holy Name that year. I ended up at Tech High School for the summer with two courses. I was tired of all the study and stuff so along with a friend we sneaked into the school offices and stole the final exam for one of the classes. In and out with no problem. We really thought we had it made. I imagine that’s the way Joseph’s brothers were feeling when they left Egypt in Genesis 44. They had faced the trial of their return. Their worries about their money being returned to them were settled. They had vindicated themselves before the greatest man in Egypt. They had received special treatment from him. They had a meal with him and were honored by him. They were allowed to purchase the grain they needed for their families. Simeon was returned to them and as a whole family, all eleven of them, were on their way home. They had vindicated themselves before Pharaoh’s official and they were about to vindicate themselves before their father as they return with food, Simeon, and Benjamin. All this, and they did it all without being found out with regards to their sin against Joseph 20 years earlier. Yes, I’m sure they felt they had made a great escape and were feeling pretty smug and self-satisfied.

But then, Joseph’s guard catches up with them and accuses them of stealing. You can see the smugness in their reply, “why do you speak such words against us. Far be it from your servants to do such a thing.” Earlier when Joseph had accused them of being spies they assured him that they were “honest” men. Yet, for over 20 years they had lived the lie of Joseph’s death before their Father and other family members. The smugness is soon gone when the guard finds the cup in Benjamin’s bag. Verse 13 tells us that “they tore their clothes.” They had once torn Joseph’s clothes and smeared blood on them to promote their lie. But now they tear their own clothes. As tearing their clothes might expose them physically, it is a visual of the pain of being exposed spiritually. It hurts, humbles, and shames us!

Now, we all know that Benjamin didn’t steal the divining cup from Joseph. They were all innocent of that crime but there was another more important crime that they were all guilty of except for the innocent Benjamin. What Judah, still in the leadership role, says to Joseph is quite revealing. He says, “God has uncovered the iniquity of your servants.” He wasn’t talking about the cup Benjamin was accused of stealing. I think he was publicly acknowledging the family guilt concerning the sins against Joseph – who was standing there listening to it all. The scabs must be pulled off before there can be a true healing.  Joseph wanted true healing. Max Lucado writes, “Confession is telling God you did the thing he saw you do. He doesn’t need to hear it as much as you need to say it. Whether it’s too small to be mentioned or too big to be forgiven isn’t yours to decide. Your task is to be honest.” They say “confession is good for the soul.” James 5:16 tells us to “confess our sins to one another so that we might be healed.” Joseph wanted healing. By the way, someone told on us, and we lost all credit for the classes that summer. It feels good to get that off my chest!

Genesis 43:13-14,Luke 1:38

Let it be!

By the time we make it through Genesis to Chapter 43, we see that Judah has taken over the family’s leadership. The oldest of the brothers, Reuben, lost this role by attempting to usurp the leadership by sleeping with one of his father’s concubines. Even when he offered the life of his own sons as a pledge to his father to bring back Benjamin, Jacob would not concede to their demand. The next oldest, Simeon, remained in jail in Egypt. Levi, the next in line, carried the blame for the massacre at Shechem. That left Judah next in line, and he stepped up to the challenge. He reminded his father of the absolute necessity of taking Benjamin with them if they were ever to go back to Egypt for more food. It was either send Benjamin with his brothers or die of starvation along with the women and children in the camp. Finally, Jacob concedes. In Genesis 43:13-14, we read that Jacob says to Judah, “Take also your brother and arise, go again to the man. May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

“Let go and let God” has undoubtedly become a cliche in our Christian culture. But the need for that in my life is still evident in many ways. I’m a lot like Jacob – the one who contends with God – who wrestles with him to get his way. Notice he acknowledges God’s complete sovereignty by calling him “God Almighty.” He is the one who gives mercy and brings about the best in our lives. We need only surrender to His perfect will. He envisioned the worst-case scenario and said, “Let it be.” It’s like what Mary said to the angel when she was informed about the upcoming virgin birth of Jesus. The Beatles made her response famous in their song “Let it Be.” That was Mary’s response at the end of her dialogue with the angel in Luke 1:38, “And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’” John and Paul, the Beatles, not the Apostles, along with George and Ringo, sang, “When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom: let it be.”

Jacob’s response wasn’t quite as commendable as that, though. Mary seems to have accepted her fate with a lot less attitude than Jacob did, and Mary only asked for the Angel to explain how she would have a son being a virgin which sounds like a reasonable question to me. On the other hand, Jacob argued with his sons and fought the inevitable for as long as he could before giving in to the words of his other sons. He even scolded Judah for telling the man in Egypt about the rest of their family: “Why have you treated me so ill,” was his response. I’m not even sure that there was any change in Jacob’s attitude in conceding the need for Benjamin to go to Egypt with his brothers. Vos says, “Finally Jacob bowed to the inevitable. But he took every step to guarantee the outcome. First, he arranged to send a gift for the governor, perhaps because protocol required it, or out of appreciation for the privilege of buying grain or to appease his wrath as he had sought to assuage Esau’s (32:13–21). During a famine, the ‘best products’ or ‘choice fruits’ of the land would be meager, but he could send a ‘little’ balm, gum, and myrrh—types of gum used especially for medicinal purposes and embalming—honey, pistachio nuts, and almonds. Second, he proposed open-faced honesty in financial dealings: returning the money found in their sacks and pleading a mistake in its being found there. Third, he acquiesced to the demand for Benjamin’s appearance. Fourth, he prayed for God’s blessing on the venture and resigned himself to the will of God.”1 Whatever your struggle. Imagine the worst-case scenario and tell God if that’s what he wants for you, that will be OK. The things that matter most in this life are indeed out of our hands. But we often strive and strain to control them anyway. How much better off we would be if indeed we could “let go and let God.”

1 Howard F. Vos, Genesis, Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1982), 173.

Genesis 42:24

Our Substitute

Joseph accuses his brothers of being spies and locks them in the pit of prison for three days. Joseph had spent some years in that prison pit because of these ten brothers, and now they would experience the pit themselves but only for three days. I’m not sure it was vengeance as much as it was putting the brothers in a situation where they had to think about what they had done. That’s precisely what they did. Joseph heard them repenting of what they had done to him, and the text in Genesis 42:24 tells us that he had to turn away and cry. He did not let them see that. Then we read that the Egyptian Ruler, Joseph, “took Simeon and bound him before their eyes.” We don’t know for sure, but Reuben and Judah were mentioned by name in the episode of Joseph’s life being threatened and sold as a slave to Egypt. I’m trying to understand why Joseph chose Simeon to be the one bound, and I can’t come up with a good reason. None of the brothers could be called “innocent,” but the two instigators seem to be Reuben and Judah. Maybe he was less involved than some others.

The fact that Joseph bound him in full view of the others could have been Joseph’s way of showing that what goes around comes around! They all saw Joseph being bound up years earlier, and now they saw another brother being bound up. They did not step up to rescue Joseph at that time. Maybe Joseph wanted to know if they would step up and save Simeon at this time. During this story, the brothers confess their guilt and believe God is punishing them. When they discover their money has been returned in their sacks of grain on their way home, they ask, “What is this that God has done to us.

Joseph took Simeon as a substitute for the others. By taking Simeon, Joseph declared that the others could go free. They took money from the traders for their brother Joseph and now Joseph makes sure they have money in their bags as they leave Simeon behind. I’m not saying that Simeon was innocent, but he was singled out to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole family. The other brothers could just return home and leave Simeon to rot in the pit, take their money, and go home. So Simeon, in a sense, became the substitute who would pay for the sins of the whole family. This is a “type” of Christ. He died the death that we deserve. The death of Christ as the Substitute for sinners is the great truth from which all other truth flows. Our hope, that of restoration, freedom, forgiveness, and eternal life in paradise rests upon the work that Jesus did, that of giving Himself for our sins. Without that, our faith would be meaningless. We might as well place our hope and trust in a statue of a fish. Salvation comes only through the blood, the blood of Christ.

Genesis 42:6, Zechariah 9:11-12

The Waterless Pit!

In Genesis chapter 42, Joseph’s brothers make their way to Egypt to buy food for their families because of the famine. Guess who they had to deal with? Joseph, their baby brother! They hated him because he had dreams! Just before they threw him into the pit when they saw him coming from a long way off, they laughed amongst themselves and said, “Here comes that dreamer.” Joseph not only had some dreams that came true, but he interpreted the dreams of others. Dreams which elevated him to a superior position to them. They could not see themselves bowing down to their little brother. But that’s what happened symbolically in one of Joseph’s dreams. Their stars bowed down to him! Verse 6 says, “Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.” Notice, then, in verse 9; it says, “And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them.” It struck Joseph that after all this time, 20+years, most of which was spent in the pits, his dreams had finally come true.

Dreams have a way of dying on us when we’re in the pits, like Joseph. But God won’t let them die! He will fulfill every dream you’ve ever had. I’m not talking about your sleeping dreams. For many of us, to have them come true would be more like hell rather than heaven. No, I mean the aspirations for happiness and contentment with the people I love—Joseph names one of his sons Manasseh. The name means God eliminates all my pains! The other son he called Ephraim. That means He has made me fruitful in every way. You may be in the pits right now and have lost sight of all your dreams. You have been falsely accused, others have forgotten you, and you have lost everything that matters to you. God speaks to you now through Joseph. Hear him. Max Lucado writes, “If you’ll celebrate a marriage anniversary alone this year, he speaks to you. If your child made it to heaven before making it to kindergarten, he speaks to you. If you lost a loved one in violence, if you learned more than you want to know about disease, if your dreams were buried as they lowered the casket, God speaks to you.” I hope you can hear him.

Max has a unique gift for encouraging us when we’re in the pits. I always like reading his stuff. Yet, Joseph’s life is a preliminary picture of the coming of the true deliverer, our Lord, Jesus Christ. It’s about him. Jesus was crucified and buried and descended into the “pit that had no water in it, ” symbolizing hell. Humanly speaking, Jesus had a covenant of blood with the Father. None of those that belong to Jesus will be lost. So the Prophet Zechariah speaks to the children of God in Zechariah 9:11-12, saying, “As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.” Could this be a reference to the “double” that Job received from the Lord after all his trials and sorrows? At that time, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! In Mark 5:36, we read that when all the friends of Jairus were mourning the death of his daughter, “Jesus overheard them, and said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid, just have faith.’”

Genesis 41:14

In the Pits!

Let me make another observation about the life of our favorite character: Joseph. He spent a lot of time in pits. His brothers threw him into a pit as they debated what to do with him. Potiphar’s wife lied about Joseph. He was arrested and thrown into another pit in Egypt. When Joseph pleads with Pharaoh’s cupbearer to remember him and inform Pharaoh of his innocence, he says, “here also, I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.” He was innocent in Israel and in Egypt. His brothers unjustly threw him into the pit back in his homeland, and Potiphar’s wife brought false charges against him, and he was thrown into another pit unjustly. There was no reason for him to find himself in these pits. But there he was! Joseph was in the pits! Joseph was left in this prison pit when the cupbearer failed to keep his promise! It appears that Joseph had been in Egypt for about 13 years, most of which was probably spent in the pit.

Most of the sermons I’ve preached on this portion of the life of Joseph had to do with being in the pits. I’m sure you’ve been in the pits! Maybe your job has you in the pits. Perhaps some broken relationship has put you in the pits. Perhaps guilt and despair have put you in the pit. Perhaps you’re in the pits, and like Joseph, you don’t even know why. Joseph could not get himself out of either pit. He was unable to help himself. The only thing he could do was trust God, be faithful in his duties, and wait. When God finally acted on his behalf, he became supreme ruler in Egypt, was given a wife and had two sons. He named his sons, “God has made me forget my hardship (Manasseh), and “God made me fruitful” (Ephraim). The point is God is the one who did it. Joseph waited on God when he was in the pit. He went about his daily life trusting God to act in His good time. So, what do you do when you’re in the pits? Wait. Just wait upon the Lord. As attractive as that message is, the story about Joseph and even the exact details of his life were not recorded in scripture, so I can find encouragement when I’m down in the pits. Yet, I still find encouragement personally but not nearly the kind of encouragement I get when I stand by my father’s gravesite and realize the pit is the pit of death. Joseph is about the one who is to come and save us from that pit.

Jesus himself said that the whole Old Testament, including the stories, are really about him. Jesus is the one delivered from the one pit, the grave; Joseph’s story foretells that. All who believe in him will also be delivered from that great pit. John 3:16 fits here: “For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.” Pink wraps up my thought for me very well: “‘And they took him, and cast him into a pit; and the pit was empty, there was no water in it’ (37:24). We quote now from Dr. Haldeman: ‘The pit wherein is no water, is another name for Hades, the underworld, the abode of the disembodied dead of all the dead before the resurrection of Christ. ‘The pit wherein is no water’ (Zech. 9:11). ‘For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth’ (Matt. 12:40). It was here our Lord, as to His Soul, abode between death and resurrection.”1 But Jesus was raised from the pit on the third day. Genesis 41:14 tells of Joseph’s deliverance, “Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh.” You and I will be cleaned up and given new clothes when we are ultimately delivered from the big pit! Now that’s exciting!

1 Arthur Walkington Pink, Gleanings in Genesis (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2005), 359.

Genesis 41:39-41

From Shame to Glory!

If Joseph knew what God was planning, he would be a happy prisoner at this very moment. While he was slaving away, serving the other prisoners, as a servant of the captain of the guard, God was giving Pharaoh dreams. God prevented the interpretation of those dreams by any of the court wizards because there was an expert dream interpreter in prison that God had some plans for. Joseph had already interpreted the dreams of the baker and the cup-bearer. The baker’s head was cut off as Joseph said, and the cup-bearer was released from prison and promised to let Pharaoh know about Joseph’s unique gifts. But it wasn’t until the wizards in the court failed to give Pharaoh an adequate interpretation of his dreams that the cup-bearer remembered that there was a Hebrew man in prison who was pretty good at dream interpreting. God convicted the cup-bearer of his sin of breaking his promise to Joseph, leaving him in jail for as much as a couple of years. During those two years, while Joseph was still in prison, what was going on?

The cup-bearer was re-establishing himself in Pharaoh’s house, Joseph appeared to be languishing in prison, losing hope, but God was giving Pharaoh dreams. There were several dreams that the wizards could not understand nor interpret. God was convicting the cup-bearer of his failure to keep his promise to Joseph, and God was giving Pharaoh dreams! While Joseph languished, God already had a plan and worked out those details. Joseph didn’t see it at the time, but he continued to serve the chief of prison’s guard and just waited. Joseph expected to be released because he was innocent. Had the cup-bearer told Pharaoh about Joseph immediately, Pharaoh may have replied that everyone in prison claims to be innocent and just ignored the cup-bearer. But now, Pharaoh needed Joseph and his abilities. In God’s perfect timing, the cup-bearer was reminded of his sin against Joseph and brought the Hebrew youth to Pharaoh’s attention. No matter what situation holds you captive today, you can be assured that God is working out his perfect plan for your redemption at this very moment. Don’t worry, be happy, and wait on God.

Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dream and predicts seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. He then recommends that Pharaoh find a qualified individual to manage the portfolio while things are good to make the lean times manageable. Genesis 41:39-41 then informs us that “…Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are.  You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.’ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.’” Pink wraps up his discussion with this: “What a blessed change this was: from shame to glory, from the dungeon to the place of rule, from being a slave in fetters to being elevated high above all, Pharaoh alone being excepted. This was a grand reward for his previous fidelity and a fitting recognition of his worth. And how beautifully this speaks to us of the One whom Joseph foreshadowed! He was here in humiliation and shame, but He is here so no longer. God has highly exalted Him. He is “gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him” (1 Pet. 3:22).”1

1 Arthur Walkington Pink, Gleanings in Genesis (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2005), 377.

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