Intro: We saw in our study
last week where Joseph ran into his brothers once again .
A) There in Egypt – 7 yrs of Famine / food in Egypt / go & get some
B)
Low
& Behold the very person that they have to see the one who is in charge of
the DISTRUBUTION is their Brother Joseph
1)
Whom
they sold into Slavery – over 20yrs earlier
A)
Well
they don’t recognize him/ he does them
A)
Accuses
them of being spies / not so 12 brothers the sons of one man / one is at home
& one is no more
B)
PROVE
IT / SIMEON STAYS – THE REST GO HOME & BRING YOUNGER BROTHER BACK
C)
Saw
when these brothers came home & told the news to Jacob / He responded by
saying / How can this be everything is
against me
1)
When
in actuality – Everything was working out
just perfectly in his favor
A) God is at work / At this
point they run out of food once again – pick up
· V.8-10 Note Name Change /
Jacob is referred to in this Chapt. As ISRAEL AGAIN – 1st time since
ch. 37:13 before Joseph gone
A)
Why
the Change ? His faith is in the process of REVIVAL – God is doing a work & He
is learning to Trust again
v.13,14 TRUST & MERCY NEEDED
A) Two things needed in any
given situation / TRUST IN THE LORD
AND PRAY FOR MERCY
B)
All
of us who are parents will be called at one time or another to do what Jacob
did here – Give up a Son
1)
RELEASE
A CHILD INTO THE HANDS OF THE LORD
C) Perhaps – Point of Rebellion – Lord he is yours
/ TRUST
D) But Lord
Please have MERCY !!!! - Mercy is not getting what you do
Deserve
1)
Lord he deserves the pit /
deserves to be punished / but Lord bring him to his senses / don’t let him get
to hurt
We all have situations that call for us to do these two things – TRUST & PRAY FOR MERCY
A) Anything good comes from God
anyway - Lord have mercy .
B) At the Job / In a Marriage /
In ministry
v.15 4 FOLD MISSION IN GOING
1)
To
Show their good faith – Honest men who
keep their word
2)
To
Prove they were not spies
3)
To
ransom Simeon
4)
Buy
more food / and get out of there as fast as they could & get Home !!!!
A)
When
these brother are taken to Joseph’s house they immediately become suspicious / We had it He thinks we stole money – doomed
to be slaves
B)
Shakespeare
said Suspicion always Haunts the GUILTY
MIND
C)
Ironic
/ A Banquet is being prepared for them & yet they are afraid –
Swindol “Paralyzed
by GUILT they feared the worst, when Joseph dominated by GRACE was planning the
best”
This is so often peoples response to the Lord / We realize that we have blown it / we know that we are guilty
A)
And we come into God’s house
thinking that God must be mad at me !
B) Ever think : If I was the Lord I sure wouldn’t put up w/
someone like me
1) See my short comings daily / lessons that I just don’t seem to learn / stubbornness I can still show in areas /
A)
Wonder
why are you so Patient w/ Me? If I were
you I would have given up a long time ago !!!!
1) NEWS FOR YOU - GOD IS NOT LIKE US
Isa.55: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the
unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have
mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My
ways," says the LORD.
9 "For
as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
When I want to Judge God seeks to forgive / where I would give up / He
continues to be LONGSUFFERING
A)
When
you come before the Lord / when you come into the house of the Lord – HE IS
GLAD THAT YOU ARE HERE
Isa. 30:18 Yet the LORD
longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a
God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!
NLT 18 But the LORD
still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion.
For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for him to help
them.
Psa 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For
brethren to dwell together in unity!
v.19-23 TITHES & OFFERINGS – Can’t out give God
!!!
A)
Is
this not a wonderful picture of how God deals w/ our tithes & offerings
B)
We
give to Him/ act of worship out of a cheerful heart realizing that all that I
have is from Him to begin w/
C) So we give a tenth to Him / give an offering /
sacrifice what could be a car payment perhaps - and He Blesses us RADICALLY
D) He always Gives us more - CAN’T OUT GIVE GOD
A)
Now
that Doesn’t mean that we give to get – some teach – they don’t get anything –
because their motive is wrong
1)
But
when we give – right heart & motives God Blesses / sometimes here /
v.24-25 BLOWN
AWAY BY GRACE –
A)
What
makes it even more incredible is that although Joseph knows them / knows who
they are / they still have no clue who He is !!!!
B) Think about the Parallel picture between us & GOD
1) He is HOLY - We
don’t really even realize exactly what that
means
B)
Told that everyone is going to bow before Him /
No Choice / mere presence & Holiness will – create that reaction
1)
In
His Presence – Mts melt like Wax !!!!!!
A)
In
Trib. / Call the Mts fall on us – All
connected to His Holiness
B) Heaven – No need for the Sun
– His brightness will be greater / Paul on Road to Damascus – Brighter than NOON DAY SUN!!!
A)
He is Omniscient - All Knowing
B) He is
OMNIPRESENT – Everywhere -
A) There is no way that we can fully grasp the Vastness of GOD w/ these finite minds / Ht./ Wt/ Dpth/ Lgnth/ of His greatness
Romans 11:33 33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the
wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways
past finding out!
B)
He
is incredible Radical – Beautiful BEYOND Description to Marvelous for words –
1)
And
He knows us totally / inside & out – and yet He invites us to draw near to
Him !!!!
Swindol – Instead
of being blamed we are forgiven. Instead of feeling guilty we are freed.
Instead of experiencing punishment, which we certainly deserve, we are seated
at his table & served more than we can ever take in
Do you long
for Him? I’ve got great news for you ! In an even greater way much more than
you could ever imagine – He longs to be gracious to you . He is offering you
all the things that you really are hungering for . The table is loaded, and He
is smiling waiting for you to sit down & enjoy the feast He has prepared w/
you in Mind . HAVE A SEAT GRACE IS
BEING SERVED
Sam Duncannan was a layman w/ an unusual ministry. He would take a picture of some scene & attach to it a verse a hymn or a poem that seemed to capture the essence of that scene .
Picture of Niagara falls & God's Grace - Hymn
sung by Ira Sankey
Have you on the Lord
Believed ?
Still there is more to
follow !
Of His Grace have you received
?
Still there is more to
follow !
Oh the grace the father
shows
still there is more to
Follow
Freely of His grace He
bestows
Still there is more to
follow
More & more & more
& more
always more to follow
Oh His matchless boundless
love
still there is more to
follow !!!!!
KINDNESS LEADS TO REPENTENCE !!!!!!!!!!
A)
Joseph hasn’t seen Benjamin
in over 20yrs / since Ben was a little boy
1)
LONGED TO BE REUNITED W/ Him
!!!
B) JOSEPH STILL DOESN’T REVEAL
HIMSELF/ WHY ?
The test wasn’t complete
A) Note this Jesus wants more than anything else to be w/ us / Longs after
us like a Bridegroom does His bride
1)
Yet He hasn’t come yet Why
1)
Preparation
for Heaven – Work in us
v.34 BENJAMINS
PORTION
A) Why was Benjamin given 5 times as much ? ( Note 5 is the # of Grace )
1)
Grace
= Undeserved Favor / getting what don’t Deserve
A)
Joseph
was looking for a response – You see over 20yrs earlier he had been shown
undeserved favor by their father
1)
Their
response was one of Jealousy & Hatred
A)
So
Joseph wanted to see if they carried a similar animosity toward Benj.
1)
They
didn’t they passed the test
A)
End of v. 34 So they drank and
were merry with him.
A) Told to weep w/ those who weep / rejoice w/ those who rejoice
1)
Easy
to weep / sympathize / imagine / we feel bad - / REJOICING
A)
How
do we treat those who are blessed – grumble & complain / He doesn’t deserve
that
C) And what do you DESERVE FROM GOD ? Really
v.10-12 THE TEST ACTIVATED
- How would they RESPOND ?
A) 27yrs earlier they would have said – Tough Luck Ben / looks like you’re the man/ nice knowing you – see ya later – been on their way
B)
This
would have been their chance to get rid of Ben the same way they had gotten rid
of Joseph many yrs earlier
1)
But
they don’t do that – A Change has occurred
v. 13 Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and
returned to the city.
A)
They
all go back & Judah displays the Changed heart that Joseph is looking for !
v.14 –34
Several key parts to this :
v.16 Judah expresses CORPORATE SIN – "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we
speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your
servants; here we are, my lord's slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup
was found."
A) Perhaps thinking about their sin of selling Joseph / basically says we are all guilty
B) A first step toward RESTORATION – ADMIT GUILT
1)
w/ Adam – done no better /
Christ cross our sins
C)We all deserve to be your Slaves !!!!!
A)
Joseph
says no – can’t punish all of you for one mans offense !!!
A) What we see here is that Judah is not only concerned about Benjamin –
He is concerned about his Dad
a) I love my brother more than I love myself – Greater love has no man than this – lay down his life for his friends
B) Two things that mark a Change in him / yrs earlier – he only thought about himself
1)
Why
he left home / why he got into the trouble that he did w/ Tamar
A)
Judah
has under gone a transformation –
Further seen in His attempt
to give Himself – I will be your slave –
Just let the lad go –
A) Something happened to Judah – who was instigator in wanting to kill Joseph & his idea to sell into slavery
B)
Reminder : Prov.22:6 6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
C) All of us can face that ! None –of us escape –
our kids have to make a
choice
– to follow the Lord
1)
but
the proverbs seems to imply that even if they choose at some point to walk away
– if you trained them when you / older – return
D) Been – Examination / Evaluation / led to a
explanation- a confession that leads to a Revelation & Restoration
Joseph can’t handle it
anymore – Ch. 45: Then Joseph could not restrain
himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Make
everyone go out from me!" So no one stood with him while Joseph made
himself known to his brothers.
2 And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh
heard it.
3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph; does my father still live?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence.
What an incredible seen – Joseph breaks down /
brothers what is wrong w/ this Guy?
A)
Then comes El shocko - I AM JOSPEH
B) Result they are speechless – UNDERSTANDABLE - ( SEE THE TAPE)
C) Then Joseph says - 4 And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me."
D) LANGUAGE HERE IS POWERFUL - it is a word that means much more than spatial proximity
1)
But was a word that was
used to express a desire for intimate closeness / it was a word that was used
to express desire to kiss or embrace
E) Come closer to me So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
5"But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with
yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Love Joseph's heavenly perspective
: This was God’s plan –later say
Gen 50: 20 "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
1)
You
meant it for evil God for Good to save many lives
Listen this was necessary
–Salvation to the earth
Jews
will say that – end of Trib / Jacobs trouble / purpose open Israel's eyes