The Fruits of Reconciliation - Genesis 45:16-28
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You may be seated. Turn to your Bibles to Genesis, chapter 45, Genesis 45. And we looked at about half of this chapter last week. And we're going to look at the second half this week. But I'm going to read the whole chapter again for the running context of what we studied last week into this week. So follow along as I read from Genesis 45. Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him.
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He cried, "Make everyone go out for me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud so that the Egyptians heard it. And the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive? But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. So Joseph said to his brothers, 'Come near to me, please. ' And they came near. And he said, 'I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here. For God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.
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So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh and Lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me Lord of all Egypt. Come down to me. Do not tarry.' You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me. You and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you. For there are yet five years of famine to come. So that you and your household and all that you have do not come to poverty. And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen, hurry and bring my father down here.
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Then he fell upon his brother, Benjamin's neck, and wept. And Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that, his brothers talked with him. When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, Joseph's brothers have come. It pleased Pharaoh and his servants. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this. Load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, and take your father and your households, and come to me. And I will give you the best of the land of Egypt. And you shall eat the fat of the land, and you, Joseph, are commanded to say, 'Do this. Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father and come.' Have no concern for your goods. For the best of all the land of Egypt is yours. The sons of Israel did so." And Joseph gave them wagons according to the command of Pharaoh.
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And gave them provisions for the journey. But to Benjamin he gave 300 shekels of silver To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes. and five changes of clothes. To his father he sent his followers. Ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain. Bread, and provision for his father on the journey. Then he sent his brothers away. And as they departed, he said to them, "Do not quarrel on the way. So they went out. So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan, to their father Jacob. And they told him, 'Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt. And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. But when they told him, all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived, and Israel said, 'It is enough.
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Joseph, my son, is still alive. I will go and see him before I die. This is the word of the living God. The gears on a watch move at times in opposite directions. Clockwise and counterclockwise. And yet these all serve to maintain the timing of the watch piece. But we witness in providence are the divine and human intentions at times working which seems at an opposite direction. And yet this is to move forward the appointed plan of God for all time. Well, deists, have often used the illustration or it's been attributed to them of a watch that God is like the divine watchmaker who winds up the watch and then leaves it, and he's not interacting with his creation. That's often used. But the watch actually becomes nevertheless a helpful illustration of the various gears that work together to keep the time.
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God rules over all time, and his planned it all. He is the ultimate cause of all things, and yet has ordained various means, including human beings who work out their desires in the fulfillment of God's desires. Automatic watches, require movement to keep the watch running, and so does our universe. God is moving history along by its invisible hand of providence. So I've got kind of a cheap watch here, a friend bought for me, but I love it. It just because it was given from a friend of mine. So it's not really flashy, but it is an automatic watch. I can take it off, and you can actually see into it. And if I stop wearing it, it will stop keeping time. And the more I move my hand, the more it keeps it going. Okay. So that's how it's meant to work. God is constantly actively working in his creation to move through his hand of providence, move his plan along. And there are times when it seems like
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man's purposes and God's purposes are at odds with one another, and they're moving in opposite directions. And no more clearly than in our story with Joseph. There are two intentions and yet one action. In time. The intentions of Joseph's brothers, which were evil, which were wicked, for which they are culpable morally. And God's actions, by which he's working in those very same actions to accomplish his purposes. And so God moves that along. And God's providence, we also read Acts 4 for our scripture reading, which highlights that very reality that those who put Jesus to death and had a hand in that are guilty and culpable. It was their action, their intention to murder him, put him to death, unjustly, and yet God in those same actions intended to bring about the salvation of his people and the glorification of his name. And so we see in both of these stories, both of these events, one in the old, one in the New Testament, God's meticulous providence,
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and yet the intentionality of man. And it's like these watch gears moving at opposite directions, and yet accomplishing the perfect plan of God. Last Sunday, we looked at half of this chapter. We began to see the first of three stunning realities brought about by the grace and providence of God. The first was the stunning forgiveness, the stunning forgiveness that Joseph displays. We saw first Joseph's identification of himself to his brothers. They have not known this whole time that it was Joseph. They thought it was Zephnath Panaah. His pseudonym. And they've been interacting with him. And he's been playing all these putting them under all these tests to determine their repentance. And now he reveals himself. He identifies himself. I am Joseph. And they are shocked. They're stunned. And then Joseph, in those middle verses,
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verses 5 to 8, we saw Joseph's interpretation of his circumstances. Really, the lens through which Joseph viewed his circumstances, the evil actions of his brothers against him, and how he saw, yes, they were guilty. They had sold him. But ultimately, over those same actions was God who had ordained all of those actions. Even those sinful actions of his brothers, God had ordained for good purposes. And Joseph trusted God. His lens of viewing God's meticulous providence allowed him to forgive his brothers and reconcile with them. And having reconciled, he then gives them instructions as to what they're to do now. They're to go back. They're to bring their father, to Egypt, because it's only the second year into a seven-year famine, and they will be provided for in Egypt. This has been God's providential plan to send Joseph ahead though through these means of difficult means, so that Joseph could be used
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by God to preserve really the chosen nation and the ultimate Abrahamic covenant that God has given for his people. So God has been working. Joseph is seeing that at work. And he gives them instructions to bring their father. Now, as we return, we look at the next two stunning realities. Brought about by the grace and providence of God. Not only the stunning forgiveness, but secondly, the stunning favor in verses 16 to 24. And this section can be divided into the favor of Pharaoh and the favor of Joseph. So first, the favor of Pharaoh in verses 16 to 20. And then the favor of Joseph in verses 21 to 24. First, we see the Pharaoh the favor of Pharaoh in verses 16 to 20. And notice how verse 16 really picks up on verse 2. So look at verse 2. And he wept aloud so that the Egyptians heard it
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and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And then verse 16. When the report was heard and Pharaoh's house, Joseph's brothers have come, it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. So here we're picking up now on Pharaoh's part. Pharaoh makes what we would call an executive order. Right? He says, "Do this." Actually, it comes up three times, really. Verse 17, "Say to your brothers, do this." Verse 19, "And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, do this." And then verse 21, "The sons of Israel did so." Okay? So you have this executive order from Pharaoh, who's really the leader of one of the most powerful nations on the earth at this time, in history. He wants to give them provisions and have them move to Egypt. Pharaoh loves Joseph for many reasons.
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He loves Joseph for interpreting his dreams for him. And for his wisdom in enforcing to plan ahead for these seven years of bounty and the following seven years of famine, which is really the content of Pharaoh's dreams. And so Joseph has been wisely storing up in those seven years of plenty and now that they're two years in, to this famine is devastating famine. Not only in Egypt, but in the surrounding nations. Pharaoh is seeing the wisdom of Joseph proven. He is seeing all this wealth pour into Egypt. As Joseph is providing for these other nations. And in the next in a couple of weeks, we're going to see that even increase way more as basically Pharaoh is going to get all the land and livestock and the people because they're so desperate that they're like, "We don't have anything left.
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We'll sell ourselves to you, Pharaoh." And so Pharaoh gets everything because of Joseph's plan. So he loves him. This man, Joseph, has saved their nation. He's enriched the nation. And he's been really a great blessing to Pharaoh. Actually, there's a contrast in this Pharaoh and the Pharaoh in the beginning of Exodus. That the people had forgotten Joseph. Now, just think about that. How in the world could people forget Joseph? I mean, he's like the all-star. He saved the nation, saved the world in a way. So if you're trying to leave a legacy and be remembered, in 400 years, 430 years, then well, you got to beat Joseph somehow. He was incredibly famous, no doubt at this time. And yet somehow he was forgotten in the annals of history. 430 years later, when they're going to leave Egypt. But God used him at this time. And he is incredibly loved by Pharaoh for what he's doing.
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And this is what I meant to say. I got a little off track. It's an expression of the Abrahamic covenant that those who bless are blessed. This Pharaoh is blessing Joseph and he is being blessed. The later Pharaoh will really curse the people and we see the curses that come upon them. The plagues that come upon that Pharaoh. In Egypt. It's really the outworking of the Abrahamic covenant in these early chapters. The Bible. So he wants to provide for them. So he offers the best of the land of Egypt to Israel. It says the fat of the land. And you're like, the fat of the land? What is that? Well, think about the fat. On a nice cut of meat. Some of our kids don't like the fat. They cut the fat off. I'm like, give that to me. It's like, it's so yummy. It has so much flavor, right? The fat is the good part, right?
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The fat portions. We're going to be given to the Lord in sacrifices. And so to say the fat of the land is a way to speak about the best cut. You want the filet mignon of the land? Yeah. Here you go. This is going to be delicious. And so he wants to give them the best. This is like giving them Beverly Hills or Palm Beach. Okay, come on. We've got a great spot for you. Great real estate. Location, location, location. Goshen, goshen, goshen. It's like, this is where we got for you. He also provides for them wagons. In verse 19, 21, 27, in chapter 46, verse 5. And I don't think about a little red wagon. And put your kids in here and you'll give you guys wagons. And you can go down the street and play. Just imagine you have Jacob just sitting on a wagon getting pulled to Egypt. It's not that kind of wagon, right? That's probably what you think. No, this is actually far from that. The Hebrews did not have wagons like these. These are the top-of-the-line vehicles of the day.
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Maybe today's terms, we might say I mean, this is like the tech that Egypt has at this time. And so it's like he sends a bunch of black SUVs or limos to pick them up. Or even better, maybe like Air Force One. Hey, just take Air Force One and just fly over there and load up your family and bring them back. So that's the effect that this would have when Jacob will later see this. He's pulling out all the stops for them. This was a luxury from the powerhouse of the day. This is not the first time that God has moved the heart of a ruler to show favor to the people of God. Let's look at a few of these. I think you need to see these with your eyes because it will bring such encouragement to your heart to know on the page in your Bible where these are. Because these have encouraged my heart greatly. In various circumstances. Go to Proverbs 21.
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Proverbs 21. Proverbs 21, verse 1. It says, "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of Yahweh. He turns it wherever he will." Now think about Egypt. And the Nile River. It's like produces these fertile soil. And imagine different water channels that a farmer could block off a section and keep the water from going there. But then when he wants to irrigate his field, he might open it up and allow the channel of water to flow in and water his field. The appropriate amount. God is saying that's what the heart of the king is like. The heart of a ruler of the nation is like that. If God wants to channel his heart and his heart is his person, his desires if God wants to move the desires of the king, this way he'll just open up that water course. If he wants to move it that way to make a decision, he'll do it that way.
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God is sovereign over the decisions of rulers. And the idea is it's the greater the lesser, right? If he's sovereign over a ruler of a nation's heart, then how much more so the individual citizens of that nation. I use this verse as a pickup line for my wife. We had broken up. And so I said, "Hey, the king's heart is like channels of water in the hands of the Lord. If that's true for kings, it's probably true as well." I didn't say probably. It's true also for college girls. And I said, "I'm praying that the Lord will give favor, me favor in your eyes, but I'm going to pursue you until you're convinced that I'm for real, that I am committed, to this relationship." And so that's what I said. And so I don't know if you should do that. Likewise. But I was just putting my theology into practice, right? I believe that God, if this was his will, he would work it out. And if not, I would know. And it would become apparent. So here we are, 17 years, this month.
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Praise God from whom all blessings flow. All right. Let me convince you some more. That's why I say you got to see it on the page because I love this verse for many reasons. So Proverbs 21:1. Let's see this in action. Go back to the left. Ezra. Ezra chapter 1. This is how the book of Ezra begins. Remember, Israel had been taken into captivity well, first the northern kingdom in 722 BC and then the southern kingdom in 586 BC. By the Babylonians. And then the Babylonians came and went. And then you had Medo-Persia took over. And so here's a Persian king. It's the Lord is working in his heart. Ezra chapter 1, verse 1. In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled. Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing.
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Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, "Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. And he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah." So God had said through Jeremiah that Israel would return to the land 70 years later, after their captivity. And now in fulfillment of that, God stirs up the heart of Ezra to give favor to want to do this. Just jump back one page to 2 Chronicles. The very end of 2 Chronicles says this in verse 22. Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled. Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing. Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, "Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. And he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah, whoever is among you of all his people.
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May Yahweh, his God, be with him. Let him go up." But we see it further in chapter 6 of Ezra, chapter 6 of Ezra. Verse 22. On a different occasion, a different king. 622. And they kept the feast of unleavened bread for seven days with joy for Yahweh had made them joyful. And had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. So he works in the king of Assyria to aid the people in the work that they're doing, the rebuilding. We're going to rebuild this thing. And they're going to pay for it. It's like yeah, that's what's happening here. Or how about go to 1 Kings chapter 12.
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This is about Rehoboam and he's seeking counsel. Remember, this is where he seeks counsel from the older men, wiser, and then his buddies. And he goes with their counsel. But notice what it says, starting in verse 12. 1 Kings 12:12. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam. This is Solomon's son. On the third day, as the king said, "Come to me again on the third day." And the king answered the people harshly and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him. He spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, "My father major yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father discipline you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions." And then look at verse 15. So the king did not listen to the people. For it was a turn of affairs brought about by Yahweh, that he might fulfill his word
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which he spoke which Yahweh spoke by a haijah, the Shilonite, to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. So God is accomplishing his purposes that he had already previously said. And he does it through thwarting the way or causing Rehoboam to go with the bad advice, with the bad counsel. So he's given the old tried-and-true wisdom of the older men and then he's given his buddies, counsel, which proves to be bad and it divides the kingdom, north and south. And it says that he listened to that bad advice because it was a turn of affairs, that Yahweh brought about. Yahweh worked it such that he found that to be more persuasive. of even the desires of the human heart moving them like a water channel to accomplish his purposes. This is how sovereign our God is. And so this is not the first time that God has moved the heart of a ruler And we can multiply more examples of this. But you see that God is in control
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to show favor to the people of God. I pointed out we didn't read, but even last time we saw the king of Assyria and Isaiah 10, who is used by God to judge Israel but then is punished for the way that he judged Israel all the while God is orchestrating it all while the king of Assyria doesn't intend to do God's will. And yet he is doing the will of God. Two intentions, one action. Here's another that's maybe forgotten. Go to Revelation chapter 17. Revelation chapter 17. And we'll start in verse 15. Revelation 17, starting in verse 15. And the angel said to me, "The waters that you saw where the prostitute is seated are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns that you saw they and the beast will have will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire."
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Look at verse 17. "For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast. Until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth." Here God still exercising his sovereign authority to direct even the desires. And yet in an incomprehensible way to us, inscrutable way, in which God is wholly righteous, wise, and good in his ordination and providential moving, while those who are acting are acting out of their own sinful desires. God only acts out of a good intention in everything he does. Here's a few more for you. Proverbs 16 verse 1. The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from Yahweh.
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Proverbs 16 verse 9. The heart of man plans his way, but Yahweh establishes his steps. Chapter 19 verse 21. Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of Yahweh that will stand. Chapter 20 verse 24. A man's steps are from Yahweh. How then can man understand his way James in James 4 says, "Rather you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will do this or that." I mean, that can't be more all-encompassing. You're either doing this or you're doing that, right? And everything in between. Fits there. This or that. If the Lord wills. And so this is how sovereign God is. When Israel will leave Egypt in 430 years. That's a long time.
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We're celebrating 250 years of the United States. 430 years. They're going to be there for 430 years in Egypt. Until they're let out in the Exodus. But they will be told at that time to ask for the treasures of Egypt when they leave. Now, they're not very liked. They don't have a lot of high approval ratings we might say at that time. They've had these 10 plagues come upon Egypt. In judgment. It's not a great time. You saw Nazareth. These knots were insane, right? Like among the other 10. And they have really no reason humanly speaking to want to be favorable towards Israel as they leave. And yet God says, "Ask them for their possessions, for their treasures before you leave." They're going to pay for your moving expenses, Israel, as you leave. And yet God gives them favor
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and the people freely give them their possessions. Exodus 12 verse 36 says, "And Yahweh had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians so that they let them have what they asked." Thus they plundered the Egyptians. Now, usually plunder is like you're stealing from someone. But not in this case. It's you. That word is used. But the idea is they plundered them but it was the free desire of the Egyptians to give over this money. But God stirred their hearts. God moved in their hearts so that they would have favor when it seemed humanly impossible for them to show any favor. And yet that's how sovereign God is. He moved the water course of their hearts to have favor for Israel as they left. And supply them with much riches. So in this way, notice this. God orchestrated the moving expenses for Israel when they moved to Egypt. And when they left Egypt to go back to Canaan.
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They were paid for on both sides. No moving expenses. Sometimes if you have to move, your business will pay for it. Well, Egypt paid for Israel's moving expenses twice. And it was a lot cheaper the first time. There's like 70 people. This is more than that. But 70 are listed here in two chapters. And our next chapter. And then when they come back, it's like millions of people. So yeah, that was a little more expensive. But God has orchestrating it. And this is the favor of Pharaoh. This is how God works. God works through human hearts to accomplish his purposes. And he shows favor to them. Here. So that should give you great encouragement. When it comes to whatever's happening in the world, you're watching the news, geopolitical stuff, and you're thinking about rulers who make big decisions that affect all of us. Remember, their heart is like a water course in the hand of the Lord. He turns it whichever way he will. And that should inform your prayers too. That you have access to this God
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and many of these leaders don't. Because they don't know the Lord, many of them. And we can speak to the God who moves hearts to move hearts in the right direction according to the will of God. And of course, that should funnel down into your day-to-day life as you're interacting with your family members, with friends, with coworkers and you're praying that the Lord would work in their hearts. Ultimately, we pray like we believe in the sovereignty of God when we pray for people to be saved. We don't say, "God, would you please, if it would not impact their free will so that you would just nudge them a little bit so they would be smart enough to respond to the gospel that I'm going to share with them." No, we say, "God, break in, overwhelm them with the gospel message. Change their heart, God. Stir them up to see the beauty of Christ." And when we pray, forcefully that way, because this is what we see in scripture that God does. Well, we see secondly the favor of Joseph. Not only the favor of Pharaoh, but the favor of Joseph. In verses 21 to 24,
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Joseph gives his brothers provisions for their journey, new clothing. Shows special favor to Benjamin. Then he gives them counsel before they leave. Now, clothing has played a significant role in the Joseph narrative. We've been with us. You've picked up on that. Not only Joseph's most obvious, it starts with clothing. With Joseph's special long-sleeve coat. And then you have what shows the favoritism of his father. Then you have Jacob or, excuse me, Judah in chapter 38 and his some of his clothing there. And some of the things that identify him. But clothing continues to be a part of or the clothing of Tamar in that story. And it just continues to have recurring continues to be this motif of recurring clothing. And here it comes up again. He gives them a change of clothing. Clothing which once brought the memory of their sin against Joseph,
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now is a symbol of their reconciliation. He gives this to them. They stole his garment. They took his garment and presented it to their father to say, "Joseph is dead." And that was a symbol of their separation. Because they saw their brother being favored by their father and he hated him for it. Now he gives them clothing and it shows their reconciliation. It's God's redemptive work even in clothing. But then he shows Benjamin favoritism again. Remember, he gave him like a five times more at the meal that they shared to kind of test them. Do you guys still have problems And so they all get one scoop of ice cream and he gets five. It's that kind of thing. And so they're like, "Why is Benjamin getting all this?" But they're not as bothered by that as when they saw the favoritism of Joseph. But he gives them here a large sum of silver
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300 shekels of silver. Now, this is set in contrast to the 20 shekels of silver that Joseph was sold for. Benjamin wasn't there for that. But he Joseph was sold by his brothers for 20 shekels. Now he shows Benjamin favor 15 times more than what Joseph was sold for. It's like if imagine a slave is cost 50,000. And Joseph gives his brother like 750 to 800 thousand dollars. This is a massive amount of money. The other brothers are like, "I mean, I know this is a great jacket and everything, but that's a lot of money." No, they're not jealous anymore. This is a lavish gift, but they've been reconciled. He also provides animals and provisions for his father Jacob, the best of the land, to meet their needs immediately. And then in their journey back, everything's being provided. They don't even need to bring their old stuff. "Hey, everything's going to be provided for you in Egypt." They will cover all the expenses.
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But Joseph also provides counsel for them as they journey home. And notice what he counsels his brothers in verse 24. He says, or it says, "Then he sent his brothers away. And as they departed, he said to them, 'Do not quarrel on the way.'" And what does he mean by this? What is he saying? Well, there's actually two views. Supported by the word itself. The ESV has made the decision for you. On the way that they're going to take it. The word basically means do not be stirred up. Do not be stirred up. And the word just indicates trembling. Trembling. And so we have to supply from the context what does he mean by this? What does he counseling them? It could be a trembling for fear or it could be a trembling for anger.
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If it's trembling for fear, the idea would be don't be stirred up as you go along the way. In fear that I'm somehow going to get back at you. That somehow I'm going to show my revenge. Yes, I seem to be showing you favor, but I'm going to get you back. This is just another setup. It could be that. with one of your brothers being favored above the others? It could be trembling in anger in other words as they travel back home. They've been reconciled to their brother, but they have to tell their dad that they've been lying to him for over 20 years. And the hardness of their heart when they did so because they have to say, "Our brother Joseph is alive and he's going to say, 'Well, how did that happen?'" You told me he was dead. You gave me his coat. So obviously those questions are going to have to be faced. And so it's possible he's saying, "Hey, listen, there may be temptation for you to quarrel and fight with each other and be angry with each other." And point the finger and blame one another as you reflect back on your past sin. And so don't do that. You are changed men, right?
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We've reconciled. Don't continue in the same path. It's like put off the old and put on the new. So it could be that idea as well. And the challenge is both kind of fit the context, right? They have been quarrelers. They have fought with each other. They pointed fingers even in their lead up to the reconciliation. So that's how the ESV takes it. Don't quarrel on the way. Don't be fighting with each other on the way. And that is good counsel. To they have reconciled. There's no need now to bring up the past. They should bury it. They should leave it. In part of forgiveness is to leave things in the past. To not continue to bring this thing up. I mean, it's a promise. More than it is a feeling. Forgiveness is saying, "I'm promising not to bring this back up to your detriment. To not to talk about this with others to your detriment. To not meditate on it and think about it and mull over it. I'm going to fight to think rightly about you. In this situation." And so it's that promise. And so before he says, "Joseph encourages them
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even that how he's forgiven them." And that they should forgive one another. How they've sinned even against each other in this whole thing. And so that's very possible and would fit. But go to chapter 50 for just a moment. And this seems to indicate the other side of it, which is the trembling from fear of Joseph's retribution. Because this is how they're thinking at the end of the book. In Genesis 50, verse 15, we read, "And when Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, 'It may be that Joseph will hate us.' And pay us back for all the evil that we did him.'" So they're fearing reprisal. When Jacob's like, "Okay, well, Dad's alive. He's nice to us." But when Dad dies, what's he going to do? So they sent a message to Joseph saying, "Your father gave this command before he died. Say to Joseph, 'Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin because they did evil to you.'" And now please forgive the transgression of the servants
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of the God of your father. Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants. But Joseph said to them, 'Do not fear. For am I in the place of God? For as for you, you men evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today." So do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones. Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. So in my mind, it tips in a little bit in the direction of trembling for fear of reprisals from Joseph. Because that's what they're thinking later. And so maybe they're starting to think that and he's encouraging them to not think that way. That he really is reconciled to them. This is real favor that he's showing to them. All of this is undeserved favor. Undeserved favor. God moves Pharaoh and Joseph in his providence
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to show lavish favor to the children of Israel. Though they don't deserve any of it. They deserve capital punishment. Instead, they get capital gains. There is great blessing that flows when a relationship is reconciled. I mean, how much more when we are reconciled to God. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. The fruit of reconciliation. We enjoy God's love poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5. The brothers now reconciled to Joseph receive the riches of the kingdom of Egypt from Pharaoh because of the favor that Joseph has. So we, when we are rightly reconciled to King Jesus, we receive the riches of the kingdom because of our relationship to him and the favor he has as the beloved.
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Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 6 says to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. Christ is the beloved one. And when we are in him, when we are reconciled to God through Christ, we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies. Because of our reconciliation to the greater Joseph, we receive the riches of God's kingdom. You've done far worse to God than the brothers did to Joseph. And yet he will forgive you. If you repent of your sin, admit your guilt, come and draw near to him. As a Christian, let me ask you, what favor has God shown to you? What favor has he shown to you? You could probably just go on and on and you should. It'll encourage your heart this week. Undeserved common grace, undeserved special grace.
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I mentioned we've been celebrating the 250 years of the United States. And in many ways, we have been given the best of the land. We've been given the best of the land. I mean, Paul says to the Athenians in Acts 17 that God determines the times and places and seasons in which each person is born. We happen to be born here. We happen to be born in this nation. Yes, no nation is a perfect nation. We know that not until Christ's coming kingdom. But this is one of the greatest nations that we've ever seen in human history. The freedoms that we enjoy. We're here gathering, worshiping God in ease. For the most part, yes, personal challenges aside, we must be thankful for this, for being given such great blessings, common grace blessings from God. And even more so, we've been privileged
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with the favor of hearing the word of truth hearing the gospel whether through a sermon, having access to a church that would preach the gospel, maybe a book, literature, publish in your language, access to Bibles, access to resources online, to understand the gospel and hear it and embrace it and God brought you to himself and so we should be stunned by the sovereign power of God to show us favor. Whether that be common grace blessings in our families, in our lives, or even more the special grace that God has shown us in saving us sanctifying us continuing to work in our lives. And so as we reflect on those things, we should be stunned at the favor that God has shown to us. There's one other stunning feature of this text that we need to see, and it's the stunning faith. The stunning faith, stunning forgiveness, stunning favor, and the stunning faith in verses 25 to 28. And Jacob's life has been quite a wild ride.
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To this point, it's been one in which he has had to wrestle to learn the lessons of faith in God. He's had ups, he's had downs. Jacob had to send his boys back to Egypt with Benjamin, his beloved, believing that Joseph had died while trusting God Almighty for compassion. There is a slight turning point that we saw when he lets them go, looking to the God of the covenant, the God who controls all things and the God who cares. And so he said, okay, take Benjamin. We need food. He's been waiting for their return. He knows nothing of what has transpired in the latest visit. All what we've enjoyed and seen in the Joseph narrative, he doesn't know that yet. And they show up. They pull up in their jumbo jet or their SUVs. Maybe he doesn't see it right away, but now they must explain to their father what has happened.
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It doesn't tell us that. You would think like, well, I mean, I want to hear the confession, but no doubt they had to explain that. But it doesn't highlight that. It doesn't highlight the confession of their sin. And how they had deceived him about Joseph, something that happened over 20 years ago. But it just reminds us that there are some God's providential, sometimes works in that way. So that he brings us to a place to fully reconcile with someone, to confess. Have you ever had to confess something that you just were really scared to have to confess it to someone? To bring it into the light, to really reconcile with this person. It can be terrifying. And yet that's what they're having to do. They're going back. They have a lot of good news. For their life right now, they're going to be spared. They're going to be provided for. But before that, they've got to bring their sin into the light with their father. They've got to tell him, we deceived you.
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We sold our brother. And he's been alive all this time. Proverbs 28:13 says, "He who conceals his transgressions does not prosper but whoever confesses and forsakes them finds mercy." What do they tell their father? They say, "Joseph is still alive. And he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." Both of those statements are stunning. Just the statement, "Joseph is alive," is incredible. It would knock him off his feet. But then not only is he alive, but somehow he's the second in command of the most powerful nation. How in the world is that possible? Jacob is stunned. He is numb. It's like he's been momentarily paralyzed. How can this be? It says he didn't believe them. Now, we've seen little hints that Jacob's suspicious of these boys. They just things don't always add up
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with them. And so he's just kind of always wondering. So he doesn't believe them when they tell him this. As shocking as it is, James Montgomery Boy says, "Earlier, Jacob had believed the bad report that Joseph was dead, although in fact that report was not true." Now he refused to believe the good report that Joseph was alive, although by contrast, this report was accurate. Jacob is in some ways like the disciples who don't believe the good news that Jesus was alive from the dead. In Luke 24:11, it says, "But these words seem to them like an idle tale they did not believe them." You got to be kidding me. No, he's not. How could he be alive? But Jacob does come to believe. What led to that? Well, they expound the words of Joseph and they show the evidence of Joseph's power.
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Verse 27, but they told him all the words of Joseph, all the words of Joseph. They've had a lot of interaction with Joseph. Surely they told him. Listen down. Not only is he alive, not only is he second in command, He said, "God sent me here. but here's how he thinks. He said, God brought me to preserve you a nation. This is how he thinks, Dad. He reconciled with us. He forgave us. And then they say, "Look outside, Dad. Look how we got here." They went however they went before. And now they came back with all this stuff. Now, before they told him the story like, "Hey, yeah, he asked us all these questions. He accused us of being spies. But now they got the royal treatment." What's going on?
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And so he sees there's just no way that they could have pulled this off. Unless their story is true. And so there's evidence is undeniable. And he believes the ultimate reason Jacob's faith is revived is because God granted him this faith. God worked in his heart. And Jacob's heart to revive him again. God works faith in us by his grace. Philippians 2:13, guys that work within you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 1:29, he's been granted to you to believe on Christ. God grants faith. And he gives him a renewed faith. He revives his heart through the words of Joseph, which are very biblical. God glorifying words. And outlook and the evidence of what God has done in Joseph's life. And so what is the result of this renewed faith that God gives him?
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Well, joy floods Jacob's heart and revives him. God is revived the heart of Jacob with this news. Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life." He has nourished again in hope. But listen to Psalm 126. This is a psalm of ascent. What that means in our terms is like it's like Israel's greatest hits. This is like the road trip, ultimate road trip album. They got the whole psalter is like a bunch of music, but it's like this is the ultimate road trip. When you go on a road trip, you make an album. You listen to it. This is their road trip album on their way to different feasts. The psalms that they ascend to Jerusalem. And these are the great hits. So this is one of them. Psalm 126, the psalm of ascent. When Yahweh restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Then our mouth was filled with laughter. And our tongue was shouts of joy.
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Then they said among the nations, "Yahweh has done great things for them." Yahweh has done great things for us. We are glad. Restore our fortunes, O Yahweh, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping bearing the seed for sowing shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. Just all this incredible. She's makes you think of the book of Ruth and she goes out to glean as a poor person getting the leftovers. And Boaz is like, "Hey, give her like everything. Just leave a bunch out. Just be like, leave a ton left for her." So she's carrying it. And she's like, "Comes home with all this extra." And Naomi's like, "Did you do something wrong? I don't think you went in the right field." This is not how the gleaning is supposed to work. And the immense favor shown to her. It's like we went out weeping and we came back with just arms full of God's favor and joy. That is Jacob here.
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He has gone through a season of incredible sorrow and now God has brought him great joy. Nothing more needs to be said. Jacob is now ready to go to Egypt and see his son. Look at verse 28. And Israel said, "Now Jacob is he's been referred to as Jacob a few times in this narrative. And now it switches back to Israel. Israel said, it's showing his new destiny, the promise of God being remembered his identity Israel said, "It is enough. Joseph, my son, is still alive. I will go and see him before I die." We're reminded again that God wrestled with this man and he turned him from deceiver, Jacob, to God fights for you, Israel. Showing God's initiative, God's promise. Jacob believes the good news and has hope and joy again.
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Bruce Waltke, good commentator on Genesis, he makes this observation. He says, "Both Abraham and Jacob figuratively received their sons back from the dead. Both sons prefigured the death and resurrection of Christ. But Joseph, even more so, both are not only alive, but rulers overall." Jacob's response on hearing the incredibly good news prefigures the response of the disciples when the women tell them that Christ is alive. Having been raised from the dead. They too greet the news at first with stunned disbelief. And finally with unspeakable joy when it is proved with many infallible proofs. Their faith, like Jacob's, revives them reorients their lives and makes them pilgrims venturing from land plagued by famine to the best land imaginable. End quote. What does the future now hold for us that Jesus is alive? What hope does that bring to your life? We serve a living Savior, not a dead one.
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Some of you have endured great sorrows, sufferings, and it can be that it keeps you in a rut for a long time, like Jacob. We can even begin to act like Jacob when we're told good news, when we're reminded of the promises of God. And our hearts, we say, "I don't believe that. I don't believe that." What are you telling me this? And yet you must fight to believe what God has said. To believe the scriptures, to believe the good news of the scriptures. Boys writes, "Is that you? Are you so wrapped up in yourself so disheartened by circumstances that you cannot believe the good news? If so, you must turn to the scriptures. You must pray that Jesus will himself expound them to you and reveal himself to you as he walks with you along the way." End quote. Jacob believes he chooses to embrace the truth before him
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and he's revived. We've seen a stunning forgiveness, a stunning favor, a stunning faith. Is this not what you are stunned about in your own salvation? The stunning reality of the forgiveness of your sins? The stunning favor that God has shown you in Christ and is showing you. And of course, the stunning faith that he has gifted you in Christ and continues to give to you to believe and continue to believe his promises Jacob was stunned by this news. But he came to believe it and was energized and revived to move out trusting God for the next chapter. These stunning realities in this chapter are meant to energize and revive your heart as well as you step out in faith wherever God has for you. In the next chapter of your life.
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So be stunned at the amazing forgiveness of God in your life. That leads to you extending that out to others. Be stunned at the amazing favor God has shown you even through human means that he's moved to show you favor. And the stunning faith that he has granted others that if you're in Christ, he's granted you that he can grant you if you're outside of Christ. Call out to him. Ask him for a new heart. Despair of ever being right with God in your own efforts. So that you look to Christ he will grant faith. He will continue to give you faith to believe his promises. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word, for this chapter so powerful, showing us your absolute sovereignty and yet such profound truths of your goodness, of your control, of your wisdom, your power, and your promises, Lord, that revive the heart.
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Lord, they're those here who need reviving of their hearts, who need to, who may be numb, and their circumstances and need to have feeling again. Based on your word, may they find the promises that are most pertinent to their circumstances and have supplied by you faith to embrace those and rely upon you. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Our final hymn is number 379. I'd rather have Jesus 379. And when you find that, please stand and join with us in song 379.
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Amen. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. To the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority. Before all time and now and forever. Amen.