Judah Discipling
Mike Jones
Pit, Prison, Palace: The Journeys of Joseph • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 57:43
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Last week we looked at Joseph's reconciliation with his brothers. Finally, at around the age of 40 years old, Joseph finally has peace with his older brothers.
If you missed the Life Group session last week, we asked the questions "Why was it that Joseph did not immediately reveal his identity to his brothers? Why did he play these games with them? Why is he harsh one moment and kind the next?" We looked at the answers and after everything was said and done, we came to the important conclusion that Joseph was not getting a form of revenge or trying to punish his brothers, what he wanted to see in them was what God had done for him.
God had taken Joseph and transformed him from a spoiled brat to a man that would be one of the clearest pictures of Jesus in all the Bible. Joseph, understanding the technique that God used to forge him into the man God wanted him to be, I believe, led by God's guidance in his life, applied those same things to his brothers. He treated them with cold harshness, then warmth, then warmth followed by cold. Back and forth, back and forth, until they changed as well. God used the sun and the frost to melt these brothers' hearts to the point that they ended up showing a picture of who Jesus is, as they willingly placed their lives on the line for their youngest brother, Benjamin.
After Joseph witnessed this change in them, he could not hold back tears any longer, and revealed himself to his brothers. Of course, those brothers were very scared because they had treated Joseph so badly, but Joseph tells them to draw near to him. He reassures them of his forgiveness. He tells them that he doesn't want them to feel bad about what they did to him because God used it to save many people alive.
So Joseph tells his brothers to go back and bring his father, Jacob. Pharaoh gives them wagons to bring back all of their families, and they do. When the brothers tell Jacob that Joseph is still alive, he doesn't believe it at first, but as they tell him the story of what has transpired, and Jacob sees all the gifts that were sent back from Joseph and the Pharaoh, his heart soars and he readies himself for the journey to Egypt. This is where we pick up today as we embark on the study of the final chapters of the book of Genesis.
Genesis 46:1-7 And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. 2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. 3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. 5 And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: 7 His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
Jacob is old now. Now I know, to different ages, "old" means different things. Teens might think that 40 is old. If that is the defining age of old, then I am almost there, and some of you are ancient.
However, the older I get, I realize that 40 isn't that old. If you are in your seventies, 65 is young. I know a lady back in Decatur who is 91 and still gets around like she's in her 50's. She's sharp as a tack. She's funny. At this point she has no filter, and that coupled with her quick wits and slightly sarcastic manner of speech can be quite entertaining. For the years that we were there, she was a huge encouragement to Tahsha and me. In some people's eyes, 91 may be old, but Mrs. Dean Spain doesn't seem to think it is.
They say you're only as old as you feel. And like I said earlier, now that I am almost 39, 40 doesn't seem too old to me. But there have been some times when I just feel old, and naturally, I blame it on my kids. I am not 38 years old. I am five-kids-old. The Steffens know what I mean...
But whether it is age, or kids, or experience, or health that you measure old age, I think at this point we can comfortably say that Jacob is old. Not only is he 12 sons and quite a few daughters old. Not only does he have kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. But he is 130-years-old. That's old. And now it is time to leave Canaan.
As they leave, they get to Beersheba. Beersheba, if you remember, is the place that Abraham had dug some wells and planted some trees and traded this land for some sheep. This is the place that Isaac went after running afoul of the Philistine king Abimelech and worshipped the Lord. This marked the southernmost boundary of the land that was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all their descendants.
Abraham had had some bad experiences in leaving this land and going to Egypt during a famine. After that, Abraham was very careful about leaving Canaan. He taught that to Isaac. When Isaac was faced with a similar situation of famine, he knew not to go to Egypt. Surely this was passed on to Jacob, because we read that as Jacob arrives at the southernmost border of this promised land, he stops. He seeks the Lord and His guidance and offers sacrifices to God. Now, faced with famine far greater than his father or grandfather experienced and given the opportunity to relocate to Egypt, Jacob stops to consult the Lord.
And God answers Jacob. "Don't fear going down to Egypt." But not only does he tell Jacob to go without fear, he reiterates his promise of making his descendants a great nation. He tells Jacob three things:
1. I will make of you a great nation there. God is going to use Egypt to make a great nation out of the descendants of Israel/Jacob.
2. I will go with you. Everywhere that Jacob has travelled, God has assured him that he would be with him. When Jacob left Canaan as a young man to go north to run from his brother Esau, God assured him he would be with him. When it was time to go back home to Canaan, God assured Jacob that He was with him. And now, when it is time to travel south to Egypt, God tells Jacob, "I will go with you."
3. I will bring you back. Now this is a reference to him as a nation, not him personally. We will see that Jacob does die in Egypt. But God does bring back the nation of Israel in spectacular fashion.
So they leave Beersheba with all their families and all of their stuff and head on over to Egypt where Joseph has arranged with Pharaoh to give them the best land in all of Egypt, the land of Goshen.
Verses 8-27 we will not read together. They detail all the people that were in Jacob's family. After they arrive in Egypt and the families are reunited, the number of them all is 70.
Genesis 46:28-30 And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. 29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. 30 And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.
Notice that when they begin their travelling out of Canaan, Jacob sets Judah as the lead. From here on out, you see Judah take the lead among his brothers even though he is the fourth son. As we will see in a week or two, at the end of Jacob's life when he blesses his sons, he recognizes Reuben as the oldest, but notes that the birthright is no his because of how Reuben had defiled his father's bed. Levi and Simeon are reminded at that point that because of their rash anger that led them to murder the men of an entire region, they were unfit to lead. So when he comes to blessing Judah, Jacob states that the scepter, the sign of authority in a king, will not depart the house of Judah.
Judah is the one that gets the birthright. And as of now, Judah is the one that is leading the family to Egypt. Jacob had heard that Judah had laid his life on the line to save Benjamin's, and now, even though in chapter 38 he had separated from his family and committed some disgraces, he came to recognize and confess his sin and had later been the brother that took the lead in making sure Benjamin was safe.
When they arrive, Joseph rides out to meet his family and fall on his father's neck in warm and teary embrace. Can you imagine? For twenty-two years Joseph has not seen his father, and now, here he is in the flesh! Jacob expresses his joy too. Remember that when he is told Joseph is dead, he refused to be comforted, saying he would go to the grave with a grieving heart. Now, in reuniting with his son, he says, "Now I can die in peace. Everything is good. If I die now, I die a happy man."
Genesis 46:31-34 And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father's house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; 32 And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. 33 And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? 34 That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
I hope y'all noticed the wisdom that Joseph is displaying here. He and Pharaoh have already worked out that Joseph's family will live in the land of Goshen, the best land that Egypt has. However, Pharaoh can still change his mind at anytime he wants. So Joseph has been telling Pharaoh that his family are all shepherds and herdsmen, which is true. He tells his family, "When you meet Pharaoh, and he ask what your occupation is, be honest. Tell him you are all shepherds and that this has been a family occupation for generations [which because of our studies, we know as truth]."
Why does he give them these instructions? Because Joseph knows that the Egyptians are prejudiced against shepherds. And since they had brought all their cattle with them, it would seem to Pharaoh that they planned to continue their occupation as they settled into Egypt.
So as you read into chapter 47, you see that Joseph brings 5 of his brothers to meet Pharaoh, and sure enough, Pharaoh asks what their occupation is. They answer according to how Joseph has coached them, "We are shepherds. We have come to Egypt to live and have brought all of our cattle with us, because there is no more good pasture in Canaan. We request that we be allowed to live in Goshen." Pharaoh looks at Joseph and says this Genesis 47:5-6 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: 6 The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
Not only do they get the best land, they get to be stewards of Pharaoh's own cattle! This is a big promotion for the incoming Israelites who just before this meeting had been simple resident aliens, and now they are Pharaoh's official herdsmen. As Joseph had been kind to Pharaoh, Pharaoh was now extending that kindness to Joseph's family.
And now, Jacob and Pharaoh meet.
Genesis 47:7-10 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? 9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
The first and last things that Jacob does is to bless Pharaoh. What is the promise that God has handed down through the generations since Abraham? That they will be a blessing to all the nations. Jacob is determined, even in his old age after a rough life, to be a blessing wherever he goes.
But notice the conversation between the two men. Pharaoh asks Jacob, "How old are you?" Jacob answers, "I am 130 years old. My years have been few and evil."
No doubt, the Pharaoh was surprised to hear that 130 years was a short period of time for Jacob. But in comparison to his father and grandfather who lived to be 180 and 175 respectively, Jacob was still a young buck.
But he also says, "My years have been evil." Here Jacob is not talking about wickedness. This particular word speaks of adversity and trials, misery and distress. Jacob's life had been a difficult one. Much of that difficulty that he endured was because of consequences of his own actions or inaction, but now, at last, his last 17 years of life would be a life of peace.
Genesis 47:11-12 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families.
So Joseph secures a possession of the land of Egypt for his family. Not only do they get to live in the best part of Egypt, they own it. It isn't rented or leased, these sons of Israel, sons of Jacob own that land. They own the land and become stewards of all of Pharaoh's cattle as well.
This is important to note because in verses 13-26, something happens that I believe Joseph has foreseen. As the years of famine draw out, the people come to Joseph and his representatives to buy food. Guess who is not buying food? Joseph's family. Right? Perks of being the second in command's family. But it gets to a point where the people of Egypt all run out of money. So they come to Joseph and say, we are all out of money, please don't let us die! And Joseph makes arrangements for them to trade cattle for corn. By the end of that year, all the cattle in Egypt now belongs to the Pharaoh. Who are the Pharaoh's royal herdsmen? The Israelites! They are setting pretty.
But wait, there is still one more year of famine to go and the Egyptians don't have money or cattle to trade. They once again come begging for food, and Joseph moves the farmers into the cities and has them trade their land for food. Joseph has set it up to where all the food, all the cattle, and all the land of Egypt now belong to Pharaoh. Joseph would then enact a law that would mean that all land that was used for farming after that, 1/5th of all the production would be belong to Pharaoh.
Meanwhile, Joseph's family is sittin' pretty. They own their land, have stewardship of all the cattle; they are nourished by Joseph with food as they live in the best part of Egypt, and their numbers are growing by leaps and bounds.
Genesis 47:27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
We are winding down the story of Joseph. There are 3 more chapters in this story and it will only take us (probably) two weeks to get through them. But like I said last week, knowing the story is good, but it is pointless if we don't know the meaning and application of it. Some of the reason I am going through the book of Genesis, from chapter 1 to chapter 50, is so that we can all have a good grasp of the narratives that are shared with us in this book. If you have missed any of these weeks because you were not here, because you were in the children's ministry during one of the months, or whatever reason, I would encourage you to go back and listen to the messages that start on the 25th of September with the creation of the world. We have seen some pretty deep issues throughout the last 3 series that have encompassed a total of 25 weeks. Which is not too bad, if you think about it. We have averaged almost 2 chapters for every sermon. But the importance is not the quantity, it is the application of God's word.
Application:
To look at this application today, we will need to remember a few things. When we go back to the first sermon about Joseph's life, we remember that in Genesis 37, Judah is the brother that comes up with the idea of selling Joseph as a slave.
Genesis 37:26-27a And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites...
In chapter 38, which we did not go through, Judah doesn't even go home after that incident, Judah goes to a Canaanite city to find a wife among people that do not follow God. And in that place, living his own life without regard for God, ends up sleeping with his daughter-in-law who has tricked him by dressing like a prostitute.
It is this same Judah that has a heart change. As we covered last week, God has used the treatment he received at the hands of Joseph to soften his heart and change core traits about Judah. Judah is no longer self-centered, no longer hateful to those around him, and no longer interested in only what he can get out of his family. Judah is the one that speaks to Jacob saying, "Send Benjamin back with me to Egypt under my care. If anything happens to him, I will take the blame for the rest of my life."
When Benjamin is found with Joseph's silver cup, it is Judah that says, take me prisoner instead of Benjamin. Judah has made a 180 degree turn. Where once he could only be described as egotistical, he now demonstrates true love.
And now as Jacob and the rest of the family are on their way to Egypt, it is Judah that leads them to their salvation.
Isn't this a picture of what a disciple of Christ does in the life of people?
Before we were saved, we were all like Judah, lost in our sin. But when we trust Jesus as our Savior, He changes us to the core. And when that happens, we will sacrifice our own good for the good of others. When we are changed, we can lead others to salvation just like when Judah was changed.
As Judah was leading his family to Egypt, he was also leading brothers who had also been changed. Jacob and the rest of the family were starving and dying, but Judah's other brothers had already been to Egypt and had been fed. This is a picture of discipleship. As Christians, we are to lead other Christians to Jesus. They were all following Judah, because they knew where Judah was leading them to. Do other Christians know that your life, your walk, leads closer to Jesus?
And if you are here this morning without Jesus as your savior, the picture that we see here applies to you too. You, like Judah was at the beginning, are lost in your sins. No, perhaps you haven't sold a family member into slavery, perhaps you have not abandoned your family and committed adultery with your daughter-in-law, but you have sinned.
The Bible tells us that we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. None of us, of our own accord, measure up to God's standards of perfection needed to enter heaven and have eternal life.
The Bible tells us that the payment for that sin is death, eternal separation from God in a lake of fire.
But the Bible also teaches us that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus, the Son of God, came to this earth, lived a life without sin, but was willing to die anyway. The only payment that could ever satisfy the debt of sin would be the blood of somebody perfect. Jesus was beaten and was nailed to a cross where he bled and died to pay for your sins and mine.
He didn't stay dead though. The same day that he died, he was placed in a tomb, and three days later he rose from the dead.
With that victory over death and the payment for sin made, Jesus now offers salvation freely to everyone. And when I say free, I mean free. The Bible says that salvation is a gift, but it can only be received through Jesus Christ. No one else can offer that gift. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by me."
So how do you receive that gift. It is really quite simple. It is a gift, so you don't have to pay for it, and you don't have to work for it. What the Bible says you must do is repent from your sins, believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for your sins and rose again, and ask Him to save you.
Invitation: At this time we are going to have an invitation. If God has spoken to your heart about something, this is the time in the service where you have the opportunity to respond.
I will ask everyone to bow there heads and close their eyes while I ask a few questions.
How many in here this morning would say, "Pastor, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am saved. I have placed my complete faith in Jesus to save me and received him as my savior," would you raise your hand?
Of those that raised their hands, how many can say confidently, "When viewed by others, it is clear that my life leads to Jesus. My walk, my speech, my conduct, my love for others is plain to the world that it leads to Jesus," would you raise your hand?
How many would be honest and say, "Bro. Mike, to be honest, if looked at from the outside, my life does not lead others to Jesus. It does not encourage others to follow Jesus closely. My attitudes, my speech, my conduct are not things that disciple my family, my friends, my coworkers."
If you raised your hand just now, I am going to ask you to do one thing. If you are able, I would ask that you come to this altar and get that straightened out with God. Ask God to help you have a life in which it is obvious that you are walking with Jesus, a life that will lead others closer to Him.
Maybe your here this morning and you were not able to raise your hand about being sure about your salvation. Is there anyone here like that that would say, I am not sure if I am going to heaven or not, but I sure would like to be,"?
