The Life Of Joseph Part 2

The welfare of his family.

And we touched on this a little bit last week,

it's really important.

Because Jacob is on the verge of not seeing grace.

He is right there.

He's looking grace in the face.

And he is virtually pushing himself back from the table

and saying, I don't want to go there

because it's not worth the risk.

It's not worth more fear.

It's not worth more sorrow.

It's not worth losing more children.

And so we push back from the table of grace

and we decide that it's not worth the risk

for us to experience God's grace.

Jacob is in bondage to sorrow and fear and grief.

But his sons, essentially Judah in particular,

stands up and says, listen dad,

we're going to honor your request,

but let me tell you, if we don't go down,

we're all going to die.

I mean, you might lose some of your kids,

but let me tell you, you're going to lose the whole family.

Children, grandchildren, wives, it's on you.

Is it worth that risk?

You're being a little irrational, dad.

You're not thinking this through.

And we find this little snippet at the end of verse 9,

excuse me, in verse 10, it says,

if we had not lingered, we would have returned this second time.

That's what the New King James says.

It's kind of a translational issue.

It's either we would have returned this second time,

or as the ESV and NIV and several other translations put it,

it says we would have returned twice by now.

We could have gone there and back twice at this point.

Probably about a two-month trek one direction.

So we're talking about four months to eight months

of just hanging on by a thread,

exhausting the supply.

That's how desperate things were.

And that's how much Jacob was willing to push grace

out to the back burner,

to keep pushing it down the road.

There were barriers to grace in his life.

Now when he finally decides to go,

now we find what I've titled here,

circumventing grace.

And what I mean by that is trying to get around grace,

trying to overcome grace,

and what we're going to find is actually purchasing it.

Let me read this, verses 11 to 14.

It says,

Then their father said,

If it must be so, then do this.

Take some of the choice fruits of the land

in your bags and carry a present down to the man.

A little balm and a little honey,

gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.

Take double the money with you,

carry back with you the money

that was returned in the mouth of your sacks.

Perhaps it was an oversight.

Take also your brother,

and arise and go down to the man.

May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man,

and may he send back your brother and Benjamin.

And as for me,

if I am bereaved of my children,

I'm bereaved.

Isn't it interesting,

when God finally gets us to the point of relenting,

we still have this sense

of trying to take the bull by the horns,

of trying to take the wheel,

of trying to take control,

and try to bring an outcome.

What are some ways that Jacob,

what is Jacob's strategy?

What is his thought?

Okay.

I'll send you down,

but what's he gonna do?

What's that?

Okay.

Right.

Yes, right.

That's good.

That's good.

Okay.

So bring some food with you,

and let's see if we can buy them off.

What are some things that he's gonna bring?

What are some of the items of this care package

he's sending down?

Okay.

Honey and nuts.

Balm.

Mer.

Okay.

So that's part of the present.

What else are they going?

Besides the gifts,

double the money,

and

we've talked about Benjamin already,

but send Benjamin.

Let's see if we can buy them off.

Now,

there are some problems with this.

I mean, from an external standpoint,

things are not good with Egypt.

I mean,

as far as they're concerned,

they're not in a favorable light with people of Egypt,

and yet,

they think that somehow,

this little,

meager gift,

is going to overcome the significant issues that they have with Joseph.

almost,

almost like a slap in the face,

I would think.

You think you can buy me out with pistachio nuts?

Are you serious?

You're not thinking this through.

A couple of summers ago,

our family had the opportunity to go down and to stay in a home in Destin, Florida.

And this was not just like any home.

It was,

it was in a million dollar gated community.

And the house that we were staying in was backed up to this elite golf course.

And it had a screened in pool that went to eight feet,

but started at zero.

It was like one of those zero depth pools.

There's no steps.

It was just kind of walk right in like you're walking into the beach.

The owner,

the owner does all the embroidery for Nike.

So that gives you a sense of the,

of the kind of place that we were staying in.

It was like walking into a museum.

There were,

there were trinkets and artifacts,

like,

everywhere.

And they had the price tag still on them.

And the cheapest ones were like $450.

And I'm thinking,

oh my goodness,

where's Timothy?

Hands off,

buddy.

Don't touch anything.

Oh man.

And then they had these like,

like TV monitors,

like just kind of stacked up in,

in,

in rooms that they weren't using.

And it was an amazing,

amazing home.

The,

the master suite was bigger than our first home.

With a bedroom and the closet and the,

in the,

in the bathroom.

And I was thinking to myself,

okay,

at the end of this week,

what can we do to,

to say thanks?

How do you say thanks for that?

I mean,

let's be honest.

If I put a thousand dollars on the table,

it's just going to be a slap in the face.

That's kind of what we're talking about here.

We're talking about this,

this,

need for desperate grace.

And Jacob is like,

totally irrational.

How in the world are you possibly going to pay off that debt with pistachio nuts?

Not going to happen.

But,

but Jacob finally,

finally comes to a bit of his senses in verse 14.

And this would be kind of the,

the,

the,

the key verse in this first section.

May God almighty grant you mercy before the man.

There's a glimmer of light that kind of is beginning to shoot through to Jacob.

He's beginning to understand what's really at stake here.

He's not going to be able to,

to do nearly enough to,

to get the kind of response that he needs.

He needs mercy from God.

It's interesting in the Old Testament,

the word mercy is used 290 times.

The word grace is only used 11 times.

And most of the time that is used in the Old Testament,

it's actually referring to favor and not to grace.

We actually happen to see one of those instances in our,

in this story that we're looking at.

One of the uses of grace in this story.

So,

there were some barriers to grace.

I wonder,

what stands as obstacles to grace in our lives?

What stands as obstacles to grace for us?

Of,

not only,

not being able to receive grace,

not being able to appreciate grace,

and not being able to give grace.

What are some of those things that stand in the way?

Pride stands in the way.

What do you mean?

I think I can do it myself.

That's good.

I can do it myself.

You see that in these,

in these,

this family?

I can do what it takes to get what I want.

The,

the scheming and manipulation of this family.

Right?

That's good.

There's,

there's pride.

It takes place.

What else?

What else?

Right.

Right.

That's good.

Did you hear that?

There are people in your life where,

every time you turn around,

there seems to be new need for grace.

I mean,

or at least a new need for forgiveness,

a new need for,

for spending on that individual.

And,

um,

that,

that requires maybe a little,

little help on our side,

doesn't it?

God help me.

Help me to be a person of grace.

It also requires maybe a little deeper conversation,

understanding of what grace looks like.

Because sometimes,

sometimes grace is,

I'm not going to enable you.

I,

I want you to learn what it means,

to do what it takes,

to trust God on your own.

I'm not just going to continue to,

to,

to,

this trend in your life.

And,

and that takes wisdom,

doesn't it?

Takes some wisdom.

I think,

uh,

if we were to look at Jacob's life,

we would see that sorrow and fear stood in his way.

And I think there are times where,

we're,

we don't want to be hurt anymore.

Or,

we don't want to risk anymore.

So we run to comfort.

We,

we,

we run away from those things that are going to,

to,

to put us out of,

outside of our comfort zone.

We resist that at all costs.

And because of that,

I think we miss grace.

We miss God's grace for us.

We miss God's grace showing up,

for us.

And we miss the opportunity to convey grace to others.

So,

the brothers show up in Egypt.

We find that in verses 15 to 23.

And we see the response of grace.

This is beautiful.

In verse 15 is where it begins.

It says,

in verse 15,

so the men took the present,

and they took double the money with them,

and Benjamin,

and they arose,

and went down to Egypt,

and stood before Joseph.

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them,

he said to the steward of his house,

bring the men into the house,

and slaughter an animal,

and make ready,

for the men are to dine with me at noon.

The man did as Joseph told him,

and brought the men to Joseph's house.

And the men were afraid,

because they were brought to Joseph's house.

And they said,

is it because of the money,

which was replaced in our sacks the first time,

that we were brought in,

so that he may assault us,

and fall upon us,

to make us servants,

and to seize our donkeys?

So they went up to the steward of Joseph's house,

and spoke with him at the door of the house,

and said,

oh my lord,

we came down the first time,

and then we find their explanation.

There is a coming to grace.

There is a need for grace.

They recognize that they need grace.

And we don't see the pleading here.

We'll see the pleading a little later.

But when the wheels of grace begin to turn,

and Joseph begins to put into motion

the grace that he's going to act towards his brothers,

now we move to this next element,

their suspicion of grace.

They're a little skeptical,

when grace is put into effect.

And what do you see here?

Describe for me what's going on in their minds.

They don't necessarily know what Joseph is doing.

All they know is they're being moved into his house,

and now there's some suspicions going on.

It says, particularly in verse 18,

what's taking place?

Okay.

They're afraid about slavery.

What's this guy going to do?

Okay.

Because of what they did to their brother.

Right?

We'll get to that in a second.

They don't have a clear conscience.

They're not a clear conscience.

They don't have a clear conscience.

That's right.

There's no clear conscience,

and so what would they expect?

But judgment.

Good point.

Really good point.

Appreciate that.

What else?

Yeah.

There's panic.

There's panic going on.

He's going to take our money.

He's going to take our donkeys.

He's going to make us slaves.

And I don't know if you've had this experience,

but you pull your kids aside.

You know something's gone down,

and then all of a sudden,

they're just kind of overflowing with the story.

But you know,

hidden underneath the story is something.

There's a guilty conscience going on,

kind of like what you referred to, Tom.

And so they may be free in that specific situation,

but when it comes to a guilty conscience

and underlying layers of feeling worthy of what's taking place,

it just seems to be this extra overflow

of explaining the situation.

I think that's what we find with these men.

They assume the worst.

They expect Joseph to act just like them.

I like how one commentator puts it.

They say,

what you spot is what you got.

You get that?

What you spot is what you got,

meaning the things that you notice in other people,

the things that really drive you crazy,

are oftentimes the things that you expect or see in your own heart.

Like, it's kind of like,

you always assume the worst in people,

but you're assuming the things that you know to be true about yourself.

You know what I'm saying?

Like, if you're really frustrated about somebody

who just keeps talking trash about you,

but you kind of know that's what you're kind of programmed to do,

that's what you assume,

and you kind of place that on them

because you assume them to act like you.

Make sense?

And so these men recognize that,

or at least they have jumped to a conclusion about Joseph.

They're assuming that he's going to act

in the way that they've always acted in their entire life.

Why shouldn't he do what has been so common to them?

Commentator says this,

whatever you criticize most harshly in others,

may it be a hallmark of your own psyche.

Everyone makes comments about other people from time to time,

but those who focus on one topic continually,

irrationally, and inexplicably,

are often describing themselves.

When someone seems unduly preoccupied

with certain flaws in others,

it's time to do a once-over

to see if it's taking root

in Mr. or Mrs. Obsessed.

Now, that should remind us of

what we know in Christ's words

in the New Testament,

especially the Sermon on the Mount,

when he's talking about the need for us,

he says,

why do you see the speck in your brother's eye?

And there's a big plank

kind of jutting out of your own?

Jesus understands this.

He recognizes that oftentimes

the reason why we have

an inclination to suspect things of others

or see things in others

is because we know them to be true of ourselves.

That's why Paul in Galatians says,

brothers, if someone's caught in a transgression,

you who are spiritual,

restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

Keep watch on yourself,

lest you too be tempted.

That's the warning.

But we see that they are recipients of grace.

From verses 19 to 23,

they jump to a conclusion,

they explain their story,

they try to demonstrate

that they're free of guilt.

And what would you expect a Gentile,

how would you expect a Gentile,

somebody who doesn't know God,

to respond?

Verses 20 and 21,

it says,

we came down to buy some food,

we came to our lodging place,

we opened our sacks,

there was each man's money

in the mouth of his sack,

so we've brought it again,

we don't know who put the money

in our sacks,

here it is.

What would you expect?

A normal unbeliever to respond.

How would they respond?

Yeah, it's mine.

Some bribery going on,

some kickback.

That's a really good thought.

What else?

Okay.

That's right.

You are really just guilty.

You're really just trying to cover up

for a guilty conscience,

and now you're found.

That'd be one way.

To respond.

Maybe,

what is your problem?

What is your problem?

What is going on?

Get out of here.

You took the money,

nothing for you.

Go home.

It's over.

But notice verse 23.

This would be kind of our key verse

in this second section.

Verse 23 says,

He replied,

Peace to you.

Do not be afraid.

Your God,

and the God of your father,

has put treasure in your sacks for you.

I received your money.

What stands out?

What stands out about that?

Isn't that interesting?

This Gentile,

who should be the furthest away from God,

is the one calling their attention

to their God.

How do you suppose that happened?

There's only really one explanation, right?

Joseph.

What else stands out to you?

How about that opening phrase?

Shalom Lekem.

Peace to you.

And why is that important?

Have we heard those words before?

We have, haven't we?

I mean,

we've heard the anti-peace

coming from these brothers,

who says,

They hated their brother

and could not speak shalom to him.

And yet,

what's coming back?

Peace.

No peace going out.

Peace coming back.

Chill out, man.

Peace to you.

Who do you serve after all?

Who is your God?

Right?

Talk about a wake-up call

from a Gentile.

Undoubtedly.

Undoubtedly.

Because were those not

the first words

of Joseph to Pharaoh?

I can't do it.

But God will give you an answer.

He will give you

an answer of shalom.

That's what it says.

He'll give you

an answer of peace.

This servant

was able to distribute

grace and peace

because he

had been

a recipient

of peace

and grace

from Joseph.

Peace had remained

on Joseph's heart

and peace

was conveyed

to everyone

in Joseph's circles.

They were recipients

of peace

and because they were

kind of steeped

in peace,

they had the savor

of peace

on them

and so what do you

suppose

they gave?

They gave peace.

I love it

because it sounds

so familiar.

The words

it's not me

echo back

through this phrase.

It's not me.

It's God.

God did this for you.

When are you

going to see it?

When are you

going to wake up?

When will you

finally realize

that your God

and the God

of your father

is behind

all these things?

When will you

get it,

guys?

Recount the grace

Simeon is brought

out.

We find here

in these next

several verses

beginning at

the end

of verse 23

it says,

then he brought

Simeon out to them

and when the man

had brought them

into Joseph's house

and had given them

water

and he had washed

their feet

and when he had

given their donkeys

fodder,

they prepared

the present

for Joseph's

coming at noon

for they hear

that Joseph

should eat bread

there.

Amazing

grace.

Words of peace

Simeon is brought

there's a reunion

taking place

there's water

for their feet

ministering to even

the earthy

things of their

needs

food given

to their donkeys

and now

they're waiting

for food

for themselves.

This

extravagant

grace.

So what's the results?

What does grace do?

How does it

play out?

In verses 26

to 34

kind of show us

how grace

plays out

and we see

Joseph's initial

message of grace

in verse 26

it says

they brought

excuse me

when Joseph

came home

they brought

into the house

to him

the present

that they had

with them

and they bowed

down to the ground

and he inquired

about their welfare

and said

is your father

well

and the old man

of whom you spoke

is he still alive?

They said

your servant

or father

is well

he is still alive

and they bowed

their heads

and prostrated

themselves

and he lifted

up his eyes

and saw

his brother

Benjamin

his mother's

son

and said

is this

your youngest

brother

of whom

you spoke

to me

God

be gracious

to you

my son

then Joseph

hurried out

for his

compassion

grew warm

for his

brother

and he sought

a place

to weep

and he entered

his chamber

and wept

there

this message

of grace

this would be

kind of

the

the third

kind of

significant

verse

verse 29

this is

Joseph's

conference

of grace

or

or his

request

of grace

to his brother

God

be gracious

to you

my son

when

grace

settles

on a heart

when we're

talking about

results of

grace

when grace

settles

on a heart

what does

grace

produce

in the

person

who gives

grace

what did

it produce

for Joseph

what did

it do

for him

he was

overwhelmed

and what

was he

overwhelmed

by

okay

yeah

he's seeing

God at work

isn't he

and just

makes him

overjoyed

why else

what else

has it done

for him

that's

great

that's

great

seeking

the best

now

let me tell

you

if any

of us

had been

in this

situation

what would

be our

what would

be our

gut reaction

here

not to be

overcome

with compassion

but to

stick it

to these

guys

grace

had

preserved

Joseph's

heart

from being

embittered

his

desire

to be

gracious

and to

give

grace

had

guarded

him

had

been

an

arsenal

around

his

heart

protecting

him

from

bitterness

keeping

him

from

a

wrong

reaction

to his

brothers

anything

else

stand out

yes

good

that's

good

he was

looking

for

God

so

when

grace

is on

a

heart

it

actually

not

only

desires

the

best

but

it's

waiting

for

God

to

do

it

there's

expectancy

God

is

going to

show

up

here

somehow

and

I

believe

I

believe

that

God

will

have

his

way

is

that

what

you

mean

amen

there's

gratitude

there's

gratitude

in

thanksgiving

I

don't

think

it's

by

accident

the

word

grace

and

thanks

come

from

the

same

root

I

don't

think

that's

an

accident

they

are

mutually

exclusive

you

cannot

be a

person

of

grace

without

being

a

person

of

thanksgiving

so

Joseph

calls

attention

to

grace

okay

and

I

I'm

stepping

out

on a

limb

here

so

this

may

or

may

not

be

true

but

this

is

my

interpretation

of

what's

taking

place

here

verse

32

says

they

served

him

by

himself

speaking

of

Joseph

and

them

by

themselves

and

the

Egyptians

who

ate

with

him

by

themselves

and

then

verse

33

says

excuse

me

the

end

of

verse

32

because

the

Egyptians

could

not

eat

with

the

Hebrews

for

that

is

an

abomination

to

the

Egyptians

okay

now

help me

understand

some of

the

culture

the

cultural

aspects

that we

find

in

this

verse

what's

happening

here

okay

okay

good

so they're

sitting in

the same

room

but

there's

three

classes

of

people

right

primarily

there's

the

Egyptians

and the

Hebrews

but then

even

among

the

Egyptians

there

are

distinctions

showing up

right

who's

sitting

by

himself

Joseph

who

is

off

by

themselves

the

servants

and I

think

what

Joseph

is

doing

is

he

is

punctuating

the

need

for

grace

here

I

want

you

to

understand

what

you

deserve

and

how

Egyptians

feel

about

you

guys

as

being

Hebrews

and

yet

here

you

are

here

you

are

receiving

food

from

my

table

and

now

this

experience

of

grace

says

they

sit

before

him

the

firstborn

is

verse

33

the

firstborn

according

to his

birthright

and the

youngest

according

to his

youth

and the

men

looked at

one

another

in

amazement

portions

were

taken

to

them

from

where

from

Joseph's

table

I

think

that's

key

but

Benjamin's

portion

was

five

times

as

much

as

any

of

them

and

then

this

key

phrase

and

they

drank

and

were

merry

!

merry

with

him

I

wonder

how

long

it

had

been

since

they

had

ever

experienced

any

kind

of

merriment

!

How

long

had

it

been

since

they

had

enjoyed

one

another's

company?

How

long

had

it

been

before

the

inner

conflict

that

had

been

so

hot

between

them

just

now

kind

of

settled

out

maybe

for

the

first

time

in

decades

and

here

they

are

enjoying

one

another's

company

and I

think

that's

a

result

of

grace

here

they

are

basking

in

the

warmth

of

the

grace

that

Joseph

is

conveying

to

them

and

enjoying

the

benefits

of

grace

with

one

another

so

we

don't

have

enough

time

to

really

dig

into

this

but

I

want

to

ask

this

question

again

at

the

end

and

then

I

have

verses

here

for

you

to

kind

of

take

home

and

to

process

okay

I'm

kind

of

launching

out

without

any

what I

want to

say

kind

of

launching

out

on my

own

on

this

one

okay

so

take

it

for

what

it's

worth

what

is

grace

and

I'm

going to

suggest

to

you

based

upon

these

verses

that

grace

is

more

than

just

God's

undeserved

favor

I'm

going

to

suggest

to

you

that

it's

more

than

the

favor

of

God

that's

flowing

one

direction

and

just

kind

of

stays

with

us

I'm

going

to

suggest

to

you

that

grace

is

the

favor

of

God

that

leads

to

power

in

the

Christian

life

through

the

Holy

Spirit

okay

grace

is

the

favor

of

God

that

leads

to

power

in

the

Christian

life

through

the

Holy

Spirit

now

I just

want to

pick out

a couple

of these

key

phrases

Luke

Luke 2:40

chapter 2

verse 40

matter of fact

yeah

Luke 2

40

here's what it

says

speaking of

Jesus

and maybe

if you have

an app

and you can

get there

quickly

do it

but

if not

then I

can

read it

and we

can

just

talk

about

it

okay

you can

take it

home

with you

and just

kind of

process this

a little bit

more

it says

and the

child grew

and became

strong

in spirit

filled with

wisdom

and the

grace of

God

was upon

him

now

does

Jesus

need

grace

does

he

really

need

the

undeserved

favor

of God

or is

there

something

more

to

this

and I'm

suggesting

there's

something

more

okay

that grace

serves a

purpose

okay

it's not

just something

that God

does for

us

it's

something

that God

does

for us

so that

it can

flow

from

us

okay

John

1

14

it says

that Jesus

is full

of grace

and truth

there's

something

more

than just

the favor

of God

in his

life

to be

full

of

something

means

that it

that it

serves

a

purpose

and so

then we

come to

places

like Acts

Acts 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

32

and 33

listen to

this

it says

speaking of

this

church

now the

full

number

of those

who

believed

were of

one heart

and soul

and no

one said

that any

of the

things

that

belonged

to him

was his

own

but they

had everything

in common

and then

this

verse 33

and with

great

power

the apostles

gave witness

to the

resurrection

of the

Lord Jesus

and great

grace

was upon

them all

how did

that grace

show up

it showed

up in

power

it showed

up by

the disciples

the apostles

doing great

works

it showed

up in the

church

by the

church

giving

all

their

stuff

okay

the

favor

of God

marked

their

life

and it

showed

up in

power

to do

what they

would not

be doing

of

themselves

Acts 11

23

this is the

church of

Antioch

Barnabas

comes

and this

church is

just beginning

and he

says

when he

came

and he

had

seen

the

grace

of

God

what

he saw

the grace

of God

is it

something

that you

can see

you better

believe it

if it

shows up

in power

if it

shows up

in change

if it

marks a

life as

being wholly

different

than it

was before

and he

was glad

he says

and he

encouraged

them all

that with

one purpose

in heart

they should

continue

with the

Lord

speaking of

the apostle

Paul

in Acts

Acts 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14

it says

therefore

they stayed

there a

long time

speaking

boldly

in the

Lord

who was

bearing

witness

to the

word

of

his

grace

how

was

he

bearing

witness

to the

word

of

grace

granting

signs

and wonders

to be

done

by their

hand

and then

for sake

of time

maybe one

of the

hallmarks

of this

is in

2nd

Corinthians

chapter

12

verse

9

2nd

Corinthians

12

8

and 9

and this

situation

is when

the apostle

Paul

he has

this vision

right

going into

the third

heaven

and he

asks God

to take away

this thorn

in the flesh

and Jesus

says no

and he says

what does he

say

my grace

is sufficient

for you

what is that

supposed to

mean

well it

goes on

for my

what

is made

perfect

in weakness

grace

my

strength

my

power

grace

and power

are

together

we

receive

the favor

of God

and his

strength

for

life

and that's

how it

shows up

in the world

around us

when we

do acts

of grace

when

Bob

when you

talked about

giving your

grandkids

ice cream

that is

not

a human

impulse

that's a

divine

impulse

it comes

through

divine

help

or through

divine

example

one of

the two

God

Paul

received

grace

and strength

for the

work that

he was

about to

do

Ephesians

4

7

11

Jesus

talks

about

to each

one of

us

grace

was

given

according

to the

measure

of

Christ's

gift

what

is that

grace

how does

it show

up

well

he gave

some

to be

apostles

some

prophets

some

evangelists

some

pastors

and teachers

it's

gifting

for

ministry

grace

gifting

for

ministry

the

spirit

showing

up

in

a

life

and

working

out

his

strength

that

is

God's

grace

coming

through

we

see

that

in

Romans

Romans 12 · chapter mention

chapter

12

grace

that

is

given

to

us

let

us

use

them