It’s Not You, But God – Sermon – 20 August, 2017
It’s Not You, But God
Genesis 45:8
The most dramatic example rise of a man to power – from prison cell to prime minister’s office – was Joseph, the son of Jacob. But his rise to power was not his finest hour. His finest hour is described in Genesis 45. It was a glorious moment of his life that came only after he had been Egypt’s prime minister for 9 years – it was the moment when Joseph revealed himself to his ten brothers, graciously forgave them for all their evil deeds against him and promised to nurture them and their families in the very best part of his domain.
By human standards this may not really be something to get all excited about, but in God’s eyes, what Joseph did to his brothers made him much greater than all his contemporaries. It made him the most Christ-like person in the Old Testament. And it also made him an example of grace for God’s people of all ages to follow.
This morning we will see that there are at least 3 lessons of grace in what Joseph did and said to his brothers in Genesis 45:1-15.
- Pardoning grace of Joseph for his brother
The background for this chapter:
When Joseph was 17 years old, his 10 brothers were extremely jealous of him because he was their father’s favourite son and because they couldn’t stand his dreams which portrayed them bowing down to him. Their jealousy was so great that one day they caught him and cast him into a pit intending to kill him. Then they decided to sell him to a slave trader for 20 pieces of silver. When they returned home they showed their father Joseph’s coat which they had stained with goat’s blood. Jacob thought that his beloved son had been killed by a wild animal. But Joseph was alive and was now a slave in Egypt.
But God worked all things out in a really marvellous way. After 10 years Joseph became the prime minister of Egypt. God gave him wisdom to store up sufficient reserves from the first 7 years of good harvests, so that the people of Egypt would not go hungry during the 7 years of drought that followed. When the drought came it was so severe that Jacob’s family in Canaan ran out of provisions.
So he sent Joseph’s brothers down to Egypt to buy food. Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him because he now looked like an Egyptian official and spoke like one. He provided them with all the food they wanted, and returned their money to them. But Joseph kept one of them in Egypt to be released only when they returned with their youngest brother, Benjamin. He did this to ensure that Benjamin was alive and well.
When the brothers brought Benjamin to Egypt they were all taken to dine at Joseph’s house. After they had eaten and had left the house, one of Joseph’s servants was sent after them to look for a missing silver cup. The item was found in Benjamin’s sack and he was accused of stealing it. As punishment, Benjamin would have to remain as Joseph’s slave, while the 10 brothers were allowed to return home.
Actually all of this had been carefully planned by Joseph to see if they had changed their ways or not. If they went home now, leaving Benjamin to languish in Egypt, he would know that they were still as wicked as they were before. But if the 10 brothers stood up for Benjamin, and refused to leave without him, it would mean that they had changed for the better. Thankfully, they passed the test – the brothers bravely offered themselves to be his slaves, and one of them, Judah, pleaded with Joseph to let him bear the punishment for stealing the silver cup so that Benjamin could return home with the other brothers.
When Joseph heard this, his heart was so moved with emotion, that he immediately ordered all his servants to leave him alone with his brothers, and he revealed himself to them. According to verse 2, his weeping was so loud that the Egyptians outside the house heard it. Why did he weep so loudly? Perhaps it was because he remembered how his brothers had mistreated him 19 years ago – stripped him of his coat of many colours and left him to suffer in a pit.
Why had they paid no attention at all to his mournful pleas and cries to them? How could they have been so heartless as to sell him away like an animal and deprive him of his freedom? How could they leave him to fend for himself in a foreign land, with no help? It all came back to him: The pain of being abandoned without mercy, the anguish of being forsaken, the loneliness and separation from his beloved father Jacob and from Benjamin his little brother. Joseph had every right to be angry with his brothers because they had brought so much misery to his life.
But he was not angry with them at all when he wept. His tears were tears of joy – the joy of seeing how well they had stood up for Benjamin. They were also tears of love for his brothers – a love that seeks to forgive them for the untold pain and misery they had caused him. And it was this love that now prompted him to reveal himself to his brothers in a most tender, assuring and sensitive manner.
Firstly, when he said, “I am Joseph”, he immediately asks them: “Is my father still live?” This would help prevent them from thinking about their sin against him.
Secondly when Joseph saw how terrified they were of him, he urged them to come close to him. He may have understood how scared they were that he might use his Egyptian authority to exact sweet revenge on them.
Thirdly, Joseph tells them to stop being grieved or angry with themselves. How did he know that they felt like this? He could probably see it on their faces.
Fourthly, Joseph leads them to consider how God had used their act of selling him into slavery to save them and their families from starving to death.
Finally, we see him embracing his brothers, kissing them and weeping over them. This clearly communicated that he had fully forgiven them! And this forgiveness instantly removed the burden of guilt and fear which they had carried for 19 years. They therefore broke their silence.
Verse 15 says that ‘his brethren talked with him.’ They shared a time of blessed fellowship with Joseph. How good it is to be reconciled, and to be at peace with one’s brothers! But all this became possible only when Joseph forgave them. What a difference the grace of forgiveness makes to one’s relationships.
Here we have 4 essential principles of forgiveness to learn and apply.
- Forgiveness should be granted privately
- Forgiveness should be free and unconditional.
- Forgiveness seeks the correction and restoration of the offender.
- Forgiveness must be permanent, not provisional.
What a tremendous lesson of grace we have learned from this passage.
- Preserving grace of God for his people
This lesson is found in a thought that is mentioned 3 times in verses 5-8. “God did send me”; “God sent me” and “It was not you that sent me hither but God.” Joseph was clearly trying to emphasise that he had not come to Egypt by chance or by their treachery. God had sent him there. And God had an important purpose for sending him to Egypt: This purpose is “to preserve life.” In verse 7 it is stated in two parts – “to preserve you a posterity in the earth” and “to save your lives by a great deliverance.”
Joseph could only say this on reflection after he had already seen what God had accomplished through his stay in Egypt. At the time when he was led to Egypt in chains by a slave trader he did not have the slightest notion of God’s purpose.
Sometimes unexpected disaster suddenly strikes us out of the blue and we wonder why it happened to us.
With an impending global financial crisis, the course of many lives may similarly be changed. People who lose their jobs will have to change their lifestyle and their well-made plans. Some of us may end up in situations or places we do not like to be in. And this will prompt the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
If this is our view of God, please know that it is not based on the Bible at all. The words which Joseph spoke to his brothers bear wonderful testimony to the truth that God is both all-loving and all-powerful. He said to them in verse 5: “Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.”
Could God have prevented the 10 brothers from selling Joseph as a slave to Egypt? He certainly could. Why then did He not prevent this bad thing from happening to Joseph? It is plainly because He wanted to preserve life, and Joseph was the means He had chosen to use to accomplish this. And so He allowed the brothers to sell Joseph in order to bring him into Egypt. Joseph said in Genesis 50:20 – “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” According to Joseph, God is so great that He can even use bad things that happen to good people to accomplish the most glorious results!
We can be assured that whatever happens to us, God’s preserving grace will keep us. We may not understand how this can possibly happen right now. We must simply trust God to work things out. And perhaps like Joseph, we may one day be able to look back and see the results of every setback, loss and disaster in our life, and testify of the blessings they have brought to ourselves and to others.
III. Promised grace of Joseph for his family
In verses 9-13 Joseph tells his brothers to bring their father and their own families from Canaan to Egypt. And he promises that he will nourish all of them in the Land of Goshen so that they will be near him and will not lack any provisions during the 5 remaining years of famine. Now this is quite a huge promise for anyone to make. Can Joseph keep his promise? Yes, He certainly can – God has put him in an excellent position to do so. Joseph was now the lord or master of all Egypt. He had the land and all the wealth of Egypt was at his disposal.
This is one of the most amazing lessons of grace we can learn from Joseph. It comes from the fact that his life and ministry provides us with a unique preview of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The grace that Joseph promised to his family shows us the grace that Jesus has promised to us.
There are some striking parallels between Joseph & Jesus.
Like Joseph:
Jesus is the beloved Son with whom His father is well-pleased.
Jesus is sent by God to save His people from death.
Jesus was humbled and ill-treated before He was greatly exalted.
Jesus loved His brothers and forgave them.
Jesus went ahead of his brothers to prepare a dwelling place for them. Furthermore, Joseph was believed to be dead and the news that he was alive in Egypt must have seemed like his return from the dead. Isn’t this a striking preview of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead?
There is one more striking parallel between Joseph and Jesus, and this is one that ought to move us to action.
Just as Joseph made his brothers bear good news about himself to his father (v.9), Jesus has made us bearers of the Good News about Himself to sinners. The 10 brothers were to tell their father that Joseph is alive, and that he is the lord of all Egypt.
Jesus is so much better and greater than Joseph. He has been so gracious to pardon us for all the sins we have committed against Him. He has been so gracious to preserve our soul from eternal death. And He has promised to nourish us with all the power that is at His disposal.
Will you not obey His command to bring His good news to others?
May these lessons of grace that we have learned from the way that Joseph dealt with his brothers help us all to be good brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ.