Answers Bible Curriculum 2nd Edition Unit 5 Lesson 48
This week, we look at the culmination of the Genesis account of Joseph’s life: the salvation of Joseph’s family and Joseph’s reconciliation with his brothers. Why does Joseph not reveal himself to his brothers right away? How is it that Joseph was able to forgive such terrible wrongs done to him by his brothers? And how should God’s sovereignty inform our own practice of forgiveness?
For this lesson, we’ll be looking at several texts from Genesis 42-50.
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well thank you thankfully you can hear me and it’s 9:30 so let’s begin Sunday school so good morning and welcome back we’re actually concluding today our look excuse me at the life of Joseph and we are seeing in we’re seeing God bring to fruition his glorious purposes that he began with bringing Joseph down to Egypt and before we get to today’s lesson just a few Corrections are in order last week in illustrating how we ought to be ready for sudden tragedies I mentioned the death of Jonathan Edwards that great American theologian and the response of his wife to it but I did confuse a few of the facts Jonathan Edwards wife’s name was not Susannah but Sara Susannah is actually the wife of Spurgeon Charles Spurgeon so Sara Edwards and her husband Jonathan died of a smallpox vaccination not a tuberculosis vaccination so apologize for that I did get the contents of the letter right though and you can actually read that letter in full online if you’re so interested just type in Sara Edwards letter to daughter and you will probably find it but anyways we’ve got a lot to talk about today so we’ll get right into the lesson after we pray so let’s do that now our Lord and God we thank you for your word and I pray as we look at this just amazing thing that you did on behalf of your people in ancient times God that we would be affected as we ought that we would learn to trust you that we would learn to forgive that we would be content in you no matter what circumstances we encounter in a manner who sins against us I pray God to help me to be able to explain this explain this well and accurately and Jesus name Amen I want to start off today with a question what are the worst sins that people have done against you in your life I know people have sinned against you maybe somebody tried to sabotage your reputation or maybe god forbid you were abused as a child or maybe somebody tried to lead you to believe a false gospel I don’t know exactly what it was but what were the worst sins that people have done to you and then what has been your response to these sins have you become bitter against God against those who sin against you against others in general have you become fearful cynical ashamed turning to sin and addictive substances and activities just to try and cope with what you’ve experienced or have you even sought vengeance against those who sinned against you you’re gonna pay them back or have you forgiven them and have you resolved in your heart that you will not hold this terrible sin that remember it was did to you against them have you reconciled with that person when they came to confess their sin and when they repented before you and have you sought to do that person good that person who sinned against you in a terrible way have you sought to do them good praying to God on their behalf and praying especially that God would be merciful to them and grant them repentance that leads to life and salvation in Christ now you know that Jesus says a mark of those who are truly forgiven by God is that they forgive others even for the worst sins even for repeated sins and even for sins which had consequences that lasted a long time now why is this possible why is this even expected of God’s people a number of reasons and I think that three chief ones are these because of the full satisfaction and contentment that we have and simply knowing Christ if we have Jesus what else do we need we are free to forget also because of the greater forgiveness that we have through Christ for our sins against God and against others we have that forgiveness can we not forgive others even for their worst sins and also thirdly because of our trust in the perfect sovereign provision of God in this life because God is sovereign we can forgive I don’t know if you thought about this last reason too much but you’d need to whatever sins you’ve suffered in your life even the worst sins they actually come from the sovereign hand of God he could have prevented those sins from happening to you but he did not God is sovereign but why didn’t he stop it he’s a loving God is God actually cruel and unjust is he some kind of sadist he just wants you to suffer no that is utterly blasphemous utterly against what the scripture says exodus 34:6 talks about how God Himself declares he is full of loving-kindness and truth abounding and loving-kindness in truth so he doesn’t do it at a back up loud or maybe he’s just incompetent aloof inept ignorant of your situation and what would be best for you he wants to help but he just just can’t oh it’s not that either psalm 115 3 says our God is in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases he is able and he cares so why doesn’t he stop the real answer as to why God ordained even the worst sin others have done against you is the same reason that we’ve been seeing these past few lessons and throughout the life of Joseph and really throughout the scriptures what men and demons mean for evil God means for good even the worst sins you’ve suffered have a good purpose a transcendent purpose in the sight of God and they will accomplish good for you in the end if you’re in Christ but do you believe that and do you forgive because of that let’s see how these truths about God’s sovereignty and forgiveness show up and the life of Joseph and the account we’re going to read today the please take your Bibles and open to Genesis chapter 42 Genesis 42 we’re going to be looking at several sections from Genesis 42 to 50 today just remember where we left Joseph last time oh by the way this is page 46 in the Pew Bible if you’re using that page 46 but remember where we were with Joseph after interpreting the prophetic dreams of Pharaoh Joseph was exalted from a prison slave to Prince over all of Egypt then seven years of abundance came upon Egypt and Joseph wisely helped store up abundant provisions of food in the storehouses of Egypt then the seven years of famine came upon Egypt and all the surrounding lands everybody was running out of food coming to Egypt to buy food from Joseph now we ended off last time by asking how are Joseph’s brothers and his father faring and Canaan when it comes to this famine that’s where we pick up the account today so look at Genesis 42 I will read verses 1 to 25 Genesis 42 1 to 25 it says now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt and Jacob said to his son why are you staring at one another he said oh I’ve heard that there is grain in Egypt go down there and buy some for us from that place so that we may live and not die then 10 brothers a Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt but Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers or he said I’m afraid that harm may befall him so the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming for the famine was in the land of Canaan also now Joseph was the ruler over the land he was the one who sold to all the people of the land and Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him but their faces to the ground when Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them but he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly and he said to them where have you come from and they said from the land of Canaan to buy food but Joseph had recognized his brothers although they did not recognize him Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them and said to them you are spies you have come to look at the undefended parts of the land and they said to him no my lord but your servants have come to buy food we are all sons of one man we are honest men your servants are not spies yet he said to them no but you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land but they said your servants are 12 brothers and all the sons of one man in the land of Canaan and behold the youngest is with our father today and one is no longer alive Joseph said to them it is as I said to you you are spies by this you will be tested by the life of Pharaoh you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here send one of you that he may get your brother while you remain confined that your words may be tested whether there is truth in you but if not bud like Pharaohs surely you are spies so he put them all together in prison for three days now Joseph said to them on the third day do this and live for I fear God if you are honest men let one of your brothers you can find in your prison but as for the rest of you go carry green for the famine of your households and bring your young brother to me so your words may be verified and you will not die and they did say and they said to one another truly we are guilty concerning our brother because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us yet we would not listen therefore this distress has come upon us Reuben answered them saying did I not tell you do not sin against the boy and you would not listen how comes the reckoning for his blood it did not know however that Joseph understood but there was an interpreter between them he turned away from them and wept when he returned to them and spoke to them it took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes and Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to restore every man’s money in his sack and to give them provisions for the journey and thus it was done for them well let’s make basic observation so we just read written vs. wanted to Genesis 24 42 that Jacob sends his son to Egypt to buy food why does he do this spot tells us the famine is in the land of Canaan also notice in verse 4 who Jacob sense he sends all the brothers except Benjamin because Jacob was afraid that harm would come to Benjamin now Benjamin is the youngest but what’s the other important thing to remember about Benjamin he’s the only other son of Rachel which means he’s the only other full brother of Joseph notice in verse 6 that the brothers do come to Joseph since Joseph is the one in charge of distributing all the food in Egypt what do their brothers do as they approach Joseph they bow down with their faces to the ground ding-ding-ding why is this act significant father brothers because of Joseph’s stream this is exactly what God foretold would happen Joseph’s family and his brothers in particular would one day bow down to him and it’s happened and verse 9 tells us that Joseph also remembered the dream now verses 7 and 8 tell us that Joseph recognized his brothers but they did not recognize him the phrase disguised himself in / 7 does not mean that Joseph wore a disguise but that he acted like a stranger to them verse 23 tells us that Joseph was actually speaking to them through an interpreter though you could plainly understand what his brothers were saying now why is it there that the brothers probably did not recognize Joseph in his appearance consider joseph has become firmly integrated into the life culture and ruling structure of Egypt he probably dresses like an Egyptian and looks like an Egyptian it’s also been a long time since he’s seen his brothers we get a little bit of time information that later passages we’re looking at today but in total it’s been 22 years since he’s seen them 17 when he left them and 22 years have gone by I’m sure he looks different than his brothers remember so he recognizes them but they don’t recognize him and verse 7 says Joseph spoke to his brother it’s harshly verse 9 Joseph even accuses them of being spies trying to find out the undefended parts of Egypt and verse 10 and following in an effort to prove their innocence the brothers give a full account of their origin and their family in verses 15 to 17 Joseph seizes on some information they report about a younger brother and he says that they’re all going to be held captive until one of them goes to retrieve this younger brother and verify their story and verses 18 to 20 though after three days Joseph reverses the ultimatum and he says only one of them will be confined while the rest of brothers are free to return home with food so that they will bring their younger brother to Joseph now certainly the brothers were not expecting this kind of ordeal when they came to buy food in Egypt notice their explanation for it in verses 21 to 22 they say this has happened to us because of what we did to Joseph our brother 22 years has not erased the guilt for that sin now verse 23 says they did not realize that Joseph understood what they were saying and in verse 24 Joseph turns away from them and weeps starts crying but then also in verse 24 Joseph composes himself and he binds Simeon one of the brothers before the eyes of all and then he sends the rest on their way there’s one little surprise though at verse 25 Joseph orders his men to give back to the their money and to put it secretly in their grain sacks before they beat now these are some important observations on the text and they raise certain questions of interpretation what we’re going to hold off on those questions because answering them will be easier once we see a greater sweep what happens between Joseph and his brothers so we’re going to keep on going in Genesis and for the sake of time we’re gonna need to summarize the next few chapters when the brothers leave and later discover that their money has been returned they are dismayed and they say to one another in Genesis 4228 what is this that God has done to us when they return to Canaan they report to their father Jacob what has happened but Jacob refuses to let them take Benjamin down to Egypt he says in Genesis 42 verse 38 if harm should befall him on the journey you are taking you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol and sorrow I’m going to go to the grave if he dies thus Simeon is left captive Egypt but in Genesis 43 the food that the brothers brought back eventually runs out jacob tells his brothers that they have to go back to egypt for food but Judah speaks up and he says that they can’t go back to Egypt without Benjamin because of what Joseph had said and then notice Genesis 43 verse 9 Judah says I myself will be surety for him you may hold me responsible for him if I do not bring him back to you and set him before you then let me bear the blame before you rev so here Judah is taking the lead among the brothers and he says I’ll be responsible for Benjamin now how had Judah taken the lead previously what did he do in Jersey is what I suggested selling Joseph to the median hi traders but now he’s volunteering to be responsible for Benson Jacob acquiesces and he allows them to take Benjamin it has to be done so the nine brothers take Benjamin they take money and they take the money that had been previously returned to them and they go down to Egypt when Joseph sees the brothers with Benjamin he arranges for them all to dine with him at his house once there the brothers explained to Joseph’s house Stewart that they mysteriously found the money that they had brought previously in their grain sacks and they had brought that money back to be returned but then notice what Joseph Stewart says to them in Genesis 43 verse 23 Genesis 43 verse 23 the steward says be at ease do not be afraid your God and the god of your father has given you treasure in your sex I had your money a steward that reunites Simeon with them all and when Joseph arrives to have lunch with them they bow down to him again and give him a gift Joseph then asks them about their father and about Benjamin and notice what he says in Genesis 43 verses 29 and 30 notice what’s recorded there it says as he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin his mother’s son he said is this your youngest brother of whom you spoke to me and he said maker may God be gracious to you my son Joseph hurried out for he was deeply stirred over his brother and he sought a place to weep and he entered his chamber and wept there Joseph’s recomposes himself again and then he serves the meal sitting by himself apart from his brother but having the brothers sit in order of birthright and then look at verse 34 Genesis 43 verse 34 it says Joseph took portions to them from his own table but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs so they feasted and drank freely with him brings us to chapter 44 at the beginning of Genesis 44 Joseph instructs how steward and Al decisions away Joseph again returns all of their money and he fills their bags with food and provision but he also has his steward placed Joseph’s silver cup in Benjamin’s sack after his brothers leave Joseph’s census steward after them to accuse them of stealing Joseph’s Cup the brothers deny that they stole the cup and look at what they say in Genesis 44 verse 9 with whomever of your servants it a cup is found let him die and we also will be my Lords slaves dursa steward responds the next verse by saying now let it also be according to your words he with whom it is found shall be my slave and the rest of you shall be innocent to the brother’s horror the cup is then found in Benjamin sack so they all tear their clothes and they return to Joseph’s house in Egypt when they see Joseph they fall to the ground again before him the third time that they’ve bowed and Judah says in verse 16 a gen of chapter 44 Judah says what can we say to my lord what can we speak and how can we justify ourselves God has found out the iniquity of your servants behold we are my lord slaves both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been fed but Joseph applies no only Benjamin be enslaved but Judah speaks up again Judas says or Judah explains that Benjamin is beloved by his father and if Benjamin does not return home their father will die in sorrow and Judah declares how he also became surety for Benjamin to bring Benjamin back to his father in safety so notice what Judah proposes in verses 33 and 34 of chapter 44 Judah says now therefore please let your servant that is let me remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord and let the lad go up with his brothers for how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not what for fear that I see the evil that would overtake my pop so Judas says let me be enslaved and not venture now here’s where we want to jump back into the narrative and look at it more closely look at Genesis 45 and all reverses one to 15 Genesis 45 one to 15 then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him and he cried have everyone go out from me so there was no man with Joseph or no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers he wept he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it and the household of Pharaoh heard of it then Joseph said to his brothers I am Joseph is my father still alive but his brothers could not answer him where they were dismayed at his presence and Joseph said to his brothers please come closer to me and they came closer and he said I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt now do not be grieved 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 still five years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvesting God sent before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth and to keep you alive by a great deal now therefore it was not you who sent me here but God and he has made me a father to Pharaoh and Lord of all his household and ruler of 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 and do not delay you shall live in the land of goshen and you shall be near me you and your children and your children’s children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have there I will also provide for you but there are still five years of famine to come and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished behold your eyes see the eyes my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth which is speaking to you now you must tell my father of all my splendor and Egypt and all that you have seen and you must hurry and bring my father down here and he fell on a brother Benjamin’s neck and wept and Benjamin wept on his neck it kissed all his brothers and wept on them and afterwards his brothers talked with him now how amazing is this right let’s make some observations notice first one says that Joseph could contain himself no longer he sends out all the Egyptians and he starts to weep and he was old loudly but all the nearby Egyptians heard it where it even reaches Pharaoh and then Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers he immediately asked them is my father still alive I noticed verse three they they don’t say thing because they’re so surprised and dismayed before him but that Joseph has his family come closer to him and a little little family huddle in order to reassure them he says I am Joseph the one you sold into slavery in Egypt but don’t be grieved or angry with yourselves about it he says in verse five why not because God sent me before you three times Joseph affirms that it was God who put Joseph in Egypt verse 5 verse 7 and verse 8 and why did God do this Joseph is emphatic about this as well he says it was to save your lives and it was to save the lives of many others expresses us in verse 7 verse 5 and verse 15 in verses 9 to 13 Joseph tells them that there are still years still five years of famine left so his brothers must go back to Canaan and tell Jacob about Joseph’s Egypt in muslin Harian bring Jacob down and bring their families and all their goods to Egypt to live in the land of Goshen and there Joseph says he will provide for them all noticed before they leave though there’s more weeping from Joseph verse 14 he falls on Benjamin’s neck the neck of his brother and he weeps and he kisses him and the two weep together and then in verse 15 it says Joseph kisses all his brothers and he weeps on them and then there’s that vinyl final phrase at verse 15 afterwards his brothers talked with him he imagined when that conversation was like sure was a little bit awkward at first but they sure had a lot to catch up on it’s been 22 years but here we see Joseph is finally reconciled with his brothers though we learn later that the brothers are still a little afraid of Joseph after this turn actually the Genesis 50 from Genesis 50 last chapter look gests verses 15 to 21 this passage takes place 17 years after Josephus first reconciled with his brothers in the past as we looked at at this point Jase Jacob the father has died and the whole family has buried him in Canaan look what happens when the after this burial with Joseph in his brothers verse 15 Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead they said but if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him so they said a message to Joseph saying your father charged before he died saying that she shall say to Joseph please forgive I beg you the transgression of your brothers and there seen heard they did you wrong and now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the god of your father let’s pause here just for a second it’s worth noting that Jacob probably never sent this message this is something that the brothers are making up trying to protect themselves from Joseph trying to get more simple from Joseph on their side but they’re asking Joseph to forgive them how does Joseph respond let’s read on it says Joseph wept when they spoke to him and his brothers also came and fell down before him and said Behold we are your servants but Joseph said to them do not be afraid for MI in God’s place as for you you meant evil against me but God and it’s for good in order to bring about this present result to preserve many people eyes so therefore to not be afraid I will provide for you and your little ones so he comforted them and spoke kindly to them we see that their request for forgiveness makes Joseph weep he’s weeping again the brothers bowed down again and they proclaimed himself to be Joseph’s servants but Joseph only wants to comfort and reassure them twice Joseph says to them do not be afraid and then he asks am i in God’s place he then says you meant evil against me I acknowledge that but you intended was evil and what you did was evil but God meant it and pay attention to what the it is there there very evil that they intended and did God meant that evil for good to bring about a life-preserving result and then Joseph promises to provide for them and for their children let’s jump back now to the Genesis 45 I want you to see that little epilogue but let’s finish the narrative of the family coming down to Egypt I’ll do this again in summary fashion in Genesis 45 and 46 janna genesis 45 Joseph sends his brothers home with wagons and food provisions and gifts when the brothers come home they tell Jacob about Joseph being alive in being the ruler of Egypt Jakub spirit revives at hearing this news and he consents to go down to Egypt in chapter 46 the whole clan has moved down to Egypt 70 people all their settled in the land of goshen look at Genesis 46 verses 29 and 30 Genesis 4629 I’m pretty it says Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to go to meet his father Israel as soon as he appeared before him he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time then Israel said to Joseph now let me die since I have seen your face that you were still alive and that’s just Jacob is saying I can die happy now now that I’ve seen you again this is a very very bright and happy ending is that huh and who is it that brought all this good about Joseph it was God now finally let’s collect all that we’ve seen and try and answer some questions of interpretation and we’ve got a bunch of them to look at first question I want us to think about why does Joseph pretend not to know his brothers and instead put them through an ordeal what do you think we’re not salsa simply why in text right and there are different ways we could maybe think that that is motivating Joseph’s actions but I think the best way is to understand that Joseph is testing his brothers Joseph is testing his brothers he actually says that if you if you recall back in that first passage we looked at says I will test to see whether there is truth in you and there’s more there is some truth to that it has been many years since Joseph has seen his brothers and the last time that they are with him he saw that they were pretty sinful pretty hateful and pretty jealous of the favorite son of their father so by putting them through this ordeal where he pretends not to know them it calls them spies and all that Joseph is able to see discern whether his brothers have changed or not in the intervening years and he can see that they definitely have changed the brothers express their guilt to one another regarding what they did to Joseph they do not become resentful at Benjamin even when Benjamin receives extra favor from Joseph and the ringleader of their sin Judah himself he’s the one who volunteers to be a sacrifice on Benjamin’s behalf complete 180 of what do – had been before so by testing his brothers Joseph can definitely see that they paint but was it right for Joseph to test his brothers in this way I mean I’m a little unkind it’s hard to say hex does not commend or condemn Joseph for his actions perhaps Joseph was trying to protect his brother Benjamin perhaps Joseph needed to know how to best proceed and reconciling with his brothers and so he needed this test but one thing’s for sure we should not look at what Joseph did here as a model for how we reconcile with others no we’re nothing beat putting people through these kinds of tests making things hard for them Joseph’s case is unique so let’s not try and imitate him totally another question why does Joseph weep so much at least four times he’s crying man just cry some what do you think is the guy and we should note that this is much more common in ancient days today we have to look down on at least in American culture kind of look down on public expressions of emotion especially from men crying is seen as a sign of weakness but back then it was totally normal to express yourself this way I mean people are weeping all over the Bible and these are not weak men I mean a lot of these guys are strong warriors but why why did you get so emotionally which shows if he weeps when he sees them was it show about Joseph shows this compassion shows his love for his brothers and his family every time he’s interacting with them he’s weeping he loves his family and he has compassion on them it’s interesting that he weeps when his brothers talk about how guilty they feel about what they did to Joseph yes it’s not weeping for himself he’s leaping on their behalf because he loves them another question does Joseph absolve his brothers of responsibility for their sin when he says in Genesis 45 8 it was not you who sent me here but God now this season is about emphasis this is not absolving them a responsibility we saw in Genesis 50:20 he does acknowledge what you intended was evil thank you guys didn’t sin or that they’re not responsible for their sin but he is emphasizing something he’s saying the more important intent and what happened was God’s God meant it for good so don’t trouble yourselves don’t trouble yourselves about it speaking of Genesis 50:20 Joseph says something else interesting in that context what does Joseph mean when he says do not be afraid for am I in God’s place does he mean by that statement yeah go ahead yes right this is about vengeance he doesn’t say that specifically but you said am I in God’s place there’s something that gods allowed to do then I’m not allowed to do and what does that seek vengeance on the wrong that you did me this is interesting because again Joseph is living in a time when the Scriptures have not yet been written and yet Joseph again understands this fundamental right of God vengeance is God’s he will repay it is not the place of Joseph or really any of us to seek vengeance on behalf of the righteous as true human governments have an authority to punish evildoers and that’s established after the flood in Genesis 9 but still Joseph understands that his responsibility is not to seek vengeance his responsibility is instead what well people have done him wrong what is Joseph’s responsibility you’re getting now and isn’t that also a truth that it’s peated again and again through the Scriptures and Jesus says it most explicitly I tell you love your enemies pray for those who persecute you and part of loving people is forgiving them and so that leads us to our next question how was Joseph able to forgive his brothers the Heartless since that they did to him they kidnapped him they almost killed him and they sold him as a slave in Egypt no it’s interesting that Reuben says God is giving us a reckoning for Joseph’s blood he says we essentially killed him so how can Joseph forgive him for that is not the answer what we said in the beginning Joseph was content in God he knew that he was a child of the Covenant and that God was with him therefore he was free to forgive his brothers Joseph was surely aware of his own sinfulness and his own need for forgiveness before God it’s not mentioned explicitly in the text we read but this is characteristic of the rights throughout the Scriptures so we could assume is through Joseph but what is most obvious is the third reason that we mentioned in the beginning Joseph was confident now whatever happened to him was under God’s sovereignty and that God would use it for good in the end in fact he saw how God used it for good we see a great good a great end for Joseph and his family God provides for them all Joseph is exalted in Egypt the family estate from famine thus Joseph is able to forgive the terrible sin from his brothers and even seek their good and of course we should forgive in the same way the same reasons now someone will say well yeah Joseph can forget because it worked out so well for him I mean it’s not working out so nicely for me I’m still suffering from the sin that people have done to me how can I forgive what’s true you may not yet a scene that dramatic turnaround that we see in the life of Joseph I mean he went clearly from suffering into blessing but like we said last week when we talked about reversals you will see that change eventually your suffering will be turned into blessing if not in this life than in the life to come and when that happens not only will you be abundantly blessed but you will see how what you suffered was being used by God for good but because you haven’t experienced that yet that’s the truth you have to embrace by faith don’t resent those don’t hate those who sinned against you even in terrible ways because Romans 8:28 says God causes all things to work together for good for those who love him and for those who are called according to his purpose you know that even the sins that others do against you even those things that hurt even those things that are terrible heinous shameful in the sight of God they will be used by God for your good and for the good of others say more about that a little bit two other questions why was God committed to preserving the family of Joseph yeah it was nice to comment and really the character god I was a loving God he is a generous God he’s the faithful God but he also entered into covenant with Abraham and Abraham seed thus he was going to bring to pass what he promised God a promise to Abraham and his seed a land multiplied descendants and worldwide blessing those things had to come to pass and the famine threatened that therefore God hatch brava God was motivated to provide for Joseph and for all of Joseph’s family it was just God keeping coming showing that covenant love but perhaps this raises one last question why didn’t God just cancel the fandom couldn’t he provided deliverance in an easier way I mean the way he chose just resulted in a bunch of trials for everybody Joseph especially so why did God choose to do it this way this question has several different parts it involves the brokenness of the world the consequences of sin God’s purposes for trillions of individuals all being fulfilled at the same time those who were already living and those who would come to live in the future but the main answer to the question of why did God choose to do it this way is because this way God determined would give God maximum glory this way would give God maximum glory because this is something I said before but it’s worth reiterating there is no greater good in the universe than for God to glorify himself there’s no greater good for any one of you or for any person in the world then to see God’s glory put on display and when I say glory I’m talking about the greatness of God all the attributes of God who is who he is put on display that is the greatest good that any person can experience Jesus actually says this himself in a verse I often quote John 17:3 this is eternal life that they may know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent know eternal life is not just about longevity it’s about quality true life Jesus says is knowing God knowing him having a relationship with him seeing who he actually is and how great he is and because that is the greatest good because God’s glory is the greatest treasure it is better listen to this it is better that God revealed his glory to us through hardship than that we experienced ease and do not see God’s glory it’s better than God reveal his glory to us through hardship and for us to experience ease and not see God’s glory you know there’s a reason that Joseph calls what God did and all this a great deliverance consider how they would have missed out on this display of God’s greatness and God’s glory God faithfulness God’s worth God’s power if none of these trials ever happened God is fundamentally good he’s good to his people but the greatest way that God is good is by revealing himself to his people so that they can enjoy him so they can have relationship with him so they can become like him so all these ordeals for Jacob for Joseph for the other brothers they had to happen the famine had to happen Joseph’s imprisonment had to happen Joseph’s slavery had to happen God wanted all of us to see his power his faithfulness his loyal love do you realize that God is doing the same thing with the trials and even the sins that you are suffering from other people in your life it’s about God revealing his glory and goodness to you do you realize how God means these things for good for your good to cause you to trust God to cause you to love God cause you to be satisfied in God and clinked him as were full most treasure you see we were looking at the life of Joseph over the last four lessons but Joseph is not the hero it’s not the hero ultimately the hero is God just as he’s the true hero of every biblical narrative and really the hero of every one of our lives he’s the one who’s bringing about the good he’s the one who is worthy he’s the one who’s worthy of all praise Romans 11:36 uses I think a helpful phrase speaking of God put from him and to him and through him are all things nothing sisters it is all about God in the end because he is so good he’s showing us again and again in the scriptures his glory and he’s doing the same thing in our lives whether we realized it or not and did he not do this in the greatest way with Jesus and the cross this was the greatest injustice this was a righteous man experiencing the worst sins that a person could do to another person to crucified the Son of God the Messiah the Savior who never did anything wrong it was only full of love for his people they killed him they did a lot more than that he actually our Lord he took the sins of his people with him on the tree and he paid them off all in full do you see that it was the same thing a much greater way that Joseph was experiencing the sins of others against a righteous man they were bringing about a great good even the salvation of all people who believed in God who believed in our in Christ similarly God is accomplishing great good in your lives even through the sins of others against you you can trust in the sovereignty of God because of how he displays it again and again in the scriptures God is revealing his glory and doing good to his people so what does this mean for us what are some ways that we can apply the truths we’ve seen in the life of Joseph and we’ve seen in our lesson today I’ll give you a few questions to stimulate your thinking hopefully you see there are many applications from this lesson Arif you for few thoughts we to think about first have you humbled yourself before God do you believe that seeing his glory it’s better than experiencing ease in this world not almost like suffering and for honest sometimes we would prefer just easy no problem life do you see yet beholding God’s glory through suffering through hardship even through the sins of others is better than a life of ease this is not normal for the world’s thinking this is not normal for your flesh you need to renew your mind with the truth of Scripture you need to embrace a totally new way of thinking have you embraced that biblical mindset that is opposed to flesh second question what are some ways that you see you’ve already seen God reveal his glory and goodness through the trials and even the sins of others against you in your life I trust that you have already seen this how did those things turn out for good I’ll just give you one personal example when I was attending Rutgers there in New Jersey as an undergraduate I was part of a campus organization along with Emma and some others and I was trying to encourage the group people I met there and the leadership of the group to get more deep into biblical teaching to talk about sanctification to talk about the gospel in full but to my great shock I was confronted by the leaders of that campus ministry and told that I was being divisive in their group and that if I didn’t get along with what they intended to do that I should leave the organization essentially they they kicked me out and Emma eventually was essentially kicked out as well this was a terrible terrible terrible shock and I think a sin that I experienced I mean these were Christian leaders saying we don’t want we don’t want to go deeper in a biblical truth and if you want that then you don’t belong here I was so discouraged I was so hurt I was so disheartened but you know what God used it for good and not only to mature me and it caused me to grow closer to Christ but as a result of being shunned from this organization we started her own Bible study we started her own Bible study at the Rutgers campus in some different people got to attend and we got to share the gospel with them and one of the people who attended and you remember he attended Calvary for some time Andrew you parch partially through the Bible study he came to faith he was saved that would never have happened if he didn’t get kicked out of that organization God was using it for good so how has that been true also in your life do you believe and expect that this is always what God is doing if you belong to Christ he’s always working everything for your good at news glory even the sins of ups one more question do you forgive others do you forgive others in your heart for their sins against you because you know that even their sins are ordained by God for your good and it’s glory we should be a forgiving people if we believe in the sovereignty of God if we believe in the goodness of God we should be a forgiving people are you withholding forgiveness you ought to forgive all people in your heart for even their sins against you because God is good in suffering as to outward reconciliation yes often there needs to be confession of sin and repentance from that other person but are you ready for that do you desire that are you like the father of the prodigal son who when he sees the person far off on the road to repentance he runs to that person are you trying to be reconciled with those who’ve sinned against you are you glad are you so happy when they approach you in confession and repentance are you free with your forgiveness and reconciliation to them do you intend not just to forgive them but to rebuild a relationship with them do you pray for their good do you pray God will bless them do you play God will bring them to repentance because that’s the heart of God not only on display in Joseph’s life but in the life of our Lord it’s because of God’s kindness toward those who sin against him that you and I are saying so do we display similar kindness do we long to display that kind of kindness because we love others questions our comment about what you’ve heard today I hope you will meditate on those questions and I hope that you will be thinking about continue to think about the account of Joseph given to us ultimately it is an account about God is account about God’s wonderful love and faithfulness is glory but on display for us that’s all for this week next week we finished book of Genesis Brooke take a look at you take a look at the prophecy of Jake before he dies about the future destinies of his sons and as we look at that we’re gonna see another very poignant prophecy about becoming see promised even the Messiah any other questions or comments about today’s lesson be sure to email me that’s closing prayer we thank you for this account how you revealed yourself to the world and to us not only in these events but in having them recorded for us God how how we would know you so little if you didn’t reveal yourself if you didn’t write these things down for us you did that was part of your kindness to us just as Ephesian says you revealed the mystery of your will thank you for revealing yourself to us not only through the word but by your spirit opening our eyes to see you and to believe in you Lord God we confess there is no good in this world compared with you you are our treasure you are our greatest but how easily we get distracted from that and how easily Lord when we start thinking fleshly we start saying to ourselves I cannot forgive what that person did to me Oh Lord how far how far from your heart such an attitude is how twisted how foolish is such thinking would renew our minds give us such a confidence in your sovereignty help us to believe by faith that you are always doing your people good and by that God enable us cause us to obey you and forgive others from the heart and to reconcile with others when it is even remotely possible Oh Lord God I pray that you would accomplish that in the lives of the people of Calvary and any who are listening today we know God that we forgive because you’ve forgiven us and if we can’t forgive it’s probably a sign that we’re not forgiven I pray for any who are in that such a state were not forgiven before you that they would come they would come repents they believe in Jesus Christ is the only Savior and thereby that they would inherit everlasting life in Jesus name Amen thank you Paul see you next time well