Lessons from Joseph

(Go To Meeting)

Lindsay Stephens—May 6, 2023

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It is very significant that the Coronation is on today and it coincides with the subject that I have. Joseph is one of the most popular stories in the Bible in the Old Testament. He's a most well-known man. As children many of us were familiar with the story of Joseph and how it all panned out.

The purpose of this message is to relate to you some of the things, some of the lessons that Joseph learned, and relate it to us so that we can learn from it ourselves in our growth and what's in store for us in the future.

Joseph was the youngest of the first 11 children. Because of all the women involved there wasn't a great age difference between them. But Joseph was the youngest of them, and he was the only one born of Rachel, and she was the wife that Jacob loved the most. It was a rather dysfunctional family, and there was a danger of favoritism being involved.

Genesis 37:2: "This is the account of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, came tending the flock with his brothers. And he was a youth with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought to his father an evil report of them. And Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a tunic reaching to the soles of his feet" (vs 2-3). There was a movie made of the coat of many colors.

Verse 4: "And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him"—jealousy was involved!

Verse 5: "And Joseph dreamed a dream and told it to his brothers. And they hated him still more. And he said to them, 'I pray you, hear this dream which I have dreamed, for behold, we were binding sheaves in the middle of the field, and lo, my sheaf arose and also stood upright. And behold, your sheaves stood around and bowed down to my sheaf'" (vs 5-7).

Verse 8: "And his brothers said to him, 'Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have the rule over us?' And they hated him still more for his dreams and for his words."

Joseph wasn't perfect! The impression was that, a this stage, he had a feeling of superiority over his brothers.

I had this dream of them bowing down to me, so I'm going to rule over them. Therefore, I must be better than them.

Perhaps vanity got to his head a bit. Discretion would have been far more appropriate that if only told the dream to Jacob, his father. Not all of his brothers adding more fuel to the fire.

Verse 9: And he dreamed still another dream, and told it to his brothers. And he said, 'Behold, I have dreamed another dream. And behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars bowed down to me.'"

You can imagine the reaction to this dream from his brothers.

Verse 10: "And he told it to his father and to his brothers. And his father rebuked him and said to him, 'What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I, and your mother, and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the earth before you?' And his brothers were jealous of him. But his father was mindful of the saying" (vs 10-11)—in other words, he kept it in his mind.

There must be some meaning here. There's no doubt that Jacob spent far more time with Joseph than any of the other brothers. Why? Because he loved Rachel more than the others, and a result of this Joseph was the favorite son!

Verse 14: "And he said to him, 'Please go see whether it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks. And bring me word again.' And he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, 'What are you looking for?' And he said, 'I am seeking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks'" (vs 14-16).

Verse 17: "And the man said, 'They are gone from here, for I heard them say, "Let us go to Dothan."' And Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan."

• Why would they move their flocks from Shechem to Dothan? We can think of reasons, but they wanted to make sure that Joseph wouldn't find them. They didn't want him spying on them.
• Who was the man who found Joseph and knew about the brothers going to Dothan? It's quite likely that it was an angel who gave Joseph the directions!

Verse 18: "And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. And they said to one another, 'Behold, this dreamer comes. Therefore, come now, and let us kill him, and throw him into some pit, and we will say some evil beast has devoured him. And we shall see what will become of his dreams'" (vs 18-20).

Verse 21: "And Reuben heard, and he delivered him out of their hands and said, 'Let us not kill him.'"

At least Reuben had some good intentions here. They didn't all want Joseph dead.

Verse 22: "And Reuben said to them, 'Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him'—in order to rescue him out of their hands, and deliver him to his father again."

Verse 23: "And it came to pass when Joseph had come to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic reaching to the soles of his feet that was on him." Joseph had no idea that there was the conspiracy against him!

Verse 24: "And they took him and threw him into a pit. And the pit was empty with no water in it."

The pit couldn't have been too deep to hurt him too badly, however, it was too deep for him to climb out of by himself.

Verse 25: "And they sat down to eat bread…." Reuben was not there!

How long Joseph was in the pit we don't know, but obviously, all the brothers would have talked about it among themselves saying. 'What are we going to do with him?'

"…And they lifted up their eyes and looked. And behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, to take them down to Egypt. And Judah said to his brothers, 'What profit is it if we should kill our brother and hide his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, and our flesh.' And his brothers hearkened" (vs 25-27).

How is that for brotherly love? Don't kill him, just sell him into slavery! That will solve the problem.

Verse 28: "Then Midianite traders passed by, and they drew up Joseph and took him out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt."

Verse 29: "And Reuben returned to the pit…. [but it was too late by the time that Reuben came back] …And behold, Joseph was not in the pit! And he tore his clothes. And he returned to his brothers and said, 'The boy, he is not there. And I, where shall I go?'" (vs 29-30). One sin leads to another as we will see!

Verse 31: "And they took Joseph's tunic and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. And they took the tunic reaching to the soles of the feet, and they brought it to their father. And they said, 'We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son's coat or not?'" (vs 31-32). Not 'our brothers,' but 'your son'!

By this time Reuben is in on the cover up!

Verse 33: "And he knew it, and said, 'It is my son's tunic. An evil beast has eaten him. Joseph is without a doubt torn in pieces.' And Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters, rose up to comfort him. But he refused to be comforted. And he said, 'For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning.' And his father wept for him" (vs 33-35).

So, they underestimated on how much this would hurt Jacob and his feelings toward Joseph. They totally underestimated in the short term, and in the long term, as Jacob mourned the loss of Joseph for years.

Verse 36: "And the Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh, the chief of the executioners."

As bad as the situation was, it was a forerunner of what's going to happen to Joseph in the future.

Genesis 39:2: "And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master the Egyptian."

Joseph was applying the skills that Jacob had taught him as he was growing up.

Verse 3: "And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hands. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him. And he made him overseer over his house, and he put him in charge of all he had" (vs 3-4). By this time Joseph had learned some lessons!

Proverbs 3:11: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be weary of His correction; for whom the LORD loves He corrects, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding" (vs 11-13).

Joseph had learned some lessons, even in spite of the fact that he was in slavery! He was applying these lessons of what he learned from his father while in the situation.

Genesis 39:5: "And it came to pass from the time he had made him overseer in his house, and over all he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake. And the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house and in the field."

Proverbs 11:25: "The soul who gives generously shall be made prosperous, and he who waters shall also be watered himself."

This is certainly applying to Joseph in the way that he was developing his skills.

Ephesians 2:10: "For we are His workmanship, being created in Christ Jesus unto the good works that God ordained beforehand in order that we might walk in them."

The whole world is going to be blessed by Jesus Christ. The time came for Joseph to be tested.

Genesis 39:7: "And after these things it came to pass that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph. And she said, 'Lie with me.' But he refused and said to his master's wife, 'Behold, my master does not know what is in the house with me, and he has given all that he has into my hand. There is none greater in this house than I. Neither has he kept back anything from me except you because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?'" (vs 7-9).

He certainly passes this first test with 'flying colors'! But Potiphar's wife was persistent.

Verse 10: "And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie with her, or to be with her. And it came to pass on a certain day that he came into the house to do his work. And none of the men of the house were inside. And she caught him by his robe, saying, 'Lie with me.' And he left his robe in her hand and fled, and got out of the house" (vs 10-12).

Well, he did the right thing there!

1-Corinthians 6:18: "Flee sexual immorality…." Joseph did what was right!

Genesis 39:14: "She called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, 'See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice. And when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried aloud, he left his robe with me and fled and got out'" (vs 14-15).

• Who do you think Potiphar was going to believe?
• A Hebrew slave?

or

• His wife?

Yet, Potiphar knew Joseph's character that he had entrusted with all things in his house. A charge of fornication would have brought death! But in this case it wasn't death.

Verse 20: "And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound. And he was there in the prison. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison" (vs 20-21).

When you're in this situation when you're doing everything right, and you are accused of fornication and put in prison, the temptation is to 'throw in the towel.' You would think that:

I'm doing everything right here, I've done the right thing and they're accusing me of doing this, what's the use! What's the use of doing what's right?

Verse 21: "But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison gave all the prisoners in the prison into Joseph's hand. And whatever they did there, was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not concern himself with anything under his hand because the LORD was with Joseph, and whatever he did, the LORD made it to prosper" (vs 21-23).

Ecclesiastes 9:10: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…"

Gen. 40 is where we have dreams by several of the prisoners: the cupbearer and the chief baker. Joseph asked them about the dreams.

Genesis 40:8: "And they said to him, 'We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.' And Joseph said to them, 'Do not interpretations belong to God? Now tell it to me.'" Faith and God will just have to work it out!

After they told Joseph their dreams, it was going to be in Potiphar's favor.

Verse 14: "But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this place"

Joseph was sowing a seed here for getting out of prison. However, one lesson here for all of us is that God does things in His time, not when we want it to be done. As we will see he had to wait another two years. That was when Pharaoh had his dreams.

Pharaoh had these two dreams and he tried to have and interpreted by all of the wise men, magicians. However, nobody was able to do that. It was then that the cupbearer remembered Joseph, and Joseph interpreted his dream.

Genesis 41:14: "Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph. And they hurried him out of the dungeon. And he shaved and changed his clothing, and came in to Pharaoh."

When you're having the most powerful ruler in the land, and possibly the world at that time, you had to look presentable.

Verse 15: "And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I have dreamed a dream, and none can interpret it. And I have heard it said about you that you can understand a dream to interpret it.'"

Do you think you'd be overwhelmed when you're confronted or in front of the most powerful ruler of the land, perhaps Joseph had background training through Potiphar and even in the prison.

Verse 16: "And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, 'Not I. But God shall give an answer favorable to Pharaoh.'" Joseph looked to God in answering here!

Verse 28: "This is the thing, which God has spoken to Pharaoh, for what God is about to do, He has shown to Pharaoh. Behold, there are coming seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. Then there shall arise after them seven years of famine. And all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land. And the plenty shall not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it shall be very grievous." (vs 28-31).

How do politicians handle it, modern politicians today? They take credit! 'We've got the solution here! I've got the solution for this! If you elect me, I will do this!' Then when the seven years of plenty are over, resign and go on a pension, or let everybody else worry about the famine.

Verse 32: "And since the dream was repeated to Pharaoh, and given twice, it is because the matter is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now, therefore, let Pharaoh look for a man who is discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh act, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. That food shall be for a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt, so that the land does not perish through the famine" (vs 32-36).

So, Joseph offers solutions here, but he does not promote himself.

Verse 37: "And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, 'Can we find any man like this in whom the Spirit of God is?' And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Since God has shown you all this, no one is as discreet and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall obey your word. Only in the throne will I be greater than you.'" (vs 37-40).

Verse 41: And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.' And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph's hand. And he dressed him with fine linen robes, and put a gold chain around his neck" (vs 41-42).

Verse 44: "And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I am Pharaoh, and without a word from you, no man shall lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.' And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-Paaneah…. [meaning God speaks] …And he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On, for his wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt" (vs 44-45).

That was quite a change from being a slave in the prison to being governor of Egypt, second in charge over all the land of Egypt, the most powerful country on earth at that time.

The land had seven years of plenty; just think of the promotion and compare that with what we are in this world. The majority of us don't have any significance in the world at all. Not many wise men are called. Many are in the graves waiting to be resurrected, or we're nothing on the earth. Through the instantaneous resurrection to spirit beings with awesome responsibility.

Also, the seven years of plenty might be compared in some ways to the Millennium where there is going to be righteous rule and there's going to be abundance.

Genesis 42:5: "And the sons of Israel came to buy among those that came, for the famine was also in the land of Canaan. And Joseph was the potentate over the land. He was the one selling to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. And Joseph saw his brothers, and he knew them…" (vs 5-7).

Joseph was carnal and may have thought, 'This is my chance.' He might have come out and said,

Remember me! I'm the one you sold into slavery! But now 'the ball is in the other court.' You are going to be my slaves.

No, he didn't do that because Joseph knew that God had a purpose. He didn't know the purpose at the time, but it was being worked out.

"…but remained a stranger to them, and spoke roughly to them. And he said to them, 'Where do you come from?'…." (v 7).

He didn't reveal himself and they didn't recognize him because it was many years sin they last saw him.

"…And they said, 'From the land of Canaan to buy food.' And Joseph knew his brothers, but they did not know him. And Joseph remembered the dreams, which he dreamed of them, and said to them, 'You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land.' And they said to him, 'No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. We are all one man's sons. We are honest men; your servants are not spies'" (vs 7-11).

How honest were the? They had a history of sin, even murder. It was a sin to sell him into slavery in any case. So, they were not as honest as they said.

Verse 12: "And he said to them, 'No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.' And they said, 'Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. And behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more'" (vs 12-13).

Verse 14: "And Joseph said to them, 'It is as I spoke to you, saying, "You are spies!" By this you shall be proved—as Pharaoh lives you shall not go forth from here unless your youngest brother comes here'" (vs 14-15).

Verse 18: "And Joseph said to them the third day, 'Do this and live, for I fear God. If you are honest, let one of your brothers be bound in your prison house. You go carry grain for the famine of your houses. But bring your youngest brother to me, and let your words be confirmed, be proved true, and you shall not die.' And they did so. And they said one to another, 'We are truly guilty concerning our brother… [talking about Joseph] …in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he begged us, and we would not hear. Therefore, this distress has come upon us'" (vs 18-21).

Their mind were not so far removed, and they remembered what they did.

Verse 22: "And Reuben answered them, saying, 'Did I not speak to you saying, "Do not sin against the youth?" And you would not listen. Therefore, behold,his blood is required at our hands.'"

Verse 23: "And they did not know that Joseph could understand them, for the interpreter was used between them. And he turned from them and wept. And he returned to them again and talked with them…" (vs 23-24).

Emotions were very high here; he had to control his emotions. He wanted to know if they had changed from when they sold him into slavery. But he couldn't reveal himself, open himself out at this stage.

"…and took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes" (v 24).

• Why Simeon?
• Was he the most blood-thirsty?

Just remember Simeon and Levi at Shechem and what they did there. Also, it may well have been Simeon that made the suggestion to kill Joseph and putting him in the pit and selling him into slavery.

Verse 25: "Then Joseph commanded their sacks to be filled with grain, and returned their silver, each into his sack, and to give them provision for the way. And so he did to them. And they loaded their donkeys with grain and departed from there" (vs 25-26).

Verse 28: "And he said to his brothers, 'My silver has been put back—here, in my sack.' And their hearts sank, and they each were afraid, saying to one another, 'What is this God has done to us?'"

They went back to Canaan and they relayed the story to Jacob their Father. This is the result of how Jacob responded:

Verse 36: "And Jacob their father said to them, 'You have bereaved me. Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you will take Benjamin? All these things are against me.' And Reuben spoke to his father, saying, 'Kill my two sons if I do not bring him to you. Deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to you again'" (vs 36-37).

There weren't fruits of repentance here. Jacob would not relent. Jacob did not want Benjamin[transcriber's correction] to be brought down to Egypt.

This is when the famine was still in it's early stages, and now they were running out of food again. They had to go down to Egypt again.

Genesis 43:8: "And Judah said to Israel his father, 'Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, so that we may live and not die, both we and you, also our little ones. I will be surety for him. You shall require him of my hand. If I do not bring him to you and set him before you, I shall be a sinner against you all the days'" (vs 8-9).

Judah was taking responsibility here. He had his own trials. In Gen. 38 he had two of his own sons killed.

So, back they went, and Judah finally agreed to be responsible for Benjamin and Jacob allowed him to go back to Egypt to purchase more grain.

Verse 16: "And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, 'Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men shall dine with me at noon.' And the man did as Joseph said. And the man brought the men into Joseph's house. And the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph's house. And they said, 'Because of the silver that was returned in our sacks at the first time we are brought in that he may seek something against us, and fall upon us, and take us for slaves, and our donkeys'" (vs 16-18).

Verse 24: "Then the man brought the men into Joseph's house and gave them water, and they washed their feet. And he gave fodder to their donkeys. And they made ready the presents for the coming of Joseph at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there" (vs 24-25).

They had to make themselves presentable; they were going to dining with the governor of the land. Quite an occasion!

Verse 26: "And when Joseph came home, they brought him the presents in their hands into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. And he asked them as to their welfare, and said, 'Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?' And they answered, 'Your servant, our father, is in good health. He is still alive.' And they bowed down their heads and fell before him" (vs 26-28).

Verse 29: "And he [Joseph] lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, 'Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?' And he said, 'God bless you, my son.' And Joseph made haste, for his heart yearned for his brother. And he sought a place to weep. And he entered into his room and wept there" (vs 29-30).

This was very emotional, for Joseph lost complete control. It does remind me of:

2-Timothy 1:7: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of sound-mindedness."

Joseph in this situation when he saw Benjamin for the first time in over 20 years, he had to control himself.

Genesis 43:31: "And he washed his face and went out, and controlled himself, and said, 'Serve the food.'"

Verse 33: "And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth. And the men marveled at one another."

Here they are in an unknown country before the governor of the land and they were seated there in chronological order. Here they were seated here before the governor having a delicious fine meal. But their trials and test was to begin.

Joseph had everyone's sack filled up and he had a cup put into the sack of Benjamin. This was going to be the trial of all trials. They were brought back by the steward of Joseph's house.

Genesis 44:15: "And Joseph said to them, 'What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that one like me can certainly divine?' And Judah said, 'What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your slaves. Behold, we are my lord's servants, both we and he also with whom the cup is found'" (v 15-16).

Judah at this stage realized that there was no way out of it.

Verse 17: "And he [Joseph] said, 'Be it far from me that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my slave. And as for you, you go in peace to your father.'"

Verse 18: "And Judah came near him and said, 'O my lord, pray let your servant speak a word in my lord's ears, and do not let your anger burn against your servant, for you are even as Pharaoh."

This is the test and Joseph is waiting to see what the response is going to be. This is one of the most heartfelt intercession that you can imagine, and Judah realized that because there was no way out he had to come all out with this intercession and lay his own life on the line!

Verse 33: "And now, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a slave to my lord. And let the boy go up with his brothers."

He told Joseph the whole scenario, that his father—Jacob—would not survive the ordeal of Benjamin not coming back.

Verse 34: "For how shall I go up to my father, and the boy is not with me lest perhaps I see the evil that will befall my father?"

This was the moment Joseph was waiting for. As a result of this, he couldn't control his emotions anymore. He caused everybody to go out and left himself there with his brothers.

Genesis 45:3: "And Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?' And his brothers could not answer him, for they were troubled at his presence…. [terrified because of the history of 20 years before] …And Joseph said to his brothers, 'Please come near me.' And they came near. And he said, 'I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. And now, do not be grieved nor angry with yourselves that you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life; for these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be no plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance'" (vs 3-7).

This is a type of physical salvation. Perhaps they look at this as a type of spiritual salvation by Jesus Christ, by His death, the shedding of His blood was a spiritual salvation of the whole world. The seven years of plenty is a type of the Millennium.

Verse 8: "And now you did not send me here, but God. And He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, "God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me, do not wait. And you shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your sons and your sons' sons, and your flocks, and your herds, and all that you have. And I will nourish you there, for there are still five years of famine, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty"'" (vs 8-11).

Can you imagine the family reunion? Imagine the emotions! Think about this in our own lives. Think of the family and loved ones that have done wrong to us, but there will be a reunion! I will thank my mother just before she died. She had a Protestant background so she had no real understanding. But it gave her comfort when I said that when she wakes up, she will be in the greatest family reunion that she will ever experience.

Here is Jacob in a dream about going into Egypt:

Genesis 46:3: "And He said, 'I am God, the God of your fathers. Do not fear to go down into Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation. I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again. And Joseph himself shall put his hand to close your eyes'" (vs 3-4).

Jacob was actually in Egypt for 17 years, and incidentally, Joseph was 17-years-old when he was taking from Jacob and sent down into Egypt. Since Joseph was born in the land of Iran, he was only a few years in Canaan.

• Gen. 48 was when Jacob was {inaudible}
• Gen. 49 is when Jacob gave the blessing to his own sons

Gen. 50 is 17 years after the reconciliation.

Genesis 50:15: "And when Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, 'Joseph will perhaps hate us, and will certainly repay us all the evil which we did to him.'"

Verse 18: "And his brothers also went and fell down before his face. And they said, 'Behold, we are your servants.' And Joseph said to them, 'Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save a great many people alive. And now do not fear. I will nourish you and your little ones.' And he comforted them and spoke to their hearts" (vs 18-21). Joseph live to that age 110, and he died.

Psalm 103:12: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

Once the reconciliation was made, Joseph had no grudge against his brothers. He exercised humility. Once he became governor of Egypt, he never changed from the humility that he had. He showed grace, mercy and love toward his brothers. That is the same principle for us in the Church. In the second resurrection we're going to have to be very merciful to our loved ones, family and friends.

It will be easier for us because we'll be spirit beings. Joseph had to fight against the carnality. Joseph remained faithful to the end of his life, and he's listed in the faith chapter:

Hebrews 11:22: "By faith Joseph, when he was dying, spoke of the coming exodus of the children of Israel, and gave a command concerning his bones."

He knew that the exodus was coming, and his bones would be carried out of Egypt.

Verse 39: "But these all, though they had received a good report through faith, did not obtain the promise… [Joseph has not yet been resurrected] …because God had determined in advance to provide something superior for us so that without us they would not be made perfect" (vs 39-40).

On the Sea of Glass, when we're resurrected on the Day of Pentecost, we will have the opportunity to meet Joseph and relate more to the experiences that faith had in his life. He was a great example to us. Joseph was an example to us!

Scriptural References:

• Genesis 37:2-11, 14-36
• Genesis 39:2-4
• Proverbs 3:11-13
• Genesis 39:5
• Proverbs 11:25
• Ephesians 2:10
• Genesis 39:7-12
• 1 Corinthians 6:18
• Genesis 39:14-15, 20-23
• Ecclesiastes 9:10
• Genesis 40:8, 14
• Genesis 41:14-16, 28-42, 44-45
• Genesis 42:5-15, 18-26, 28, 36-37
• Genesis 43:8-9, 16-18, 24-30
• 2 Timothy 1:7
• Genesis 43:31-33
• Genesis 44:15-18, 33-34
• Genesis 45:3-11
• Genesis 46:3-4
• Genesis 50:15,18-21
• Psalm 103:12
• Hebrews 11:22,39-40

Scriptures referenced, not quoted: Genesis 38; 48; 49

LS:bo
Transcribed: 5/30/23

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