Transcription
Well, at this phase of our journey, we have once again taken a pause, placed a pin in the middle of one book in order to go back and complete our work in another. So, the bad news is, we will not be continuing right now with the book of Romans. We will be back there in short order. The good news is, we are going to finish our journey through the Book of Genesis as promised.
We found a nice stopping point there in the book of Romans as we look at this doctrine of justification by faith. In the midst of that journey, we have seen how important it is for us to understand the Book of Genesis in order to understand the book of Romans, and how important it is for us to understand the book of Romans in order to understand the Book of Genesis. And as we continue that juxtaposition of these two books and the great doctrines which they teach, prayerfully, we will keep all of these things in mind as we develop a fuller understanding of the redemption that is ours through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
When last we journeyed through the Book of Genesis, we journeyed through the life of Jacob. And as we came to a transition at the end of Jacob's life, or toward the end of Jacob's life, we took a pause. Now we take up the discourse again in Genesis chapter 37 and begin the journey through the life of Joseph.
Now, if, if we were to title this last section and we wanted to title it from a theological perspective or from a literary perspective, we would probably have to title this, "The Last Toledote." Why would we call it the last Toledote, you ask? Well, I'm glad you asked that. That is a word that is found 11 times in the Hebrew text in the Book of Genesis, and it actually frames the Book of Genesis. Now, it's translated in the phrase, "These are the generations of." So, what we have in the Book of Genesis is an introduction or a prologue. The prologue is Genesis 1:1 through Genesis 2:3. The first Toledote happens in Genesis chapter 2 and verse 4, where we have, "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth." Now, that's the only one that's not about a person. After the generations of the heavens and the earth, we have the generation of Adam, the generations of Noah, the generation of Noah's sons, the generation of Shem, the generation of Terah, the generation of Ishmael, the generation of Isaac, the generation of Esau, and finally, the last time we see the phrase is here with the generation of Jacob.
Now, interestingly enough, when a new section is introduced with this idea of the Toledote, or the generations of, it is usually a section that introduces the death of that particular individual and the continuation of the line through the next individual. So, as we read here in chapter 37, we read, verse 1: "Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojourning, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob."
Now, we know that this last Toledote, this last generations of, it's not really about Jacob. We've already heard about Jacob. This is about those who came forth from Jacob to continue on the line, specifically his 12 sons, and even more specifically, the way that God used Joseph in the lives of those 12 sons. So, as we come to a close here, recognize that there is a flow to the Book of Genesis. There's a flow to the way this story lays itself out, and it has to do with generations. It has to do with the promised seed. It has to do with following that line from the proto-evangel, the first proclamation of the Gospel in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15, where God says to the serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; you will bruise him on the heel, but he will crush your head." The very next chapter, we see the first murder. What is the first murder? The seed of the serpent killing the seed of the woman in an effort to head off God's plan. The very next chapter, what do we see? We see the birth of Seth, first and foremost, seed of the woman again. And from Seth to Noah, through ten generations there in Genesis chapter 5, showing us the continuation of this seed. Eventually, we get to Terah and to Terah's son, Abraham. Abraham, then to Isaac. Isaac, then to Jacob, not Esau. Isaac, not Ishmael. Jacob, not Esau. And then from Jacob, we get to his 12 sons.
Now, we haven't been informed as of yet which of these 12 sons it is through whom this line of the Messiah would continue. But we know the overarching story of the Bible, and we know that though Joseph is the favorite son, Joseph is not the promised seed. Though Rachel is the favored wife, she does not bring forth the promised seed. In fact, it is the wife that was never wanted in the first place. It is the wife who was not part of the romantic story. It is the wife who was standing next to the girl that Jacob looked at and thought, "She is the one." One, one, one. It is her who gave birth to Reuben, the firstborn, Simeon, then to Levi, father of the priesthood, and Judah, the father of the King of Kings. But now the story focuses on Joseph. And the question that has to come is, why? Why does the story focus on Joseph at this point? If this is about the continuing of the generations, the continuing of the seed, and Joseph is not that one who has promised, why does the story now, at this point, focus on Joseph? To which my answer is, stop trying to get so far ahead. Let's read here these first 11 verses in chapter 37, and then I'll outline what I desire for us to do.
Verse 1: "Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojourning, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being 17 years old, was pastoring the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives, and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more." Do you just feel the love in this family? "He said to them, 'Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright; and behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.' His brothers said to him, 'Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?' So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words." One begins to wonder, how much hate can they have? Continues to pile up.
Verse 9: "Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, 'Behold, I have dreamed another dream.'" Because Joseph's really interested in increasing the love among his brothers, as we can tell. "'Behold, the sun, the moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to me.' But at this point, don't you just disguise the dream? Maybe you have to say, 'They were bowing down to me.' Could you not just say, 'I had a dream, man. It was interesting because there were stars bowing down to some guy, you know?'" He says, "They were bowing down to me." But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, 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 ground before you?" And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
So, here is the picture. This is what we're going to do. First, I want us to contextualize this, and actually, there is much of that that happens naturally here in this particular passage. I want us to bring ourselves up to speed. We already have done that in a very broad sense, and understand who we are, where we are, and with whom we are dealing here. Secondly, I want us to see some of the major theological themes here in this passage that are introduced that are very important for our understanding of the rest of the life of Joseph. And finally, I want us to see how this fits within the context of redemptive history, because we see it here, even in this introductory passage.
So, there are several theological themes here. There are a couple of them that I want to point out that I want us to begin to understand, because we'll need to understand them better as we walk through this part of the Book of Genesis. The first thing we need to understand is the Providence of God in the lives of the patriarchs. The Providence of God in the lives of the patriarchs. Now, when I say Providence, it's interesting. We use, we use that word a lot. And when you're in, you know, uh, Reformed Church circles, when you're in sort of Calvinistic circles, people throw around that term, uh, Providence, a great deal. Unfortunately, for many people, especially those who are kind of new to Reformed doctrine, when they use the word Providence, here's what they're doing. Let me just let you in on a little secret. When people are new to Reformed doctrine and they use the word Providence, what they're really trying to do is avoid using the word "luck." So they exchange it for Providence. If you can't say "Amen," you ought to say "Ouch." Okay? Or so they'll say something happened and you'll say, "Oh, wow, you were lucky." "I'm sorry, that was Provident." We try to avoid communicating in the wrong way, so we just take one word out and replace it with another word. There's a small problem. Even if you take the word Providence and substitute it for the word luck or good fortune, all you have done is misapplied the word Providence, kept the wrong theological understanding intact, and just used a better-sounding word for the wrong theological concept. Providence is not luck. In fact, far from it.
One of the things that we need to understand is that when we use the word Providence only to speak about good things that happen in our lives, we've completely misunderstood the terminology. So, all of a sudden, we're riding down the road and, uh, there's a car that runs a red light and it comes that close to us, but it doesn't hit us. "Boy, that was Providence." Yeah. Here's what we just communicated: God demonstrated his Providence in that he kept us from an accident. However, had we gotten into the accident, God would not have demonstrated his Providence, because God's Providence is only displayed when good things happen to us, when things that we desire come our way. That is not the doctrine of the Providence of God. It is far more significant than that.
So, here's what I want to do. Let me give you a few definitions here. The first one here from Charles Hodge. Listen to Charles Hodge: "God's works of Providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions. Providence, therefore, includes preservation and government. By preservation is meant that all things out of God owe the continuance of their existence, with all their properties and powers, to the will of God." Let me give you one that's a little less broad than that. This one comes from John Gill. Writes, "God upholds all things by his power, governs the world by his wisdom, looks down upon the earth, takes notice and care of all his creatures in it, and makes provision for them, and guides and directs them to answer the ends for which they were made, which is the sum and substance of Providence." A little more to the point.
But let's put an even finer point on it. This is the definition that we've used before from Wayne Grudem. He writes in his Systematic Theology, "We may define God's Providence as follows: God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he: one, keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them. God keeps all things existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them. That's just Providence, too. He cooperates with existing things in every action, whether the car misses you or hits you, in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do. And three, directs them to fulfill his purposes." The Providence of God is about God directing all things to fulfill his purposes. We go through those three things again: Number one, he keeps all things existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them. Secondly, he cooperates with existing things, or created things, in every action. Every action. Don't miss that. It's not as though we sort of go along and God's uninvolved with our life until something big happens and he needs to intervene. God's Providence governs every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do. And thirdly, directs them to fulfill his purposes. It's how we understand the doctrine of God's Providence.
There's one more issue that we have to deal with in order to sort of round out our understanding, at least for this point. Again, this will unfold as we continue through the rest of the Book of Genesis. But I want us to have at least a beginning framework in understanding what Providence is before we look at the rest of this text. From the London Baptist Confession, chapter 5, it's paragraph two: "Although in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first cause, all things come to pass immutably and infallibly, so that there is not anything befalls any chance." Excuse me, yeah, that's right. Let me read that again. "Although in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first cause, all things come to pass immutably and infallibly, so that there is not anything befalls any by chance or without his Providence, yet by the same Providence he ordered them to fall out according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently."
What does that mean? What are secondary causes? Here's something that we have to understand if we're going to understand this part of the Book of Genesis. In the Providence of God, it's not as it were, moving people around like automatons. But in the Providence of God, everything is as it is because of God's decree. Secondly, God is cooperating with everything as he has made it in order to fulfill his purpose. And thirdly, everything is going to act in accordance with the will of God. Our God is seated in the heavens; he does whatever pleases him.
Here's one of the things that you have to understand: because of the fall of man, every secondary cause is a flawed and fragile and broken and sinful cause. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. Israel sins, so God is going to judge Israel because of Israel's sin. Well, what is God going to use in order to judge Israel for Israel's sins? Well, he's going to go get the Chaldeans in order to judge Israel for Israel's sins. Well, wait a minute, God, why are you going to go get the sinful Chaldeans to judge Israel for their sin? Really? Here's the question that might come back from God: "Where's the perfect nation that has never sinned that I can use to judge Israel for their sins?" The answer: There's not one. "Oh, wait a minute, God, are you going to force the Chaldeans to do something against their will?" No. He refers to them as the "bloodthirsty Chaldeans." In other words, this secondary cause that God uses is the Chaldeans, who are a bloodthirsty nation, who are going through, wreaking havoc, and by his Providence, he is going to use them to bring judgment on his people. Not because he's surprised by it, but in spite of the fact that he's not. That's the Providence of God.
If all you understand of the Providence of God is that when that good thing happened to you, it was because of the good God that you love and serve, you've missed it. When you understand the Providence of God, you understand that on your worst day, that was the hand of God in your life. On your worst day. And here's the other thing that you understand: two things. Number one, on my worst day, the worst thing that ever came into my life came to me by the hand of God's Providence. But secondly, it wasn't nearly as bad as it should have been in light of who I am. And thirdly, God did it for His glory. And therefore, it's good. When you get there, you understand the Providence of God.
If you only see the Providence of God when a child is born healthy and strong, but you don't see the Providence of God when there is difficulty in the present pregnancy or some sort of malformation in the life of that child, you don't understand the Providence of God. If you only see the Providence of God when you go to the doctor and the doctor says, "You have a clean bill of health," but you do not see the Providence of God when you go to the doctor and he says, "I think this one might take you out," then you don't understand the Providence of God. If you only see the Providence of God when that other car misses you by that much, and you do not see the Providence of God when you're in the midst of rehab because the car didn't miss you, then you don't understand the Providence of God.
But you know when you grasp the Providence of God? When years later, after your worst day, you're standing in the midst of a circumstance and God is using you to speak truth to and bring comfort to another saint because of what he, in his Providence, graciously allowed you to endure. Now you understand the Providence of God. When you bring glory and honor and praise to the name of God in spite of your worst day, and someone hearing that says to you, "I must hear more about this God in whom you trust, because I could not, under your circumstances, cry out and worship to God," then you understand the Providence of God.
Providence is not about luck. Providence is not about things turning out the way you want them to turn out. Providence is about God being in control of his creatures and his creation. That's the doctrine of Providence.
How do we see the Providence of God in the lives of the patriarchs here? Well, a couple of things. One, he overcomes the wickedness and the dysfunction of the patriarchs. Amen. But I don't know about you, but that's good news to me. Amen. Wouldn't it be terrible if you read about the lives of the patriarchs and they were perfect? What would your hope be? I wouldn't have any hope. Where would, where would your trust come from? But when you read the lives of the patriarchs, and even here in this passage of scripture, listen, listen to the things that echo from earlier in the Book of Genesis. "Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan." Now, you just said a mouthful right there. How long did it take Jacob to get to this place where he was supposed to go? 20 some odd years with that scoundrel by the name of Laban, being deceived and deceiving again and again and again. His hip has been broken as he wrestled with the angel. All of these things have happened. He has run from his brother Esau, finally been reconciled with his brother Esau after believing in that very moment that Esau was going to kill him, as sure as he stood there. Now, the text says he, he made it to Canaan. That's no small thing. He didn't make it there because of his trust and his obedience and his goodness. He made it there because of the Providence of Almighty God, in spite of who he was. Amen.
"These are the generations of Jacob." By the way, "These are the generations of Jacob." What does that mean? That means that Jacob has children. Now, back up for a moment. Jacob has children. Lots of them. So that's no big deal. Well, yes, it is a big deal. Well, why? Because Jacob is the son of a man by the name of Isaac, who had twins called Jacob and Esau. Yep. So whatever that happens every day? No, no, no, no, no. Isaac was the son of Abraham and Sarah, 100 years old. So when you read, "These are the generations of Jacob," you are reminded that God performed a miracle in the womb of a woman who was nearly a hundred years old, and these are her generations and her descendants. You're also reminded that God made a promise to Abraham that his descendants would be like the numbers of the grains of sand on the seashore, or the number of the stars in the heavens. So when you read that phrase, "These are the generations of Jacob," remember this is part of the fulfillment of the promise that God made to Abraham. This is happening in His Providence.
But again, in spite of their dysfunction. Because when you think about Abraham and Sarah, you also have to think about Abraham and Hagar. When you read that phrase, "These are the generations of Jacob," you have to remember that he's got 12 sons, but they came through four wives. Sin piled upon sin, piled upon sin. The Providence of God in spite of their sin. Not only that, but as we keep reading, here's Joseph, and he's bringing a bad report about his brothers. What does that sound like? That sounds about like his father Jacob with his brother Esau. Here is Jacob loving Joseph more than he loves his other sons and showing favoritism. What does that sound like? Well, his father's favorite was Esau, and his mother's favorite was Jacob. This sounds like a pattern of dysfunction being continued in this family, generation after generation after generation. And you see the Providence of God in that He blesses the patriarchs in spite of their sin, and that's good news because there is not a soul in this room who doesn't need that. Amen. In spite of your sin, how often do we think, "Oh, there's just no way that my family is going to turn out okay"? You just don't know what I've come from. No, I really don't know what you've come from, but I would venture to say that it probably doesn't come close to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Amen.
Here's the other thing. There's going to be some stuff in here that's worse. Reuben is going to be disinherited, and deservedly so. Judah, the promised seed, is going to fall flat on his face before it's all said and done. Yet, in the Providence of God, He keeps His promise, and we continue to move forward toward the promised seed, in spite of the sin of the patriarchs.
Secondly, it overcomes the wicked schemes of the enemy. We see the Providence of God in that over and over again. As we journey through the life of Joseph, we're going to see this phrase, this phrase that, "Though they meant it for evil, God meant it for good." Amen. That's the Providence of God. And even here, we see in these dreams the Providence of God. What are these dreams about? Well, if you know the rest of the story, God is letting Joseph know, and letting his brothers know, what He is about to do in order to preserve them. He's letting Joseph know that He's going to use Joseph, He's going to raise Joseph up, that his brothers are going to bow down to him, even though in just a few short verses, they're going to throw him in a pit. By the way, throwing him in the pit is a compromise, because what they wanted to do was murder him.
So, in the Providence of God, Joseph's in the pit. Imagine this: "I'm in the pit. Wo is me. I'm 17 years old and I'm out here in a pit all by myself." No, actually, Joseph, you think this is the worst day of your life, but I got a couple of things to tell you. Number one, it's going to get worse. You're going to prison for a while after you become a slave. But it's not all bad news, brother. You're in the pit. That's good news. What do you mean, that's good news? Your big brother, he wanted to murder you. This was the better alternative course. He doesn't know that in the pit, does he? You're in the pit, Joseph, and you're about to go become a slave. But that's good news. How on earth is that good news? The Providence of God. After you become a slave, you're going to be framed for sexual assault, and you're going to go to prison. How's that good news? Trust me, in the Providence of God, that's good news, because you're going to become the second most powerful man in all of Egypt. Egypt? I don't want to go to Egypt. Trust me, you want to be in Egypt because a famine is coming, and God is going to use you and this gift of interpreting dreams to put you in a position so that your brothers come and bow down, not because you're a great man, but because in the Providence of God, He's going to get you to Egypt so that you can save Egypt, and in turn, save your entire family. But he cannot see this in chapter 37, verse 1. He does not know this in chapter 37, verse 2. He cannot fathom this in the dream in verses 5 through 8. He has no idea, and is probably interpreting through his flesh, the dream in verses 9 through 11. And yet, you and I, looking back on this, know that this is the Providence of God in the life of Joseph, and in the life of his family and his brothers.
Listen to this from B.B. Warfield: "This theme that God overrules the wicked intentions of men and women in order to save his people runs throughout the Old Testament, but perhaps nowhere more explicitly than in Joseph's narrative." Here's Warfield's comment on Providence: "Were not God's Providence overall, could trouble come without his sending? Or Christians, the possible prey of this or the other fiendish enemy, when per chance God was musing or gone aside or on a journey or sleeping? What certainty of hope could be ours? Does God send trouble? Surely, surely, He and only He, to the sinner in punishment, to His children in chastisement. To suggest that it does not always come from His hand is to take away all our comfort." He continues, "The world may be black to us, there may no longer be hope in man, anguish and trouble may be our daily portion, but there is this light that shines through all the darkness: we cannot be robbed of God's Providence. So long as the soul keeps firm hold of this great truth, it will be able to breast all storms."
We said this as we stood here the day after Hurricane Ike. Many of you were here on that day, some of you were not. But we sit here in this very building after Ike has come through, that Lord's Day right afterwards, we're here. And there are many in this church who had trees fall through their house, many who experienced flooding, or anything else. And it was an incredible opportunity to talk about this doctrine of the Providence of God. We said this: There are some people who believe that Hurricane Ike came through and it was just random. There are some people who believe that that storm knocked a tree down on their house and it was just bad luck. And yet, those same people, in the midst of this bad luck and random chance, are crying out to a God that they don't even believe can control a hurricane. Where's your hope? If God didn't control Ike, because if God couldn't control Ike, how can He control the circumstances of your life? If God can't control Ike, how can God control evil individuals who wish to do you harm? If God cannot control Hurricane Ike or any other so-called natural disaster, then how on earth can you and I say that we know who holds the future? It is only because we trust in a God who allows nothing to happen by chance that we can trust in a God who will take care of His people. That's the doctrine of God's Providence.
Secondly, there's this issue of progressive revelation. Something very interesting happens here in the second half of our passage. God intervenes in a way that is unique here in the life of Joseph. Now, in Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, we read these words: "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world." God has not always communicated to His people in the same way. But in the Book of Genesis, we have examples of most of the ways that God has communicated to His people. For example, we have direct revelation. Now, we have once in Genesis 46, the phrase "God spoke" 21 times in the Book of Genesis. We have the phrase "The Lord said." The idea that "The Lord appeared" happens five times in the Book of Genesis. Listen to the times that they happen: Genesis chapter 12 and verse 7: "Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, 'To your offspring I will give this land.' So he built there an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him." Genesis chapter 17 and verse 1: "When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.'" Genesis chapter 18, verse 1: "And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day." Genesis 26:2: "And the Lord appeared to him and said, 'Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall show you.'" Genesis 26:24: "And the Lord appeared to him that same night and said, 'I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.'" The phrase "The Angel of the Lord" happens 11 times in the Book of Genesis. Amen.
The second type of revelation. So, in this first type, we have this direct revelation: God speaking directly and saying, "I'm God, here's what you need to do." The second type is, we see the Angel of the Lord 11 times in the Book of Genesis. Amen. The third type of revelation we see in the Book of Genesis is God speaking through dreams. This happens on several occasions, but I want to point out a few so that you see the difference in what's happening here. Genesis chapter 15, verse 1: "After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: 'Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be great.'" So, there's the Lord appearing in a vision to Abram, but he's speaking directly to Abram in the vision. Then again, "But God came to Abimelech" (this is chapter 20, verses 3 and 6) "in a dream by night and said to him, 'Behold, you are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.' Then God said to him in the dream, 'Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me; therefore I did not let you touch her.'" Now, in chapter 31, verses 10 and 11: "And in the breeding season of the flock, I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob,' and I said, 'Here I am.'" So again, in a dream, you have this more direct revelation. And again, in chapter 31, verse 24, God appears to Laban in a dream.
But that's not what happens here. That's not what happens in the life of Joseph. This is a different type of revelation from God, and this is the first time that we see it, and it becomes incredibly important in redemptive history. Look with me, if you will, beginning at verse 5, and try to catch the difference. "Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, 'Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright; and behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.'" Now, was that God coming to Joseph and saying, "Joseph, I'm God, here's what you need to do"? No, not at all. This is a dream that had to be interpreted in order to be understood. Look at the next one, beginning verse 9: "Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, 'Behold, I have dreamed another dream: Behold, the sun, the moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to me.'" But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him. Now, again, was that God appearing in a dream saying, "I'm God, do this," or "I'm God, that is about to happen"? No, this is a different type of revelation.
Now, why is this important? Because this is the very type of revelation that God is going to use to bring Joseph to power in Egypt. This type of revelation is important in its secondary purposes. God shows up to Abraham and He says to Abraham, "Abraham, I'm going to make you the father of many nations." Why? Why is that important? That is important to Abraham because Abraham needs to believe what it is God is saying and go and do what God has said. In all of these other types of revelation, God comes and He says, "I'm God, here's what you need to do," or "I'm God, here's what you don't need to do," or "I'm God, here's where you need to go." And in all of those types of revelation, it was very important for the individual. This is a different type of revelation in that God gives a dream, the interpretation of the dream comes from an individual whom God is using, and God eventually uses that to gain favor for the individual with others for whom he interprets the dream.
Now, this ought to sound familiar. First of all, it sounds familiar because we know the rest of the Book of Genesis. But imagine this: you're in the midst of exile, and in the midst of exile, you think God has forsaken you. In the midst of this exile, you are carried off into a land called Babylon. And while you're carried off into the land called Babylon, because the prophets have already told you that the Chaldeans are going to come and carry you away, you think God has forsaken you, and it is all over. How on earth would you, as a Jew, growing up with God's scriptures, be comforted and know that God is still with you? Oh, I don't know. Maybe if God raises up a man by the name of Daniel, who interprets dreams in Babylon and gains power in Babylon because he interprets dreams, you, as a Jew who know the story of Joseph in Genesis, are immediately reminded of what God did through this other dream interpreter in the midst of a time in a land that was not his home. Same kind of revelation from God, same circumstance, and God uses it in the same way. The way God reveals Himself to Joseph is different than what's happened in the rest of Genesis, and the way that God reveals Himself to Joseph is also a pattern that God uses to bring hope to His people later on in the exile, as He does the same thing with Daniel. It's all important.
Here's the final piece. This is connected to the Gospel and to redemptive history. How so? We have a forsaken favorite son. Does that sound familiar? "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." What happens to that Son about whom His Father says, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased"? Well, eventually, He is thrown into a pit as well. But where Joseph is thrown into a pit alive, Jesus is thrown into one dead, after being crucified. Well, not only was He despised like Joseph, not only was He turned on by His brothers like Joseph, but Christ's work was done in order to save His brothers. Joseph, you're going to the pit. "But I don't want to." That's okay. You don't want to go to the pit, because eventually you're going to prison, and you'll get out of the pit. But wait a minute, I don't want to go to prison either. Oh, that's okay. Prison is going to be after your slavery. Well, I definitely don't want to be a slave. That's okay, Joseph. It's very important for you to do this. Why? Because you're going to save your brothers. That's why. You are going to endure scorn, you're going to endure shame, you're going to endure hardship, and you're going to do it in order to save your brothers. That ought to sound familiar, because that, brothers and sisters, is the Gospel.
But what are the differences between Joseph and Jesus? Well, difference number one: Jesus is not from a dysfunctional family. Amen. There is no dysfunction in the Trinity. He is the spotless, sinless Lamb of God. Joseph is a sinful creature, and God is using this sinful creature in order to preserve the line through which Jesus will come, but He's using him in spite of his sin. Jesus has no sin. Joseph goes to prison; he deserves worse. Joseph is a slave; he deserves worse. Joseph goes to a pit; he deserves worse. Jesus is scorned, He is mocked, He is forsaken, He is beaten, He is crucified, He is stabbed and pierced, He is buried, and He deserves not one iota of it. Joseph saved his brothers, kicking and screaming, not knowing what was ahead of him. And had he known, he would have run in the other direction. Jesus goes to the garden, knowing exactly what is about to happen. He knows that the hour of His departure is upon Him. He knows the cross lay ahead of Him. He has all of the anguish that Joseph would have had, had Joseph been told, "Oh, by the way, this dream that you just dreamed, it's going to make your brothers hate you." That would have been enough. "I don't want to be hated by my brothers, let alone they're going to hate you, and then they're going to want to kill you, then they're going to want to put you in the pit, then they're going to send you off to..." No, I don't want to do this. And he would have run in the other direction. Jesus is there, the sin of the world upon His shoulders, about to endure the cross and its shame, as well as its pain. And He feels this so much so that He sweats as drops of blood, and He cries out to His Father, "If there is any other way, let this bitter cup pass from me." But unlike Joseph, He does not run in the other direction. In spite of the fact that He knows all too well what is about to happen, He says, "Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done."
Was it fair? Absolutely not. Joseph got better than he deserved. Jesus gave us better than we deserved. Here's where another of the similarities ends. Joseph rescues his brothers from a physical famine. Jesus rescues his brothers from the sting of death and the power of hell. No power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from His hand till He return and call me home. Was it good that God used Joseph to save his brothers from the famine? It was good, but it pales in comparison to what this episode foreshadows. Christ saves his brothers, and we never thirst again. We never hunger again. Christ saves his brothers, and He makes us right with God. Joseph saves his brothers, and they get worse and worse and worse. Christ saves his brothers, and progressively, we are sanctified.
Is the life of Joseph important? You better believe it is. For a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it teaches us about the Providence of God. It teaches us about progressive revelation. It teaches us about redemptive history. All of those things are important. But the most important piece is twofold: One, God, in His Providence, keeps His promise, and Judah stays alive, and eventually the Lion of the tribe of Judah is born. And two, the God who keeps His promises to His people is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And the God who controlled Hurricane Ike, controlled this line, and brought us Jesus. How much more can you and I trust Him with whatever it is that we believe overwhelms us? What's the worst that could happen? Well, the worst thing that could happen is whatever it is that God brings upon you would kill you. Really? That's the worst that could happen. That, in the Christian life, is called a promotion. Amen.
Let's pray. Father, we are grateful to You for the goodness that You've shown us. Grateful to You for these little glimpses that You give us throughout redemptive history. Grateful to You for Your Providence, not just on our best day, but on what we would consider our worst. Grateful to You for reminding us that we can trust You with the smallest of things as well as the most significant. We're grateful to You, Lord, that You have chosen to reveal Yourself to Your people, and that rather than being dependent on the infrequent method of dreams and visions, You have provided for us and preserved for us and protected for us Your Word. And above and beyond that, given us Your final and ultimate revelation in the person of Jesus Christ, who is the very Word of God. I'm grateful to You as You continue to unpack for us this majestic, almost incomprehensible plan of redemption. That was no accident. Would You please continue to remind us of that? Your work to redeem Your people was not an afterthought, but that You, the great God of the universe, ordered our steps that You might bring us to salvation. May that give us great comfort and even greater hope. Guide us as we continue to walk through this book and finish this journey in Genesis, should the Lord tarry. And in the meantime, would You please be so kind as to help us to continue to see Christ on every page? This is our prayer. This is the earnest desire of our very souls, and we ask it because we believe it's in accordance with the will and the nature and the authority of Jesus, who is the Christ. Amen.