The Life Of Joseph Part 5

Let me open our time in prayer. Lord, we come again to Sunday, and my guess is that our hearts are in a lot of different places.

and just knowing my own heart. and so Lord, I pray that you would bring alignment today. I pray that you bring focus today, that we would be able to concentrate on the lesson at hand, concentrate and meditate on the work of God in the life of Joseph, the restorative work that is taking place through his faith and forgiveness, this example that he has set.

What you did for him personally, what you did for his family, and what you did for future generations because of his commitment to trusting in you.

So Lord, as we evaluate our own lives, I pray that you just wipe away whatever distractions there might be. Perhaps there were squabbles this morning, even amongst the family today.

Put that aside. Maybe there are pressing things that need to happen this week, and Lord, I pray that you would just remove those pressures for this time, and I pray that you'd help us to concentrate.

Lord, maybe there are sin issues today that need to be dealt with, and especially in relationship to communion that will be happening in the second service.

God, I pray that you would forgive our sin, that you would bring alignment in our hearts, and help us just to concentrate again on the words that we'll study through this passage of Genesis.

Jesus, we pray all of these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, last week we talked about sowing seeds of faith and forgiveness. And just as a recap, let me just ask a couple of questions to get us started here.

First, what is at stake? Last week we talked about what is at stake when we choose not to forgive? What is at stake?

What do we give up? What do we risk? We looked at Ephesians chapter 4, 30 to 32. It begins with a little phrase, Grieve not the Spirit.

That's what's at stake. And all that the Spirit brings is what's at stake. Empowerment for ministry, fellowship with the Father, the ability to understand the Scriptures, our posture before Him, and the intercessor who is taking our requests before the Lord.

The fruits of the Spirit, effectiveness in the Christian life. All of those things is the potential collateral damage of having a heart that chooses not to forgive.

So we ask the question, is forgiveness a big deal? Is it important? And certainly, if that was the only element that we were risking, certainly that would be an issue.

We talked about what are some of the reasons why the Holy Spirit would be grieved. Why would the Spirit be grieved with a lack of forgiveness in our life?

And there were a lot of things we talked about, and we didn't really have a bullet for bullet, point for point thing. But what are some of the things you remembered? What does forgiveness say about faith in God?

What does forgiveness, why is forgiveness so important? Not just because of the Holy Spirit, but other elements that come into play. What do you remember from last week? Maybe.

Maybe. That's right.

That's good. That's good. When we choose not to forgive, especially a fellow believer, what we say, in a sense, is, Jesus, your sacrifice wasn't enough to pay for that.

The wrath of God on your life didn't cover that. Something else must be done. More justice must be served. That's one potential implication.

What else? What else? It's good. What is the heart of God? The heart of Christ, the heart of the Father is to forgive.

And so, in understanding the heart of God to forgive, to withhold forgiveness, is to say, I don't care, God, what your passion for this is.

I don't care what your heart for this individual is. I want my way. I don't want to choose to love. There was something else that plays into that, and I think you mentioned it last week, Carrie.

Kind of coincides with forgiving because just as Christ forgave us, what might be the other implication? Not just recognizing the love of God for individuals, but what else?

Okay. Our way, our time, and I want it, I want it now. I'm not being patient. It's good. What else? Right in line, in the stream of that.

Since, and I'll make it a little simpler for you so you don't have to read my mind. Since Christ forgave us, so we must forgive others. What's the implication there?

We don't begin to understand the gravity of our own sin in relationship to fellowship with God.

and so, we're kind of like that servant who was forgiven a massive debt and then we go out and wring the neck of our fellow servant or the one who's essentially working for us and who owes just a penance in comparison.

We say, we can be forgiven but we can't forgive. The audacity of that kind of statement. Anything else come to your mind? You've covered many of them.

Most of them. It was alluded to a bit just in the comment but when we say that God might be able to forgive but we choose not to forgive, what are we saying?

Where are we putting ourself? What are we making of ourself? That's right. That's right. And as a matter of fact, we're not just putting ourselves a little higher.

We're putting ourselves higher than God. the judge chooses to forgive and we trump him and say, nope, sorry, forgiveness is undeserved.

The audacity of that statement. We make ourselves judges. We put ourselves in the place of God. does that help maybe describe some of the reason why the Holy Spirit might be grieved?

Does that help us understand a bit why forgiveness is so important? I really like when I read a book called Forgiveness by Mary Mary's help. He talks about it costs Christ something to forgive and we don't realize what the sacrifice and the cost and he's willing to bear the weight of pain and suffering or for us and to take it on.

And we don't realize that it's going to cost us something to offer forgiveness as well. And that's the part that we don't like. We don't like anything to cost us. We just want something for nothing.

And so understanding forgiveness in that sense has helped me to feel like it's going to cost something and I'm willing to bear the weight of hurt so that they can be hurt.

Okay? Okay? Did you all hear that?

Okay. So I think part of it is not appreciating the cost for Christ to forgive and to in a sense say I deserve not to be hurt.

My life should be free and clear of pain. And God I'm not so happy about this arrangement of you letting pain happen to my life.

And so in order for me to feel a sense of a measure of justice I need to inflict pain you know the equal and opposite reaction as it were before I can finally feel a sense of vindication in my own heart that God will that I can be satisfied that pain has been inflicted on them.

I want them to feel pain. I can actually remember and maybe I shouldn't share this but I will since I've already started down the path there was somebody that I hurt unintentionally but I hurt them deeply and for weeks they kept rehashing the hurt publicly and so in a closed room with them and some other leaders of our church I apologized to this individual.

I mean it was no problem for me because in my mind the hurt they were feeling wasn't hurt that I meant to inflict and so the fact that they were feeling hurt man it was very easy for me to say please forgive me for doing this because I had no intention to create hurt but they weren't satisfied.

I mean that was a little too easy. They wanted something more. You ever been in that situation? and I think sometimes that's in our own heart where even when someone does ask for forgiveness we still want there to be something else.

We want them to know just how deep that pain went and so we just we want we don't want it to end right there we want them to kind of get it and so we tend to extend or delay our forgiveness because they haven't hurt enough.

And that's certainly not that's certainly not the illustration we find with the parable of the prodigal son is it? This immediate relinquishing of justice and accepting of hurt that the father the shame and the hurt that the father was willing to wear for the sake of reconciled relationship.

So I'd like to kind of breeze through this first point so we can move on and then finish this part of the study.

After this week we have one more to go and we'll be finished with Joseph. So Genesis chapter 45 Genesis chapter 45 chapter 45 and what I'm hoping to help us see is I want us to show excuse me I want us to see from the life of Joseph what are some of the marks that forgiveness is taking place.

And the points that I give you here is not the path of forgiveness it's not the process for forgiveness how forgiveness works itself out but it's the mark that forgiveness is working itself out in your own heart and how it maybe shows up in some ways how it plays out in your life.

Okay so that's I just want to make that differentiation. And I wanted you to see that it shows up in our words but it also shows up in our works.

That's kind of A and B underneath point number one sowing the seeds of faith and forgiveness. Shows up in our words and shows up in our works. Shows up in Joseph's words in three different ways.

First of all he shares honestly. And we see that here in chapter 45 verse 3. He says I am Joseph is my father still alive? Now what's interesting about that is Judah has just given the longest discourse that we find in the book of Genesis of an individual and he's just expounding his love and loyalty to his father which is remarkable considering the fact that what had been strained before is now those seeds of reconciliation are taking place.

And in aligning himself or affirming that loyalty Joseph speaks and essentially affirms his own personal commitment to his father's welfare.

Is my father alive? And in affirming his good intentions for his father he is also helping to convey his good intentions for them because Judah has just made it very clear the father's future is dependent upon the welfare of the brothers.

Joseph does a lot in that one short statement. I am Joseph is my father still alive? And then in verse 4 he says I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into slavery.

Now we talked about this a bit why is honesty important? Why is it an important mark in the path of forgiveness? Okay?

You need to be honest about what we are forgiving. Why? Why is it important? Okay? There's hurt involved in just an honesty about the hurt that has been inflicted and experienced.

Okay? Okay? Good point. Really good point. I know the situation. I'm going to speak it clearly.

We don't have to dodge this issue anymore. I'm going to get it right out into the open. It's good. What else? Okay?

Honesty implies trust. So in order to build trust trust, there has to be an honest confession of what was experienced. If we're going to begin this path, the path of what dishonesty and manipulation started, in order to really set the trajectory and make it fresh, there needs to be an honest look.

That's good. That's good. So you kind of keep things undercover. And really, it's as much for the people who are being forgiven, excuse me, it's as much for the person sharing the honesty as it is for the people who are being forgiven.

Because this gives him an opportunity or that individual an opportunity to come clean with what he's forgiving so that he can't bring it up again. Right? Whereas if you weren't quite honest about it, in the future you might say, well, remember da-da-da?

Well, I thought you forgave me for that. Well, not yet. Right? The importance of honesty in this situation.

I think honesty is also important in that it is a way for us to point to Christ. Not to minimize the sin, but to really weave the gospel into the story.

forgiveness. To help us understand that we're not just passing things over. Forgiveness doesn't just pass things over.

Forgiveness is honest about the offense, but then commits that offense to God. So that down the road, when things are a big deal, like I'm thinking particularly of our kids, when sin is happening in their life, you know, it might be pretty small in comparison when they're younger, but when they're older, if you've not been honest about previous sins, they might get to that big sin and say, maybe God can't forgive you for this one.

Maybe this is too big to be neglected, to be forgotten. And when you push things out into full view, and you're able to forgive those things honestly, instead of dismissing them, I think it's a way for you to help your children understand, you know what, I know they seemed a bit smaller, but my mom and dad didn't pass those off before.

So maybe God can forgive me for this too. For the brothers, going back to the cost, they need to know that it did cost those of something to forgive.

And on their end, they need to be humble and realize that it did cost them something. because I think we don't like to receive forgiveness knowing that someone else has suffered from the past.

And so, instead of them bearing their own thing, you know, they can be free. And realize she's willing to bear that cost. That's good.

That's good. All right. I'm sorry, I'm taking too much time on this. So let me move on. Okay? So, the honest look and then the next one is desiring proximity.

In verse 4, Joseph says, come near to me please. And then in verse 9, he says, hurry and go to my father and then come down to me. Do not tarry.

There is this desire for renewed relationship. There's this desire for proximity, nearness with one another, intimacy, restored fellowship with one another.

Now, how might that be different from the world's idea of forgiveness? Thoughts? When the world forgives, do they have that same interest in things being restored to the way things were?

I think you're right. Yeah, exactly. I think that's what I've experienced. That's good.

That's good. It becomes kind of this socially acceptable something we do just to make amends, but there's not really a restoration in the actual relationship.

Right? But Joseph, it's clear that he desires something more. I want things to actually be better than they have ever been before.

That's what he's talking about here. I mean, because things with Joseph and his family had really never been very wholesome or helpful. The conflict was there from the start.

And so what Joseph is doing here is he's using this as an opportunity, not just to kind of patch things up and get them back to the way they were, but to use this as an opportunity to make it better than it's ever been before.

That's what true forgiveness looks like. That's what true forgiveness looks like. And he's able to do that because of this number three. He's able to do that because he's resting in God's sovereignty.

He's resting in the fact that that God has been kind of ordering his steps from the very beginning. He alludes to it in verse five and in verse seven, twice in verse eight. And at the end of the story in Genesis chapter 50, we, this familiar verse where he says, you meant this for evil, but God meant it for good.

There is a commitment to recognizing the sovereignty of God in this. And that's why his heart's at peace. That's why he's able to offer this kind of restoration to his brothers.

We talked a bit about, so that's the words of faith and forgiveness. We talked a little bit about the works of faith and forgiveness. And we kind of camped on verse 10 through 15 where Joseph is kind of laying out the things that he hopes to do for his brothers in terms of sending things back and calling them to himself.

It says, you shall dwell in the land of Goshen in verse 10. There I will provide for you so that you and your household and all that you have do not come to poverty. I got this covered. I'm going to take care of you.

God's put me in a position to make this happen. And so there is this giving generously or dealing kindly. And we again looked at Ephesians chapter 4 verses 30 to 32 and we kind of use that says, be kindly affectionate one towards another.

How does it go? Be kind. Tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. I think the reason why forgiveness is often elusive for us is because we speak forgiveness with our words but we don't ever back it up with our works.

and so often our heart actually follows our hands. Our hands have to do maybe sometimes even without the right heart emotion they do what's right and sometimes the heart actually follows the hands.

And I think that's what you find in Ephesians chapter 4. That's why it says be kindly affectionate one towards another brotherly love tenderhearted and then forgiving one another.

Walking through the process of acting out forgiveness and kindness is sometimes the instrument that God uses to lead us to true heartfelt forgiveness.

So, Joseph in his desire to deal kindly and generously with his brothers. So this morning I want to spend some time talking about the fruit of faith and forgiveness.

So what is the fruit? How does it show up? How does doing the right thing offering faith and forgiveness to brothers how does that affect his circles? Joseph's circles?

And first I think we see the effect on Pharaoh himself. Verses 16 to 24. Now remember that Joseph sent everyone out of the room so that he could essentially have this private session with his brothers but it was so boisterous and so expressive where there was crying that the noise traveled.

We find in verse 2 he wept aloud so the Egyptians heard it and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And because of that we find in verse 16. Here's what he says.

When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house Joseph's brothers have come it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. And Pharaoh said to Joseph say to your brothers do this load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan and take your father and your household and come to me and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you shall eat the fat of the land and you Joseph are commanded to say do this take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives and bring your father and come have no concern for your goods for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.

Does that make you just stand back and go wow? I mean what do these words sound like? And unfortunately I didn't read the previous passage so this is almost a mirror image of what Joseph told his brothers earlier in the passage.

What do you see? What are some of the similarities that you might see between what Pharaoh says and what Joseph said to his brothers? What are some of those ingredients that are similar?

I'm going to give you the best of the land. Pharaoh says that and Joseph had just said that earlier. What else? Bring bring him here.

Come on down. It's not I'm just going to send you away with good stuff but you go and come back and we're going to take care of you. Anything else?

Now I find this word very interesting in verse 16.

When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house Joseph and his brothers have come it this word pleased Pharaoh and his servants. Now why does that why should that word stand out in our minds?

It pleased Pharaoh and his servants. What do we know about the relationship or the ethnic tension that existed between Egyptians and Hebrews?

Was there some tension there? Where did it show up in particular? together? They didn't eat together. There were tables by classes right?

That's right. There were farmers and there were shepherds and we're going to see that later in our story. Okay? But it was just taboo to associate with that tier of individual.

This is the lowest of the low. We're the refined Egyptians and I'm adding some words here but there was definitely a system of hierarchy that existed there and the Hebrews didn't meet the cut.

So this is evidence that Pharaoh has put that aside. He's put that aside I think not only because Joseph has done such a good job at bringing some glory and some favor to the empire and to him himself but I think in terms of even the whole atmosphere that was created by Joseph just when you're drinking in breathing in the oxygen of grace you're going to exhale grace to the relationships around you.

This breathing in and breathing out of grace. It's good.

It's good. Did you hear that? So because of the authentic and sincere and intimate relationship that Joseph was able to have with Pharaoh it just brought joy to Pharaoh to be able to continue to nurture that friendship and to bless anybody in Joseph's circle.

Anybody who was associated with him he wanted to bless. Maybe. Hard to say.

Good point. Good point. Good point. Any other thoughts? Yes. Undoubtedly.

Well there's no question about the fact that Pharaoh assigned to Joseph and recognized you have a spirit of God living in you. And so all of these things I think were factors in his desire to bless.

And I guess what I want us to understand is that kindness and forgiveness is infectious. It creates an atmosphere of grace.

When you are gracious you bring grace into the room. Grace follows you where you are. Hopefully. It should. And when you're gracious you'll find that the atmosphere of the room will change based upon the grace that you bring into it.

Joseph's kindness to Pharaoh not only affected his heart his affection towards Joseph but notice it also affected his hands. Hands and heart go together.

Pharaoh actually had something to give. He was happy to give. And then Joseph's continued kindness we find in verses 21 and 23. Joseph gave them wagons according to the command of Pharaoh.

He gave them provisions for their journey. To each of them he gave a change of clothes but to Benjamin he gave 300 shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. To his father he sent as follows.

Ten donkeys loaded with good things of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provisions for his father on the journey. Why was this important?

Why was this important? Think about that conversation between the brothers and dad. So why would this be important?

Sending along all this stuff. They weren't making it up it's exactly right. I mean what do you know about the track record of these guys?

And the news that they have to bring. Oh by the way Joseph is alive? He what? So Joseph's got to bring he's got he's got to send along a bit of evidence to show that what they're saying is true.

He has to speak his dad's language and this is the language that Jacob understands. Right? Jacob is going to need some hard evidence. especially based upon the testimony of his ten lying brothers who've been keeping this a secret for 25 years or so.

And interesting here in verse 24 chapter 45 verse 24 Joseph gives them some instruction on their trip home. It says then he sent his brothers away and as they departed he said to them do not choral on the way.

Now how many of your translations say choral? Okay? It's actually the word to quake or to shake. Now there could be some choraling.

The ESV has choral. The NAS has choral. The NIV has choral. RSV has choral. NLT has choral. The New King James has troubled.

I think that's actually a better translation. Especially based upon where they are right now. In this story and what we've learned about them.

I think that by God's grace the restoration has really begun among the family unit. And so when it comes to shaking or trembling or fearing, I think that's a little bit more in line with where they are.

Because think about what's going to be happening. Why might they be afraid? Have to face dad.

That's a big deal. What else? Okay? There's still uncertainty about the future, isn't there? You know, yes we're heading back and yes the plan is to come back to Egypt but this is a long trip.

And what if dad doesn't accept this whole strategy of moving back to Egypt? Or their wives. Right.

Nice try. I'm staying here. I'm tired of moving. What else? Yeah.

They've dealt with a measure of guilt already, haven't they? And that's the beginnings of that is starting to get resolved in their heart but there's still some fear.

You know, like, things are good right now with Joseph but this is a pretty big thing that happened to him. What happens a couple years from now?

We're in Egypt, we're under his control and then what? Right? That could be a real fear. What happens when this wears out?

This wears off? He's feeling really generous right now but there's no guarantee for the future. Yeah. Sure.

Sure. Second guessing. Can we really trust our brother? He's already tried to help us understand the significance of our sin.

John. Yeah. That's right. He really is. Have faith in God and that sometimes leads to fear because when the future is uncertain and we have to trust in God, sometimes it's not as easy as what it says, what it should be.

Trusting God isn't always an easy step. That's right.

To read into his heart what they know to be true of their own heart. So we find, first of all, that there is an effect on Pharaoh and then in this next segment we're going to find out that it affects Joseph's brothers.

Verses 25 to 28. Let me read this for us. So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob and they told him, Joseph is still alive. He is ruler over all the land of Egypt.

And his heart became numb, numb, that's Jacob's heart, for he did not believe them. But when they told him all the words of Joseph which he had said to them and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

And Israel said, it is enough. Joseph, my son, is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.

Now, I try to envision this scene. Okay? Imagine this family there in Canaan and they know that two, four months, I don't know how long that trip was but it was a good distance.

Can you imagine little kids? Their dad has been gone for two to four months. Where do you suppose they position themselves towards the end of every day?

One of those high points so they can see as far as the eye can see. And then coming up over the horizon is this figure. Still too distant to be able to make out.

And wondering, is that my daddy? Is my daddy coming? And then one by one by one, figure after figure comes up over the horizon.

Now the chance of my daddy being a part of that group becomes better and better. And oh, there must be Simeon. And that must be Benjamin, I can tell.

And what are the rest of these things? These donkeys and wagons and supplies. Let me tell you, the elation that that would have created for this small community would have been riding high.

There will be feasting tonight. The months of near starvation, wondering if dad was ever going to come home, the protection that he affords and the help that comes with having that figure around the home, that shared responsibility, that peace of mind, that warm embrace, you'll finally be able to experience that again.

There was going to be celebration tonight. There was going to be excitement. There was going to be joy. But they didn't know the whole of it, did they?

And they didn't even know the best of it. Joseph was alive. We don't see here how they address the subject and we'll never know.

But if I were to speculate, it would be my guess that the joy of that whole experience in the knowledge of having been forgiven by the one by whom the offense was given led them to full disclosure.

This bubbling over of self and sharing the good news. This was the best news in Canaan. Not only are they going to be provided for, not only is Joseph alive, but they're going to be able to avoid any of the pain and the difficulty that they had been experiencing for the last two years.

Finally home free, finally taken care of. And I have to guess that when those brothers came over that hill and met the family, that the forgiveness that they had already experienced had worked itself in the heart and the ripples of that forgiveness spilled out in true confession, honest confession to their father and to their family.

There's no indication that there was any struggle here in sharing the news. As hard as that news was. And I think that's what happens. If you've ever felt forgiven, if you've ever been forgiven for something in the past, maybe even a painful thing in the past, it's my experience that when that forgiveness comes, it just opens the floodgates to honesty in that person's life and a willingness to share what they've experienced in relationship to forgiveness.

Is that your experience? And I can only imagine that these sons felt the same thing. There was this, now finally, this best kept secret in Canaan could be turned loose.

There was no need to keep it a secret anymore. even though the truth was painful, there was good news on the other end. But, Jacob is stunned.

Imagine that moment, what was going through his mind. How can this be? Joseph is alive? And at the very beginnings, what are some of the things that you see here in verse 27 and 28 that mark his life?

natural for any of us who would be hearing this news for the first time. What do you see? It's like, what in the world are you talking about?

Do you see faith? Faith? not initially, right? Matter of fact, it says he did not believe. The old Jacob is coming out.

Okay? And then, he sees the wagons, and certainly, it doesn't mention it here, but he saw the donkeys, this gift from his son, and now he's beginning to actually believe.

Faith is beginning to take hold. And that's now the effect on Jacob that we see the first few verses of chapter 46. It says, so Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba.

They finally decide, okay, we're going to go ahead and make this trip. Joseph is down there, we're going to make this trip. And they begin to make this trek with all their stuff, and they come to the southern edge of Canaan, to this place of Beersheba, and what do they do?

It says, they offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac, and God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, here I am.

Then he said, I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.

We see restored faith faith in Jacob. How does that show up in this scene? How does this faith begin to emerge again in Jacob's heart?

What are some of the evidences of that? he's going back to remember the God of his father, and that's the he's going back to God of his father.

Okay, good. Did you hear that? Making sacrifices to the God of Isaac. Um, and certainly he was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Sometimes the starting point is just to remember the God of your father. And so here he is, he's making sacrifices. Now why was that important? In making a sacrifice, what was he doing there?

And maybe we can find out what he was doing by the thing that God tells Jacob. Okay. What is God doing through this experience?

What does God say? That's right.

That's right. that's right. That's right. Now, his heart was in Egypt because that's where his son was. But finally we're seeing Jacob come to the point where he says, okay, God, here's what I want, but I know what you have said and I don't want to disobey.

So I'm not going to take another step out of Canaan where you have told me to stay, where you've told me to be, unless you give me the permission to go. And God reaffirms this in his heart and life and says, I will bring you back.

Don't worry. I'm going to make you a great nation there. Amen. Amen. I'm going to keep up my end of the bargain.

I'm going to bring you back to land. I'm going to make you a great nation. I'm going to even use this time in Egypt to help you become and to experience the things that I've promised since Abraham.

Good. Yes. That's good.

That's good. I didn't pick up on that, but I think that could be a good clue for us, right? That now he's beginning to emerge again as this person of faith, the person who's going to be essentially the father of Israel, not just the old Jacob who was kind of wallowing in self-pity and loss of his son.

But good point, good observation there. All right. in verses 28 and 29, we see personal restoration take place.

The chapter 46, most of it is just kind of accounting this trip and who was part of this group. Verse 28 shows the reunion that takes place.

It says, And he sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen. And they came into the land of Goshen. Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel, his father, in Goshen.

He presented himself to him, fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. Israel said to Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.

So there's this private reunion that takes place. Joseph and his family reconnected with his dad. This sense of finally being together after years and years of being apart.

No more worry about provision. No more anxiety about protection. There is this entire letdown of all of his burdens.

That Jacob doesn't have to carry this burden anymore for his family. That God's got it handled. I think that embrace captured this unburdening of all things in this reunion with his son.

I find it interesting that earlier he was grieving so much over the lost his son and he wanted to die. Now he says, let me die now that I see you.

Okay, so the first time he was like, let me be rid of all my pain. I want to escape. Now I'm at such breath. I can go. I can die. That's good.

Good point. Good point. Good point. We don't have time for this but let me just allude to it. Okay? In verses, we're in chapter 46, verses 30 to the end of the chapter and then continuing to chapter 47 verse 12, we find this, what do I want to say, this public restoration that's taking place where now Joseph brings his brothers before Pharaoh.

Okay? He introduces them to Pharaoh and he meets his brothers, he meets his father, Jacob and Pharaoh have this conversation about his age and interestingly enough, Jacob says, where is this?

This is chapter 47 in verse 10, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out, I'm sorry, back up, one more verse, verse 9, Jacob says to Pharaoh, the days of the years of my sojourning are 130, few and evil have been the days of the years of my life and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.

Okay? Why might it be so important for Pharaoh to meet Joseph's family? Especially as it relates to their future legacy, their enduring legacy in the land of Goshen.

Why might that be important? Not only this private reconciliation that's coming, but now a public restoration that's being visible to Pharaoh.

That's right. This isn't just Joseph, this isn't just hearsay. Here are flesh and blood brothers and father. Hear it before me.

Joseph is painting hard lines to his family. Not just theoretical lines, hard lines in relationship. relationship. And so now the association has been complete.

It's been public. It's been affirmed. Okay? The significance of that. It's not just happening behind closed doors. It's happening in full view. So that when Pharaoh and anyone after Pharaoh sees Joseph's family, they say, this is the family in Goshen.

I put my eyes on them. I've made a hard connection with them through Joseph. Joseph. Okay? I think that's important for the enduring legacy of the people. It didn't just happen undercover.

It happened in full view. That was important. And then, the second part, and I'm sorry that we don't have more time for this, but in verses 13 to 31, we see that there is a legacy that's preserved.

And year after year, the people keep coming back to Joseph. And, you know, two years have gone by, and Joseph's brothers come, and he sends them back.

I would guess probably another year for them to collect their stuff and make their way to Egypt. Okay? And then, this next year, year four, the people expend all their money.

There's no money left at this point. Year five, they give their livestock as a payment to getting grain. year six, they give their land to Egypt.

Now it belongs to the state. And year seven, they give themselves as servants to the state. Now imagine this. Land has been set up and established for the brothers, for a family in Goshen.

It's off-limits. It belongs to them. The rest of the land now belongs to Egypt. Egypt. What does that do for the preservation of a nation in Egypt?

How does that help? Any thoughts? that's one.

The fact that they're by themselves gives them the opportunity to thrive as people without the pressures of being integrated into the Egyptian society.

That's one. Good. own language, own values, own heritage and marrying one another, their own national ethnicity.

That's important. What else? I was thinking about this. When people don't own land, they can't extend boundaries.

They don't have boundaries. They can't compete with one another over property. They can't pass anything down in terms of legacy to their subsequent generations because they don't have anything to pass on.

And so God has systematically ripped it away from the people and positioned it underneath the Pharaoh to set exclusively this place for Egypt, this land of Goshen for the Hebrews, uncontested.

See what I'm saying? And then, we'll close with this. Verse 23, they come that last year and Joseph says, Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh.

Now here is seed for you and you shall sow the land and the harvest you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh and four fifths shall be your own. God so everything has been complete and now God turns on the water.

The famine is over, the mission has been accomplished, the legacy has been preserved and now an empire can thrive.

Again, with seed that Joseph is sending home with him to plant. I just think just the implications of Joseph's faith in forgiving his brothers that continue to lead, just this spillover of blessing on brothers and father and Pharaoh, you know, employees and employers and the empire itself.

the blessing of faith and forgiveness. May that be true of us. Thanks for coming today and let's pick up our kids so we can get to the service.