WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.120 Let's hear the word of God. Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. 00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:15.960 This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, a young man of 17, was tending the flocks with his brothers, 00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:22.940 the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad 00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:30.380 report about them. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he had been born 00:00:30.380 --> 00:00:37.980 to him in his old age, and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. When his brothers saw 00:00:37.980 --> 00:00:45.040 that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to 00:00:45.040 --> 00:00:52.920 him. Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said, 00:00:52.939 --> 00:00:58.739 to them, listen to this dream I had. We were binding sheaves of corn out in the field when suddenly 00:00:58.739 --> 00:01:04.219 my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered round mine and bind down to it. 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:11.140 His brothers said to him, do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us? And they hated 00:01:11.140 --> 00:01:17.859 him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and he told it 00:01:17.859 --> 00:01:26.039 to his brothers, listen, he said, I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars 00:01:26.039 --> 00:01:33.980 were bowing down to me. When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, 00:01:34.099 --> 00:01:41.760 what is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:50.320 ground before you? His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:58.000 And we will leave it there and return back to that introduction to Joseph's life shortly. 00:01:58.240 --> 00:02:10.980 And let's think about a new chapter in God's salvation plan. Whenever anybody is writing or documenting 00:02:10.979 --> 00:02:19.620 history, they're always selective in what they include. So if you've been watching The Crown on 00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:25.979 Netflix, you'll know that the writers have ten episodes to cover the decade, a decade in the life 00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:31.579 of the queen, so they have to be selective. Same if you read a political history or you read any national 00:02:31.579 --> 00:02:38.679 history, there's always a choosing of what to include and what needs to be left out. Same for us, 00:02:38.680 --> 00:02:44.840 I guess, as we tell our own personal stories, depending who we're talking to, depending on the setting, 00:02:45.319 --> 00:02:53.140 that will change how we talk about our past, how we talk about our personal feelings and longings. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:03:03.680 We're always thinking about how to tell our stories. Moses here is writing the story of salvation 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:12.960 history for the newly established people of God, the nation of Israel. And so he is recording for them 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:24.700 stories such as Joseph's, so they might see how God has worked in their past to bring salvation to them. 00:03:24.699 --> 00:03:34.019 And Moses is led by the Spirit as he is selecting his stories. As he zooms in on particular characters, 00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:42.679 God is helping him to tell the story of God's saving grace that he wants the church then and the church now 00:03:42.679 --> 00:03:50.679 to hear. We know this is a new chapter in the story of salvation because we have a chapter break. 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:56.280 In verse 2, this is the account of Jacob. All through Genesis, when you read that, you've got a new section 00:03:56.280 --> 00:04:05.400 of the book. So the story of Joseph and his father Jacob is a new page for us in the unfolding work of 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:14.300 God's salvation story. So for us, what can we learn from the characters that are focused on, 00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:20.460 from the themes that are introduced, that will be helpful for us as we think about God's salvation 00:04:20.460 --> 00:04:27.620 now? So we're going to look at the three characters that are introduced. So we'll think about them 00:04:27.620 --> 00:04:35.220 briefly. We'll think about one dominant lesson that we can learn from their lives. First of all, 00:04:35.220 --> 00:04:41.500 let's think about Jacob. And the lesson we can draw from Jacob is that salvation 00:04:41.500 --> 00:04:50.779 comes by God's covenant grace. Verse 1, Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:58.399 the land of Canaan. This is the account of Jacob. So this is the story of Joseph, but straight away 00:04:58.399 --> 00:05:06.199 we're discovering his story is tied in with that his father, Jacob. And we also have Jacob's father 00:05:06.199 --> 00:05:13.319 mentioned. So that brings Isaac in. And by extension, Abraham is part of this story. So Joseph fits in the 00:05:13.319 --> 00:05:22.659 story of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Now there are some important themes for us to notice. The first one 00:05:22.659 --> 00:05:31.659 is the theme of covenant. So we're thinking about Jacob, but if you noticed in verse 3, as we were reading 00:05:31.660 --> 00:05:40.640 his story, he's then called Israel. And that reminds us that God gave him a covenant name. God changed his 00:05:40.640 --> 00:05:50.480 name as he reaffirmed the covenant promise that came from Abraham to Isaac, then to Jacob. So covenant 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:54.960 is going to be really important and covenant is really important for the whole story of salvation. 00:05:54.959 --> 00:06:02.000 So just to fill us in with the story in Genesis that's come before Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 00:06:02.719 --> 00:06:08.060 In Genesis 1 and 2, you discover God has created everything and he's created everything very good. 00:06:08.599 --> 00:06:13.819 We discover that people are made in God's image to live in his presence and to enjoy him. 00:06:14.479 --> 00:06:17.099 But then in Genesis 3, we discover that sin comes. 00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:25.180 And in between Genesis 3 and 11, you get repeating patterns. You get cycles where people are guilty 00:06:25.180 --> 00:06:32.420 of sin against God, rebelling against God's word, mistrusting him. You find God brings judgment, 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:41.439 but then there's also a message of grace, a sign of grace, hope of grace. So that cycle repeats Adam 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:47.600 and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah. And then chapter 11, we come to the story of the Tower of Babel. 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:55.500 In the Tower of Babel story, the people on the earth had been told to scatter and fill the earth 00:06:55.500 --> 00:07:02.180 with the glory of God have instead decided to gather themselves together and to make a great tower 00:07:02.180 --> 00:07:10.600 as a way for them to bring glory to themselves. Here is humanity trying to push God to one side 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:16.860 entirely. And judgment comes again. The people are scattered. This is where languages come in. 00:07:17.340 --> 00:07:24.760 People are scattered, but there is grace. Grace at the end of chapter 11 because Abraham's family 00:07:24.760 --> 00:07:31.680 is introduced to us. And what Moses is saying to us is that Abraham is going to be the means by which 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:38.439 God will again make promises to his people, will again work so that God and his people can be 00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:47.219 together despite our sin and because of God's grace. So in chapter 12, you discover the covenant that is 00:07:47.219 --> 00:07:54.000 established with Abraham, promising him a great land and a great nation and promising that from him 00:07:54.000 --> 00:08:03.459 will come blessing to the nations. And Abraham and his family would be carriers of God's promise, 00:08:03.459 --> 00:08:11.539 this promise of salvation. This hope that God's people will live in God's place under God's rule, 00:08:11.699 --> 00:08:20.819 enjoying his blessing that comes to Abraham for his family and ultimately for the nations. 00:08:21.819 --> 00:08:28.339 That promise of covenant, that covenant promise involved the promise of a land. 00:08:28.339 --> 00:08:35.259 You read the story of Israel and you discover their hope tied up with the promised land, 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:43.259 which was the land of Canaan. Now, if you turn to verse one, where is Jacob living? Jacob is living 00:08:43.259 --> 00:08:51.659 in the land of Canaan. So he's in the promised land. Joseph's story begins in what will be the promised 00:08:51.659 --> 00:09:01.480 land. But they haven't received it yet. At the time of Joseph, as they live in Canaan, all the land that they 00:09:01.480 --> 00:09:10.539 possess of the promised land is the burial plot given to Abraham that then his family shares. So Moses' first 00:09:10.539 --> 00:09:17.879 readers, so bear in mind this is written to the nation of Israel by Moses, as they have not yet entered into the 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:25.659 promised land. They need to have faith that more will come, that all the land will be given just as God had promised. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:32.159 But as we're going to read Joseph's story, we'll see that it begins in the promised land, but then he goes 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:43.259 from the age of 17, I guess, to Egypt. And there he will stay, except that his bones will return when the people 00:09:43.259 --> 00:09:48.919 enter into the land. And the same is true for Jacob. So there is a now and a not yet about this promise. 00:09:49.259 --> 00:09:53.460 They're in the promised land, but they haven't yet taken possession of it. 00:09:54.840 --> 00:10:02.840 That promise given to Abraham also connects very much to seed and to family. And what we see in the 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:10.679 story of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob is that God chooses, God elects a son, a brother, to be the line 00:10:10.679 --> 00:10:18.599 through whom the blessing will flow. So with Abraham's sons, the blessing will be through Isaac 00:10:18.599 --> 00:10:26.739 and not through Ishmael. When it comes to Isaac's two boys, it will be through Jacob, the younger twin, 00:10:26.839 --> 00:10:33.719 not Esau, the older, through whom the promise will come. And now think about how Joseph is being 00:10:33.719 --> 00:10:40.479 presented in verse 2. Read with me verse 2 and see how Moses is setting Joseph apart from his 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:46.600 brothers. Joseph, a young man of 17, was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the 00:10:46.600 --> 00:10:51.240 sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. 00:10:52.379 --> 00:10:59.639 See there, we've got the sons of these other wives and then you've got Joseph. You've got Joseph 00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:08.399 who is bringing a bad report about their evil activity. By extension, Joseph is not guilty of that evil. 00:11:08.399 --> 00:11:18.860 Joseph, at this stage in the story, is God's chosen one to protect, the promise to protect this family 00:11:18.860 --> 00:11:24.939 so that salvation will come. As we get further on in the story, we'll see how Judah becomes important, 00:11:25.079 --> 00:11:32.819 but for now we're going to see how God sets apart Joseph. Now even just thinking about that very brief 00:11:32.820 --> 00:11:39.740 sort of reminder of God's covenant promise and dealings with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. What 00:11:39.740 --> 00:11:45.160 does this teach? What would this teach Israel as they were awaiting to get into the promised land? 00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:54.040 What does it teach us today as a church? Well, it reminds us very clearly that all of us then and now 00:11:54.039 --> 00:12:03.199 we are saved by God's covenant love. We are saved because of God's commitment, God's initiative to 00:12:03.199 --> 00:12:13.139 call and rescue a people for himself. There is a people of God because of God's desire to restore 00:12:13.139 --> 00:12:18.719 that relationship that people had broken because of sin and disobedience. 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:25.560 And we say that really clearly. We say that really clearly when Jesus comes because Jesus has come 00:12:25.560 --> 00:12:33.300 to establish a new covenant between God and his people. He says that as he shares the Last Supper 00:12:33.300 --> 00:12:42.259 with his disciples before going to the cross, that his broken body and his shed blood are the means of 00:12:42.259 --> 00:12:48.460 covenant being established. That through his death for sinners, forgiveness and reconciliation, 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:58.460 a new life with God is now possible. And the Bible tells us that Jesus is the Lamb of God who was slain 00:12:58.460 --> 00:13:06.159 before the foundation of the world. There is an eternal commitment from God to save people, to bring people 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:13.639 to himself through the finished work of Jesus. So the hope for Israel was the same as our hope. 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:23.879 It becomes clear as we look at these stories too that we are saved by God's grace. It's always striking how 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:33.079 honest the Bible is about the characters that are portrayed. Even the great people of faith are seen as 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:42.980 men and women who sin, who disobey, who rebel against God. And when you look at the portrait of this family, 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:53.860 we recognize there is sin here, reminding us that we are never ever saved and accepted by God on the basis of 00:13:53.860 --> 00:14:03.060 our merit or moral goodness. It's always on the basis of God's loving kindness to us, which we don't deserve. 00:14:03.080 --> 00:14:15.540 It's grace. Jesus comes as God's gift of grace to the world. Jesus is God's undeserved kindness 00:14:15.540 --> 00:14:27.840 expressed to sinners like us. Jesus is the one just person who dies for the unjust to bring us to God. 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:35.980 Jesus is the one who, by his death, takes us, if our faith is in him, from a position of being spiritually dead 00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:44.540 to enjoying abundant life, new life in him. It is through faith in Jesus and what Jesus has done 00:14:44.540 --> 00:14:52.780 for us that we, as prodigals, in all of our sin and shame and disgrace, can be welcomed by our Father in heaven. 00:14:52.779 --> 00:14:59.939 Amen. Same message then is the same message now. We're always saved by grace. 00:15:00.980 --> 00:15:05.279 Moses is writing salvation history so that you and I will give glory to God. 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:12.939 So we'd see God's glory in the saving of sinners. That we'd recognize that Israel, as God's chosen nation, 00:15:13.299 --> 00:15:19.199 that the church throughout history only exists by God's covenant grace. And it's all because of 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:29.379 Jesus dying on the cross for us. So that Jacob's hope and Joseph's salvation is your hope and my hope and salvation today. 00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:39.320 And because it's by grace and not our goodness, not based on who we are, it means for us that there is no room for pride. 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:47.960 Rather, we are called to be humble. Just as Jesus humbled himself for us, leaving the glory of heaven to become one of us, 00:15:48.460 --> 00:15:53.240 to then die on the cross for our sins. So as Christians, we are called to be humble, 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:59.320 to recognize every day with gratitude that God saved us despite ourselves. 00:16:00.920 --> 00:16:05.600 But just as there is no room for pride, so too there is no cause for despair. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:13.420 If you're here today and you're not a Christian, nobody can say, I am too bad for God. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:18.279 Nobody can say because of their past, I am begone, God's help. 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:24.500 I am a nobody and God would want nothing to do with me that this is not for me. 00:16:24.659 --> 00:16:33.379 Rather, God's grace is wide and it's rich and it's for anyone who will put their trust in Jesus. 00:16:33.379 --> 00:16:38.720 God offers you and me today saving grace, sustaining grace. 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:47.039 What we need to do is trust him, trust Jesus and enjoy life from him. 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:53.179 So Jacob, he reminds us that salvation is by God's covenant grace. 00:16:54.220 --> 00:16:56.580 And then we're introduced to Joseph. 00:16:56.580 --> 00:17:04.920 And Joseph and his story reminds us that God saves through a chosen redeemer. 00:17:05.880 --> 00:17:09.779 So we're reading the history of Israel. 00:17:10.180 --> 00:17:14.000 We're reading salvation history. 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:19.019 But you'll see when you read any, I imagine any national history, 00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:21.980 thinking about our own history, you read a Scottish history textbook, 00:17:21.980 --> 00:17:26.480 undoubtedly you will come across the figure of William Wallace. 00:17:27.380 --> 00:17:33.799 You will find others who fought for independence, fought to retain our status as a nation. 00:17:34.120 --> 00:17:37.319 Or if you read the history of the United Kingdom in the 20th century, 00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:41.819 you will undoubtedly find prominence given to Winston Churchill 00:17:41.819 --> 00:17:46.440 for his place in saving the nation during war. 00:17:46.440 --> 00:17:49.720 And when it comes to the story of salvation history, 00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:53.299 as you read the Old Testament and then you come to Jesus in the New Testament, 00:17:53.420 --> 00:18:00.480 you see that attention is focused on God's chosen deliverers and rescuers. 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:05.519 Those who he appoints to either rescue or to protect, 00:18:05.900 --> 00:18:09.880 both God's people and God's promise. 00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:19.720 And they stand for us as signposts to the coming of Jesus and to his rescue mission. 00:18:20.760 --> 00:18:29.920 So we're back in verse 2, and we already noted how Moses draws a contrast between Joseph and his brothers. 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:38.520 So Joseph, all throughout this story of his life, is presented as righteous and good. 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:41.180 And that's there from the beginning. 00:18:41.420 --> 00:18:45.099 He is a young man, a man of faith. 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:51.980 And then we find in verse 3 that he is favoured by his father. 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:55.859 Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons. 00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:00.160 And that's where the coat of many colours comes from. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:04.079 And here we see the providence of God. 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:05.879 So that's a sinful action, isn't it? 00:19:05.880 --> 00:19:09.380 In a family, you never want to have favourites. 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:11.240 That creates tension. 00:19:11.660 --> 00:19:13.120 It creates dysfunction. 00:19:13.400 --> 00:19:14.700 It is not good. 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:19.040 But God in his providence is able to use that sinful action. 00:19:19.140 --> 00:19:22.680 That begins a chain reaction of more evil actions, 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:26.140 where Joseph will find himself in slavery and then in prison. 00:19:26.220 --> 00:19:29.340 But ultimately, he'll find himself in a position in Egypt, 00:19:29.339 --> 00:19:33.919 where he's able to save the nation of Egypt, but more important for our purposes, 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:41.500 able to save his family and therefore able to save the promise so that salvation might come, 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:45.459 that blessing might come through the people of God and then through Jesus, 00:19:45.879 --> 00:19:48.159 God's ultimate and great saviour. 00:19:49.500 --> 00:19:52.279 Then we come to Joseph's dreams. 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:59.519 And Joseph's dreams, they remind us from the beginning that Joseph has been chosen by God. 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:05.160 God used dreams to speak, to prophesy about things still to come. 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:14.339 So Joseph is here being presented to us as the one God has chosen to raise up in the fullness of time. 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:17.299 So we see, what do we see in the details? 00:20:17.299 --> 00:20:20.759 There are the sheaves of corn representing Joseph and his brothers, 00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:24.299 and all the brothers' sheaves of corn bow down to Joseph. 00:20:24.899 --> 00:20:30.079 And then the sun, moon, and stars, his whole family are seen to bow down to Joseph. 00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:33.819 Now, we don't know at this stage when that will happen, 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:41.579 but ultimately, God is saying that Joseph will be given a position of honour and prominence, 00:20:41.579 --> 00:20:47.960 and it will serve the purpose of preserving the covenant family and the covenant promise. 00:20:48.299 --> 00:20:51.779 Joseph is God's chosen redeemer. 00:20:52.980 --> 00:20:59.099 So again, as we think about Moses writing history, carefully selecting this story, these facts, why? 00:20:59.740 --> 00:21:02.339 What will Israel learn about salvation? 00:21:02.859 --> 00:21:07.319 What do we learn about salvation from thinking about Joseph? 00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:17.859 Well, this family and Joseph's place in the family helps us remember that we stand in need of a redeemer. 00:21:18.500 --> 00:21:20.700 Again, the Bible is very honest. 00:21:21.539 --> 00:21:27.119 It presents Jacob as a man of faith and as a sinner. 00:21:27.859 --> 00:21:32.679 We see it here in his favouritism, which is so wrong and so destructive. 00:21:32.680 --> 00:21:38.340 We will see his brothers, full of hatred, anger, jealousy, which will get worse. 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:43.220 This family, chosen by God, needs the mercy of God, 00:21:43.580 --> 00:21:49.420 because everybody needs God's redemption for each one of us. 00:21:50.380 --> 00:21:57.060 If we were to imagine God's spotlight shining on our hearts and on our lives, 00:21:57.059 --> 00:22:01.059 it would expose much darkness and shame. 00:22:02.059 --> 00:22:07.000 If the story of our thoughts and minds and desires was to be displayed on these big screens, 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:13.339 we would run from this place and probably never return, most likely. 00:22:15.339 --> 00:22:22.099 Just like in this story, we are those who love some and love them well, 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:24.659 but we neglect others. 00:22:24.660 --> 00:22:32.060 We are those, too, who show jealousy, who are quick to get angry, 00:22:32.380 --> 00:22:36.580 who find it hard to speak kind words of others. 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:43.860 We see ourselves in this family when we take an honest look at ourselves, 00:22:43.940 --> 00:22:47.380 because sin affects us all. 00:22:47.380 --> 00:22:53.600 With the result that by nature and without Christ, we are separate from God, 00:22:54.380 --> 00:22:56.720 separate from his love and his life and his joy. 00:22:57.160 --> 00:23:00.140 Rather, we are deserving of judgment. 00:23:00.420 --> 00:23:05.240 We are far from God, deserving of his judgment. 00:23:06.300 --> 00:23:11.920 And so the Bible is constantly wanting us to see that we need God's rescue. 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:17.539 Ultimately, that we would see Jesus is our only hope, 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:21.620 because he is God's chosen redeemer. 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:26.779 He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 00:23:27.620 --> 00:23:29.360 He is the one who can say to us, 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:33.180 Go in peace, your sins are forgiven. 00:23:33.420 --> 00:23:37.300 He is the only one who can bring us peace with God. 00:23:37.299 --> 00:23:41.720 He is the only one who can deal with the guilt and shame that lurks within. 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:44.659 And so again, we are invited to go to him, 00:23:45.299 --> 00:23:49.779 to look to him, to turn to him, and to be saved. 00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:56.680 So we've seen Jacob, and we've been reminded about God's saving 00:23:56.680 --> 00:23:59.079 by covenant love and grace. 00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:01.039 And we've seen Joseph, 00:24:01.419 --> 00:24:05.200 who reminds us that God saves through a chosen redeemer. 00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:10.000 And then the other main characters that we find in this section of the book, 00:24:10.700 --> 00:24:12.500 and they will run through the whole story, 00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:14.740 are his brothers. 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:21.160 And they remind us that we need to have a right response 00:24:21.160 --> 00:24:24.140 to God's deliverer. 00:24:25.240 --> 00:24:27.500 It's really striking in this story, isn't it, 00:24:27.539 --> 00:24:31.319 how you can see Joseph at one and the same time 00:24:31.319 --> 00:24:33.659 be so loved by his father, 00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:37.419 but yet so hated by his brothers. 00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:41.099 The same subject with very different responses. 00:24:42.359 --> 00:24:45.159 I read this week of a flower 00:24:45.159 --> 00:24:48.779 with the wonderful name of the corpse flower, 00:24:49.319 --> 00:24:51.079 which grows in Indonesia. 00:24:51.460 --> 00:24:56.099 This is a massive flower that grows to some 15 feet. 00:24:56.099 --> 00:24:58.219 And when it blooms, 00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:03.879 it is utterly repellent to human beings 00:25:03.879 --> 00:25:06.980 because it stinks of rotting flesh. 00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:08.699 But at the same time, 00:25:08.819 --> 00:25:11.679 it is loved by the bugs and the insects. 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:13.839 So for the purposes of pollination, 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:17.099 that stench is great for the corpse flower. 00:25:17.480 --> 00:25:20.019 That same object loved and hated. 00:25:20.139 --> 00:25:21.679 We can think of lots of examples 00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:24.019 in our own experience. 00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:28.039 And we see it in the story of Joseph. 00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:31.200 Moses, from the very beginning, 00:25:31.320 --> 00:25:33.320 as he's painting a portrait of the brothers, 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:38.759 is going to show us that they need the mercy of God. 00:25:39.460 --> 00:25:40.640 In verse two, 00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:44.500 their brother brings a bad report about them. 00:25:45.740 --> 00:25:47.680 And sometimes, you know, 00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:49.060 as people tell the story, 00:25:49.059 --> 00:25:51.319 they say, well, here's Joseph, 00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:52.960 and he's just sort of full of himself, 00:25:53.019 --> 00:25:54.339 and he thinks he's better than his brothers. 00:25:55.099 --> 00:25:57.299 Moses is not saying he was wrong 00:25:57.299 --> 00:25:58.460 to bring the bad report. 00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:01.019 And in fact, when we look at the lives of the brothers, 00:26:01.379 --> 00:26:03.119 it seems to be expected 00:26:03.119 --> 00:26:04.980 that this is representing 00:26:04.980 --> 00:26:09.019 their spiritual condition at this time. 00:26:10.940 --> 00:26:11.819 Verse four, 00:26:12.819 --> 00:26:15.899 when his brothers saw that their father loved him 00:26:15.899 --> 00:26:17.059 more than any of them, 00:26:17.059 --> 00:26:18.059 they hated him 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:21.799 and could not speak a kind word to him. 00:26:22.679 --> 00:26:24.679 Because of the sin of their father, 00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:27.359 they are starved of a father's love. 00:26:27.379 --> 00:26:28.919 But what do they do 00:26:28.919 --> 00:26:30.659 as they see just how much 00:26:30.659 --> 00:26:33.359 their father puts Joseph on a pedestal 00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:34.419 and makes him the favorite? 00:26:34.700 --> 00:26:36.059 They take it out on Joseph. 00:26:37.059 --> 00:26:38.000 They hate him. 00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:39.359 They're jealous of him. 00:26:39.419 --> 00:26:42.819 They cannot speak a kind word to him. 00:26:42.819 --> 00:26:46.240 Just before we move on, 00:26:47.659 --> 00:26:51.240 how do you and I deal with that experience 00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:55.339 when we see someone else being favored over us? 00:26:56.039 --> 00:26:58.700 When we see it in a workplace, 00:26:58.899 --> 00:27:01.000 someone getting a promotion or getting credit 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:03.179 that you feel you deserve. 00:27:04.159 --> 00:27:06.599 Perhaps in a classroom setting, 00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:08.819 you are overlooked 00:27:08.819 --> 00:27:11.179 and other people get the attention 00:27:11.179 --> 00:27:12.099 and the praise. 00:27:12.179 --> 00:27:15.179 Or perhaps that's our experience in a family 00:27:15.179 --> 00:27:18.939 that we feel like we are less valued 00:27:18.939 --> 00:27:21.139 and treated less well 00:27:21.139 --> 00:27:23.679 than some of our siblings perhaps. 00:27:23.779 --> 00:27:26.039 How do we deal with that? 00:27:27.500 --> 00:27:31.079 The letter of James in chapter two, 00:27:31.639 --> 00:27:33.279 it would say to Jacob, 00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:35.960 do not show favoritism, 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:40.460 but it would also say to Joseph's brothers 00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:41.740 and to us, 00:27:42.279 --> 00:27:44.980 you must obey the royal law, 00:27:46.139 --> 00:27:48.379 whoever the other person is, 00:27:48.440 --> 00:27:50.740 the royal law to love your neighbor as yourself. 00:27:51.399 --> 00:27:53.680 So even as we see other people 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:55.539 being elevated ahead of us, 00:27:55.539 --> 00:27:59.379 rather than bitterness, hatred, envy, jealousy, gossip, 00:27:59.579 --> 00:28:00.639 trying to bring them down, 00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:04.960 instead the Bible would have us continue to love them, 00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:08.020 to think and speak well of them. 00:28:08.420 --> 00:28:12.180 But we find the brothers unable to do that at this stage. 00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:15.259 And then Joseph compounds the problem 00:28:15.259 --> 00:28:18.160 by sharing his dreams with them. 00:28:18.320 --> 00:28:20.400 And we see just how that causes the hate 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:21.980 and the jealousy to grow. 00:28:22.420 --> 00:28:23.700 We can see it in verse five, 00:28:23.860 --> 00:28:24.780 Joseph had a dream. 00:28:25.460 --> 00:28:26.900 And when he told it to his brothers, 00:28:26.900 --> 00:28:29.820 they hated him all the more. 00:28:30.380 --> 00:28:31.660 Again, in verse eight, 00:28:31.740 --> 00:28:33.160 they hated him all the more 00:28:33.160 --> 00:28:35.560 because of his dream and what he had said. 00:28:35.640 --> 00:28:36.540 And then verse 11, 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:38.340 as he tells the second dream, 00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:41.600 his brothers were jealous of him. 00:28:42.360 --> 00:28:43.220 But here's the point. 00:28:43.840 --> 00:28:46.940 Dreams are where God chooses to speak sometimes. 00:28:47.620 --> 00:28:48.220 This dream, 00:28:48.540 --> 00:28:51.100 these dreams are showing that God has chosen Joseph 00:28:51.100 --> 00:28:52.900 to be their family deliverer, 00:28:52.900 --> 00:28:53.620 deliverer, 00:28:53.940 --> 00:28:55.840 but rather than honor him, 00:28:55.960 --> 00:28:57.320 rather than love him, 00:28:57.420 --> 00:28:58.500 rather than accept him, 00:28:58.800 --> 00:28:59.720 they cannot. 00:28:59.820 --> 00:29:03.019 They cannot speak well of him at all. 00:29:03.400 --> 00:29:07.320 Their response to the Redeemer is wrong. 00:29:09.180 --> 00:29:11.640 How does this help us think about salvation? 00:29:13.560 --> 00:29:15.820 Fast forward to the story of Jesus, 00:29:15.819 --> 00:29:18.819 and we discover what was true of Joseph 00:29:18.819 --> 00:29:22.460 will also be true of him. 00:29:23.439 --> 00:29:24.819 Jesus, the son of God, 00:29:24.939 --> 00:29:26.480 enters into the world, 00:29:27.419 --> 00:29:28.500 comes as savior, 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:31.500 but he faces rejection 00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:35.439 and hatred from his brothers. 00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:40.279 The father in heaven speaks well of Jesus. 00:29:40.419 --> 00:29:42.500 This is my beloved son. 00:29:42.859 --> 00:29:44.460 I am well pleased with him. 00:29:44.460 --> 00:29:45.700 Listen to him. 00:29:46.039 --> 00:29:46.720 The father says, 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:49.160 I will glorify you, 00:29:49.600 --> 00:29:50.140 my son, 00:29:50.279 --> 00:29:51.279 but his brothers, 00:29:52.340 --> 00:29:55.240 they don't heed that message so many. 00:29:56.759 --> 00:29:57.720 John's gospel says, 00:29:57.880 --> 00:29:58.960 Jesus came to his own, 00:29:59.059 --> 00:30:01.079 but his own did not receive him. 00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:03.200 Jesus came for his own, 00:30:03.240 --> 00:30:04.400 and his own cried out, 00:30:04.900 --> 00:30:05.799 crucify him. 00:30:05.980 --> 00:30:08.779 We have no king but Caesar. 00:30:08.779 --> 00:30:12.240 Jesus, too, 00:30:12.899 --> 00:30:14.859 divides opinion. 00:30:16.660 --> 00:30:19.740 Where do we stand when it comes to Jesus today? 00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:25.119 Do we receive his love and his grace, 00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:27.700 or do we reject it? 00:30:27.700 --> 00:30:34.779 Will we be those who would worship Jesus as Lord and Savior, 00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:37.960 or would we wash our hands of him and say, 00:30:38.039 --> 00:30:39.220 he's not for me, 00:30:39.580 --> 00:30:41.759 he's not for now. 00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:45.880 Moses, 00:30:46.340 --> 00:30:47.400 led by the Spirit, 00:30:47.779 --> 00:30:50.700 has begun to introduce us to Joseph's story. 00:30:50.700 --> 00:30:53.360 It's a story of God's faithfulness. 00:30:54.039 --> 00:30:56.360 It will be a story of God's deliverance. 00:30:56.700 --> 00:31:00.100 It's a story of God's grace to sinners. 00:31:00.299 --> 00:31:04.799 And it prepares us for the greater than Joseph's story. 00:31:04.900 --> 00:31:07.779 It prepares us for the coming of Jesus. 00:31:08.900 --> 00:31:09.279 Jesus, 00:31:09.480 --> 00:31:12.059 who is the beloved son of the Father. 00:31:12.620 --> 00:31:12.940 Jesus, 00:31:13.360 --> 00:31:16.700 who in the fullness of God's timing will be raised up. 00:31:16.700 --> 00:31:20.559 raised up in the first place on the cross 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:22.680 to die in the place of sinners 00:31:22.680 --> 00:31:24.720 to complete God's plan of salvation, 00:31:24.720 --> 00:31:28.319 and then raised up as at his resurrection, 00:31:29.080 --> 00:31:32.860 and all to be our hope of salvation. 00:31:34.740 --> 00:31:35.799 This Jesus, 00:31:35.980 --> 00:31:38.640 he could deliver a bad report of us. 00:31:40.500 --> 00:31:41.740 When we're honest, 00:31:41.840 --> 00:31:44.720 we know the sin in our own hearts, 00:31:44.720 --> 00:31:47.120 but by God's grace, 00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:50.339 Jesus was raised up to bear our sin, 00:31:50.460 --> 00:31:52.500 to wash us clean of sin, 00:31:52.779 --> 00:31:54.240 to give us a new report. 00:31:55.940 --> 00:31:59.339 Reckoned to be righteous in Christ. 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:02.059 So that we, 00:32:02.400 --> 00:32:03.200 by faith in him, 00:32:03.259 --> 00:32:04.400 can be brought into 00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:07.100 this great salvation story ourselves. 00:32:08.380 --> 00:32:10.059 Trusting Jesus is the way 00:32:10.059 --> 00:32:12.720 to enter that story of salvation, 00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:15.400 salvation to receive God's love 00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:16.680 and all God's promises. 00:32:18.200 --> 00:32:20.920 And our response must be to turn from sin 00:32:20.920 --> 00:32:23.120 and to follow him.