Audio restored with Diffio. Diffio processed the original archive recording to reduce noise and produce a cleaner listening version; the original stays available.
Speech quality score (model-estimated, SCOREQ): before 2.11 → restored 4.42
Use the player's Original switch to compare.How Diffio restores old speech recordings
We come now to the last major part of Genesis. It is a long part of the book and a very important part of the book, and I do not propose to expound it in its detail, or indeed in any, uh, proportion as it deserves. Moreover, it is at any rate one of the portions best known by believers in the book of Genesis. The final section of the book, therefore, the final major part, is one of the best known parts of Genesis, and contains the story of Joseph, who is a favorite character with most believers, both for the beauty of his behavior, but more importantly, because he is such a clear prototype of Jesus Christ our Lord.
If Adam in the garden proved a very unsatisfactory administrator and had to be turned out of the garden, the book of Genesis does not end without telling you at some length of the most famous administrator in the whole of the Old Testament, and that was Joseph. He rose to be second in command under Pharaoh. He was never a political ruler, he was an administrator. By the skill of his administration, saved Egypt from famine, and not only Egypt, but the surrounding nations.
Joseph, who went through the prison and eventually came to the glory, reminds all believers of the Lord Jesus, who went as innocent sufferer to the cross and to the grave for our sakes, is risen, and one day shall come in glory, and the whole universe shall cry that he is worthy to take the kingdom, the power, the glory, the riches, and administer the universe for God. In this session, in a sense, therefore, I do not need to expound him at length, but I would like to make the point that I mentioned earlier, that though Joseph is the predominant center of this section of the book, the story is told from Jacob's point of view.
And in the last page of notes that you have in your handout, I have set out for you the details of the last section. It is in four parts, as you see. And at the beginning of every major part of this last section, the topic is Jacob. At thirty seven one, Jacob dwelt in the land, we are told. In forty two one, Jacob saw there was corn in Egypt. In forty six one, and Israel took his journey, a fateful step that indeed, but counseled by God that Jacob should take his family down to Egypt.
The beginning of a four hundred year stay in the land of Egypt. Jacob needed to be sure that this was in the mind of God, that he should transfer the growing tribe and extended family to Egypt. forty seven twenty eight tells us, and Jacob lived in Egypt. And when Jacob dies, as he does in chapter, the end of chapter forty nine, then half of chapter fifty is taken up with the burial cer- ceremonies as Israel's body was taken back to Canaan with Joseph and an Egyptian escort, as the Egyptian Gentiles helped to take back Israel to the Promised Land.
When that is told you, Genesis is virtually at an end. You see, in this part of Genesis, now Jacob is the patriarch. In the fifth part, Isaac was the patriarch and Jacob the promised seed. But in this section now, Jacob is the patriarch and his children the promised seed, and special attention focuses, of course, upon Joseph. But you will notice the thing that I have underlined on this sheaf of sheet of contents, is that central to each part of the four parts is the figure of Judah.
That is a something that not- ought not to escape our notice. For though Joseph was the key to solution so- to the solution of the problem that presented itself in this part of the book, yet he was not the only key. Judah himself was the key at one of the most important parts of the book, of the section. It was the twin ministry of Joseph and Judah that secured the fulfillment of God's promise and intention for Jacob and his sons.
Because now you will notice a very big difference in the experience of Jacob from the experience of both Abraham and Isaac when they were patriarchs. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, and at God's instructions, Ishmael was sent away with God's blessing, but he was not accepted to be the line of the seed which would eventually bring in Christ. Isaac, when he became patriarch, had two sons, Esau and Jacob.
But Esau was not chosen to be the promised seed and to carry on the line that should bring in Messiah. God's choice was Jacob, and Esau eventually went away. But when it came to Israel as patriarch, Jacob as patriarch, then the position was reversed. Jacob had twelve sons. It wasn't a question of selecting one and driving all the others away. The problem now is the very opposite, how to keep all twelve sons together. For now the situation had come when God was going to transform the patriarch and the promised seed into an extended family, and thus into a tribe, and eventually into a nation.
The nation destined for glory. The nation destined to receive the manifestation of God at Mount Sinai, to receive the service of God in the tabernacle, the giving of the law, the priesthood, the prophets, and eventually the Messiah. A nation to be a brilliant testimony for God in the earth. Now it was a question of not selecting one son and sending the others away. It was a question of keeping all sons together and eventually forming a nation for glory. But that was some problem, I tell you. If you had no experience of such things, of keeping the Lord's people together, well, try to be an elder.
All of them destined for glory in heaven. But getting them to live together on earth, harmoniously, that can be a very, very different story. And it proved a difficult thing in this part of Genesis, keeping those twelve boys together. You know the story, how their animosity flared against Joseph. Some people say that Joseph was a prig and deserved his brothers' disfavor because he brought the father their evil report and told tales out of school.
It's a very questionable interpretation. For our Lord, when he was on earth, his brothers hated him, and do you know why? Because I bear witness of them that their deeds are evil, says Christ. Was he telling tales at a school? They hated him for his dreams of administrative superiority. And even Jacob had his doubts about these dreams. But his brothers, being uneasy about dreams, because the chance was they came from God, and they weren't going to have Joseph rule over them, who they think he was, a nasty little brat, and his father's spoiled boy with his coat of many colors.
But they decided to make sure that it wasn't God who sent the dreams. And first of all, talked of killing Joseph, then they cast him into a pit and eventually sold him to the Gentiles, and he was lost to the Gentiles for some years. And, uh, Jacob's heart was broken. As the brothers came back and showed him Joseph's coat, all stained with blood. It was the blood of an animal, of course. And they said, here, Jacob, see the evidence. They don't know what's happened. It looks as if some wild beast has devoured him. Well, certain wild beasts had, but not ones that walked on four legs.
I wonder how much Jacob really believed it. But told from Jacob's point of view, what a story it is. Jacob now back in the land, twelve boys, his favorite boy, the firstborn son of his favorite wife, Rachel, and she now dead. And hadn't God promised to bless him? And now he was back in the land. And circumstances had compelled him to give away a great deal of his wealth to Esau. And his sons had made a scandal of their behavior in amongst the nations in Canaan.
And now his favorite son was gone. Then there arose a famine in the land. And Jacob heard that there was bread in Egypt. And he sent the eleven boys down to Egypt to get the corn. And Joseph saw them, and they did not know it was Joseph. Joseph set now not to wreak spite on them, but to bring them to repentance. How could he honestly fall on their necks and kiss them while they were still unrepentant of their deed against him and against their father?
And your spies, that's what you are. Come to spy out the land. What do you say, your father? They said, no, we're not spies. A- a- and you've got, uh, how many brothers? And they told him. Righto, you've got one other brother more? Yes, he's a little one, he's with his father. Mm. Righto, here's your corn. But now you'll not get any more unless when you come back next time, you bring that little brother with you. And they departed. They went back home to Jacob, and they said, that man there, he talked roughly with us, and now we come back, we found the money in our bags.
But he said, Father, that the next time if we go, we must bring our little brother Benjamin with us. Why did you tell him you've got a brother Benjamin, said Jacob? Why must he go and blab it out? Well, he asked us, they said. He'll never go, says Jacob. But the famine waxed sore, and the food ran out in the land where God had promised to bless Jacob. He said, go and fetch some more corn. They said, but no, Dad, we must take Benjamin with us.
You'll not take Benjamin, he said. If Benjamin goes and is lost, I can't bear to think what will happen. Joseph is dead. Simeon is in prison in Egypt, kept as a hostage. And now if anything happens to Benjamin, we'll bring down my gray hairs in sorrow to the grave. Do not take Benjamin. But the famine raged. And at last they said, well, dad, we shall have to take Benjamin. Reuben said, I'll stand shorty.
Shut up, said Jacob, knowing the character of Reuben. Then Judah stepped forward. Dad, he says, I will go surety for him. And if he doesn't come back, take my life for his. Forced to it, Jacob let Benjamin go. And what a sad note it is. Says Jacob, schemer as ever. Well, now, when you go back to that man in Egypt, here's a little present to take, little nutmeg and some spices.
Pathetic and sorrowful, isn't it? Didn't know who this man was. And thought to influence him with a little spices and nutmeg. Granted, they were valuable things in the ancient world. What on earth would they mean to Jacob, who had the key to every granary in the whole of Egypt? Thinking he had to, well, bribe him would be an unpleasant word, wouldn't it? But they let Benjamin go. You say, what was God doing to Jacob in his old age? I thought God had promised to bless him, and in him and in his seed will all the nations of the world be blessed.
Now he's lost a quarter of all his sons. Simeon gone, Joseph gone, Simeon gone. Now Benjamin gone. They got to Egypt, and you know the story. How that Joseph gave them a feast, restrained himself from weeping in their presence when he saw Benjamin, his strict blood brother of the favorite wife of Jacob. But showed some knowledge amazing to the men that Benjamin's portion was more than any other body's portion, and they went.
Joseph secretly told his steward to put his cup into Benjamin's sack. Were these men really genuine? When the cup was discovered, would they ditch Benjamin like they had ditched Joseph? Were they really repentant? He heard them muttering among themselves, God has looked upon the sin that we did with our brother Joseph. But would they ditch Benjamin as well? He had the cup put in Benjamin's sack, and when the men were gone, sent his officers after them, and they said, no, we haven't taken your cup, and if the cup is found in anybody's sack, then let him be taken.
And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. What would they do? They came back to Egypt and protested to this man, Joseph. No, he said, you're free, you go. You said it, the man in whose bag the cup is found shall be your slave, my slave forever. All right, let that be so. He was testing them again, wasn't he? Would they ditch their younger brother at last and go back to the dad with a they couldn't help it story on their lips.
When, to perhaps Joseph's amazement, Judah stood forth to speak for the rest. Sir, he said, I cannot do this. I cannot leave Benjamin here, for if we go back and Benjamin is not with us, it will bring our father's gray hairs down to the grave. I can't stand by and see my father killed for the loss of Benjamin. Please, sir, take me in the place of Benjamin. Judah offering himself as a substitution to suffer vicariously on behalf not only of Benjamin, but on the behalf of Israel and the whole family.
Judah then was a key to the situation, wasn't he? And he joins Joseph in their twin roles. Joseph, the secret by his innocent suffering, coming at last to the throne, though he had done no evil, neither was there guile found in his mouth. Falsely accused, rejected by his brethren, falsely accused in Potiphar's house, and then in God's good time, the innocent sufferer brought to his position of glory as chief administrator in Egypt. Innocent suffering. But Judah, vicarious suffering on behalf of Israel and the rest of the family.
A twin picture, of course, of our Lord, innocent sufferer like Joseph, but of the tribe of Judah, and as king, giving his life as a ransom for many. What a story that is, isn't it? And when we think of Judah, what a transformation of character. When, uh, Joseph had been sold, uh, down into Egypt, Judah, of course, he was a cheap boy. He was a tribe of the Judah, you know. Destined, did he know it or not, to be the royal line of Judah.
He was some chap, and when he went on the town of a Saturday night, you should see him, oh, dressed up in his best with big hat and the staff. He was the head of the family, was not he? And a signet round his neck. Some boy on the town he was. And went down to the Gentiles to have a good time. Well, isn't that what kings do? I mean, isn't that, I mean, what else would you do if you were a king but have a good time and pleasure galore? And he found this woman, you'll say, where do you know this story? He married a Gentile, had three sons by her.
He married the first son to a woman, and he died without child. He married the second, and he died as well. He promised the third one to this Canaanite woman, but didn't give the boy to her when he grew up. This Gentile woman was more concerned with the line of Judah than Judah was himself. Funny that, isn't it? All he was doing was thinking of pleasure. And when he heard the facts that his daughter-in-law had committed adultery, he was for having her brought out and burned until she produced the evidence.
But convicted Judah. Oh, Judah, what a concept of kingship. Is it from this man's line that God's king will eventually come? Well, he'll have to learn a different lesson about what it means to be king, won't he? Preparation of the line to become the line of the royal scepter, not holding it for self-indulgent pleasure, but in the end brought to the position where he's prepared to stand out in front of Joseph and the gnomes that was Joseph, and offer himself as a vicarious sacrifice in the place of Benjamin to save Israel from death.
Our blessed Lord, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. When his disciples came to him and said, grant us whatever we ask, and he said, what would you like? And they said, let's sit one on the right hand and on the other on the left in your kingdom. That was their concept. He said, you don't know what you ask, gentlemen. Can you drink of the cup that I drink? They said, we don't care what we pay, we're going to have the chief place. He said, uh, well, gentlemen, in the first place, it's not mine to give, you see. It's for those that have been appointed by my father. But anyway, what do you think it means to be first? Well, he thought it meant sitting on a throne, bossing others around.
He said, actually, you see, the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Lion of the tribe of Judah, showing us what the path to the throne is, and what it means to be first, and what it means to be king, to be not only the servant of all, but to give himself as a vicarious ransom for all. Judah vicarious suffering, along with Joseph's innocent suffering.
As Peter observes, that the Lord Jesus has left us an example that we should follow his steps. Who did no guile, uh, sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who when he suffered, he threatened not. When he was reviled, he reviled not again. But committing himself to him that judgest righteously, bear our sin in his body on the tree, that we, passing away from sin, may live unto righteousness. Exemplified, prefigured in Joseph, the one who suffered innocently, and when he came out and was glorified, certainly brought his brethren to repentance, but never retaliated, not to his dying day.
Wonderful pictures of our coming Lord of the family of Israel. But it's Jacob's story, isn't it? Ah, Jacob, who thought God was going to bless him and had the promise that in him and his seed would all the nations of the world be blessed, and thought the way to get at it was to cheat Esau and drive a hard bargain over the birthright, doubtful behavior, and then steal the blessing and get all Laban's capital into his bank by doubtful means, serving himself and thinking that was God's blessing because it seemed to work.
When he had to be taught the opposite, God made him give back far more than he stole from Esau. And now, in his old age, he loses Joseph, and he loses Simeon. Now he's lost Benjamin. Three sons gone. What is God doing? Have ever you seen a mother, and the child has got something that it treasures, but it's positively dangerous. The mom says, drop that, and it won't, and she takes a hand and unwinds a finger, unwinds another finger, and unwinds another finger. And the child thinks she's horrible.
God had to do it with Jacob. A quarter of his son was gone. When he heard that Joseph was alive and instructed by God, went down to Egypt and saw what God meant by blessing. That in thee and in thy seed to all the families of the earth be blessed, and saw his son Joseph, second only to Pharaoh in the whole of Egypt, key to every granary in the province. I find myself a little grateful to God that he didn't put the key in Jacob's hand, at least in his unconverted days, because goodness know what Jacob would have done with the corn in Egypt, I don't know, before he got converted, so to speak.
But you could trust the key in Joseph's hand, couldn't you? And Jacob, as an old man, was there to see it. Astounded at the actual blessing that God had originally intended. And Jacob need never have got up to his tricks to get it either. That's the poignancy of it, isn't it? If only he could have seen in advance the glory that God had prepared for him. We imagine his behavior earlier might have been very different. He could have afford to give an Esau a bit more money for that blessing, that birthright, couldn't he?
And Jacob was introduced to Pharaoh, a great imperial majesty, and the text says he blessed Pharaoh. And surely the lesser is blessed by the greater. And in conscious dignity of God's blessing, was it not his son that had saved Pharaoh and the whole of Egypt and the surrounding nations? Jacob, as the patriarch, blessed Pharaoh. Wonderful story, isn't it? Reminds me, and perhaps you too, that it's a good and practical thing to keep our eyes on the glory that God has destined for us.
Blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. But what shall it be to dwell above and with the Lord of glory reign. It is real, my brethren. The reality of that coming glory will have its reflex action on our behavior now, as God trains us in the affairs of life to be faithful stewards, to be prepared, if need be, for innocent suffering, in our, in our little way to suffer that others might be saved. Eventually, the story tells how Jake, uh, Joseph brought his sons in to see the patriarch Jacob.
He was now pretty blind, and Joseph brought in his two sons, born of the priestess in Egypt, uh, Manasseh and Ephraim, Manasseh being the elder and Ephraim the younger. And he guided them into his father's hands that his father, the patriarch, might bless them. And Jacob, he was nearly blind and says to Joseph, who are these? And Joseph said, they're my sons, Jacob. Says, Jacob, you know, he said, I never expected to see your face again. And God has given me to see your very children. Who are these?
Oh, a prophetic prefigurement, isn't it? According to Isaiah the prophet in chapter forty nine of his prophecy, there will come a day when Israel, the nation, shall say, as God finishes his chastisement and brings them to the glory that he intended for them, they shall see the swarms of the redeemed being brought back to Zion, and Israel shall say, who are these? For I was left a widow without children. Look at these multitudes of children that God has given me. Who are these? She shall say. The story of Israel in advance, when Israel repented of having rejected their God-given Messiah, are reconciled, and Israel comes to see that the one whom their theologian says was a blasphemer and is rightly dead, was in fact a Messiah, and they shall be reconciled to him.
If their falling away be the enrichment of the world, how much they're receiving again shall be a veritable life from the dead. Oh, to stand with Israel in that coming day and see the vast multitudes brought to God, veritably of the seed of Abraham, as Paul would put it, through the Messiah that once Israel rejected. The final words are given to Jacob on his deathbed as he called his twelve boys round him and blessed them. As he blessed them, you will see that now he's a realist. These are the boys forming the nation, destined for glory eventually with Messiah.
But they weren't quite re- ready for, for glory, not yet, not, not, not some of them. They were bright sparks, some of them, and gnarled characters, and dear old Jacob, even on his deathbed, told them a few home truths, did he not? They need to be trained, a lot of defects in their characters put right, and he blessed them in the hope that God would one day purify the nation and bring them to glory. Jacob to the twelve sons. It's good, when you've read that, to turn to the Jacob of the New Testament, the epistle of James, that is Jacob, of course.
He writes to the twelve tribes, and some of the things he says are highly reminiscent of what Jacob the patriarch said to his twelve boys when Jacob was on his deathbed. But then I must leave it as promised. When Jacob died, the Egyptians heard the mourning, and the Pharaoh provided a contingent of Egyptians and the vehicles to take Jacob back to Israel, and Joseph went with them. And when he got back there, the local Canaanites heard the wailing, and they said, this is the wailing of the Egyptians. Yes. The prophet Isaiah tells of a time when Egypt will be converted along with Assyria, and the three with Israel shall form a triumvirate as the people of God.
When that is over, Genesis is over. Except for the last days of Joseph. The brethren were still suspicious of him and thought he was going to retaliate. He said, not so, my brethren. You may trust me. But this I ask, that when I die, you will take my bones and take them back to Egypt. I wonder what Pharaoh thought of that when his grand vizier Joseph came in with a request to His Majesty. Your Majesty, sir, when I die. Yes, says His Majesty, we'll build you a marvelous mausoleum here when you die. Yes, thank you very much, Your majesty. That would be a great honor.
But my people are going to leave Egypt one day. Really? What for? Well, God has promised them the promised land, you see, and they're going back according to God's promise. Is that so really, said Pharaoh. Uh, do you believe that kind of thing, Joseph? I do, sir, he says. And I would like it that when my, my, my people go back to Canaan, they should take my bones with them. What, not leave them here with all the fame of your sepulcher here in Egypt? Yes, your majesty. You see, the future is with Israel. I wonder what His Majesty said about that. Future is with a half a dozen chaps like your brothers or keeping a few cows down in Goshen.
Is that what you're telling me? Yes, your majesty. The future is with Israel. For it came to pass that when Israel left at the Passover, they did what Joseph had said, and they took the bones of Joseph with them. Practical evidence in front of their eyes, those hard old bones, that God was in process of fulfilling his promises, and one day the future would be with Israel indeed, and particularly with the lion of the tribe of Judah, the innocent sufferer, prefigurement of Christ, who died for us at Calvary.
History has already proved that true, isn't it? Egypt didn't prove to be the future of the world. The future is still with the lion of the tribe of Judah, the reality to which Joseph pointed. Forgive the superficial way in which I have commented upon these things, but there's gold in these here hills, do you know? May God use our studies this weekend not only to cheer our heart with our riches that are in Christ, but provoke us ourselves to a deeper study of God's word here and elsewhere, that the risen Lord may do for us what he did for his disciples on the road to Emmaus, as with knotted brows we try to understand God's word.
May the risen Lord come alongside and speak to us and interpret to us throughout the whole Old Testament scriptures the things concerning himself. Shall we pray? Our Father, we thank thee for these times together and the encouragement that thou has given us as we have sought to study thy word and beyond the sacred page to seek thee, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for your presence and for the grace of thy Holy Spirit. We thank thee for putting it in the hearts of our friends here to organize these sessions.
And now we pray thy blessing as we go. Give us traveling safety, we pray. Bless the assemblies to which we go, and cause them, Lord, to shine even more brightly for thee, enriched in their worship and empowered in their evangelism. Help the elders of each church and its servants and its Sunday school teachers and all its members in all that they do for thee. And cause us, Lord, in what time remains, ere thou shalt call us home, or when the Lord shall come, to learn life's lessons under thy fatherly training, that we may partake of thy holiness and thus be trained and prepared when the Lord Jesus comes to greet him with joy, and suffering with him here, to reign with him then.
We ask these things for his name's sake. Amen.
