James McCann - Class 2: Joseph we are True Men

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   Well, I'd like to share with you this morning a hypothetical story. It's about a young boy who was in primary school, and each year his book club at his school would put out a little, you know, pamphlet that you could buy books and, you know, you'd buy this series and that series. But the one thing that every year this boy really, really wanted was actually a calendar with stickers on it.

2. 0:24

   And everyone seemed to get this calendar with stickers on it because it was really cool and it was the in thing to do. But each year this boy wasn't allowed to buy one. But one year the teacher was going through handing it out when they'd finally come, and one year the teacher walked up to the back and there was two students still left and this boy was one of them.

3. 0:44

   And she had two of these calendars in her hand. And she sort of looked down at both of them and went, oh, and handed one to each of them, thinking that obviously the final two were for the final two people. This boy was absolutely alive inside with a prospect that finally he had a calendar.

4. 1:06

   To the point that he decided not to actually say to the teacher that it wasn't his and he hadn't bought it. So anyway, he got it home and he started to get it out. His mum, who knew obviously that they hadn't purchased it, asked him where he got this calendar from. Needless to say, the son was having to think on his feet as to where he got this calendar from.

5. 1:31

   The words just came out, I was given it today. There was one left over and they decided to give it to me. The mum wasn't really convinced, but what could she do? However, about half an hour after dinner, a phone call came through from the boy who sits beside this young lad. And it was his mum.

6. 1:51

   And this mum talked with the other boy's mum and said, well, actually, we ordered two and we didn't get both of them. Did you have it? It could be that this could be where it is. But when the phone went down, there was a yell through the house for this boy to come and confess.

7. 2:10

   Needless to say, the boy probably didn't sit down for a week, was grounded for at least a month. And in the end, as that boy probably looks back now in the future, he sort of thinks about how important it was for that lesson of truth to be taught to him. The truth is far more than just what we say.

8. 2:33

   It's sometimes what we don't say that is important. And that, brothers and sisters, I think, is the power of what we're going to consider this morning in the legacy of Joseph. Because when Joseph is introduced into the record, it's magnificent to see just the way the scripture even just brings him into this entire story.

9. 2:52

   And if you think of Genesis as it starts all the way at the beginning and runs all the way through to the time of when that nation was down in Egypt and then about to leave, the entire book of Genesis covers from chapter 37 all the way through to the end of chapter 50, the life of this young man, Joseph, as he follows through his desire to make his brethren true men.

10. 3:15

    So we would like to look at the impact that Joseph had on his brothers initially, then on his nation, and then, of course, on us. So let's just go to Genesis 36 and see the way that Joseph is introduced into the record. Now, the reason why we're going to start at chapter 36 is because we want to draw a contrast.

11. 3:36

    And if you have a look at Genesis 36, you'll see straight away that this entire chapter is all about the generations of Esau. And it tells us that Esau took wives of Canaan, which is exactly what his father didn't want him to do. And then it tells us that these are the generations of Esau.

12. 3:56

    And it lists from verse 9 all the way through to the end, literally a family lineage of Esau. So it spends a whole chapter telling us about Esau, what he was like, and the family that came from him. We'll flick across to Genesis 37. When it tells us that Jacob was in the land as a stranger of Canaan, there's a direct contrast straight away to the way Esau was living.

13. 4:21

    But we see that it is Jacob here who sojourns in the land. And he tells us that these are the generations of Jacob. Now you would think, based on chapter 36, that we would now have a lineage that would tell us all about the sons of Jacob and where they fit in and how long they went for.

14. 4:39

    But all you have is this. These are the generations of Jacob, full stop, Joseph. In other words, brothers and sisters, Joseph is being put forward here as being the single individual of which the generations of Jacob or the seed of the woman is represented. That's why he takes up a large portion of this part of Scripture.

15. 5:07

    Because he plays a vital role, like Christ did, in bringing about salvation to his family. And you sort of think, well, you know, why just Joseph? What about the other boys in the family? Well, if you go back a little bit further into somewhere like Genesis 34, the incident of Simeon and Levi with Dinah and the men of Shechem, you don't just need to see the comparison between Joseph and his boys.

16. 5:33

    It's just vastly different. Joseph's brothers were just so totally different to him. And so the record in Genesis 37 goes to great lengths to tell us that Joseph was this spiritual son. If we have a look there, particularly in verses 2 and 3, it says in verse 3 that Israel loved Joseph more than his children because he was the son of his old age and he made him a coat.

17. 6:00

    Now, when it's using the idea of Jacob and Israel in the record, we can sort of switch between both the natural and the spiritual ideas that are coming out here. And when it tells us that Israel loved Joseph, we can see that this is a spiritual name because we're going to be looking at a moral principle.

18. 6:18

    And so when we see that phrase, he loved Joseph, we can see that this love was not just like a favoritism, although that possibly would have come out a little bit and particularly the brothers would have seen it that way. But I think it's because he loved the moral principles that were in this boy.

19. 6:38

    He saw in Joseph, in a sense, the seed of Abraham. Now, this is highlighted in that phrase, he was a son of his old age. Now, that phrase only occurs four times in all of Genesis. And the first two occur in Genesis 21 regarding the promise of Isaac. The next two occurrences of this phrase is used, first of all, of Joseph here.

20. 7:06

    And the next time it's used is used of Benjamin in the words of Judah in his confession, which God willing we're going to get to later on. So we can see that here, this phrase at first would have made the brothers, in a sense, see favoritism and hate, you know, Jacob, you know, loving, you know, Joseph more than them.

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    But we're going to see in the end that Judah actually came around to use that phrase in such a way as to acknowledge, in a sense, his little brother. And see the massive change that Judah went through because of Joseph. And so when it says that he made him a coat, it's not a coat of many colors, as we know.

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    It's a coat that represents a priestly garment. It's a tunic that goes from virtually from the palms all the way down to the feet. It covers the entire body. And Bollinger tells us that this was worn by the chief or his heir. In other words, it's like as if in Jacob, he saw in Joseph that this boy was to be, in a sense, the firstborn, like a type of Christ.

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    This was to be what his family would be all about. This was the line of the promises to Abraham. And so we can see straight away that if we were to spend time, even as we could spend a whole week trying to draw parallels between Joseph and Christ, he's a beautiful type of Christ.

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    And there's probably a lot more. And I mean, you have to be sitting right up the front to even see that. But that's just a quick list that you can put together of the types of Christ that are seen in the life of Joseph. But his actions, brothers and sisters, were very priestly.

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    And he took that role very seriously. And I think sometimes we think that maybe, you know, Joseph went out to talk to his brothers as a way of showing arrogance. It wasn't arrogance at all, brothers and sisters. It was the intent desire to save his brothers. So when we see in verse 5 that Joseph dreamed a dream, and these two dreams are actually given, we can see that Joseph would have recognized that this is the way that God actually spoke through to his prophets.

26. 9:15

    We know from Numbers 12, don't we, that if there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, will make myself known unto him in a vision and will speak unto him in a dream. And therefore, his motive was to save his brothers and his family. Because in these dreams, there was the crystal clear application, both of the present and of the future.

27. 9:36

    I'd like you to just quickly come across with me to Genesis 45 to see how, in the end, Joseph reveals this principle to his brothers. They finally got it. Because in Genesis 45 is the time where Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and he tells them why God gave him the dream, why he shared the dream, and why God was doing what he did to bring about their salvation.

28. 10:06

    Now, if you notice in Genesis 45, it says in verse 5, Now, did you notice that that is twice that he says that? God sent me before you. Because there are the two aspects of the dreams. But the first dream relates to the first application, and that was to save you a posterity in the earth.

29. 10:49

    That's why he, literally, Joseph, had to go into Egypt. Their entire family would not have been saved without that. But we know in the second dream, don't we, that even Jacob picks up on the idea that, Shall I and thy mother bow down to thee? So even Jacob picked up that the second dream had a slight difference.

30. 11:12

    And the slight difference was that it must be a future application. Because she must be resurrected for that dream to take place. And there's the second application in verse 7. And to save your lives by a great deliverance. That spoke, brothers and sisters, of something that the greater Joseph would accomplish later on.

31. 11:34

    That is why he had to share that with his brothers. Joseph didn't see this as being something that was important about him. He saw God at work through those dreams. And all the way through his life, the aspect of two follows him. All the way through. Because it was to assure him that God fixes those things.

32. 11:55

    He doubles them up because he will shortly bring it to pass. As we're told in chapter 41, verse 32. So when we come back to Genesis chapter 37, We can see that his brethren saw this. And they hated him. And they couldn't even speak peaceably to him. And despite this, brothers and sisters, it was Joseph who came to his father, as we're told in verse 2, with their evil report.

33. 12:23

    We sort of look at that and go, oh, this is an example of someone dobbing. But it's not, brothers and sisters. The idea of this evil report is actually, again, related to his desire to change them. So what was it that was their major issue? What was their problem? Well, the word evil report here is actually a very interesting one if we follow it through.

34. 12:43

    It's only used 10 times in the Old Testament. A very key application of this word is found, of course, in the evil report that the 10 faithless spies brought. And it tells us here that they brought a slander upon the land. And that's our same word, slander. He brought to his father the slander that his brothers would be on about when they were not around their father.

35. 13:12

    In a sense, he was revealing to his father that their life was not true to their calling. That when they were around their father, that all nod, yes, that's what our father tells us. But when they went out from their father, their life was totally duplicit. And this word, again, is also picked up in Proverbs 10.

36. 13:32

    The two ideas that Genesis 37 tells us about with this, the evil report, and then the result being the hatred that came from that. These two words are picked up in Proverbs 10, where it says, He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth slander is a fool. You see, the idea of the slander here is actually meaning that they were untruthful in their words and actions.

37. 13:57

    This is what the brothers were like. And we only need to go back to Genesis 34 to see how, when they came to Shechem, they spoke calmly and coolly. But it tells us in the record, they spoke deceitfully.

38. 14:13

    They were hypocritical and two-faced. And then they went and did those terrible and disastrous things. And even Jacob said, You have caused me to stink in the land. And this, brothers and sisters, was the ecclesia of God of that day. It's exactly what Paul picks up, doesn't he, in Romans chapter 2, where the Jew thought he was more righteous than everyone else.

39. 14:35

    And he says, You do exactly the same thing that you condemn others for. You say you hold the truth, and yet you are not truthful people. And that's exactly what Christ spoke about, too. He had to testify to that generation that the things that they were doing, they were meant to be the religious leaders of that day.

40. 14:55

    And there, in their ecclesia, there was more untruth than truth. And if we go through all that Christ says, particularly in John 7 and 8, he keeps mentioning this idea again of the truth versus the falsehood that these people were talking about. My testimony is true. My judgment is true. And it keeps trying to say that the truth will set us free when we truly understand it.

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    And we don't use it in the wrong way. And we can do that, can't we, brothers and sisters? In conversations with people, we can listen to those things that we want to listen to. We can allow hypocrisy and misrepresentation, manipulation and maliciousness, deceit, to come into our conversations, to hear what we want to hear.

42. 15:40

    And this was, of course, the problem with the brothers. Now, the reason why I'd like to have a quick look at this psalm, brothers and sisters, I know that with time it is a bit of a challenge, but this is a beautiful psalm. And I think it really reveals to us the situation that Joseph was trying to face with his brothers and what he was trying to do in revealing to them their true position.

43. 16:04

    Psalm 15 is magnificent because it puts to us all the question as to why we're here this week. Who wants to dwell in God's holy hill? And if I was to ask that question, I'm sure all of us would stick our hand up and say, yes, we want to be there. Well, here are the characteristics of those who want to dwell in God's holy hill.

44. 16:25

    Yahweh, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walks uprightly and works righteousness. And our brother Roger was talking to us about that this morning with Ephesians, wasn't he? In that it's a walk, it's a way of life. We can't just say that we are holders of the truth.

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    That's not arrogant for us to proclaim that unless we use it arrogantly. But brothers and sisters, our way of life should reflect truth, even right down to our business dealings, our conversations with all the people that we come in contact with. And that's why he says, he that speaketh truth in his heart.

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    It has to be in here. That's what God desires. God desires more than ever to have truth in the inward parts, David found out, when he confessed before his God the truth of his sin. That's what God really desires. But he that backbites with his tongue, or does evil to his neighbour, nor takes a reproach against his neighbour, in whose eyes a vile person is condemned.

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    He that honoureth them, that fear the Lord. He that sweareth through his own hurt and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, or taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. That, brothers and sisters, is truth in the inward parts. And the reason why this psalm is so beautiful is because where it uses that word, he that backbitet with his tongue, that is the same word that Joseph picks up when he actually has his brothers come to him in Egypt.

48. 17:54

    They don't know who he is. And he says, you're spies. He goes, you're a tale bearers. You're slanderers. You hide your true motive of what you really are and what you say. They're different. What's going on in here is different from what's coming out here. It's the same word that he uses. And that word evil there again is the same word he brought there, evil report.

49. 18:16

    But it's beautiful that it brings up this little idea of how we treat our neighbour. I'd like you to come back with me to Leviticus chapter 19. And we know this really well because the Lord picks it up as being the pinnacle of the law. This was the whole point of the law.

50. 18:33

    And this hung the law on the prophets. He says, you shall love your neighbour as yourself. And he quotes here from Leviticus 19. But just look at the context of what is going on here. If you go through Leviticus 19, it talks about how they were, for instance, to treat their mother and their father.

51. 18:58

    To keep the Sabbath. To not have idols. We saw that yesterday as well in our studies. To offer a sacrifice of peace offerings. And it goes through and it talks about how they were to hallow the things of God. And they were to reap the harvest. And they were to actually not take the corners of the field.

52. 19:16

    They were to leave it for someone else. They were to be thinking of other people. Not their own gain. And then he says, you will not steal nor deal falsely. Or lie to another. In verse 11. You will not swear by my name falsely. In other words, say, oh, well, I'll do that because I would be a Christophian.

53. 19:33

    I'll always keep my word. Neither shall thou profane the name of God. You will not defraud your neighbour or rob him. The wages of him that is hired shall not abide with you in the night. See, brothers, it's an abundance of how we act towards one another. There's truth. We might be able to find a reason for this or a reason for that.

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    But this is the abundance of a life where we look for the needs of others. You shall not curse the deaf nor put a stumbling block before the blind. You will fear your God. You shall not do unrighteousness in judgment or respect persons or honour the person of the mighty. You shall not go up and down in verse 16 as a tail bearer among your people.

55. 20:16

    Neither shall you stand against the blood of your neighbour. I am Yahweh. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. Isn't this the brothers and their reaction to Joseph? In other words, you shall rebuke your neighbour if they need it because you want to save them. You shall not avenge nor bear a grudge against the children of thy people.

56. 20:37

    But you shall love your neighbour as yourself. That's the context, brothers and sisters, of that phrase. How magnificent is it when we see that what is being described in Leviticus 16 is the truth lived out in our actions. You know, James says in chapter 3, sorry, chapter 2. He says, well, you've heard it said that, you know, there is one God.

57. 21:05

    And you say you believe that there is one God. Congratulations, you believe that there is one God. The devils believe it also. But how does it affect your life? Is the oneness and the truthfulness that you proclaim seen in your faith, in its actions and its outworking? Because if it doesn't, brothers and sisters, we can proclaim that we have the truth all we like.

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    And it means zip. And so when we come back to Genesis chapter 37 and 38, we can see that this was the intention of Joseph. To turn his brothers around and to see that the promises that they had were far more important. And it would change their life now. And it would change their life in the future.

59. 21:49

    But what's fascinating again, when we look at the contrast from 36 to 37, is that we only need to flip one more page into chapter 38. And we have another massive contrast. Because in chapter 38, we now have the story of Judah. And here in this chapter, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

60. 22:10

    And we sometimes wonder, why is it that we even have this chapter in the Bible? This is the chapter that sometimes, as we do our daily readings, we quickly skip over. Because it's just so out there in terms of its immorality. And we sometimes shake our head at how could this be in the ecclesia of that day?

61. 22:30

    Well, brothers and sisters, there's this beautiful little phrase that keeps coming up. And I'd personally like to thank Brother Mark Olson for helping me see this. Because it's a little word that's used here that sort of helps us see the connection between chapter 37 and 38. And it actually allows us to see how important chapter 38 here in this position.

62. 22:52

    So what is this word? Well, just hold your hand between these two pages for the minute. And just have a look at Genesis chapter 37 and at verse 32. Now, here is the brother's truthfulness, if you want to put it that way. This is an indication of what they're really like. You see, they hated their brother so much, they wanted to get rid of him.

63. 23:16

    They would do anything in their power, whether it would be throwing him in a pit, killing him, whatever it was. They were scheming. They just wanted to remove him. Let's see what will become of his dreams, was their cry. But what they decided to do in the end was to sell him, to get gain.

64. 23:34

    And in selling him, in verse 23, it says that, And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, they stripped Joseph of his coat, and the coat that was upon him, and they took him and they cast him into a pit. And here they now start to scheme on how they're going to go about getting rid of him.

65. 23:53

    They're sick of him. Now what are we going to do? Look at verse 26. What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? They're already thinking of how to hide what they're really about to do. Well, finally they decide in verse 32 to take Joseph's coat. They kill a kid.

66. 24:14

    They dip it in the blood. And here now they bring it to their father. And they say in verse 32, Now this word here, to know, is the Hebrew word hakiah. And it means to scrutinize. So they bring, in a sense, before their father, the evidence of what has taken place. But they literally allow him to draw the conclusion.

67. 24:46

    And it says their father knew it. And therefore in the past tense, he had scrutinized, he had recognized the evidence, and he came to the conclusion that they must have been torn apart. And the brothers stood there silent and allowed their father to believe that for the next X amount of years. Now we would say, well, they didn't really tell a lie.

68. 25:11

    They simply set the evidence up and allowed the conclusion to be drawn. Well, the beautiful thing is, that's exactly the same phrase that comes up in Genesis 38. And it happens to Judah. Because after Judah is therefore standing self-righteously and saying, How could this happen? Let's now bring this person in and condemn them for it.

69. 25:35

    We actually see that Tamar comes up and she says, Discern, I pray thee, whose these are, the signet and the bracelets and the staff. And she presents him the evidence of what had taken place. You discern. Do you know who these are? And it uses the same word, hakeah. And then it says that Judah acknowledged.

70. 26:00

    He scrutinized and he recognized the evidence. And he saw very clearly that he had been found out. And so here we have the brothers' treacherous. They were treacherous and they were hypocritical. And they were seen to be dishonest men in their telling of lies and evidence and deceit to get their father to believe in their conclusions.

71. 26:22

    They manipulated the facts so that their father would draw the wrong conclusion. And you know, brothers and sisters, this is how sometimes we can use truth. We can use truth to formulate our own position. And as that young boy did in the hypothetical situation, he just simply had to remain silent and allow the events to transpire.

72. 26:46

    Well, brothers and sisters, when we look at the Lord Jesus Christ's own life, we can see that here when he was put on trial, and this is just a short list, here were the Jewish leaders of the day who stood for the Bible, who stood for the truth. And yet they were willing to break every law possible to take the person that they envied and to buy their deceit and manipulation to condemn an innocent man.

73. 27:14

    There was no legal basis for his arrest. It was a secret trial at night. The Sanhedrin were the ones that brought the charge. They were meant to actually have a witness do that. The court was proceeding even before anyone could be called because it was before sunrise. It was a trial before the annual Sabbath.

74. 27:28

    All these were things that were against their law. Somehow they just seemingly turned a blind eye to that in order to push forward what their agenda was. And that's why, brothers and sisters, I don't know how you read this, but Brother Jason mentioned this quote last night in his announcements. But when I look at this verse, I like to read it with exasperation.

75. 27:53

    Because if you were Pilate and you would just watch the Jews come secretly to you the night before, come into your judgment hall, sit down with you, probably have a drink and a bit of a chat, and work out how that you're going to condemn this innocent man, have it all stitched up, ready to go.

76. 28:08

    And then the next day, the Jews would come along. And because they were then all together, they wouldn't even enter into the judgment hall because they would be defiled from taking of the Passover. And if you were Pilate, you'd be sitting there scratching your head going, last night you were in here, today you can't be in here because you'd be defiled from me.

77. 28:30

    And here you are condemning an innocent man to death and proclaiming that it's according to the laws of your God. So here, when he questions the Lord Jesus Christ, he says, well, are you a king? So in this questioning process, Christ answers, he goes, yes, to this end was I born. I came into the world that I might bear witness to the truth and everyone that is of the truth.

78. 28:56

    Here's my voice. And you can imagine if you were Pilate, you'd be sitting there going, truth? What is truth? I can't even work out these people here versus these people here. You're telling me that you're standing up for truth? You're the innocent one. You're condemned. They're condemning you. You can see that he just washed his hands of it and walked out.

79. 29:18

    And yes, he was spineless. But you can understand, brothers and sisters, the hypocrisy of this situation would have blown his mind. He didn't know how to handle it. And there was before him an innocent man. Well, brothers and sisters, that's what Joseph wanted to do. He didn't lose faith in his brothers, though, because he wanted to turn them around.

80. 29:40

    And these same words come up in Genesis 42. Let's just go now to Genesis 42. Because he hasn't seen his brothers since. And the very evidence they used to condemn him is now the very words that he picks up here in Genesis 42. We can see, can't we, that they have to then, because of the famine, go down into Egypt.

81. 30:08

    And it says in verse 7, And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them. And that's our same word that we picked up in Genesis 37 and 38. He was scrutinizing the evidence in front of him. And so what he does is he actually makes himself strange to them. And it uses the same root word again.

82. 30:30

    Because he's going to conceal who he is to try and work out if his brothers have changed. And the irony is they came and they bowed themselves before him and they didn't know who he was. And it says in verse 8 again, And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew him not. They couldn't see him, but he could see them.

83. 30:51

    And the very first thing that he comes out with to them in verse 9, And upon remembering the dreams, it tells us, he says, You are spies. You are untruthful. You are people who hide your true motive. And do you know what, brothers and sisters? He was right. That's exactly what they were.

84. 31:11

    And all his life he tried to reveal it to them to see the error of their ways. Well, now the dreams were here, and he could see that this was the way that God was going to work through him to bring about a great deliverance in their life. But look at the answer from the brothers.

85. 31:28

    Verse 11. We are all one man's sons. We are true men. No. We tell the truth. Well, brothers and sisters, if you were Joseph, how do you know, having not seen them for all these years, that they truly are converted and changed? So what Joseph does now is he sets out a plan of action to see whether he has really noticed a change in these brothers.

86. 31:57

    So have a look in verse 14. He says, Well, I've told you that you are spies, but hereby we will know. We're going to prove to see. And so what Joseph does, he goes through a series of trials to put them to the test. And we might think, brothers and sisters, that this is a little bit unfair.

87. 32:18

    But we have to do that, brothers and sisters, to purge out. Didn't Nathan do it with David? Didn't Christ do it with Peter? He took him there and he said, Three times do you love me. He set the scene up again. He had to carefully incise out of us all the error, the untruth.

88. 32:41

    And so he goes through and says, That your words may be proved, whether there is any truth in you, not hearing your words anymore, inside your heart. As we saw from Psalm 51 before, what God desires most is truth in the inward parts. And so he puts them to the test. But this test is very, very specific.

89. 33:05

    Have a look what he now tells them that they're going to do. In verse 19 he says, If you be true men, then I'm going to keep one of your brothers in prison. Whoa. He's now recreating what they did. And more than that, he goes, I want you to bring me your youngest brother.

90. 33:26

    Because I want to see how you treat him. I want to see whether your words are really true. And more than that, if you don't do that, you're going to die. And the very thing it tells us says, And they did so. So if we go through this little section here, we can see that what the brothers did to Joseph in their use of truth is we see that he goes through and he does exactly the same thing.

91. 33:54

    The brothers would want to see what became of his dream. So they went for profit to sell him. Then they said, Well, we'll take our brother. He's a dreamer. We'll cast him into the pit. We'll make up the evidence to condemn him. Well, Joseph does exactly the same thing. He remembers the dreams.

92. 34:10

    He puts money in their sacks. He sits them in age order. He tells them that he's a diviner. He casts them into prison. And he makes up evidence to condemn them so he can teach them the lesson. And in verse 20 of this chapter, we can see very clearly that their life is bound up in their truth and in their attitude to their little brother.

93. 34:38

    And so as we follow the record through in this little section here in Genesis, we can see that they then return back to their father. And in verse 28, we have the very first instance in the entire record of the brothers bringing God into the equation. Have a look at verse 28. When they were talking about their money being restored, they are afraid and they say one to the other, What is this that God has done unto us?

94. 35:06

    They're now starting to think spiritually. And they come back to Jacob, their father, and look at actually what they say here in this chapter. They actually come back to him and they tell him all that befell them. They're not now just presenting parts of the story, the parts they want their father to hear.

95. 35:26

    They're laying it all out. And in verse 30, they then pick up and recount in the story and look at their words. We told him in verse 31, we're true men. Verse 33, he then comes back, ye are true men. Verse 34, but that ye are true men. It's this entire emphasis that they were coming to learn that they had to have truth in their words and in their actions.

96. 35:49

    And this examination was really, really important because in chapter 42 and verse 21, look at what takes place. They actually go through this little process of self-examination. In verse 21, it says, they said one to another, we are verily guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us and we would not hear.

97. 36:17

    Therefore, this distress has come upon us. Here, brothers and sisters, for the first time in all these years, they've finally sat and thought about what they actually did and the effect that it had. And they actually revealed to us a little bit about what was going on. The anguish of his soul as he was sitting in that pit.

98. 36:33

    We wouldn't even listen to it. And so here, they start to think about really the truth of the circumstances. And it's interesting that they use this phrase, we would not hear. We would not hear. Isn't it sad? There's always some people like Reuben, verse 22, that want to turn it and not get the point at all.

99. 36:59

    He sort of decided to tell them that didn't I tell you? Oh, I knew this would happen. You should have done this. And I had no part in it. He was not truthful in his self-examination, but the rest of the brothers were starting to think this through very deeply. And so, it's really important for us to see self-examination as being truthful to our own life.

100. 37:24

     And it's just wonderful, isn't it, in this little section here, how Joseph decides as they're all talking, he can actually hear them. He knows what they're talking about, but they didn't know that. In verse 23, it says, they knew not that Joseph understood them. But it's interesting that he then walks in and he takes Simeon and he binds him and takes him away.

101. 37:47

     Now, why did he take Simeon? Because as he's listening to their conversation, he knows that the name of Simeon means hearing. So, he takes him out and he goes, well, you didn't hear. So, he grabs Simeon and takes him and it was vital that they understood this principle. And Joseph's not doing this, brothers and sisters, because he's taking some joy in putting them through this trial.

102. 38:11

     We're going to see that later on. He has to go out at times to weep. But he's doing this for their good, that he might bring about a true change in their life. And so, after chapter 42 and they return to their father, we now go to chapter 43 and comes the time where they actually have to go back.

103. 38:31

     But in these little chapters, we can actually see that there's a development in the character of, particularly, of Judah. And it says they come to their father, they tell him all that befell them, they try to believe that they're true men and we saw the idea of Reuben sort of selling them out.

104. 38:52

     But here in chapter 43, it's interesting if you have a look in verse 3, that where it's always said to this point in time, and they said, and they said, it now tells us that Judah spake. So here we have the one who was shown in a sense the hypocrisy of his own actions stand up.

105. 39:12

     And he begins to take a lead. And he tells his father they have to go back. We have to go back for the sake of us being able to survive. And Judah says, you know, the man told us we have to take our little brother with us. And of course, here is Jacob not understanding how he's going to possibly survive if he loses Benjamin as well.

106. 39:40

     But in this little scenario, we can actually see that Reuben again misses the whole idea. You know, Reuben says to his father, look, don't worry. If something happens to Benjamin, you can take my two sons and kill him. Thanks, Reuben. Really helpful. But here in chapter 43, we now have Judah feeling his father.

107. 40:05

     And he says to Israel, verse 8, his father. Now notice this because it starts to change in the record and he starts to call him his father. Send the lad with me. I will be surety for him. I will bring him back to thee. And he puts a seal of his own existence on looking after his brother.

108. 40:24

     This is totally different to the way the brothers would have treated them, any of them. Here we see that we now have a true change and Israel sees it and he goes, yes, he'll go with you. But he says, take a present to this man. And so in verse 26 of chapter 43, Joseph now comes home and he sees that his brothers have returned.

109. 40:46

     They bring Simeon out and it says they brought him the present and here they bow themselves to the earth in front of him. Here's the dreams. Verse 28, again it says, and they bowed down their heads and made obeisance. They still actually haven't thought about the dream yet. And so much so that when Joseph saw Benjamin, brothers and sisters, he had to go out and cry because he knew that he had his brother, he'd seen his brother for the first time in so many years but he couldn't reveal himself yet.

110. 41:21

     He had to be absolutely certain that his brothers had changed. So he sets before them bread, he sits them down and then in verse 34 he gives Benjamin five times as much. How will you cope, brothers, if one of you is favoured amongst all the rest? the final test. But they sit down and they eat and drink and then as they go, again the filling of the sacks, the final moment, the final test is how will they respond when that youngest brother now is going to be condemned in front of them with false evidence.

111. 41:59

     Will you wipe your hands of it and be happy to take the prophet? What will you do? And it says that when they found the sack, they found Benjamin's sack in verse 12 of chapter 44 that they rent their clothes. And it tells us in verse 14 that Judah and his brethren came to Joseph and they fell down again on the ground.

112. 42:24

     And so Judah again takes the lead and he makes his job to speak to Joseph in verse 16. He goes, what shall we say? He goes, we've found out. That's it. There's nothing we can ever say to you. And of course, Joseph again says, well, I told you that the person who had that cup would have to stay with me.

113. 42:48

     The rest of you go. And then in verse 18, all the way through to the end of this chapter, brothers and sisters, we have Judah's confession. And this is magnificent. It can only but touch us, brothers and sisters, because here we have this man come and his entire conversation, look at it, it's all about his father and it's all about his brothers and it's all about the little one.

114. 43:12

     It's all about the lad. And he uses this phrase, my father, seven times and the lad, seven times. His entire heart is bound up in his family. He says, take me instead. Do not let us see this happen. And in chapter 45, brothers and sisters, Joseph knew for the first time that his brothers were real, that his brothers were true.

115. 43:36

     And he then reveals to them exactly why God had given these dreams. And for the first time, they saw it. And they saw the truth of God in their life. That God did send me before you to create in you a posterity in the earth and to save you with a great deliverance.

116. 43:57

     How magnificent, brothers and sisters, to see this change in these brothers. Here was the true concern. And in Judah's confession, we could look back and we could see in chapter 37 that all that he was like is he will, you know, I'll just be happy to sell him and get gain. Well, here in chapter 44, the hand of Judah was all about his brothers.

117. 44:23

     He took responsibility for it and he loved his family and he loved the things of the promises. And so, brothers and sisters, this conversion that in Judah is seen is the way that Joseph had to turn him around. Judah would have been the leader in the deception. But now we can see the truth exposed and Joseph has carefully incised it out of his brothers that they might turn to loving their neighbour as themselves, to be true men to the calling of the promises to Abraham.

118. 44:58

     And the legacy, brothers and sisters, of Joseph and Judah is brought out beautifully in Genesis chapter 49. Just quickly, let's go to Genesis 49.

119. 45:09

     Here, as Jacob wants to bless his sons and speak of things that would come in the future, the two brothers are picked up. Here is Judah in verse 8. Look at what he says. Judah, you are he who your brethren shall praise. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies and thy father's children shall bow down to thee.

120. 45:35

     There is the beautiful conversion that he would now see in Judah, this legacy that would come forward. And it tells us, of course, the scepter shall not depart from Judah. And we know that the Lord Jesus Christ was going to come, brothers and sisters, from this line. But in chapter, in this same chapter, here in verse 22, we have the legacy of Joseph.

121. 45:57

     Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well whose branches run over the wall. And here we have all the blessings of heaven above and the blessings of the earth that lies beneath, the blessings of your father are here in you because you were wanting to share that with your brothers.

122. 46:15

     You were separate from them. You acted differently. But you brought them around and they are here because of you. And brothers and sisters, when we think of the legacy that that would have left on this nation, you can see that these principles are picked up not only in the birth of the nation itself as it came out of Egypt.

123. 46:36

     It is Joshua that takes them to Shechem, the place where Joseph and his well was. And it's a place where they have to make decisions. And here they are brought, the entire nation is brought to make a decision on whether they would be true men.

124. 46:55

     And Joshua tells them that they can only serve the Lord in sincerity and truth. It's not just about proclaiming that we have the truth. We have to be sincere in our way of life. Completely, holy, people of integrity, trustworthy, faithful in all of our dealings, whether it be at work, at school, wherever we are or at the meeting.

125. 47:17

     And that's why Joshua says, you can't serve God because he's a jealous God. Because if you think that you can have a little bit of truth and a little bit of error and live two lives, he goes, you've missed the entire point of serving God.

126. 47:35

     Isn't that what we were talking about yesterday in our studies with our brother Peter? The truth can't be compromised. It has to be a true single heart. And of course, also in John chapter 4, we have that exact same picture when Christ tells us that he came to Jacob's well and it was there at Shechem and we have the two wells again mentioned and he tells the woman of Samaria that true worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth.

127. 48:05

     Now it's interesting in that chapter, brothers and sisters, that the phrase true worship actually comes out later in the conversation because when Christ actually said to the woman of Samaria, go and call your husband, he was putting her to the test to see how she would actually respond. And of course, she says, well, I have no husband.

128. 48:29

     Do you know what Christ's response was? What you have said is true. You have truly confessed to God exactly the facts of the matter. That is the worship that our Father seeks. That is exactly the truth in the inward parts. And it's important, brothers and sisters, sorry we don't have time for this, but it's important for us to realise that in his prayer, it is Christ that prayed for us.

129. 49:00

     And in his prayer that he was trying to convert us to make us true men, he says in his prayer in John 17, sanctify them through thy truth. Your word is truth, but as you have sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world, that for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

130. 49:21

     That's why Joseph had to go through all those things, to sanctify them, to bring them to be true men, because Christ is going through exactly that same process, brothers and sisters, and making us true. He is the way, the truth, and the life. So our take-home messages for this morning that we've considered in the life of Joseph is that Joseph's legacy is to make us true men.

131. 49:47

     God seeks a relationship with his children, brothers and sisters, based on truth. Not truth out here, truth in here, truth in the inward parts. And truth is more than just mere facts that are right. Truth is a way of living. And we must examine ourselves truly to see in our life the things that we need to purge out and the things that we need to change.

132. 50:10

     That truth is a right heart, a right mind, and a right soul. It's sincerity in our truth. And it's about us seeing that we can be touched by the truth of God in our life and allow that to make us true men.

133. 50:50

     and we appreciate it. So we appreciate it. So we appreciate it. So we appreciate it. So we appreciate it. appreciate it. appreciate it. Thank you.