God’s Provision and Peace

Today is the 5th and final message about Joseph. We have covered a lot of P words while learning some great gospel lessons from this story. So far we have covered the Promise, the Process, the Perfection, and the Path to Penitence.

Today, we look at God wonderful provision which will lead to His unthinkable peace. We will bring all of these lessons together as we see how good God is and how great his Provision and Peace are.

So let’s get into the story.

1. Judah’s Redemption

Genesis 44:32–34 NLT

32 My lord, I guaranteed to my father that I would take care of the boy. I told him, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, I will bear the blame forever.’ 33 “So please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. 34 For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see the anguish this would cause my father!”

This is the culmination of the last section where Judah was basically saying to Joseph, “Don’t punish Benjamin, punish me instead.”

The Process of the Path to Perfection and Penitence has worked in Judah’s life.

We see changed actions coming from Judah and the same brothers who once sold Joseph into slavery. Now they are willing to sacrifice themselves instead of sacrificing their brother. They are beginning to act like God, instead of acting like the devil.

The whole situation is about to blow up and change everything about their interactions with Joseph.

Now i the next part of this story,

2. Joseph reveals Himself.

Genesis 45:1–3 NLT

1 Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room, and he said to his attendants, “Out, all of you!” So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. 2 Then he broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him, and word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh’s palace. 3 “I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them.

So here it is. Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers in their moment of distress. This is the climax of the restoration process between Joseph and his brothers, and it’s an intensely emotional moment.

Joseph can’t control his emotions any longer… all of the pain and sorrow from the last decades comes flowing out of him. He makes everyone but his brothers leave the room, and he cries so loud in front of them that Pharaoh’s house hears him.

What was the response of the brothers? They were speechless and stunned. They were probably terrified. I am sure they thought… “Oh no… we are dead.” At this point, they don’t know his intentions. Is he going to kill them? or what?

All they know is that He has power… a lot of it. And he would have motive to punish them. Think about it. They most likely thought that this was the end of them. In their guilt, they know that they deserved to be punished.

Reflection:

This has some incredible parallels for our Christian Walk. Have you noticed that throughout the Bible, when people come into contact with God or an angel, their reaction is fear and dismay? Even the prophets and righteous people fall down like dead in his presence.

This is the effect of God’s Holiness on sinners like us. In our everyday lives, we think we are ok, but when we come into contact with a holy God, we see the distance between us and Him.

When we encounter the holiness of God, we see the distance between us and God.

Joseph, in this moment, is a representation of a holy God and his brothers are having a natural reaction of fear and dismay as they realize how bankrupt they are spiritually. They are like a hopeless defendant who is guilty standing in front of the judge waiting on the guilty verdict that they know is coming.

They are scared to death so,

3. Joseph assures his brothers.

Genesis 45:4–8 NLT

4 “Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. 5 But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. 6 This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. 8 So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.

Now, at this moment at the pinnacle of their fear and guilt, Joseph tells them to come close. Listen Joseph is showing the heart of the Father. He is saying come close to me.

Then, he says, I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. IOW, yes, what you did caused great harm, but because of what God has done, I am able to forgive you. Your guilt is outweighed by God’s grace.

Look at what happens next. Joseph said, in Genesis 45:5 “But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.”

This is God’s provision. Joseph told them that he was their brother whom they sold into slavery. But there is another truth here too.

God had a plan and sent him ahead of them to save them and their families.

Joseph can see God’s hand in everything that has happened in his life at this point. He see’s that God sent him through the process to be ready for the promise and to save his family.

Jospeh’s view of God’s purpose and love was so big in Joseph’s life that it made what his brothers did to him insignificant in comparison.

Joseph was God’s provision. Joseph was also God’s chosen sacrifice. He could now see and hear that his story is not a tragedy. His story is the story of redemption, salvation and forgiveness as well as the unbelievable love God has for each of us.

NOW thousands of years later, we can look back and see that God was showing us Christ through Joesph. Jospeh was a foreshadowing of of the redemption Jesus would bring to us. Joseph suffered as an innocent man for the deliverance of his people from the famine. Jesus suffered as an innocent man for the deliverance of the whole world from the power of sin. Joseph was a forerunner of God’s ultimate provision given to us by the crucified SOG.

One thing I hope that you see today is that

God is on a completely different level than we are.

His ways are higher than our ways. His forgiveness is unbelievable and his love is never ending. This story is a beautiful glimpse of God’s great love for us.

4. Joseph’s provision.

Genesis 45:9–15 NLT

9 “Now hurry back to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all the land of Egypt. So come down to me immediately! 10 You can live in the region of Goshen, where you can be near me with all your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own. 11 I will take care of you there, for there are still five years of famine ahead of us. Otherwise you, your household, and all your animals will starve.’ ” 12 Then Joseph added, “Look! You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that I really am Joseph! 13 Go tell my father of my honored position here in Egypt. Describe for him everything you have seen, and then bring my father here quickly.” 14 Weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin, and Benjamin did the same. 15 Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and after that they began talking freely with him.

Jehovah Jireh means The Lord is my Provider. Jehovah Shammah means The Lord is Near.

We see both of these attributes of God in this story.

The first provision is that God provided Joseph who willingly chose to absorb the penalty for their sin by not exercising his right to judge and punish.

Next, Joseph provides for them physically. He tells them to go and bring his father and their whole family to him so he can provide for them during the famine.

This leads to something even better than the provision. There is peace and intimacy. Joseph grabs hold of them and hugs them. He is not just giving them things, he is giving them himself… peace and intimacy with the most powerful man in the world.

Application

In case you can’t tell. We are the brothers in this story or the prodigal sons in Jesus parable. we are the ones receiving the opposite of what we deserve. We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory and our distance from perfection demands judgement.

So God sent Jesus to absorb the penalty of our sin, so that we could dwell with God in perfect peace… totally unmerited by us… through faith in Jesus.

God sent Jesus to absorb the penalty of our sin so we can dwell with God in perfect peace through faith in Jesus.

This is the Gospel. It’s not just “not getting” the punishment we deserve. It’s also getting the reward we don’t deserve. And that reward is not just God’s things, it’s a relationship with God through Christ. It’s intimacy, nearness and perfect peace with the most powerful being in the existence… God himself.

Pharoah hears the commotion and starts handing out blessings as well.

Genesis 45:16–24 NLT

16 The news soon reached Pharaoh’s palace: “Joseph’s brothers have arrived!” Pharaoh and his officials were all delighted to hear this. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘This is what you must do: Load your pack animals, and hurry back to the land of Canaan. 18 Then get your father and all of your families, and return here to me. I will give you the very best land in Egypt, and you will eat from the best that the land produces.’ ” 19 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Take wagons from the land of Egypt to carry your little children and your wives, and bring your father here. 20 Don’t worry about your personal belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ ” 21 So the sons of Jacob did as they were told. Joseph provided them with wagons, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them supplies for the journey. 22 And he gave each of them new clothes—but to Benjamin he gave five changes of clothes and 300 pieces of silver. 23 He also sent his father ten male donkeys loaded with the finest products of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other supplies he would need on his journey. 24 So Joseph sent his brothers off, and as they left, he called after them, “Don’t quarrel about all this along the way!”

This is a big celebration culminating with Joseph sending his brothers back to retrieve his family.

Look at Jacob’s reaction in Gen 45:25-28

5. Jacob was stunned because it was too good to be true.

Genesis 45:25–28 NLT

25 And they left Egypt and returned to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan. 26 “Joseph is still alive!” they told him. “And he is governor of all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned at the news—he couldn’t believe it. 27 But when they repeated to Jacob everything Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, their father’s spirits revived. 28 Then Jacob exclaimed, “It must be true! My son Joseph is alive! I must go and see him before I die.”

Jacob could hardly believe it so they had to repeat it to him. It’s too good to be true. He risks losing out on the experience of the good news because of a wounded, stubborn unwillingness to believe. This stuns him.

What was the solution? They told him the words of Joseph, and showed him the wagons Joseph sent, and then he believes. And when be believes, his spirit revives. He enters into the celebration.

What did it take for Jacob to activate the blessings in his life? He had to stop believing that it was too good to be true. Then he was able to believe and be revived.

Jacob had to stop believing it was too good to be true to activate God’s blessings in his life.

I want you to see the Gospel through this story.

We are both Joseph, the innocent son on a rugged path to glory, and we are the brothers, who must confront their own evil to enter into their redemption story.

All of these experiences have relevance to our Christian Walk. God gives us a promise, and takes us through the process. His goal is perfection, or maturity and it often comes with pain. Then he displays us to the world in the Procession. At times, we must enter Penitence, as we wrestle with our own wrong doing and it’s ramifications. But through it all, we will find God’s Provision which will bring us Peace and intimacy with Himself.

WRAP

I want you to know that God has provided for you. Just as God provided Joseph to be the sacrificial deliverer for the early nation of Israel, He has provided Jesus for you and for me as the sacrifice for our sins… past, present and future.

God’s love for you is incredible, infinite, lavish and is the opposite of what we deserve. His love for us is the most supernatural thing we can possibly experience. But here is the sad part. Too many people risk missing out on the overwhelming love, forgiveness and restoration from God because they believe it’s too good to be true. We are stunned by it just like Jacob was and can’t believe it.

Too many think, if I can get my act together, then God will love me… or if I stop dong X or Y, then God will accept me. We all have these kinds of thoughts.

How long did the Prodigal son have to starve in order for his hunger to bring him home? And once he went home, his father, who was looking for him every day, ran to him, received him and restored him.

How long do you think it took that old voice inside his head to creep back in and say, the other shoe is going to drop. You wasted all your money on prostitutes and parties. Someone (you) have to pay for that. When will you get what you really deserve?This is too good to be true.

Listen to me this morning. You and I who are in Christ do not get what we deserve, and thanks to God we never will. We have been given the treasure of all time… a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. God gave the best of himself for us. Look at Romans 8:32

Romans 8:32 NLT

32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?

Now will you believe it? I ask the Lord to take away your belief that it’s too good to be true. I pray for the Lord to cause you to rejoice in the intimacy and peace God offers to you. I call on you to believe and say it there you believe there are no strings attached between your deserving and his generosity. He gives to the needy, not the deserving.

You may be afraid to embrace this, because you think the only thing that keeps you from sinning is your fear of punishment. After all, You ought to be concerned with righteousness, oughtn’t you?

But is fear required in the pursuit of righteousness? Is God glorified by your fear that his promises are too good to be true? 

You may be afraid of your capacity for failure and sin. You may think you need your fear to make you a good person. Your fear once protected you from doing the bad things you wanted to do.

But perfect love casts out fear. Love is a greater force in your heart than fear could ever be -- He’s changing us to make this so.

Could you let go of the fear and let the love take its place?

Prayer - Lord Jesus, help us to receive, not 10%, or 50% of the potency of your love and your sacrifice, but 100%, all of it, all that it means, and all that you intended to give to us when you paid the ultimate price. Transform us, redeem us, and showcase your glory in us. Help our unbelief that keeps us fearful and timid when we could be bold and audacious.