Sermon Tone Analysis

THE THEME OF SEED

We’ve observed the prevalence of the theme of land in the story; the theme of seed is no less important.

God creates seed bearing plants to reproduce and sustain life before He promises the Seed who will be the source of abundant life.

But in the Joseph story, the land has stopped producing seed, and the land of promise is not exempt.

As a result there is famine, which will bring starvation on death.

This threatens the promise of the Seed.

But in Egypt, because of Joseph, there is seed – not just for the salvation of Egypt, but of all the earth.

Isn’t Moses telling us this: that God sent Joseph to Egypt not to become rich, powerful and exalted, but to preserve the promised seed and to ensure the salvation of God’s people, both Jews (in the short term) and gentiles (in the long)!

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying,

“To your descendants I have given this land,

From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: (Gen.

15:18)

And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.”

And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” (Gen.

15:5)

Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.

“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

(Gen.

22:15-18)

Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure….

He named the second Ephraim, “For,” he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

(Gen.

41:49 & 52)

Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen, and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous.

(Gen.

47:27)

“Then Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all.

“And Jacob went down to Egypt and there he and our fathers died.

“From there they were removed to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

“But as the time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, until THERE AROSE ANOTHER KING OVER EGYPT WHO KNEW NOTHING ABOUT JOSEPH.

(Acts 7:14-18)

Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE.

(Heb.

11:12)

Ch 46 = genealogies and a final census.

The genealogies are important because of the theme of the promised Seed.

They serve as an important reminder that God is at work fulfilling His promise.

The final tally is important because of the Covenant.

See Gen 15:5 – promise to number them as the stars.

In just two generations, Abraham and Sarah (a couple beyond hope of having a single heir) have 70 descendants.

Progress!

But really just the beginning.

ALLOWING JOSEPH TO INTERPRET JOSEPH

4Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.”

And they came closer.

And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.

5“Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

6“For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.

7“God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.

8“Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

(Gen.

45:4-8)

Joseph has a very clear grasp of his place in God’s redemptive purposes.

He was sent to preserve life, to preserve a remnant.

Although, the life-saving effect of Joseph’s intervention would be of much wider benefit (indeed, it was for the salvation of many lives – Gen. 50:20) the specific use of the word “remnant” here relates to Israel’s sons.

Joseph understood that his mission was to preserve their seed.

He was being used by God to fulfil the covenant to Abraham by ensuring that there remained children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob out of which God could form a nation.

We can’t leave this passage without saying something about Joseph’s theology.

In these simple words, he deals very efficiently with the profound relationship between God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom.

Both are presented as fact with no attempt to alleviate the tension.

Three times, Joseph refers to God sending him to Egypt.

Yet he also attributes the brothers’ action to their own wills – “whom you sold into Egypt”.

They weren’t forced to take the actions they did and are held accountable for them.

Providence is sovereignty in action.

Whereas sovereignty addresses God’s authority to rule and govern his creation.

Providence addresses the manner in which He does so.

God causes His creatures to fulfil his purposes.

Not only in the things which we find pleasurable, profitable or preferable to us – He orchestrates all things in a manner befitting His redemptive purposes.

In this story we see providence opening doors at every level: moving the heart of a national leader; controlling natural catastrophes; giving personal dreams to key individuals.

And all to preserve Judah’s line, so that Jesus could come to earth to die for our sins!

God is working all things together for His good purposes.

But why does God use sinful men for his purposes?

Well, since there are no sinless men, everything God does in accomplishing his decrees involves sinful men and their actions!

Does that absolve sinful men of their actions?

Absolutely not.

God holds each of us accountable for the wrong choices we make.

Joseph had:

Proper theology – a right view of God avoids accusing Him of evil as He works out His plan of redemption providentially, in and through our lives.

Proper anthropology – a right view of man avoids us thinking more of men than we ought.

A proper view of man doesn’t attribute power or authority to him, which actually belongs to God.

It views him as sinful, frail and fallen.

Nothing happens outside of God’s providential plan; nor will the wicked go unpunished.

Both statements are equally true.

That is why Josephs leaves room for God’s wrath and avoid taking His chair.

More on that later.

God’s providence is unpredictable!

Jacob is living in the Land of Promise with his surviving children.

He has dozens of descendants and the constant reminder of God’s covenantal promise in the form of a limp!

He had met God and has no reason to doubt that God’s promises were coming to pass.

He never thought that the promise would include taking the promised seed away from the promised land for several centuries in order to bring back a fully formed nation.

But who can comprehend the mind of the Lord (Isa 55:8-9)?

ALLOWING NT TO INTERPRET OT

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.

He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ...

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.

(Gal.

3:16, 29)

We’ve thought about the partial fulfilment of God’s promise to make of Abraham a great nation in the birth of the nation of Israel in Egypt.

And we’ve observed the sacrificial role that Joseph had in bringing to fruition God’s purposes for that nation.

But as the apostle Paul unpacks the promise to Abraham in his letter to the Galatian churches, he observes a narrower interpretation of the word “seed”, which leads him ultimately to Christ.

We know that God’s promise to Abraham’s seed was not to all of his descendants.

God made it clear that it would be through Isaac and not Ishmael, that Abraham’s seed would be called.

It is later made clear that the promise does not extend to every branch of Isaac’s family, but only to Jacob.

Judah (not Joseph) is next in the line of promise, which God will later narrow to the house of David and then to his son, Solomon.

And finally, we get to the Lord Jesus Christ – “your seed”, that is Christ!

He is the One of whom God will make a great nation and in whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed!

And how?

Because He is the One who will crush the serpent’s head.