The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Six - C Jan 21, 2018 by: John Herbert | Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/01.21.18_Pt6c.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Ge 50:26 So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. Today we will finish our study of the life of Joseph and come to the end of the Book of Genesis. The full text of this message, along with the accompanying Power Point can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday January 21st 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Part 6C ‘Your Descendants After You’ 1). Ge 42:1 ¶ When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?" 2 And he said, "Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die." 3 So Joseph's ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, "Lest some calamity befall him." We had seen last time how Pharaoh had two dreams which foretold of 2 complete periods of time – one of plenty and the other of famine. a). And we had seen how the time of plenty foreshadowed the time between Jacob and his sons and their families coming to the land of Goshen, in Egypt, until the affliction brought upon them by the Assyrian Pharaoh. b). Which in turn foreshadows the time between the setting aside of Israel and the affliction to be brought upon the Jews, worldwide, by the Assyrian Antichrist. Power Point – Slides 1-2 c). And we had seen how the time of famine its self, foreshadowed that affliction that would be suffered by the children of Israel in Egypt – Ex 1:11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. 13 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage-in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor. d). And this, in turn, foreshadows the affliction yet future at the hands of the Antichrist - Ps 83:2 For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones. 4 They have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more." e). And within the account of Joseph’s life we see that it is only when the famine had become severe that Jacob sent the 10 brothers, excluding Benjamin, to Egypt to buy grain that they might live and not die. And because of the way God had orchestrated events the brothers would in fact go to Joseph, the brother they thought was dead, who they had hated, but who was the only one who could help them. f). And just as we saw previously, Joseph’s brothers turning to Joseph for deliverance from the famine foreshadowed the descendants of Jacob’s 12 sons crying out to the God of their fathers because of their affliction in Egypt – God being the only One who could help them – Ex 2:23 ¶ Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. And this again foreshadows the Jewish people, scattered among the Gentile nations, crying out to the God of their fathers amidst the horrors of the affliction of the Great Tribulation – God, in the person of Son, who they hated and killed, being the only One who is able to help them – Ho 5:13 "When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah saw his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb; Yet he cannot cure you, Nor heal you of your wound. 14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue. 15 I will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me." Ps 106:43 Many times He delivered them; But they rebelled in their counsel, And were brought low for their iniquity. 44 Nevertheless He regarded their affliction, When He heard their cry; 45 And for their sake He remembered His covenant, And relented according to the multitude of His mercies. 46 He also made them to be pitied By all those who carried them away captive. 47 Save us, O LORD our God, And gather us from among the Gentiles, To give thanks to Your holy name, To triumph in Your praise. 48 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the LORD! 2Ch 7:13 "When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14 "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. g). Now, the purpose for the affliction that the Jewish people must experience yet future is very specific, as we can see from 2 Chronicles Chapter 7- that, ‘they turn from their wicked ways’. They are, through the intensity of the affliction they are to suffer, to be humbled so as to seek God’s face and come to repentance. h). And this is exactly what we see through the account of Joseph and his brothers. 2). Ge 42:17 So he put them all together in prison three days. 18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, "Do this and live, for I fear God: 19 "If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. 20 "And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die." And they did so. 21 ¶ Then they said to one another, "We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us." The events we see regarding Joseph’s brothers during the famine, from them being put in prison 3 days, having their money put back in their sacks, the ‘stealing’ of Joseph’s cup and bringing Benjamin to Egypt, all figuratively point to the affliction and anguish the nation will experience during the Tribulation. a). And that which is at the heart of this affliction is clearly stated in the verses from Genesis Chapter 42, ‘We are truly guilty concerning our brother…’. Mt 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it." 25 And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children." b). The pressure that Joseph continues to apply to his brothers, foreshadowing the judgments of the Great Tribulation, can only bring them to one place – that described in 2 Chronicles Chapter 7 – Ge 44:16 Then Judah said, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; here we are, my lord's slaves, And it is in this Chapter that Judah makes confession before Joseph of that which had happened in the past, bringing about that which we then see in Chapter 45 in response - Ge 45:1 ¶ Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Make everyone go out from me!" So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it. 3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph; does my father still live?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. 4 And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me." So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 "But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 "For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 "And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. c). And in that day yet future, while scattered among the Gentile nations the whole house of Jacob will confess their guilt and the One whom Joseph typifies, the Lord Jesus Christ and He will make Himself known to His brothers, who no doubt will be equally dismayed - Zec 12:10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. And the Brother with the nail scarred hands and the wound in His side will tell them that ‘God sent Me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.’ - Jer 23:6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 "Therefore, behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "that they shall no longer say, 'As the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,' 8 "but, 'As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.' And they shall dwell in their own land." Ge 45:17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan. 18 'Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land. 19 'Now you are commanded-do this: Take carts out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives; bring your father and come. 20 'Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'" d). So, having been delivered from the famine by Joseph, both Jacob and Joseph’s brothers and all their households went down to Egypt to the best of the land, to eat the fat of the land and to receive the wealth of the land, ‘for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours’. e). And this is just what we had seen in Genesis Chapter 15 where Abraham was told that his descendants would come out from affliction with ‘great possessions’ – Foreshadowing what would take place when the first generation of the Children of Israel were delivered from Egypt – Ex 12:35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. f). Which in turn foreshadows that which will take place at the end of the Tribulation when the Lord Jesus delivers the nation from Gentile hands, just as we had seen in Isaiah Chapter 60, ‘the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you’. g). And following these events we see that Joseph’s brothers returned to their father Jacob with the message - Ge 45:26 And they told him, saying, "Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt." And this detail foreshadows the time of the Millennial Kingdom when Israel as a nation will go forth to the Gentiles throughout the earth with the message that, Jesus the Christ is still alive, and He is governor over all the earth – Isa 43:10 "You are My witnesses," says the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior. Ac 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." h). Ge 50:19 Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 "Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. 22 ¶ So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. 23 Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph's knees. 24 And Joseph said to his brethren, "I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." 25 Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here." 26 So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. And so, the account of Joseph’s life ends in a twofold manner. Firstly, with Joseph, his brothers, his father and their household living in safety and plenty, providing a type for that which awaits the nation of Israel during the Millennial Kingdom. i). And secondly, that the time of safety and plenty, which has been typified here, will be brought to pass yet future when God visits His people and brings them to the land covenanted to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. j). And through the oath that Joseph had the Children of Israel take, that they would carry his bones with them to the land of promise, came the certainty of God’s deliverance of His people from Egypt in the days of Moses - Ex 13:18 So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.” And the certainty that in the Day of the One greater than Moses He will bring the living, those Jews who survive the Great Tribulation, and the resurrected OT saints of which Joseph is one, but signifying all, to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – in fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham. Jos 24:32 The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph. It will be in Shechem in that day that Joseph will be resurrected. Ge 49:29 Then he charged them and said to them: "I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 "in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. 31 "There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. And from the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite that Abraham bought, that Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah and Leah and Jacob will be resurrected all in fulfillment of the Feast of Firstfruits. 3). And so, the Book of Genesis ends with Joseph and his brothers and their children’s children living in safety and abundance and preeminence in Egypt providing us with a picture of the fulfillment of God’s purpose set out in Genesis Chapter1 - Ge 1:26 ¶ Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion……… Joseph, a type of the Christ, and his brothers, a type of repentant and restored Israel, together in Egypt, a type of the world, over which Joseph rules, second only to Pharaoh. a). And with respect to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Abraham’s descendants, if scripture had said nothing else there would still be certainty for God’s chosen people. b). However, as we have already seen through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph the Lord repeats that which He has already shown adding more and more to the picture, so that its ultimate fulfillment with respect to both the heavens and the earth become clearer and clearer. c). And so, with Exodus a new chapter begins in the lives of the Children of Israel living in Egypt on the one hand, and we drop back to that foreshadowed in Pharaoh’s dream in Genesis Chapter 41 on the other. d). All the while that Joseph lived and was ruler of the land of Egypt there was safety and abundance for the Children of Israel. e). And in this time of safety and abundance we can again see that typified by the 7 years if plenty in Pharaoh’s dream. f). But, as we have seen, this time of plenty would come to an end and a time of famine would follow in which the time of plenty would be remembered no more - Ex 1:6 And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. 7 But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. 8 ¶ Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, "Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; 10 "come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land." 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. 13 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage-in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor. And it is to that pictured through the time of famine that we go in these verses at the beginning of Exodus. g). And in these beginning verses, we have the introduction of ‘a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph’ – ‘a new king’, not just in the sense of replacing an old king, but in the sense of being a different kind of king. No longer an Egyptian, but an Assyrian, and this king has no association whatsoever with Joseph, picturing for us a future ‘king’ who is to come, who must also be an Assyrian who will be in total antithesis to the Christ whom Joseph typifies - Re 13:2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 2Th 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. This is a king who has already been prefigured in foundation through Nimrod Ge 10:8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD." 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city). h). Ex 1:15 ¶ Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; 16 and he said, "When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live." And with the coming of the Assyrian Pharaoh comes another facet of the time of famine – the attempted eradication of the Jewish people through killing the male children. i). No Jewish males would mean there could no longer be a pure bloodline and in this we have an echo of the sons of God cohabiting with the daughters of men resulting in Noah’s flood. j). Which was an attempt by the present ruler we will remember to prevent the coming of the Seed of the Woman who would bruise his head. k). And the Assyrian Pharaoh’s attempt to kill the male children is seen again at the birth of Christ - Mt 2:16 ¶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. But through the life of Joseph and all the way back to the beginning of Genesis, the end of the matter has already been established, even before the Assyrian Pharaoh set his hand against the Jewish people or Herod slaughtered the children. We will have to continue with this next time though – if the Lord is willing. The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Six - C Jan 21, 2018 Speaker: John Herbert Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/01.21.18_Pt6c.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Ge 50:26 So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. Today we will finish our study of the life of Joseph and come to the end of the Book of Genesis. The full text of this message, along with the accompanying Power Point can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday January 21st 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Part 6C ‘Your Descendants After You’ 1). Ge 42:1 ¶ When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?" 2 And he said, "Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die." 3 So Joseph's ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, "Lest some calamity befall him." We had seen last time how Pharaoh had two dreams which foretold of 2 complete periods of time – one of plenty and the other of famine. a). And we had seen how the time of plenty foreshadowed the time between Jacob and his sons and their families coming to the land of Goshen, in Egypt, until the affliction brought upon them by the Assyrian Pharaoh. b). Which in turn foreshadows the time between the setting aside of Israel and the affliction to be brought upon the Jews, worldwide, by the Assyrian Antichrist. Power Point – Slides 1-2 c). And we had seen how the time of famine its self, foreshadowed that affliction that would be suffered by the children of Israel in Egypt – Ex 1:11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. 13 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage-in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor. d). And this, in turn, foreshadows the affliction yet future at the hands of the Antichrist - Ps 83:2 For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones. 4 They have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more." e). And within the account of Joseph’s life we see that it is only when the famine had become severe that Jacob sent the 10 brothers, excluding Benjamin, to Egypt to buy grain that they might live and not die. And because of the way God had orchestrated events the brothers would in fact go to Joseph, the brother they thought was dead, who they had hated, but who was the only one who could help them. f). And just as we saw previously, Joseph’s brothers turning to Joseph for deliverance from the famine foreshadowed the descendants of Jacob’s 12 sons crying out to the God of their fathers because of their affliction in Egypt – God being the only One who could help them – Ex 2:23 ¶ Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. And this again foreshadows the Jewish people, scattered among the Gentile nations, crying out to the God of their fathers amidst the horrors of the affliction of the Great Tribulation – God, in the person of Son, who they hated and killed, being the only One who is able to help them – Ho 5:13 "When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah saw his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb; Yet he cannot cure you, Nor heal you of your wound. 14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue. 15 I will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me." Ps 106:43 Many times He delivered them; But they rebelled in their counsel, And were brought low for their iniquity. 44 Nevertheless He regarded their affliction, When He heard their cry; 45 And for their sake He remembered His covenant, And relented according to the multitude of His mercies. 46 He also made them to be pitied By all those who carried them away captive. 47 Save us, O LORD our God, And gather us from among the Gentiles, To give thanks to Your holy name, To triumph in Your praise. 48 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the LORD! 2Ch 7:13 "When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14 "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. g). Now, the purpose for the affliction that the Jewish people must experience yet future is very specific, as we can see from 2 Chronicles Chapter 7- that, ‘they turn from their wicked ways’. They are, through the intensity of the affliction they are to suffer, to be humbled so as to seek God’s face and come to repentance. h). And this is exactly what we see through the account of Joseph and his brothers. 2). Ge 42:17 So he put them all together in prison three days. 18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, "Do this and live, for I fear God: 19 "If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. 20 "And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die." And they did so. 21 ¶ Then they said to one another, "We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us." The events we see regarding Joseph’s brothers during the famine, from them being put in prison 3 days, having their money put back in their sacks, the ‘stealing’ of Joseph’s cup and bringing Benjamin to Egypt, all figuratively point to the affliction and anguish the nation will experience during the Tribulation. a). And that which is at the heart of this affliction is clearly stated in the verses from Genesis Chapter 42, ‘We are truly guilty concerning our brother…’. Mt 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it." 25 And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children." b). The pressure that Joseph continues to apply to his brothers, foreshadowing the judgments of the Great Tribulation, can only bring them to one place – that described in 2 Chronicles Chapter 7 – Ge 44:16 Then Judah said, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; here we are, my lord's slaves, And it is in this Chapter that Judah makes confession before Joseph of that which had happened in the past, bringing about that which we then see in Chapter 45 in response - Ge 45:1 ¶ Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Make everyone go out from me!" So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it. 3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph; does my father still live?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. 4 And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me." So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 "But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 "For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 "And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. c). And in that day yet future, while scattered among the Gentile nations the whole house of Jacob will confess their guilt and the One whom Joseph typifies, the Lord Jesus Christ and He will make Himself known to His brothers, who no doubt will be equally dismayed - Zec 12:10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. And the Brother with the nail scarred hands and the wound in His side will tell them that ‘God sent Me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.’ - Jer 23:6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 "Therefore, behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "that they shall no longer say, 'As the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,' 8 "but, 'As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.' And they shall dwell in their own land." Ge 45:17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan. 18 'Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land. 19 'Now you are commanded-do this: Take carts out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives; bring your father and come. 20 'Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'" d). So, having been delivered from the famine by Joseph, both Jacob and Joseph’s brothers and all their households went down to Egypt to the best of the land, to eat the fat of the land and to receive the wealth of the land, ‘for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours’. e). And this is just what we had seen in Genesis Chapter 15 where Abraham was told that his descendants would come out from affliction with ‘great possessions’ – Foreshadowing what would take place when the first generation of the Children of Israel were delivered from Egypt – Ex 12:35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. f). Which in turn foreshadows that which will take place at the end of the Tribulation when the Lord Jesus delivers the nation from Gentile hands, just as we had seen in Isaiah Chapter 60, ‘the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you’. g). And following these events we see that Joseph’s brothers returned to their father Jacob with the message - Ge 45:26 And they told him, saying, "Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt." And this detail foreshadows the time of the Millennial Kingdom when Israel as a nation will go forth to the Gentiles throughout the earth with the message that, Jesus the Christ is still alive, and He is governor over all the earth – Isa 43:10 "You are My witnesses," says the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior. Ac 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." h). Ge 50:19 Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 "Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. 22 ¶ So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. 23 Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph's knees. 24 And Joseph said to his brethren, "I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." 25 Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here." 26 So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. And so, the account of Joseph’s life ends in a twofold manner. Firstly, with Joseph, his brothers, his father and their household living in safety and plenty, providing a type for that which awaits the nation of Israel during the Millennial Kingdom. i). And secondly, that the time of safety and plenty, which has been typified here, will be brought to pass yet future when God visits His people and brings them to the land covenanted to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. j). And through the oath that Joseph had the Children of Israel take, that they would carry his bones with them to the land of promise, came the certainty of God’s deliverance of His people from Egypt in the days of Moses - Ex 13:18 So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.” And the certainty that in the Day of the One greater than Moses He will bring the living, those Jews who survive the Great Tribulation, and the resurrected OT saints of which Joseph is one, but signifying all, to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – in fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham. Jos 24:32 The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph. It will be in Shechem in that day that Joseph will be resurrected. Ge 49:29 Then he charged them and said to them: "I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 "in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. 31 "There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. And from the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite that Abraham bought, that Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah and Leah and Jacob will be resurrected all in fulfillment of the Feast of Firstfruits. 3). And so, the Book of Genesis ends with Joseph and his brothers and their children’s children living in safety and abundance and preeminence in Egypt providing us with a picture of the fulfillment of God’s purpose set out in Genesis Chapter1 - Ge 1:26 ¶ Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion……… Joseph, a type of the Christ, and his brothers, a type of repentant and restored Israel, together in Egypt, a type of the world, over which Joseph rules, second only to Pharaoh. a). And with respect to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Abraham’s descendants, if scripture had said nothing else there would still be certainty for God’s chosen people. b). However, as we have already seen through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph the Lord repeats that which He has already shown adding more and more to the picture, so that its ultimate fulfillment with respect to both the heavens and the earth become clearer and clearer. c). And so, with Exodus a new chapter begins in the lives of the Children of Israel living in Egypt on the one hand, and we drop back to that foreshadowed in Pharaoh’s dream in Genesis Chapter 41 on the other. d). All the while that Joseph lived and was ruler of the land of Egypt there was safety and abundance for the Children of Israel. e). And in this time of safety and abundance we can again see that typified by the 7 years if plenty in Pharaoh’s dream. f). But, as we have seen, this time of plenty would come to an end and a time of famine would follow in which the time of plenty would be remembered no more - Ex 1:6 And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. 7 But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. 8 ¶ Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, "Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; 10 "come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land." 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. 13 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage-in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor. And it is to that pictured through the time of famine that we go in these verses at the beginning of Exodus. g). And in these beginning verses, we have the introduction of ‘a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph’ – ‘a new king’, not just in the sense of replacing an old king, but in the sense of being a different kind of king. No longer an Egyptian, but an Assyrian, and this king has no association whatsoever with Joseph, picturing for us a future ‘king’ who is to come, who must also be an Assyrian who will be in total antithesis to the Christ whom Joseph typifies - Re 13:2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 2Th 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. This is a king who has already been prefigured in foundation through Nimrod Ge 10:8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD." 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city). h). Ex 1:15 ¶ Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; 16 and he said, "When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live." And with the coming of the Assyrian Pharaoh comes another facet of the time of famine – the attempted eradication of the Jewish people through killing the male children. i). No Jewish males would mean there could no longer be a pure bloodline and in this we have an echo of the sons of God cohabiting with the daughters of men resulting in Noah’s flood. j). Which was an attempt by the present ruler we will remember to prevent the coming of the Seed of the Woman who would bruise his head. k). And the Assyrian Pharaoh’s attempt to kill the male children is seen again at the birth of Christ - Mt 2:16 ¶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. But through the life of Joseph and all the way back to the beginning of Genesis, the end of the matter has already been established, even before the Assyrian Pharaoh set his hand against the Jewish people or Herod slaughtered the children. We will have to continue with this next time though – if the Lord is willing.