20251207_IWillNotLeaveThee

[0:00] This is which trip of the boys to Egypt? It's the second trip. What happened on the first? And why did they go? For food. Yeah, for grain. Now, why did they go to Egypt?

[0:26] ! That's where the grain was. Now, hang on. Why was there grain in Egypt? What was wrong with every place else? Well, there's a famine, but there's a famine in Egypt too. What was that? That's right. That's right. Now, why'd they do that?

[0:55] Why'd they do that? So, who came up with that idea? Yeah, okay. Yeah. God came up with it, and Joseph spoke it. All right.

[1:12] But, Joseph's a Hebrew. What's he doing there? Why? Why is he nosing into Pharaoh's business? Go real quickly.

[1:28] By? Okay. So, his brother sold him into slavery. Was that a step up or a step down from what their other plan was?

[1:43] Why? Why? Okay. Now, there are ten brothers in on this conference.

[1:55] One of them said, no, let's let him go. That was Reuben. Most of them said, let's kill him.

[2:13] Then, they're eaten.

[2:43] Their father, dad. Well, they didn't exactly say that. Say, here we go with that withholding information business.

[2:56] see they wanted him to believe because they had done what with his coat they bloodied his coat and then they take the coat to dad and they say you recognize this now did they know whose it was did they know what they had done okay but their plan was to make Jacob believe that he was slain by a beast in the wilderness or on his way to them by the way just to refresh my memory I'm thankful I'm thankful for the way God worked in my life and putting me into the family he put me into now my father always held with the boys it was always Rodney's fault by the way but I always got blamed but dad always held if you withhold information in order to deceive that's as much a lie as if you told no truth at all and I'm glad for that because that's so I mean we never see anything where information is withheld so that people will think the wrong thing do we so he's headed for Egypt now he's not headed as a tourist is he he winds up in Egypt with whom quickly

[4:47] Potiphar who's Potiphar he's an important military guy we'll leave it at that he's he's maybe capital security or something but he's in tight with he's a high official and Potiphar winds up making Joseph steward of his house in fact the God says he didn't even concern himself with any of his business except what was before him to eat now that's a that's a hyperbolic perhaps expression but it basically says he left all the business to whom to Joseph now what happened did Potiphar prosper or not he prospered why the the word says God made it happen

[5:52] God prospered Potiphar because of Joseph so God has a plan going on we're gonna we're gonna get into that as a matter of fact God has a plan going on so he prospers Potiphar and everything goes hunky-dory right that's why he gets elevated no what happened I'm not gonna repeat that no I am okay so Potiphar's wife got involved um and she makes false accusations what and it was a me too society then I guess so what happened Joseph winds up in prison so now what he squanders away in prison right what happens he's in he now he's steward of the prison and what happens there they prosper big

[7:13] God now God is prospering everybody with whom Joseph has who for or to whom Joseph is serving so the bank the butcher the baker and the candlestick maker come to prison well the baker the baker and the cupbearer come to prison where Joseph is they have a dream or they're each has their dream Joseph interprets the dream and what happens exactly as God told Joseph now who who sent the dream then obviously God sent the dream to them and then God told Joseph what that was going to be who else do you know that something similar is going to happen to much later than this well

[8:23] Pharaoh much later than Pharaoh well Paul Daniel is the one that pops into my mind because the same kind of scenario is going to happen the ruler is going to have dream and God's going to tell Daniel what he told what he told Belshazzar or Belshazzar!

[8:58] No Nebuchadnezzar didn't have the dream this is the one where the handwriting is on the wall anyway or at least the one I was thinking of so Joseph interprets the dreams for them it comes so and the baker who is or the well the baker is not going to do anything because he's hanging he's hanging out that was bad the cup bearer is restored and he's going to tell Pharaoh hey this guy this guy shouldn't be in prison he was falsely accused right no what happens he's going to leave him there for three two years so Joseph's going to stay in prison for a couple more years that's a little long for me

[9:58] I'm thinking but God has a plan so Pharaoh now has a dream now we're getting in tight Pharaoh has a dream that troubles him that none of the wise men nor soothsayers could interpret it and the cupbearer says hey I remember this Hebrew guy in prison he told me exactly what would happen and it came true exactly for both of us so Pharaoh sends for Joseph and now we come to what Pharaoh's dream was about what was Pharaoh's dream about seven years of plenty seven years of famine all right now Joseph then gives some advice to

[11:01] Pharaoh hey Pharaoh I'm sure he didn't say it that way here's what you ought to do you ought to get a guy who is has great discernment and wisdom and you ought to put him in charge and he ought to set up and take install a tax and tax the people their grain and store all that up not spend it all by the way but store it up because there's going to come a time when there won't be any grain and you will have it and Nebuchadnezzar said Pharaoh says you're the man that's a good idea you're the man now incidentally

[12:03] Pharaoh's servants and when they say servants they're not talking here about necessarily slaves they're talking about court officials these are princes people who are important in government they all agree with Pharaoh hey that's a great idea put Joseph in charge now we all know exactly how easy it is to get everybody who has a high office to agree to put someone else above them right I think I know who had his hand in that so now we're coming along the famine gets really tight who has grain now Egypt has grain

[13:05] Canaan doesn't so what does what does Jacob's or Jacob's household decide to do go to Egypt to buy grain so they go to Egypt and that all went very smoothly and they went back home no Joseph who they don't know for a couple of reasons do you remember why they don't know him he's changed both his name and his appearance and one other reason he's speaking Egyptian through an interpreter to them so he's disguising himself purposefully he he hasn't forgotten Hebrew we're going to see that today so he's disguised himself now he's going to look

[14:14] Egyptian because he's serving in the Egyptian court that's true and he doesn't disclose the other day we were coming over to do something over here and I saw the the mail truck pass us and I said I recognize her the lady who delivers the mail here I recognize her she often eats lunch out here and I've seen her a number of times but if I saw her on the street I probably wouldn't I recognized her because I saw her where I expected to see her so there's that also that works into it because he's they sent him as a slave they don't expect him to be prime minister of Egypt so they deal with him what's he tell his steward to do put the money back in the sacks and send them on so they discover that and now they're terrified and he told them one other thing because he's accused them of being a spy or spies remember so he says if you want to don't you come back unless what bring your youngest son or brother if you you prove to me that you are who you claim to be so you bring your youngest brother or don't come back here well they tell their dad that because they run out of the grain they had bought the first time and they say you know we've been sitting around here and he told us this and we've been sitting around long enough

[16:14] I think it was Judah that said it we've been sitting around if we hadn't been dilly dallying around so long we could have been back a couple of times so finally Jacob Israel concedes to them and he sends Benjamin now who who said that he'd be surety for Benjamin Reuben did first Reuben made kind of a rash thing there remember what Reuben's was if I don't bring him back what you kill my two sons sure grandpa now I realize this is a different culture but that's a big deal but Judah is the one that actually goes surety he said let the blame fall on me we are going to celebrate the birth of one of

[17:26] Judah's descendants in a few weeks here he's going to be of the tribe of Judah and he's going to say to his father if they trust you let the blame for Roger sin fall on me I'm not going to bring Roger back I'm going to become his sin for him that's amazing that is amazing and this is a beautiful fore picture if you will a foretelling of what Jesus Christ is going to do in reality for everyone who believes who trusts him now so now they're here for the second time and they brought

[18:30] Benjamin and they're going to they had a party now they were kind of surprised at what happened at the party it's a dinner party the seating arrangements Joseph is eating by himself the Egyptians who serve at Joseph and who eat with him they're eating by themselves and then the Hebrews the brothers are eating there but they're kind of surprised because of the seating arrangement do you remember oldest to youngest how'd they do that how'd they do that so they were seated oldest to youngest and who got the big portions Benjamin so there's some hinting going on but okay now so that's pretty pretty much to bring us where we are nope they did leave that's right

[19:52] I left that out so he told his steward not only to put the money back but to do what stash a cup in the youngest guys and then he's going to be my slave so he goes after him and instead of going on they all came back to the city but now they're scared they're real scared now so we're starting with verse one of chapter 45 you can read through there and as you're reading Judah comes up at the end of the last chapter he comes up and he says I want to plead this case and he pours it out this is what happened this is what happened at home this my father's life is bound up with the youngest son with

[20:58] Benjamin we will bring him to his grave in agony if we don't bring Benjamin back I'll tell you what please let me be the replacement I kind of jumped myself there so verse one what happens after Judah has made his plea to Joseph he he loses what who loses it Joseph and he starts to cry in front of everybody alright and what does he say everybody out so that only he and his brother and the brothers are there he he kicks all the

[22:02] Egyptians out accepting maybe the interpreter at this point so what does he do then okay he says look I'm Joseph I'm Joseph now he wept loudly enough by the way that his not only did his household hear it but as might be the gossip between places who else hears of it pharaoh's house hears of it okay now what's the reaction of Joseph's brothers when he discovers himself to them and he asks about he asks about his father doesn't he okay what's their reaction wonder why yeah that word actually your

[23:14] King James will say troubled what does new American standard say dismayed yeah it is troubled the word is usually used as terrified they're terrified this is Joseph and we're in his house and we're under his control so they are terrified at that now he calls them to come over come near to me what's he say okay I'm sorry yeah I'm your brother Joseph who you sold into Egypt now who did the selling the brothers this is important for me to understand in the relationship because he's going to say something else what did he what else did he say you sold me into slavery however don't be afraid what else don't be grieved

[24:39] God God did that this was God's doing to preserve life now incidentally because they while not being a one to one correlation there is it is incidental who who betrayed Jesus Judas right Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Peter speaking through the Holy Spirit in Acts is going to say by the intentional purpose and plan of God so who's responsible Judas who worked it out God so when I read

[25:41] Romans chapter 8 and I read that verse which is easily rolling off the tongue for all things work together for good to them that love God to them that are called according to his purpose that rolls off the tongue very easily when things are going well but here I see it at work when things haven't been going so well and I can rely upon that so I know that when I read in Romans that God says all things work together for good even though it doesn't feel good to me I know it's true don't I now I don't always remember that as well as I would like but I need to because I can find great comfort there in trusting the God who has this under control so so he says

[26:44] God sent me before you to preserve life now how long has there been famine two years how many years are left he tells them five years are left now by this time by the way if you're fishing around it we're at verse seven by now he tells then his brothers that they should hurry up and do something what should they hasten to do I'm sorry well they're in Egypt yeah they're supposed to hasten back grab dad and all the household come to Egypt now by the way he calls it a great deliverance and so it is maybe not as great as our deliverance from sin but it's a great deliverance now!

[27:55] you read down through there and by the way read at least through verse 11 and we'll give just a moment to make sure that this settles who does God say sent him to Egypt now who sold him the brothers sold him they made a decision but who does Joseph say sent him to Egypt how do you know he said God did yeah because it says so verses five seven and eight discounting the previous one we read

[28:57] God did send me before you to preserve life God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity and to save your lives by the way that preserving a posterity what was the promise to Abraham I will make of you a great nation now that's hard to do if all of Abraham's posterity die although Jesus did say it just I don't know why this pops up Jesus did say to the Pharisees look you say that your children of Abraham God could raise up Abraham's children from these stones he can God when God in the beginning finish that God the heavens and the earth where did he get the stuff to create it from nothing he made it and he made it because he said so so that's important to remember that has to do with his omnipotence now

[30:13] God sent me look at verse verse seven by the way it was not you that sent me but God now they did sell him they did make that decision they did do the lying and they feel guilty about it remember every time that something oh he God's doing this because we're guilty of what we had done aren't you glad that we live in the day of grace when we don't have to stand guilty there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus is that not a wonderful thing now and God has made me the ruler now you see that phrase a father to

[31:17] Pharaoh he he's not really a father to Pharaoh right he's saying he has made me as a father in counsel to Pharaoh Pharaoh does what I suggest to him to do and by the way he's well to do that yes wise man yeah Pharaoh is wise to listen to him so Psalm 115 verse 3 these are just a couple of verses that God uses there is more to this Psalm 115 it's a praise but 115 verse 3 he's he's making a difference between idols and God but our God is in the heavens and he does what whatsoever he pleases or what he chooses to do so

[32:26] Paul is going to use that when he speaks at the Areopagus in Athens Paul's going to say God has made of one blood all nations of men and he set their boundaries and he set their times God did that and and he will use that as a basis this is the God you need to pay attention to because he has also set a time for judgment and you can escape that judgment if you trust Jesus Christ who he raised from the dead so that's an important thing there are many others you know 150 years approximately before Cyrus of

[33:27] Persia is born God through the prophet Isaiah is going to call him by name and he said you haven't known me Cyrus this is God speaking although you haven't known me I've taken you by my hand and I am going to direct you to do this and that is my warning so God willing the next time we pick up it'll be at verse 12 okay this this is the best place to stop at this time some of us will be reading some passages at Christmas time and one of the passages we'll read will be something that says in the fullness of time

[34:38] God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem them that are under the law in the fullness of time I'm thankful as as as Sherry and I intend to travel we you know Tuesday morning will tell the tale whether we actually do because we don't know and we don't know how far we're going to get but we do know who controls tomorrow and we do know the end result and we do know that candy is in his hands and we can trust him for that now emotionally it's going to be that but in the fullness of time God sent forth his son when it was right you know he was quiet for 400 years there's a reason you know he didn't have to be in my thinking but he was so as we celebrate the birth of Christ we remember that God being made flesh and dwelling among us isn't just because babies are cute it's because of what he came to do for this

[36:00] I was born what was the this the crucifixion salvation of the world and we quote John 3 16 and we say for God so loved or in this fashion God loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever should believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life we have a great hope and we have a hope that is founded in the veracity of God and that great cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 11 that talks about the faithfulness of God have a wonderful week do