Pharaoh’s Dream Part 10, 8/29/04

Going though Genesis and really the life of Joseph and as the Bible deals with this part of the history of Israel it’s the time when Israel was forming when Jacob and his sons they would become the twelve tribes of Israel and we’ve seen that number one Joseph is a picture of Christ that Joseph is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ and you know many theologians and even a lot of people who would not really agree with what they call spiritualizing the Bible or with an allegorical method of interpretation would admit that Joseph is a type of Jesus Christ they would grant that but the problem is that they would say that Joseph is a type of Christ and actually kind of leave that hanging there because where at in this account is he a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well we see when Pharaoh raises him exalts him from his lowly state in the prison he’s a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. OK well then who’s Pharaoh? You see you have to if you’re going to assign a spiritual meaning to Joseph well then who’s Pharaoh and what is his role in this and we’ve seen that Pharaoh is also a type and a figure of God Himself. All right now if that’s so and Joseph is a picture of Christ and Pharaoh is a picture of God well what’s the rest of all this story here where does all that come into play? It just doesn’t end at the Cross you can’t take the account such as the ten brothers of Joseph and the ten sons of Jacob and there’s a famine in the land of Canaan and they’re going to Egypt to find corn and you can’t relate all those things directly to the Cross even if you would say that Joseph is a type of Christ how do you relate all this history all these incidents to the Cross? And we see that the solution really is given to us as God tells us in Acts 7:11 that that famine is picturing the great tribulation. So it’s dealing with a certain aspect of God’s salvation plan the little season of great tribulation that comes right before the end of the world and then everything begins to fit into place and we see all right Canaan is representing the church. The famine is picturing the time when there’s a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord that’s come upon the churches and congregations that God actually had a plan all along that we’ve seen in the dreams of Pharaoh to have a period of great plenty which would be the New Testament church age followed by a period of seven years of famine which would be the great tribulation and immediately coming on the heels of the church age and then God would further have a plan as we have been reading to draw His people out of the churches and congregations just as Joseph is working on this plan to get Benjamin out of Canaan and into Egypt. Joseph is doing everything he can to get Benjamin, Benjamin who’s name means Son of My right hand who typifies the elect of God into Egypt because he wants to shower him with blessings doesn’t he? Joseph’s heart yearns for his brother Benjamin he desires to bless Benjamin and to give him all the riches that he has found in the land of Egypt and yet in order to do that to accomplish that at first he accuses the ten brothers of being spies he says ye are spies and as they told him no we are the sons of one man they were saying we are Israelites we are true men and yet Joseph who knew very well that they were Israelites that they were true men accused them of being a spy which we seen the spiritual meaning to this is that a spy is like a hypocrite a spy is someone who pretends to be something he is not a spy spiritually the application in this context would be someone who professes with their mouth they’re a child of God but in their heart they’re far from God they’re saying they’re citizens of the Kingdom of God but they’re still citizens of the kingdom of darkness they’re a spy. And so Joseph although he knew they were not spies he knew they were true men he knew they were Israelites indeed just like Nathanael. Remember as Jesus saw him under the fig tree He said behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile indicating that Nathanael is a true child of God. So the spiritual dimension here is that Joseph the Lord Jesus Christ of course knows those that are His He knows each one of His elect but He’s going to test His people He’s going to prove His people during this time of great tribulation and the proof or the test for the ten sons of Jacob was you must bring Benjamin to Egypt you must bring Benjamin here before me this will be the proof and we saw how Joseph really emphasized that and made a big deal out of that this will show you are true men if you bring your other remaining brother here before me. Now historically that doesn’t really make any sense they could have gone back home and they could have just grabbed any younger person a servant or someone and brought him back to Egypt and shown him before this ruler and they could have said here’s our brother Benjamin and historically they didn’t know that was Joseph and Joseph supposedly the ruler of Egypt not knowing them how would he discern how would he know that that was not truly their brother? But you see the real significance of that is in the spiritual meaning where God wants the elect of God or the Lord Jesus Christ typified by Joseph wants the elect to come out of Canaan and to bring them into Egypt and when they leave Canaan when they leave Canaan and come into Egypt this is the proof this is the evidence that you’re true men. Just as God has arranged the scenario in our day at this time of great tribulation where the proof or the evidence that someone is a true child of God or this is a lot of the evidence it’s not all the evidence is when God opens up the scriptures when He reveals Himself that He’s no longer present in the churches and congregations but He’s gone out into the world will His people follow Him? Will they leave the church and go to outside the churches and congregations to worship God and to come under God’s care and protection? That you see is the situation God is developing in our day and it’s typified by this demand of Joseph that Benjamin be brought into Egypt. Now we moved on in Genesis 42 but let me just read one verse there in verse 36:

And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.

And this is after the brothers return they go back to Canaan and they tell their father what happened they explain to him they went to buy corn the ruler of the land he spoke roughly to us he was a cruel man he demanded that we produce our younger brother and he took Simeon from us and bound him put Simeon in prison so that we must go back and we must show him Benjamin and Jacob hearing this was extremely upset and on top of it all they had their money in their sacks they found their money in their sacks on their journey back and now they thought well the Egyptians will accuse them of being thieves they stole the corn they didn’t pay for the corn and so that’s why Jacob says all these things are against me everything is working out against me nothing is going well nothing is working out for good nothing is working out for good. Everything is working out for bad everything is working out for evil all the circumstances of life have come to the point where everything is miserable everything is just it’s just tragic and terrible that these thing’s have happened in this way and you know this is very important thing I think for us to look at it’s important for us to think about because Jacob is a true child of God he is a true child of God and yet as he looks at his circumstances as he looks at what’s going on in his life as he sees all these events that are taking place he just feels everything’s against him everything’s against him he might as well say even God’s against me because Jacob knows full well God controls all things that God is the one who directs the course of history and how events transpire and so this is really showing Jacob’s frustration it’s really showing his weariness that he is being tested severely and you know he was a human he was a man just like we’re humans we’re people and God tests us and we can become weary and we can become troubled and we can get to the point where we just shake our head and we say everything is against me and especially as we know this time of trial it was a very great test because there was a severe famine a severe famine and now Joseph was not he had lost one son and Simeon was not another son was a prisoner in Egypt and now Benjamin his beloved Benjamin his baby the child that was the last child he thought of the wife he loved of Rachel was required to go into Egypt and he just was getting to the breaking point he was getting to the point where he could not stand what was going on in his life much longer and he came out and he said all these things are against me. Now you know God actually has set forth a principle in the Bible we’ll look at a little later we’ll look at a little later regarding all events and all circumstances and all the things that are going on in our life and how those things work whether for or against and we’ll try to take a look at that later but first we have to think about the situation here historically you know God’s giving us a great privilege I think to look at a historical situation and look at it from two different view points two different perspectives. You have Joseph’s perspective and then you have his brothers and Jacob’s perspective of what’s going on of what’s taking place. Now Joseph’s perspective is well he knows everything he knows everything he has all the information he knows exactly what’s going on he knew there would be seven years of plenty followed immediately by seven years of famine he knew how long the famine had been in the land he knew exactly how much longer it would continue he knew that there would be an end to that time of famine. Joseph had all this information and on top of that Joseph knew his brethren he knew those men they were his brothers when they came before him he knew them very intimately he possessed a great deal of information about the situation. Whereas on the other hand the other hand his brethren and his father Jacob and Jacob’s whole household they were pretty much ignorant they were ignorant they lacked understanding they didn’t know what really was going on they knew there was a famine they knew a famine had begun they could decipher that they could see that their crops weren’t growing there was no food in the land they knew it was a widespread famine they heard there was corn in Egypt so they went there for corn but they thought well we’ll just get some corn it will help us to last it will help us to maintain ourselves to continue the next year then the rains will come then the crops will grow and the famine will be over they didn’t know what was off into the distance they didn’t know what the future held they thought they were thinking of the immediate trouble at hand and they really lacked understanding and on top of that they didn’t know who Joseph was or where Joseph was they didn’t know that that cruel lord was Joseph they didn’t know that Joseph had no ill intent towards them whatsoever. You know was Benjamin in any kind of a danger because he was required to show himself in Egypt? Was Simeon in any kind of a danger even though he was bound and in prison in Egypt? Were any of Jacob and his family in any kind of danger whatsoever from Joseph or the Egyptians that were under his control? There was absolutely no danger from Joseph there was no danger from Egypt whatsoever. The danger was staying in Canaan the dangerous thing was remaining in the land that was experiencing the famine but in Egypt well even though it seemed threatening it appeared dangerous you know as they looked at circumstances and they looked at what they could see with their limited viewpoint they had an extremely limited viewpoint concerning these circumstances compared to Joseph. Joseph could see the overall picture they saw little bits and pieces and they saw that even choppily they didn’t see that clearly and so we see it helps us when we look at this historically and it helps us even more when we think spiritually when we think that Joseph is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and those ten sons of Jacob are a picture of us of the true believers of the body of believers of the elect of God during the great tribulation and here God as He of course looks at things what’s His perspective what’s God’s perspective on things? God’s perspective is infinite, infinite He has an eternal perspective as He looks on us down here He knows not only what tomorrow holds or next week holds or next month holds He knows what all eternity holds. God can look into eternity future and He knows everything that’s going to transpire everything that’s going to take place He knows every single thing that’s going to happen and we as believers well do we have much more of a perspective on things than Jacob and his family had can we really see any better than Jacob could as we look at our lives as we look at what’s going on in our life and we see our circumstances we see our troubles and our afflictions we see what’s going on today and we might think just as Jacob well everything’s against me I don’t have enough money, I have physical illness, I’m being afflicted physically, I have aches and pains I have neighbors that are very contrary to me, I have family that is contrary to me whatever it is whatever the situation is it can pile up and pile up and it can frustrate us and weary us as God is trying us and we may get to the point as Jacob and say all these things are against me it’s all evil isn’t it it’s all bad it’s all bad the way my life is going everything is just awful and terrible how I find myself in my present situation you know we’ve lived our lives many of us we’ve grown up from children we’ve made decisions we’ve gone to certain schools we’ve taken certain jobs we find ourself in a certain city and so forth these are the circumstances of our life and is it all bad is it all against us is it all against us or if we’re a true child of God for a true child of God is everything against us was everything against Jacob, was everything against Jacob as he looked on his set of circumstances it looked, it looked dark it looked miserable it looked painful but actually Jacob was being blessed and he didn’t even know it. Jacob and his family were under the care of God as God was working out details in their lives God was working behind the scenes He was orchestrating events so that certain things would take place so that these things would come to be and yet Jacob and his sons well they’re just troubled. You know we read in the Bible the time of Jacob’s trouble well we’re reading about it this is Jacob’s trouble Jacob’s trouble is that that he is being led of God to leave the land of Canaan and once he does God has nothing but blessing for him but he can’t see that he can’t picture that let’s turn to Romans 8 and look at verse 28 and it says there:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

All things work against me as Jacob says, all things work against me all these things are against me? No, no you see he was a man he was a human he could forget and this principle even though it’s recorded in the book of Romans it’s an eternal principle this is God’s program throughout all time and all generations to all the people of God, all things work together for good to them that love God. Now we know that the only ones who will love Him are those whom He has first loved that He has first saved but all things work together for good, for good. And as we look at our life as we look at our life if we’re a true child of God everything in our life is somehow I can’t explain it to you in every case how you know God knows but everything in our life has worked together for good to you and to me to all the elect of God and that includes the death of a loved one that includes all the tears we’ve shed and all the negative things we’ve had happened to us that includes all the bruises and all the afflictions and all the trials and all the tribulations everything your most miserable experience the most shameful thing you’ve ever done everything in your life has been transformed by God it’s nothing we did you know we behaved ourselves just like the people of the world and they’re under the wrath of God and they’ll spend an eternity in hell for many of the same things we have done but for God’s grace but God transforms them and changes those events and He turns it from evil to good He turns it so it will all work out for good for the people of God and sometimes we can see examples of this we’re maybe we were chastised and we were afflicted and we were troubled and maybe it brought about a change in us maybe it brought about repentance maybe it provided some spiritual benefit to us or maybe it just brought us to the very end of our self where we stopped struggling against God and we became broken before Him and contrite before Him and where we just became more as a child that now was ready to obey whatever it is however it worked out God has done or allowed these things to happen now we do sinful things and other people do sinful things we can’t say God is responsible for that sin but He could move His hand in restraint so that these sinful things could happen and yet it’s all under His control in that sense His overall providence but that He is controlling everything that takes place in this world and so God is encouraging us not to be discouraged not to be to the point where we think you know my life is a total mess and certainly God is against me God is against me and it could of course God is against the unsaved but the true child of God we know that God is for them for them these things work together for good for the elect of God as it says to them who are the called according to His purpose. And this is something that we could be we can be hit with we’re in the time of great tribulation great affliction this is a great dearth that’s come upon the land and yet all that all that has worked out for good hasn’t it? I mean it was terrible the first part of the great tribulation there’s confusion there is misunderstanding and nobody knows what’s going on and yet now God is revealed Himself He’s opened up the scriptures He has brought His people out of the churches and congregations for the intent purpose of blessing them and providing a situation where the Word of God can be a blessing upon the hearts of the hearers God is working all things for good as He has brought His judgment upon the churches and congregations. You know we can plan our lives and we can think we know what’s going on and we can think about what we’re going to do tomorrow and next week but we really we really have to admit that there’s a lot we don’t know there’s a lot that we have to leave in God’s hands and there’s a verse in Jeremiah it’s a good verse in Jeremiah 10:23 it says:

O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

See God is directing the course of our lives He’s leading us where He would have us to go just as we are seeing in a great way how God is working in the life of Jacob and His family. We’re getting a glimpse behind the scenes we’re seeing really this is coming down from God as He is turning them as the rivers of water where He will have them to go and He does so with all His people and He’s doing so with us with each one that is a true child of God. All right let’s go back to Genesis and look at 43:1-2 and it says:

And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.

So remember they did buy corn well they went to buy it and actually spend money for it which just illustrated that Biblical principle that freely you give and freely you receive and so Joseph of course is a picture of Christ as the merchant man who deals in the Gospel and He gives it away freely He gave them the corn for free and that’s how God works when it comes to the Gospel and yet they went back to Canaan and after telling their father of all the events that took place the father will not let Benjamin go. Reuben offers his two sons, you can slay my two sons if Benjamin does not return and that’s not acceptable surety that’s not an acceptable offer to Jacob and so he says Benjamin will not go with you but now they eat up the corn. I mean you have seventy five or so souls in the land of Canaan this is a large family and they could only carry so much corn and they come back and the corn they feed their livestock they feed their cattle then they can then have food they can have the eggs and they can have the meat that their livestock offer but once they eat up the corn they have nothing more to feed the cattle the cattle will die they’ll have no food and they will die so Jacob’s being pressed into a corner Jacob is being forced by circumstances to make a decision on Benjamin. Benjamin has to go to Egypt but he’s not going to just immediately give him up and so he says go again and buy us a little food there’s no mention of Benjamin from Jacob:

And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?

I can hear I think my own mother saying something like that if I had given certain information and it really had backfired and you can hear the frustration with Jacob why did you deal so ill with me because he knows he knows he’s going to be forced to let Benjamin go there’s no way around it if Benjamin doesn’t go he dies along with everyone else they need corn they must go to Egypt. You see how God who worked through Joseph historically but God behind the scenes even then historically is working it out where there’s no choice there’s no choice is there? Stay in Canaan and die or bring Benjamin and go to Egypt and you know some people like to say well this whole leaving the church this whole leaving the church it’s the idea of a man it’s the idea of those who follow the man and yet they’re not understanding they’re not seeing that this is God’s commandment this is God’s doing God has worked these things out where He has opened up His Word and His Word is forcing a decision to be made His Word is making it impossible for anyone to run and hide somewhere where they can avoid the fact that they have to make a decision they have to make a determination what am I going to do and there is a choice you can stay in Canaan and die of famine or you can bring Benjamin and Benjamin the Son of My right hand typifying the elect and go to Egypt. That’s the choice that it’s come down to just like today just like today as God reveals it’s time for the believers to leave the churches and He opens up scriptures such as Revelation 18 where the commandment is sent forth, Come out of her My people. You have a choice you can remain in the church that is experiencing a famine of hearing the Words of the Lord and die spiritually and any who remain in the church on the last day will come under the judgment of God and they will be cast into the fire into hell or you can go out of the church and go to the Lord Jesus Christ and you know we might ourselves and I remember there was a time where I was frustrated with that type or those types of options making that type of decision and you can see how Jacob a true child of God doesn’t like it one bit He doesn’t like the idea one bit he’s fighting against it for as long as he can resist to the very time where the corn is gone and now they need more corn and so his frustration is showing itself and verses 7-9:

And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:

So Judah, Judah is stepping up Judah is coming forth and if you know Judah and we would know him from what the Bible indicates this is big progress this is really indicating a transformation is taking place in the life of Judah. Judah was one of the more vocal brothers when Joseph was thrown into a pit Judah is the brother who had two sons and they were slain by the Lord for their wickedness. See God had been working on Judah He had been chastising him severely two sons two loved sons of Judah and God took them and there is that account with Tamar back in Genesis 38 Judah now was also experiencing famine and he was troubled he was along with the other brothers saying in Genesis 42:21:

And 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; therefore is this distress come upon us.

Judah is being made to feel and experience his guilt he sinned against Joseph you see just as all believers have sinned against God we’ve sinned against Christ he’s being broken before the Lord he’s coming to acknowledge his sin and now historically well he’s giving up his life he’s giving up his life for his brother he’s offering his life I will be a surety for him blame me if he does not come back and it’s very different from what Reuben had said. Reuben said slay my two sons now don’t touch me don’t touch me you can kill my two sons Judah is saying I will bear the blame forever I will be a surety and so he’s really been worked on or worked over by God and he is beginning to show forth some fruit to show that the Holy Spirit is working in his life but spiritually see God is telling us something else Judah can be used of God as a type of Christ and here I think the teaching is that God is indicating that Benjamin is super protected Benjamin is remember the Son of My right hand the Lord Jesus Christ is the right hand of God He’s the Son of My right hand which will be the body of believers who are sons of God and Benjamin’s a picture of the elect of God well not only does Joseph bear no ill towards Benjamin but wants to shower him with blessings as soon as he shows up in Egypt and that’s what everything is arranged for to get him there but even in going forth even in leaving Canaan God is indicating that the Lord Jesus Christ is guaranteeing He is guaranteeing the safety of the elect of God if they will obey if they will heed God’s command to leave Canaan or leave the church and to go out into the world. I mean talk about a safety net Benjamin had everything, everything in place for him we don’t even find Benjamin. Benjamin is not really we don’t hear him talking we don’t even see him except he’s being discussed time and again but Benjamin he’s going to very safely very safely extremely safely go to Egypt just as God is telling the believers when you come out of the church even though it looks it may look daring or it may look spiritually dangerous to you the church has been the place where the people of God have traditionally worshipped for nearly two thousand years and now I am indicating there’s a change made in My plan of things during this little season of great tribulation and it may seem threatening or it might seem that it’s just something that I don’t know if I can do God is assuring the child of God go forth go forth and Christ is telling us I will be your surety if anything would happen to you for leaving the church if anything wrong spiritually speaking would come upon you if you would come under the judgment of God I will bear the blame forever see I am your surety I am your guarantee that this is something that I will and want you to do and no harms going to come to you as no harm came to Benjamin no harm is intended it’s all for your blessing it’s all for your good.

OK we’ll stop here and we’ll pick it up next time in verse 10 where it says:

For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.

And it’s interesting that they lingered just as in the city of Sodom remember Lot lingered in the city before he came out of the city and so too do the brethren say we lingered we lingered here and we’ll see if there’s a connection to that next time we pick this up. Let’s have a word of prayer.