Living Beyond Egypt
Genesis 50:1-26
May 17, 2015
Well, this morning we are bringing to a close
The study of this fascinating book we call Genesis.
It is far more than history, it is “The Gospel According to Moses”
As Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt,
Not only did he want them to know their family history,
He wanted them to know the God of their fathers
And all that He had done for them.
Moses used the history of Israel to reveal the gospel of their great God.
• Adam taught us the dangers of sin
• Noah taught us the inevitability of judgment
• Abraham taught us the grace of salvation
• Jacob taught us the necessity of sanctification
• Joseph taught us the reality of providence
• And now we are here at the end of the book learning the final lesson.
That lesson is one of ETERNITY.
Israel settled in Egypt by God’s design.
• God had placed them there.
• God wanted them there.
But their stay there was only temporary.
• Egypt was not to be their permanent home.
• God was merely using Egypt to prepare them for their permanent home.
And so the last couple of weeks we’ve been talking about
Life “Beyond Egypt”
We listened as
• Jacob enjoyed every possibly comfort that Egypt could afford,
• Yet he was completely unwilling to grow comfortable with the notion of settling
there.
• Jacob told his boys to promise that when he died they would bury him in
Canaan.
• Then Jacob blessed his boys.
• First he reminded Joseph of God’s promise and gave him a double
Portion in the land of Canaan
• Then he prophesied over all of his sons, particularly reminding them
of the Savior who would come from the tribe of Judah.
It has all been a focus on what is coming, not on what is.
And we have taken those reminders
And diligently sought to apply them to our own lives.
• We all understand the dangers of sin
• We all understand the inevitability of judgment
• We all understand salvation by grace through faith
• We all understand the necessity of salvation
• We all understand the reality of providence
And it is just as important that we all understand that
All of those things are to prepare us for eternity.
All God did in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph
Was to prepare Israel for the day to come, not the present day.
And it is just as true for you and me.
The Bible promises that this life is but a vapor, but eternity is forever.
We would be foolish to make our decisions
Only with a view to what makes this life enjoyable
As opposed to what will make eternity enjoyable.
Jacob has been teaching us that.
Jacob has been teaching that to his boys.
Well this morning I want to show you that Joseph has listened.
Joseph took what his father had to say and applied it to his life.
Where it would have been extremely easy for Joseph
Just to settle in Egypt, he chose not to.
Joseph was the number two man.
Joseph had control of the nation
Joseph lived in the lap of luxury
But Joseph listened to his father
And decided to live for eternity and not the present.
And Genesis chapter 50 shows us what that looks like.
So, if you have also listened to the advice of Jacob
And decided that you too would like to live for eternity and not just for the comforts of this life, then this morning I give you the example of Joseph to show you what that looks like.
There are three things Joseph does in this final chapter
That helps us see what it looks like
To live “Beyond Egypt” and to live for eternity.
#1 HE HONORED THE PETITION OF HIS FATHER
Genesis 50:1-13
Genesis 49:33 “When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.”
Jacob died.
He had made his sons promise to bury him in Canaan,
And it would seem that it is now time to fulfill that promise.
But first we are met with the initial response to Jacob’s death.
(1-3) “Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him and kissed him. Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Now forty days were required for it, for such is the period required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.”
The main thing I want you to recognize there is that
It is obvious that Egypt had embraced Jacob.
It may have been purely in response to their love of Joseph,
But either way the Egyptians clearly loved Jacob.
He was not treated as a loathsome Hebrew, but more like a king.
• They embalmed him
• They mourned for him
• The death of Jacob was a big deal to them.
Why do you need to see that?
Because now that Jacob has died,
Joseph and his brothers are faced with a dilemma.
They are faced with the request that their father made
To bury him back in Canaan.
But in order to do that,
They must run the risk of insulting the nation of Egypt.
My wife won’t like the analogy, but most of you have seen that great theological movie called “Lonesome Dove”
If you’ll remember Gus dies in Lonesome dove and his request to his friend is to take him back to Texas for his burial.
On the way Captain Col runs into Clara who wants Gus to be buried at her home. Col refuses because that was not what Gus wanted and Clara announces how much she despises Col for it.
At the end, after Gus is buried, Col says something to the effect of “I guess that will teach me to be more careful about what I promise in the future”
I bring that up because that’s the type of dilemma Joseph is now facing.
In order to bury his father he has to publicly reject Egypt;
A nation that clearly loves him and Jacob.
• What sort of message will that send?
• What sort of political ramifications would there be?
Beyond that, Joseph will have to get permission from Pharaoh.
(4-5) “When the days of mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak to Pharaoh, saying, ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am about to die; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.'”
That may in fact SEEM like a pretty innocent request.
We don’t foresee that there should be any problem there.
But remember who is writing this book…
Remember who is hearing this sermon…
Do you remember what happened when Moses came to Pharaoh asking something similar?
Exodus 5:1-9 “And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.'” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and besides, I will not let Israel go.” Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, otherwise He will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labors!” Again Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!” So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people and their foremen, saying, “You are no longer to give the people straw to make brick as previously; let them go and gather straw for themselves. “But the quota of bricks which they were making previously, you shall impose on them; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are lazy, therefore they cry out, ‘ Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ “Let the labor be heavier on the men, and let them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words.”
There is no reason to assume that Joseph
Will get any different of a response than Moses did.
MY POINT IS:
In order for Joseph to honor the request of his father,
He would have to stare the potential for adversity right in the eye.
The easy decision would be to bury Jacob in Egypt.
• Egypt loved him
• Certainly burying his father there would show his own allegiance
• There would be no need to even bother Pharaoh
But Joseph wasn’t looking for easy, he was looking beyond Egypt.
Now FORTUNATELY Pharaoh was compliant
And Egypt didn’t give Joseph any trouble.
So Joseph and his brother departed to bury Jacob.
(READ 50:6-11)
And then comes the point of the first 13 verses.
(12-13) “Thus his sons did for him as he had charged them; for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field for a burial site from Ephron the Hittite.”
“Thus his sons did for him as he had charged them”
They faced the potential dangers and hardships
And honored their father anyway.
This is one of the ways we know that Joseph was living beyond Egypt.
Incidentally, God does this all the time.
Imagine each time Joseph prayed to God from his prison cell
Asking for release to return home.
• Would granting that request have made Joseph happy with God?
• Would denying that request have run the risk of making Joseph angry?
But God had to choose what was best for eternity, not for today
…and He always does.
And this is what we are called to do.
This life is filled with decisions.
Some of those decisions are difficult, some are easy,
But all should be made with a view to eternity.
One of my favorite quotes from Adrian Rogers is:
“Men are like rivers, they grow crooked from following the path of least resistance”
Sometimes you have to make a decision
That is good for eternity, not for the present.
This is a great indicator in your life
About whether you are living for today or eternity.
Matthew 10:39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”
That was the very essence of what Jesus was referring to.
You can’t keep both lives, you must lose one of them.
Joseph risked his present comforts for an eternal promise,
This is what it means to live “Beyond Egypt”
He Honored the Petition of His Father
#2 HE SOUGHT THE PRESERVATION OF HIS BROTHERS
Genesis 50:14-21
Here is the second major event of the chapter.
• Jacob is buried, Joseph and his brothers have returned to Egypt.
• And all of a sudden Joseph’s brothers realize that the buffer is gone.
• They are in a dangerous situation.
• If Joseph wants to get even, nothing is there to stop him.
And so the brothers decide to approach Joseph
In repentance and humility.
(14-18) “After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father. When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father charged before he died, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, “Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”‘ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
Incidentally, if you want a good example of repentance and humility,
This is one.
Certainly it would have been nice if the brothers had done this sooner,
But regardless of the timing, they are doing it correctly.
• They acknowledge their guilt and iniquity,
• They request forgiveness,
• They come in humility,
• The promise submission.
That is a good picture of repentance.
And yet the ball is totally in Joseph’s court.
If Joseph does bear a grudge,
He has full authority to do to them whatever he desires.
But look at Joseph’s answer.
(One of the greatest passages on forgiveness in the entire Bible)
(18-21) “Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. “So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”
I don’t want to dwell here forever,
Because the chapter isn’t just about forgiveness,
But about an eternal perspective.
However, it will benefit you to stop and look at these verses a minute
And remember what true forgiveness is and how you do it.
You can see 3 reasons Joseph was able to forgive.
1) HE REALIZED GOD’S PLACE (19)
“Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place?”
Joseph realized that condemnation and vengeance
Were not his to deal out.
Romans 14:10-13 “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD,EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.” So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this — not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.”
Romans 12:19-21 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Joseph recognized that He is not God and punishment for iniquity
Is God’s prerogative, not his.
If you will realize that, it will make forgiveness easier for you too.
2) HE RECOGNIZED GOD’S PROVIDENCE (20)
Regardless of how difficult the situation was,
Joseph was willing to see that it wasn’t all just a result of sinful men.
Joseph could also see that God had orchestrated this.
It wasn’t just his brothers that did this, it was God.
“you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”
Joseph was willing to see that the pain he suffered
Was used by God for a greater good.
And when you realize that
Even your hardships in life are being used for your good,
It is much easier to forgive the people involved.
3) HE REFLECTED GOD’S PERSONALITY (21)
Joseph forgave and chose mercy and grace.
He willingly let go of the sin, and chose to be merciful.
This is a reflection of God’s personality.
Matthew 5:43-45 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.”
Colossians 3:13 “bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”
Joseph was able to forgive
Because he recognized God as being forgiving.
Forgiveness is easier when you recognize God’s forgiveness.
In fact a person who won’t forgive reveals a person
Who has never recognized the gravity of their own sin,
Nor learned to appreciate God’s forgiveness in their own life.
And so you see Joseph forgive his brothers and HOW he did it.
What I want you to understand is WHY he did it.
Joseph forgave them because he was looking to eternity.
He clearly understood God’s eternal plan.
All of his hardship was from God “to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”
If God’s purpose was to “preserve” people, how could Joseph be walking in step with God’s plan if he in turn chose to condemn them?
Joseph chose unity and peace because that was God’s desire.
From a human stand point he had every right to punish.
But Joseph wasn’t thinking about today,
He was thinking about tomorrow.
And regardless of what those boys had done,
Joseph was looking to the descendants and the preservation of a people.
Again, he made a decision based on eternity, not the present.
And like it or not this is what forgiveness always is.
You never forgive a person for the sake of today,
You always do it for the sake of tomorrow.
When you forgive, you swallow a hurt today
So that tomorrow can be peaceful.
Joseph was clearly living for eternity, not for today.
• He risked present comforts for an eternal promise and Honored the Petition of His Father
• He forsook present rights for the sake of eternal peace and Sought the Preservation of His Brothers
#3 HE PROCLAIMED THE PROMISE OF HIS GOD
Genesis 50:22-26
It is true that Joseph was not the next patriarch,
However we do find him here operating in a similar role.
God has clearly blessed Joseph and even rewarded him for the adversity that he walked through.
The end of Joseph’s life actually reads similar to the end of Job’s life,
Who was also repaid for the adversity he endured.
James 5:10-11 “As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”
Certainly that proved true in Joseph’s life as well.
But now Joseph has also come to the end of his life
And we find that he most certainly laid hold
To all that his father had taught him.
Notice what Joseph says:
(24) “Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.”
And let me tell you why Joseph saying that
Is different than all those before him.
• Who told Abraham about the land of promise?
• Who told Isaac about the land of promise?
• Who told Jacob about the land of promise?
But Joseph never had a direct revelation from God.
God made that promise to “Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.”
God never made that promise specifically to Joseph.
He is merely believing what his father told him.
And yet Joseph is not only believing that promise, but banking on it.
Joseph proclaimed that promise
As though he had heard it from the lips of God.
And then Joseph acted on it.
(25-26) “Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.” So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.”
The writer of Hebrews called what Joseph did there an act of faith.
Hebrews 11:22 “By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.”
Here is a man facing death and yet clinging to the promise.
His eyes are not fixed on the temporal, but the eternal.
Do you want some other examples of this?
Take Joseph of Arimathea:
Matthew 27:57-58 “When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.”
If Joseph had only been looking at today, there is no way he risks his reputation and his life to honor Jesus.
But Joseph was looking to eternity.
How about this man?
Luke 23:40-43 “But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
There too is a man looking beyond the here and now.
This is precisely what Joseph is doing.
• He risked present comforts for an eternal promise and honored the request of his father
• He rejected present rights for the sake of eternal peace and sought the preservation of his brothers
• He recognized that after this life awaits eternity and he proclaimed the promise of his God.
Joseph is looking beyond Egypt.
And that is the call for you and me as well.
Regardless of how good or how hard it may be,
• We are only going to be in Egypt for a short while.
• We are looking for the land of promise.
• We are looking for a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
• We are looking for a city whose architect and builder is God.
Philippians 3:17-21 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”
Follow the example of Godly men and women
Who lived for eternity, and not today.
(The Abraham’s – Isaac’s – Jacob’s – Joseph’s)
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
That is the call.
And so as we bring the book of Genesis to a close,
If you want to sum up the message, it is really quite easy.
• Sin kills (Adam)
• Judgement is sure (Noah)
• Salvation is by grace through faith (Abraham)
• All whom God saves He conforms into the image of His Son (Jacob)
• God causes all things to work together for good (Joseph)
• So set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.
And do you want to know who learned that last lesson?
It was none other than the man who wrote this book.
(Moses)
Hebrews 11:24-27 “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.”
The book of Genesis was not some history lesson to Moses.
To Moses this story was real…it was the gospel of God.
He had banked his life on this story.
He had come to believe the truths he preached about
Sin And Judgment,
Salvation And Sanctification,
Providence And Eternity.
Moses believed it and patterned his life after it.
And how he writes so that you will follow his lead.
The message of Genesis is the message of faith.
It is the call (like Abraham, like Jacob, like Joseph, like Moses)
To forsake this life and its passing pleasures and to reach for eternity.
It is the call to live beyond Egypt.
And that is the call of the gospel.
Matthew 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”
