SOVERIEGN GRACE BLESSES TO BLESS

Genesis 41: 41-57

INTRODUCTION

The series we are working on in the last 15 chapters of Genesis is entitled “Sovereign Grace.”  What I mean by titling this series “Sovereign Grace” is to say that the story of Jacob and his sons is the story of God’s sovereignly and graciously working out his plan to save all his people.  Everything in this latter portion of Genesis points, not to human ability and effort, but to the God who is sovereignly gracious.  What do I mean by Sovereign Grace?  I mean three things by this phrase.

First, God acts freely in saving his people.  Psalm 135: 6 says, “The Lord does whatever he pleases in the heavens and on the earth; in the seas and all their depths.”  The apostle Paul at the end of Romans 11 says, “Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God.   How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out.  Who has known the mind of the Lord?  Or who has been his counselor?  Who has ever given to God that God should repay him?  For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be the glory forever.”  God is self-sufficient.  He does not need us.  He does not act as he does because of something we have done.  He acts according to his own purposes and in accordance with his own being.  The story of Abraham and his descendants in the book of Genesis is a prime example of God’s freely choosing to work with particular people according to his own purposes, not because he is obligated to do so.

Second, God acts contrary to what people deserve.  Not only does sovereign grace mean that God is not constrained to act in a particular way due to someone or something outside of himself but it also means that he acts contrary to what people deserve.  Grace is the opposite of justice.  Justice means that God gives people exactly what they deserve.  Every human deserves to be dead and suffering in hell.  However, God graciously, contrary to what we deserve cares for and acts to save the very people who deserve eternal punishment.  The story of Abraham and his descendants in the book of Genesis is a prime example of God’s choosing to work with people who are sinners.  He chooses to save them in spite of who they are, not because of who they are.

Finally, Sovereign Grace means that God acts irresistibly.  God promises Abraham that he will make him into a great nation and that all the nations of the world will be blessed through him.  He promises that his descendants will be as many as the sand on the seashore.  He promises that they will be his people and he will be their God.  Then we watch as God irresistibly fulfills his promises to Abraham and his descendants.  He not only protects and provides for them but he so works that they actually trust him.  We observe how those whom God chooses live by faith, whereas those whom God rejects live in unbelief.

Sovereign grace presupposes that people are willing slaves to sin, imprisoned in the misery sin produces and headed for an eternity of misery.  People cannot do anything to free themselves from their condition.  In addition, no one deserves to have God do anything to free him or her.  However, God sovereignly and graciously intervenes in the lives of individuals and rescues them from their condition.  That is what we have been observing in the life of Joseph.  When he was 17 years old, God freely and graciously promised him that he was going to be the greatest of Jacob’s twelve sons and that he was going to be the one who rescued Jacob’s family.  However, shortly after receiving these promises from God he was beaten and then sold into slavery by ten of his brothers.  He eventually ended up as the personal slave of Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s bodyguard.  While he served his master so faithfully that his entire household was blessed, Potiphar’s wife attempted to seduce him.  When he refused to give in to her advances he was falsely accused of rape and thrown into a dungeon.  Again, while serving faithfully in the prison he helped the cupbearer to Pharaoh who had justly been thrown into prison with him.  When the cupbearer was released from prison, rather than returning the favor and getting Joseph out of prison, he forgot about Joseph and left him to languish in the pit of Potiphar’s prison.  So Joseph is helpless and hopeless in the prison for two more years.  Suddenly, God intervenes and sends a dream to Pharaoh that no one can interpret.  The cupbearer remembers the faithful Hebrew slave who is a prisoner and tells Pharaoh that he can interpret dreams.  Joseph is brought to Pharaoh.  He successfully explains Pharaoh’s dream and proposes a solution to the problem that God reveals through the dream.  Pharaoh and all his wise men then see this young, Jewish slave and prisoner as the Savior of Egypt. 

As we examine the second half of Genesis 41, we will see what happens to men and women when God rescues them out of their slavery and misery.  What we see happen to Joseph is what happened to our Lord Jesus Christ after his suffering and because of his suffering.  What we see happen to Joseph is what happens to everyone who believes in Christ.  The experience of Joseph stands as a picture of the condition that every Christian is brought into and that will one day be our experience for eternity.

MAIN POINT

When Sovereign Grace rescues people out of their slavery and misery…

I.  Their glory is greater than what could be asked or imagined (vv. 41-45)

I made the point two weeks ago that Joseph’s plan for his life was significantly less than God’s plan for his life.  In 40:14-15 we see Joseph’s desire is to be set free from his imprisonment and to have his good name restored.  What we discover in chapter 41 is whereas Joseph planned on Pharaoh being his savior, God planned on him being Pharaoh’s Savior, indeed the whole world’s Savior.  Whereas Joseph would have been content to simply be a free man, God wanted him to be a prince and ruler over the entire nation of Egypt.  What would have happened if God had granted Joseph his request two years before his exaltation to be second in command of Egypt?  He would have been a free man in Egypt, a thousand miles away from his family.  Who would have hired him?  How would he have supported himself?  Whom would he have married?  Could he have returned to Canaan and his murderous brothers?  From Joseph’s point of view nothing would have been better than being freed from the prison and having his good name restored.  There is no way he would have ever asked God for the glory that awaited him.  There is no way he would have even imagined the happiness that was in store for him.

Look at the glory that is given to Joseph in a moment in time, glory that he would never have received if he would have gotten his way two years ago.  He receives Pharaoh’s ring, the symbol of his power and authority.  He goes from wearing the filthy rags of an imprisoned slave to being clothed with royal raiment.  He takes off the chains of prison and has a chain of gold put around his neck.  He goes from serving prisoners and bowing down to cruel prison guards to riding in a chariot and having men run before him calling out, “Bow down!”  He goes from obeying the orders of others to being placed in a position of power that you and I cannot even imagine.  No one in Egypt can enter into a business contract or move from place to place without the permission of Joseph.  Finally, his place is firmly established among the elite of Egypt by his marriage to the daughter of the most honored priest in the nation.  He is not simply an outsider brought in to fix a problem but is embraced by the Egyptian ruling class as one of their own.

My dear friends, the glory and happiness that God has given and will give to everyone who belongs to Christ is infinitely greater than anything you have ever dreamed of obtaining.  There are many here who are longing for God to deliver them from some great misery.  They believe that if only they could escape some painful relationship or some agonizing circumstance or some terrible turmoil then they would be happy.  They live wondering if God loves them.  They are desperate for God to remove them now from the difficulty.  Others here are longing for and hoping in some anticipated event.  The anticipation of marriage, graduation, a new job, a boyfriend, the end of the semester, a vacation, a new car, a new computer or some other earthly joy fills their mind and heart with joy.  Others are simply happy in the conditions of their life.  They are healthy and financially secure.  Their lives are full with family and friends and so they are content.  However, what God gives to everyone who belongs to Christ is infinitely greater than the best possible life you could imagine on planet earth.  C.S. Lewis said it this way: “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.  We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.  We are far too easily pleased.” 

Isn’t that the case with Joseph?  He would have been content to be free from prison.  God wanted to make him a prince.  Would Joseph have become second in command in Egypt if God had delivered him from the prison two years before this?  Absolutely not.  We beg God to give us some earthly pleasure or to free us from some misery and question his love when he does not give it to us not realizing that his goal is to give us glory that we cannot fathom.  When God rescues a sinner from the misery of sin and from the eternal destruction that a sinner deserves he does not rescue them simply to give them a pain free life on planet earth.  When God says that he loves you he really means it.  He is not content to give you just the few and paltry joys of health, wealth and a safe life here.  He aims to make you infinitely and eternally happy in the enjoyment of himself.  Our problem is that we want our salvation now and we want it in the hard currency of the American Dream.

How do I know that the glory we see Joseph experiencing here is not a promise by God to us that we will experience prosperity on planet earth?  Many teachers in the American, evangelical church take the earthly prosperity of OT believers as promises that God intends to make us prosperous on planet earth.  I am absolutely convinced that this is the wrong way to read these passages.  I am convinced that the prosperity of Joseph, of Abraham, of Isaac, of David of Job point to the eternal joy of living with God forever in heaven, not to the joy of a prosperous life here.  The reasons I believe this are numerous, let me just give you one.  In 1 Peter 1:10-11 we are told, “Concerning this gospel, the prophets who spoke of the grace to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care; trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.”  The OT prophets, like Moses, who wrote Genesis, knew that they were not simply recording the history of Jewish people but were describing the sufferings of the Messiah and the glory that the Messiah would gain.  We know that the glory which Jesus has gained is the glory of now being seated at the right hand of his father and that the fullness of his glory will be experienced in the future when he comes again to be marveled at by all the redeemed of God.  This is the glory to which Joseph’s glory points.  Joseph’s glory also points to the glory we now possess in Christ and that will be fully experienced by us when Christ returns.

Yesterday on my way to my study, I followed a van that had three bumper stickers.  One said, “God is Awesome”, another said “Jesus is Lord” and the other one said, “Green Bay Packers”.  Here’s the question that popped into my head, “What gets their heart pumping, the pitch of their voice rising more, the promise of eternal life forever with God or the promise of Green Bay winning the Super Bowl?”  What gets them excited more, the fact that if they belong to Christ they have been adopted as his children or that Green Bay is 8-3?  I’m not criticizing them anymore than I criticize myself.  You see, God wants to make us princes in his eternal kingdom, sharing his glory, ruling over angels but we just want to get out of the misery we are currently in or we just want successful children.  God rescued you from your sin and the misery of death and hell to give you infinite and eternal joy in his presence forever.  This is what he is after and he is wisely working out the details of your life so that he can give you that glory.  God was working in the 13 years of Joseph’s misery to bring him to this place.  Though Joseph had no idea how all this was going to end in glory, God did.  Though you have no idea how all the details of your life are working together for this glorious end, God does.  In fact, if you belong to Christ, you cannot even begin to imagine the splendor that awaits you.  There is no joy on planet earth that can even begin to compare with the extravagant joy that is yours and will be yours in Christ.

When Sovereign Grace rescues people out of their slavery and misery…

II. Their abundance makes them forget their suffering in the joy of God’s provision (vv. 46-52)

Verses 46-52 record for us the abundance of the seven years of plenty that God has sent to prepare Egypt for the seven years of famine.  Here we have the record of Joseph’s life in the land of his slavery, the land of his affliction, enjoying the abundance of God’s blessing.  Joseph stores up grain that surpasses the sand by the sea, which is beyond counting.  Joseph goes from portioning out the daily ration of prison swill to ignominious and nameless prisoners to storing up mountains of golden grain in all the cities of Egypt.  He is the hero of the entire nation.  He is the most well known and well loved of men in the country of Egypt.  His words are honored and obeyed. 

Now look at vv. 50-52 to see how Joseph understands his current circumstances.  During these years of abundance Joseph has two sons.  I want you to notice two things about the names he gives to his two sons.  The names of the boys point us to the wonder of Joseph at the ways of God in his life.  First, notice that his first son’s name points to the power of God’s mercy to eliminate all the pain and misery of his past from his life.  He sees in the abundant grain and in the provision of a son the love of God being showered upon him.  The experience of God’s love causes him to forget the 13 years of misery and the even greater pain of his brother’s hatred and his separation from his beloved father.  Please don’t miss this.  His present experience of God’s abundant love sets him free from the bitterness and despair of 13 years of suffering.  This is the Christian’s experience.

This is what Paul means when he says, “Whatever was to my credit I now consider loss compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ…  I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering…  Not that I have already obtained all this or already have been made perfect…  But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize, for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Paul forgets his past, its glory and its pain, due to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.  The Christian is so amazed at the enormity of God’s love for him in Christ and at the abundant resources for living a holy life that God has given her in Christ that she forgets the past and looks only at the abundance that surrounds her.  There is only one way to escape the bitterness and despair of the pain from your past, whether it is the pain caused by your own sins or by the sins of others against you.  It is the way of amazing grace.  Be astounded at the fact that you are loved by God, sealed with the Holy Spirit, forgiven of your sins, adopted by God as a dear son or daughter.  Be startled at the assurances and promises of God’s word to you.  Let the abundance of his love for you wash away the depravity and deprivation of your past.

Second, notice that Joseph is astonished that God has made him fruitful in the land of his suffering.  Joseph is stunned that the blessing he is experiencing is not in the land of Promise, the land of Canaan, rather it is in the land of his suffering.  It seems to me that Joseph, based on the two dreams in chapter 37, expected to experience glory and fruitfulness among his own people in the land of Canaan.  He is amazed that God has overwhelmed him with this abundance while still living in the land of his suffering.  He’s not home yet but he is enjoying God’s abundant mercy while living as an exile, a stranger in a strange land.

You have often heard me say, as I did again just a few moments ago, that God is not aiming at giving you a happy life on planet earth.  When I say that, I do not mean that God does not want you to be joyful and happy until you get to heaven.  Jesus really does offer us an abundant life right now.  But it is not an abundant life as humans define abundance.  It is not the abundance of happy marriages or happy children or happy careers or healthy bodies.  Here, in the land of our suffering, God intends for us to be astounded with and rejoicing in the abundance of his kindness towards us.  This isn’t heaven but this can be a place where we begin to taste the joy that makes heaven, heaven.  We can and we ought to experience something of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  We can and we ought to be experiencing something of the fruit of influencing others for Christ.  Joseph is startled to see his life bearing fruit while he continues to live in the land of his suffering, just as we ought to be startled to see ourselves bearing fruit while we still live in a world beset by sin and the misery of sin.  We can be amazed that God uses such sinful people as us to accomplish good things for his kingdom.  We can be full of joy as we see our character and our behavior changed by the power of God’s grace.  When you see that you hate your sin and you love God rejoice and be glad at the work of God in your life.  When you see others taking steps towards Christ because of your service for Christ, rejoice and be glad at the fruit bearing work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

When Sovereign Grace rescues people out of their slavery and misery…

III. They become the channel of salvation for other miserable people (vv. 53-57)

The seven years of famine begin, just as Joseph said.  As I’ve said before, this famine is an expression of God’s wrath against human sin.  All the suffering in the world is due to God’s displeasure with human sin.  All the suffering in the world is God’s forewarning of the eternal and infinite suffering that is coming upon the wicked in hell.  The suffering that is in the world is put there by God to wake us up to our need for a Savior.  Look at how this worked in the lives of the Egyptians.  In v. 54 we are told that whereas every other country had no food, in the land of Egypt there was food.  In other words, not only had Joseph stored food up for the entire community but also individual Egyptians had stored up their own food.  They believed Joseph’s warning that famine was coming.  However, their supplies of food quickly ran out.  They could not escape the wrath of God by their own resources.  Therefore, they go in despair to Pharaoh, crying out for him to provide them with food.  Look at what Pharaoh told the people to do in v. 55.  He tells them, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you to do.”

Here is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Humans feel the weight of their sin and begin to feel the threat of God’s judgment upon them for their sin.  They try to use their own resources to escape the wrath but to no avail and so they cry out to God to save them.  God tells them to go to Jesus and to do whatever he tells them, then they will be saved.  Joseph stands here as a type of Christ.  This 37-year-old Jewish man has been made the ruler and savior of Egypt and the king commands everyone to obey his word if they wish to be saved.  Listen to this word from the first Christian sermon as recorded in Acts 2, “‘Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.’  When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what must we do to be saved?’  Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.’  With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’  Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”  Or hear the word of the apostle in the letter to the Hebrews, “…he (Jesus) became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”  Dear friend, do you want to escape the fire that is coming upon the world?  Go to Jesus and do what he tells you to do.  He will receive you if you will go to him to escape the wrath.

But now lets consider Joseph in his humanity, as a forgiven sinner.  How do sinners who are expecting a glory that they cannot even begin to imagine and who are currently experiencing an abundance of God’s mercy towards them relate to other sinners?  How do Christians who have been declared not guilty but perfectly righteous, who have been born again by God’s Spirit and who are longing for the return of Christ live in the present moment?  They seek to relieve the misery brought upon others by sin and the curse of sin.  Their concern is not only with their immediate neighbors but with the nations of the world.  Do you see this in vv. 56-57?  Joseph opened the storehouses of God’s blessing in order to provide relief from the expression of God’s wrath against sin.  This is exactly what we are to do as we live with and love sinners who are living in the land of famine.  We are not simply to relieve their physical, worldly distress but to seek to give them the bread of heaven that they may eat and never hunger again.  We are to give them the living water that they may drink and never thirst again.  Like Joseph we are to use our glorious position as sons and daughters of God and our abundant provisions of mercy to provide life for those living in the misery of sin.  We are to do this even while we live in the “land of our suffering”.

Here we see Joseph once again serving his enemies for their good, just like he did with his brothers, with Potiphar and in the prison.  People who have been rescued out of slavery and misery, who have been promised an incomprehensibly glorious future and are experiencing the amazing kindness of God in the present can only do one thing, pour themselves out in love for others.  They risk everything and give up all in order to love, just like Jesus gave up everything to love them.

Most of you know the story of how Jim Elliot and four other missionaries were killed in 1954 as they attempted to bring the gospel to a cannibalistic tribe in the jungles of Ecuador.  What many of you may not know is the story of what happened after these men were murdered by the Aucas.  Jim Elliot’s wife, Elizabeth and Nate Saint’s sister went back to the Aucas a year later and eventually won their confidence.  Elizabeth was accompanied by her and Jims’ two-year-old daughter.  Through their persistent witness to Christ the majority of the Aucas tribe was converted to Christ.  In fact, several of the men who murdered the missionaries became elders in the church that was planted because of the efforts of these two women.  Elizabeth Elliot and the sister of Nate Saint stand as shining examples of how Christians live.  What marks us is that because we have been promised a future that is beyond imagination and because we are living in the abundance of God’s love for us, we delight to pour out love on others, especially upon those who act as if they are our enemies.  We go to those who murder our husbands in order to bear witness to the love of Christ and so rescue them from the misery of sin.  We take risks for the sake of love because we cannot be harmed.

When Sovereign Grace rescues people out of their slavery and misery…