“The Hope of Redemption (Genesis 50:1-26)” | 9/05/2021
Genesis 50:1-26 | 9/05/21 | Will DuVal
My wife Polly and I shouldn’t have gotten married. At least not WHEN we did, and WHY we did. We were both young and stupid, immature. She got married for the security; I got married for the sex. Neither of us had any idea what we were doing, nor did we appreciate God’s purpose for marriage: to glorify Him.
But marriage was just one “shouldn’t” in a LONG list of “shouldn’t”s that in many ways, tell the story of my life:
* My parents probably shouldn’t have ever gotten married either, and had kids.
* My dad shouldn’t have left our family.
* I shouldn’t have hardened my heart and hated God.
* I shouldn’t have idolized success in school and sports instead.
* I shouldn’t have emotionally abused my HS girlfriend.
* Shouldn’t have pretended to be a Christian in college to make friends.
* Shouldn’t have gone to Vanderbilt Divinity School.
* Shouldn’t have been offered a job in youth ministry.
* Shouldn’t have been FIRED from that job.
* Shouldn’t have lied and hid from my wife for so many years.
* YOU shouldn’t have let me start preaching here 6 years ago, with NO training and NO experience.
My life has been FILLED with “shouldn’t”s. But I can stand here before you today - healed, restored, forgiven, and loved - because I serve a God of “nevertheless”s.
“I shouldn’t have sinned, strayed, made that decision, pursued that girl, that career, watched that, said that, thought that, done that… nevertheless GOD…”
Perhaps you’re here today, realizing that your life, too, has been littered with “shouldn’t”s. My hope this morning is to encourage you with the gospel: the good news, that there really is a God of “nevertheless”es, and you can REST today in the knowledge that you don’t possess the power to RUIN, what GOD declares REDEEMED. That’s what we’re talking about: the HOPE of REDEMPTION.
-
Redemption can be understood a few different ways, biblically, but the definition we are most concerned with this morning is simply: to bring good out of evil”. To take something BAD, and transform it, and USE it instead, for good. We’ve all heard the saying, “When life gives you lemons…”, what do you DO? Make LEMONADE, right? Well, God is the ultimate lemonade-maker. God can take 6-month old lemons you stuffed in the back of the produce drawer and completely FORGOT about; now they look like a SCIENCE-experiment gone VERY wrong, all black and moldy - GOD can make the most delicious lemonade you’ve ever TASTED out of them. Because God is SOVEREIGN, and God is SUPERNATURAL. He has ALL power, and His power is beyond anything that this world has or even understands.
And we’ve seen God’s redemptive power on full display, for 49 chapters now of Genesis. I think it would be a fair SUMMARY of the book of Genesis, to call it a book of “shouldn’t”s that get REDEEMED by a God of “nevertheless”es.
And that is NOWHERE more evident, than in the life of the patriarch JOSEPH. We’ve been following Joseph’s life for some 12 chapters now, since we were first introduced to him back in ch37 - Joseph’s story constitutes a full ONE-FOURTH of the book of Genesis; consider that, friends: God spent just 31 verses describing how he created the entire UNIVERSE, but He’s gonna spend 419 verses telling Joseph’s story. Why is that?
Well, in keeping with our theme for the morning, I think ONE of the reasons has to be that God is emphasizing for us just how impressive and important His power of REDEMPTION really is. Creating a whole universe from NOTHING is one thing. But fixing broken sinners like you and me, Jacob and Joseph, all his lousy brothers, now THAT takes some WORK!
But God is faithful to do it, to redeem. And He’s proven that time and time again for 49 chapters. So I want to do 3 things together this morning: First, I want to REMIND us of God’s redemption all throughout Genesis up to this point; do a little RECAP here in our final week. Second, I want to finish Joseph’s story with you, chapter 50, so we can fully appreciate how God worked redemption in and through HIS life as well. And finally, I want us to turn and consider our OWN lives - make this personal: “How have I seen God’s power of redemption at work in MY OWN life, to bring good out of evil?”
Would you stand with me… Genesis ch50, vv15 - END:
“When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people[b] should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph's own.[c] 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.” This is the word of the Lord… Let’s Pray...
[[[#1 - “Redemption in GENESIS (chs1-36)”]]]
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth… And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” (1:1, 31) For two chapters. But then we HUMANS decided at the prompting of Satan, the serpent, that WE would make for better gods than Yahweh, so we broke God’s one rule, and ate of the forbidden fruit; the world’s first “shouldn’t”.
Nevertheless, God redeemed their lives, by providing the world’s first animal sacrifice in their place, to die the death they deserved. Moreover, God promised to raise up an offspring from the woman, who would one day crush the head of the serpent.
But it quickly becomes clear that Eve’s direct descendants will NOT fulfill that promise. Her righteous son Abel is KILLED by his own brother, Cain; the world WORST interpersonal “shouldn’t” - “thou shall not MURDER.”
Nevertheless, God redeemed, and not only ransomed Cain’s life, but raised up for Eve another child, Seth, and it was through HIS line, that “people began to call upon the name of the Lord.” (4:26)
For two more chapters. But by chapter 6, “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man...” (6:5-7) And He did - rightfully, and mercifully so - in the Flood.
Nevertheless, “Noah found favor - found GRACE - in the eyes of the Lord.” (6:8)
And God blessed Noah, and his sons. But Noah did what he shouldn’t, and got drunk, and his son Ham did what HE shouldn’t and “uncovered his father’s nakedness” (9:22), and for it, Ham’s son, Canaan, gets CURSED. And two chapters later, Canaan’s cursed nephew, Nimrod, leads another worldwide insurrection against God’s rule, by attempting to build a Tower from Babel, all the way up to heaven, to replace God.
Nevertheless, God in His mercy, came down, “confused their language... and dispersed them over the face of all the earth” (11:9). And some 4 centuries later, God graciously chose ONE man, Abram, with whom to make a COVENANT: to make Abram into “a great nation”, a people for God’s own possession; to give them a LAND, the Promised Land; and through that people, to bless ALL the “families of the earth” (12:1-3).
And Abram’s life was FILLED with “shouldn’t”s and “nevertheless”es:
*He shouldn’t have faithlessly left the Promised Land, just 7 verses after God brought him there; nevertheless, God redemptively used his sojourn to Egypt to prosper Abram richly.
*Abram shouldn’t have doubted God’s promises; nevertheless, God redemptively confirmed His covenant in ch15.
*Abram shouldn’t have taken matters into his own hands and slept with Sarai’s servant Hagar; nevertheless, God redemptively gave him Ishmael.
* Abram shouldn’t have LAUGHED in God’s face, when He promised to give Sarai a son in her old age; nevertheless, God redemptively offered Abram a new name, the sign of circumcision, and a son, Isaac.
* Abraham shouldn’t have lied to Abimelech in ch20; nevertheless, God redemptively enriched Abraham all the more, and secured land for him in Canaan.
And after 10 chapters of “shouldn’t”s and getting it wrong, Abraham finally gets it RIGHT in ch22, when God calls him to sacrifice his son Isaac, as a test of faith. Abraham passed the test, and his faith was credited to him as righteousness.
* By faith, he bought even more land in Canaan, in which to bury Sarah.
* By faith, he sent his servant out to find a wife for Isaac.
* And by faith, Isaac prayed for his wife, Rebekah, “for she was barren” (25:21). And God granted that prayer, and gave her twin boys: Esau and Jacob.
And the NEXT 10 chapters - 27 thru 36 - followed the “shouldn’t”s and “nevertheless”es of JACOB:
* Jacob shouldn’t have tricked his brother out of his birthright, then tricked his father out of his blessing; nevertheless, God redemptively blessed Jacob, and confirmed His covenant with Jacob.
* Uncle Laban shouldn’t have tricked Jacob into marrying Leah instead of Rachel, and Jacob shouldn’t have AGREED to marry four wives; nevertheless, God redemptively used those marriages to bless Jacob with TWELVE sons, the future tribes of Israel.
* Jacob shouldn’t have peeled pagan fertility sticks; nevertheless, God redemptively increased his livestock anyway.
* Jacob shouldn’t have feared Laban in ch31, or Esau in ch32; nevertheless, God redemptively appeared to him again, wrestled with him, blessed him, and gave him a NEW name and a future, “Israel”.
* Israel shouldn’t have lied to his brother Esau; nevertheless, God redemptively brought him back into the Promised Land.
* Israel shouldn’t have let his daughter Dinah fall in with the Canaanite crowd and get raped; he shouldn’t have let his sons, Simeon and Levi, avenge her honor by slaughtering the entire village; nevertheless, God redemptively increased His peoples’ territory.
* Israel shouldn’t have played favorites with his boys, and pitted them against one another; nevertheless, God redemptively blessed Israel’s favorite son, Joseph.
#2 - And THAT brings us to our SECOND main point for this morning: God’s redemption in JOSEPH’S life, in chs37-50.
Now, let’s fast-forward some 50 years in time, from ch37, and pick the story up where we left off LAST week, at the end of ch49. Israel has blessed his two grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh in ch48, he has blessed his 12 sons in ch49, then “he pulled his feet up in the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people” (v33). Jacob DIED. And we’re going to skip the opening of ch50, vv1-14 - Jacob’s funeral; Joseph weeps for his father, he has Jacob’s body embalmed, he gets permission from Pharaoh to return to Canaan, with his brothers, to bury dad’s body there, alongside Abraham and Isaac, and everyone cries a lot more. But in v15, where we began our reading for this morning, the scene has now shifted from a touching moment of family unity as the 12 brothers bury their beloved father together, to one of PANIC: “When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.””
WHAT “evil”? Let’s flash back in time, 50 years ago, to ch37 again: “when his brothers saw that their father loved [Joseph] more than all his brothers, they hated him… [and] they conspired against him to kill him… But looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites… on their way down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother… Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites… [so] They sold him for twenty shekels[c] of silver. [And] They took Joseph to Egypt.” (37:4, 18, 25-28).
That’s pretty bad. But you remember, Joseph’s story gets even worse. Your own brothers selling you into slavery in a foreign land - that’s bad ENOUGH; NO ONE should have to go through something like that. See, Joseph’s life - like Jacob’s, and Isaac’s, and Abraham’s - his life was filled with “shouldn’t”s as well. But unlike his forefathers, Joseph’s “shouldn’t”s weren’t primarily a consequence of his OWN sin, but rather, of OTHERS’ sins against him.
* His brothers shouldn’t have sold him into slavery.
* The Midianites shouldn’t have sold him to Potiphar; human trafficking is bad.
* Potiphar’s wife shouldn’t have sexually assaulted, then falsely accused Joseph.
* Potiphar shouldn’t have unjustly thrown him in prison.
* Pharaoh’s cupbearer shouldn’t have forgotten Joseph and his dream, after he was released from prison, leaving poor Joseph to rot there for another TWO years.
NEVERTHELESS, God redemptively blessed Joseph, and in ch41 when Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream pleased Pharaoh, Joseph was not only freed from prison, but he was elevated to the position of VICE Pharaoh, #2 in command over all of Egypt, the most powerful and affluent nation in all the world.
And it is for that reason, Joseph’s position and his power, that his brothers now FEAR him back in ch50. They know that Joseph has the power to enact justice - to “pay them back for their evil” of having sold him into slavery 40 years prior - and they figure the ONLY reason he hasn’t done so already is out of love for their FATHER, Jacob. THAT’s why Joseph pretended to forgive them, THAT’s why he relocated them all to Goshen, the best land in Egypt, THAT’s why he’s been so nice and given them provisions and taken care of them - surely it was ALL because of JACOB. But now that their father is dead, Joseph’s brothers figure they will be too, soon enough.
So what do they do? V16: “So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’”
They LIE. They make up a story, that Jacob’s final, dying wish was that Joseph would forgive them. Joseph KNOWS it’s a lie, because he was WITH his father, on his deathbed, when his dying wish was to be buried back in Canaan.
Moreover, Joseph already FORGAVE his brothers! That was all of chs42-45; two sermons on “The Power of Forgiveness,” you remember. Joseph has already extended them grace... more grace... lavish, ridiculous, extravagant grace, so when his brothers doubt his grace, and distrust his forgiveness, here in ch50, Joseph responds in v17 with profound sadness: “Joseph wept when they spoke to him.” And notice: the “THEY” there is NOT his brothers; they sent MESSENGERS, first. They were too afraid to even approach him. Eventually they will muster up the courage, in v18, “His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.””
Do you remember what Jesus said to his disciples, in John ch15, right before they left the Upper Room, and betrayed him, Judas of course most grievously, but Peter denied him three times, ALL of them fled in fear from the foot of the cross - you remember what Jesus said, nevertheless? He said, “No longer do I call you servants… but I have called you friends” (15:15). Joseph’s brothers here, like the Prodigal Son, when he returned back home, they were content to be servants - “Father, I’m no longer WORTHY to be called your “son”; let me be a servant… Joseph, we’re no longer WORTHY to be called your “brothers”; just let us be your servants…”. They’re content to spend the rest of their lives, working to try and atone for all the EVILS of their pasts.
But friends, Joseph says, JESUS says, “You CAN’T make it up to me; if you could, then it wouldn’t be called GRACE. It’s an un-deserved gift.” This is a debt you cannot repay.
V19: “But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?” Keep in mind: every other character, for 49½ chapters thus far, has TRIED to be.
* Adam & Eve wanted to be God, so that they could make the rules.
* Cain wanted to be God, so that he could decide who gets to live and who dies.
* Lamech, Noah, Nimrod, Abraham, Lot, Sarah, Isaac, Laban, Jacob, Rachel, Leah, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah - they ALL wanted to be “in the place of God”.
But then there’s Joseph, the Christ-figure. Remember: Joseph is what’s called in biblical studies a typology, a “prefigurative symbol”, of the Messiah to come. Jesus claimed that ALL the Scriptures, the OT, points us ahead to him, but perhaps none so directly, as the character of JOSEPH. Just consider the parallels:
* The most beloved son of his father...
* A shepherd of his father’s sheep…
* Hated by his brother…
* Stripped of his robe, beaten, and rejected…
* Sold for the price of a common slave…
* Falsely accused, and bound in chains…
* Placed with two other prisoners, one who was saved and the other lost… [Are you seeing the parallels?! The almost unbelievable, prophetic parallels 2,000 years before Jesus was even born?!]
* Exalted after their suffering…
* Forgave those who wronged them…
* Rescued their nation…
* And most significantly for this morning, Redemption: For both Joseph AND Jesus - What others meant against them for EVIL, God turned into GOOD.
(adapted from MacArthur Study Bible, p89)
That’s the climax of Joseph’s story; it’s the climax of the entire Book of Genesis: ch50, v20: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.”
God redeemed Joseph’s brothers’ evil, and used it to rescue His people, to rescue MANY peoples, save many nations, we’re told, from famine and physical death.
But friends, that’s just a PICTURE, a shadow, a GLIMPSE... of an even greater redemption that God would accomplish through JESUS: when God would take the greatest evil in the history of the WORLD - the death of God’s own SON, on the cross - and use it as the very means by which He would accomplish the greatest GOOD in all of history - forgiving our sins and RESCUING us - “to bring it about that many people should be kept alive” - and not just PHYSICALLY alive, but spiritually alive, ETERNALLY alive. Instead of suffering the just consequences of our sin, eternity in Hell, we can now live in Heaven, with Jesus, forever.
Friends: THAT is the greatest story of Redemption that has EVER been told. And it’s TRUE. Not “based on a true story”, like the movies... “inspired by a true story”; No - the gospel, the good news that God sent his son Jesus to die in your place, and then REDEEMED his death by raising Christ from the dead to defeat Sin and Hell and Death for us - so that we TOO might have Christ’s resurrection power flowing through our veins, by virtue of the Holy Spirit, our seal and hope of the eternal life that now AWAITS us - THAT redemption story is 100% TRUE!
And it can be YOUR story today, if you will simply repent and trust in Jesus. Turn from your sin, and follow JESUS instead, and you will be SAVED!
Listen: I don’t know your story. Point #3 now, in closing - Do you have the hope of redemption in YOUR life, personally? I shared MY story, in the introduction, but I don’t know your story. I don’t know all YOUR “shouldn’t”s. Maybe like mine and Jacob’s, MOST of your “shouldn’t”s were of your own making:
* You shouldn’t have your current job, because you lied on your resume, in your interview.
* You shouldn’t still be married, after what you did to your spouse.
* You shouldn’t have run to alcohol, to drugs, to porn, to money, to work as a COPING mechanism, to deal with your pain, and now you’re an addict.
* You shouldn’t have stayed up late last night doing whatever it was you were doing.
Or maybe like JOSEPH, your life has been full of “shouldn’t”s that were totally OUTSIDE of your control:
* You shouldn’t have been abused, as a child.
* Your spouse shouldn’t have abandoned you.
* You shouldn’t have had to bury your own child; NO ONE should.
* Some of you shouldn’t be ALIVE today - we’ve got some walking medical miracles at this church - Brian Gaither technically died a COUPLE times a few years ago; Bryan West was given a year to live, about a decade ago now.
* Maybe you feel like you shouldn’t have even been BORN; you wanna talk about redemption? One day I get to explain to my son that he was the product of a sinful, extra-marital, one-night stand. A relationship that never should have happened.
Nevertheless GOD… AMEN?! My son sure as heck BETTER believe in a God of redemption, otherwise his entire LIFE is just one big MISTAKE. An accident.
But friends, God doesn’t MAKE mistakes. He “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph 1:11). And here is His will; here is God’s promise to you, this morning: “God works all things together for good, for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28) You hear that? ALL things. Not some things. Not MOST things. Not “GOOD” things… ALL things!
Do you believe that this morning? CAN you believe it? Is it a promise for YOU? That promise is specifically for those who “love God and are called according to His purpose” - is that you?
What’s YOUR story?
CONCLUSION:
I want to end things a little differently this morning. I saved us a little extra time here at the end - I want to give you some time to simply REFLECT BACK on God’s redemption in your own life. Most of us don’t spend NEARLY enough time looking back on all that God has redeemed in our lives, and WORSHIPPING Him for it.
Joseph was able to let go of the evils of his past, because he trusted that the One who sovereignly ordained it was working ALL things together for His GOOD.
Maybe you’re not there yet, this morning... that’s okay.
I don’t know what you’re dealing with, going through, this morning.
But here’s what I DO know… God proved once and for all on the cross that he can take even the most HORRIBLE, unimaginable evils of this world, and transform them, and bring the most amazing, wonderful GOOD out of them.
In a world full of “shouldn’t”s, praise God for a Savior of “nevertheless”es.
Let’s pray...