Let's turn to Genesis chapter 49. Genesis 49. Jacob, who is also called Israel in Scripture, was dying. And he had 12 sons, you know. They each were a head of the 12 tribes of Israel, or the 12 tribes of Jacob. And Jacob is dying here and he's blessing. He's called each of his sons one at a time to his bedside to say his dying words to them. And now he's come to Joseph. And he says here of Joseph in verse 22, Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall. Jacob never thought he'd see Joseph again. Years and years and years before this, he was told Joseph was eaten by a wild animal, when the truth was Joseph had been sold by his brothers into slavery. And Jacob thought he'd never see his son again, thought he was dead. And then years passed, and through God's providence, he met his son again. So you could just imagine the joy he had over Joseph. And he says here, Joseph is a fruitful bough. What made Joseph so fruitful? Christ. Christ made him so fruitful. He's a great picture of Christ. Joseph is a fruitful bough. Christ is divine. He's divine. It says here, whose branches run over the wall. Christ is the vine and His people are the branches. That's what He said. And He's loaded down with fruit. He has fruit that we don't know of. He has people that we don't know. And in the end, when we see them all gathered together, it's going to be a multitude no man can number. And it says here, a fruitful bough by a well. And Christ is that well. Remember he told the woman at the well, he said, He that drinketh of me, I give you water that's life everlasting. I give you water and you never thirst again. He's the well. Joseph's story is the story of Many sitting here today. It's the story of a believer. It's the story of a believer. And his story is a picture of the blessed God and Savior, Christ Jesus. I've titled this, Joseph's Life, Christ the Life. Joseph's Life, Christ the Life. First of all, Joseph trials picture Christ's trials. Look at verse 23. The archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him and hated him. And then secondly, Joseph's faithfulness pictures Christ's faithfulness. Verse 24 says, but his bow abode in strength. And then thirdly, Joseph's strength pictures Christ's strength. What was Joseph's strength? Verse 24 says, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel. Let's look at those three things. First of all, Joseph's trials picture Christ's trials. Verse 23 says, The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him. Joseph was not shot at by literal archers. But he was shot at by archers who were indeed masters of arrows, and they were masters of arrows that are much more dangerous and much more sharper than literal arrows. Arrows of hatred, arrows of envy, arrows of maliciousness, which are the worst kinds of arrows. The archers who shot at Joseph were his own brethren from his own family. His own brethren. From the youngest age, Joseph was beloved of his father above all his other brethren. In Genesis 37, verse 3, it says, Israel loved Joseph more than all his children. Israel is Jacob. Israel and Jacob. When you hear me say Jacob, you hear me say Israel. I'm talking about the same person. Israel loved Joseph more than all his children because he was the son of his old age. Joseph was the firstborn son of Rachel. He had other sons born before Joseph, but Joseph was the firstborn son of his wife Rachel. And this son of his old age means more than the fact that Jacob had Joseph when he was old. It means Joseph was the son who had the wisdom of an aged man. He had the wisdom of an aged man, even from his youth. He was the wise one, the wise son. Well, Christ is the Son of God's love. He is. Just like Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his brethren, God loves His Son Christ Jesus more than any of His brethren. He spoke from heaven and said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. Christ is the firstborn among many brethren. He's not the firstborn like Joseph was not the firstborn in time. But he's the firstborn of God, to God. And he's the wisdom of God. He is the son of his old age. He's the son of wisdom. Christ is the wisdom and power of God. In Joseph, from the first days, dwelt the Spirit of God, and it made him holy inwardly. It made him of a holy character inwardly. Joseph loved his father. He was honorable toward his father. He was his heavenly father first, and then his earthly father, and even his brethren who hated him. He was faithful to them. He was beloved of God the Father and beloved of his earthly father. Jacob made him a coat of many colors, and it was a picture of that needlework of righteousness which Christ had put on him by grace, is what that coat of many colors pictured. Well, that's a picture of Christ, that whole thing. Christ, Jesus, was formed in the womb of the Holy Ghost. He came forth, that holy thing. thinking holy, speaking holy, doing holy, everything he did righteous and holy. Look down at verse 26. Jacob said to Joseph, the blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost mound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph. The same blessings, and watch this, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. You know who that is? That's Christ. Christ is him who was separate from his brethren. For such a high priest became us who's holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, made higher than the heavens. Christ was Joseph's coat of righteousness. Christ put that coat of righteousness on him. Christ himself is the Lord our righteousness, the righteousness of his people. That's who Christ is. Therefore, because all of this is true of Joseph, Joseph's brethren hated Joseph. They hated him. Genesis 37 verse 4 says, When his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him and could not speak peaceably unto him. That was so of his brothers and his family. Joseph's brethren didn't see anything in Joseph to make them have any desire for him. And when their father wasn't looking, they tried to do things to injure him and hurt him because they didn't like him. Well, more so is true of Christ. It's true of Christ. When his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him and could not speak peaceably unto him. Christ's brethren after the flesh, the children of Israel, the children of Jacob, Israel after the flesh, they didn't see anything in Christ that made them love Him. And it says, Christ came unto His own and His own received Him not. Just like Joseph's brothers hated Him. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. We hid, as it were, our faces from Him. He's despised and we esteemed Him not. And His brethren thought God the Father wasn't looking. And so, thinking God the Father wasn't looking, they tried everything in their power to harm Him, continually, over and over. Look over at Genesis 37. Why? Why did they want to harm Christ? Same reason Joseph's brothers wanted to harm Him. Look at Genesis 37, 5. Joseph came telling his brethren of a dream he had. Now, this dream is something different than just dreams we have. This was God declaring what was going to become of Joseph. And it was a picture of Christ. God was doing this on purpose. Joseph has it. He doesn't know anything about it. He just comes and tells it to his brethren harmlessly, just saying, you know, let me tell you this dream I had. But listen to what he said. They understood what he said. Listen to this, verse 5. And Joseph dreamed a dream. This is a picture of the Gospel going forth, a picture of Christ coming forth and preaching the Gospel. Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren. And they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Here I pray you this dream which I have dreamed. For behold, we were binding sheaves in the field. And lo, my sheaf arose and also stood upright. And behold, your sheaves stood round about and made obeisance to my sheaf. Your sheaves bowed down to my sheaf. Now you can just imagine, there's the Dormientos, a house full of kids. You can just imagine Joshua coming up to his older brothers and telling them this, what they would think of this. Years later, this prophecy came true though. It came true. Joseph's brothers suffered a famine of bread so that they were about to die. They were about to die. And Joseph's brethren came down to Egypt where he was. And all these years had passed, they didn't even recognize him. And they came down there because Joseph was head of everything. And they came down there to get some corn, to get some life. And they came down there and they bowed down to Him. And when He revealed Himself to them, they confessed their sins to Him and bowed down to Him. fed them, and clothed them, and gave them corn, and gave them everything they needed. And it pictures Christ in His glory reigning over this whole world. It pictures Christ who's drawing His people, revealing the sin in His people, and drawing His children to Himself, and causing His children in the day of His power to bow down to Him and to worship Him in spirit and in truth, who He feeds and clothes with His righteousness and His everlasting goodness. We have to come to Christ. We have to come to Christ. We have to come to Christ confessing our worthlessness, confessing our sins. We have to come to Christ asking for mercy. And I said asking for mercy. It's His prerogative to give us mercy. That leper came and he said, Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou can make me whole. We don't come expecting it. We don't come and say, well, now I've come to you, you ought to give me mercy. That's not asking mercy. We come to a broken and contrite sinner, begging him, Lord, have mercy on me. I tell you these things, but if God ever starts working in your heart, you won't have to be taught what to do. I promise you that. Oh, you'll flee to Him. You'll flee to Him and you'll beg Him for mercy. But we have to come to Him. Every tongue is going to confess that Christ is Lord. Every tongue is going to give Him obeisance. Every tongue is going to bow to Him, either now by His grace or in that day of judgment. And when Christ preached this gospel to His brethren on the earth, they received Him the same way Joseph's brethren received Him. This is how. Look at Genesis 37. And His brethren said to Him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? Or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words." You remember when Christ came preaching? Remember the parable he gave of himself and of the children of Israel? He said his citizens hated him and sent a message after him saying, we will not have this man to reign over us. Christ came and He came preaching the truth that God had sent Him. He had sent Him to save His children. He raised Him up and His children must come to Him to give them life and acceptance with God. And they said, we won't have this man reign over us. They looked at Him and they said, you're just like us. You're just like us. That's what Joseph's brethren said to him. You're just like us. You think we're going to bow down to you? You've got to be crazy. And that's exactly how this gospel is received. Well then one day, his brethren had all of Joseph they could stand. They had all they could stand. His father sent Joseph to his brethren out in the field where they were supposed to be tending sheep. That's a picture. God the Father sent Christ to this field where Israel was supposed to be tending His sheep. And Joseph came, and when they saw Joseph coming, they decided, let's kill him. Here's our chance, boys. He's coming out here. We're out here in the middle of nowhere. Nobody knows it. Nobody sees it. Our father don't see it. Let's kill him. Let's kill him." And Reuben talked them in. Reuben said, no, let's don't kill him. Let's throw him into a pit and just leave him. And so they said, all right, we'll do that. They stripped him of his coat and they threw him in a pit and they just left him there. They sat down and started eating their bread. And they looked up, and here comes a train of camels, and here comes some Ishmaelites. And these Ishmaelites coming toward them, and Judah said, you know what, boys? What's the point of just throwing him in the pit and not making any money off of him? Why don't we sell him? And they said, hey, that's a better idea. So they pulled him out of the pit, and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver. And they took his coat, and they rolled it in blood, and they went back to Jacob, his father, and they said, we don't know what happened to him. I think an animal killed him. And so there Joseph is, separated from the father he loves. And there's Jacob, who loves that son, who's separated from the son he loves. And he has to do, both of them, endure the agony of that separation from one another. Isn't that a beautiful picture of Christ? Isn't that a beautiful picture of Christ? When the time was come, God sent Christ into this world, and He came into this earth where His children were, and He began to preach the gospel to them. And they hated Him for it. They hated Him. And when finally they had enough of Him, they said, let's kill Him. Let's kill Him. And they stripped Him, and they whipped Him, and they mocked Him, and they cruelly treated Him. treated him cruelly and Christ was in charge of everything. Christ gave himself willingly into their hands because it was the Father's will. He gave himself willingly to be thrown into the pit. He hath made Him sin, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." It was a necessity that Christ Himself, for God to be just, to punish Christ in our place, He had to be made what His people were. And in order for him to declare God just and to justify his people, he had to be made what we were. And so he came and willingly was thrown into that pit where we are. and made to be what His people are. Made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God. That all our sins be put away, and that we'd be totally, completely, thoroughly justified, so that now the very righteousness that Christ worked out can be imputed to His people, and we can be accepted of God in justice and mercy. In mercy and in justice. That's what He did. Judas betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver. It all pictures Christ. He hath made Him sin for us. And the archers sorely grieved Him, and shot at Him, and hated Him. And He's hung there on that cross, and just like Joseph endured separation from his father, and the son that his father loved had to endure the agony of separation from Joseph, so when He hung there on the cross in justice, God the Father turned His back on His own Son, because He had to. He had to. And so there they suffered separation from one another. It was as much suffering for God the Father as it was for God the Son. I think we forget that sometimes. This was His Son. This was His Son. And He separated from the Father He loves. So it was with our Savior. Believer, just like Joseph endured these wicked arrows from his brethren, this is what Christ tells us we can expect from our kinsmen after the flesh in this world. The wicked have bent their bow to cast down the poor and needy to slay such as be of an upright conduct. That's the case. But this is what we're told. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial that is to try you, as though some strange things happen to you. It's not something that's just... We know we feel that way sometimes. We feel like nobody's ever suffered like I've suffered. Satan loves to get us, don't he? He likes for us to be proud of our suffering. and to try to exalt ourselves over others just because of our suffering. Try to comfort somebody. You know, you've had people do this before. You just don't know. You haven't suffered what I've suffered. But he says, this is not something that's just individual to you. Christ has suffered worse than any of us. And He suffered it, and He knows the feeling of our suffering. But he says, but rejoice inasmuch as you're partakers of Christ's suffering. that when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad with exceeding joy. And Christ said, He that endures to the end, He that endures to the end, He said, the same shall be saved. Trust Christ. Keep trusting Christ. Don't waver from trusting Christ. He's our salvation. He's going to save us. Keep trusting Him. So let's see that faithfulness of Joseph now. Secondly, look at Genesis 49, 24. It says, But his bow abode in strength. Joseph was treated cruelly, he was harmfully treated, but his bow abode in strength. When he was reviled by his brethren for their bitter envy and for their hatred, Joseph continued trusting the Lord." You never read one word in all of that that his brethren did to him, you never read one word about Joseph resisting, never. You never read one word about Him opening His mouth and you might picture Him kicking His heels into the sand and Him having to drag Him to the Ishmaelites to sell Him. You never read anything like that. You know why? Because God's holding him up as a picture of Christ to come. And when Christ came, he was led as a lamb to the slaughter. He opened not his mouth. He willingly gave himself to his enemies. The Scripture says, when he was reviled, he reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously. I pray God will let me do that. Just give me grace to do that. It's just a, it's like a, it's like somebody tapping you on your knee and it just reacting when somebody reviles against us, isn't it? To just, automatically. If we don't do it with our mouth, we do it in our heart, automatically. Well, how dare they? Ah, save us from that. Look back now at Genesis 39. Look at Genesis 39. Potiphar, he was Joseph's master when he was sold there into slavery. And Potiphar made Joseph overseer in his house over all that he had. Look back there at Genesis 39. Look at verse 7. And it came to pass, Genesis 39, 7. And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife, Potiphar's wife, cast her eyes upon Joseph, and she said, Lie with me. But he refused and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wanteth not what is with me in the house. And I watched this, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand. There is none greater in this house than I. Neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? That's what Joseph said. He remained faithful. God the Father sent forth Christ into this earth to serve the Father for His people. And God the Father committed all that He has into Christ's hands, just like Potiphar did to Joseph. And there's none greater in the house than Christ. Just like Joseph said, there's none greater than I. There's none greater in the house than Christ. The Lord held anything back from His Son. And He, in fact, made, gave Him a bride. Gave Him a bride, His children, before the foundation of the world. And all the time that Christ walked this earth, He was tempted repeatedly by Satan. Tempted repeatedly by Satan. But Christ said in His great faithfulness through it all, How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? and He remained faithful through everything, through everything. Brethren, I do pray Christ will continually remind us He's committed to us the unsearchable riches of the Gospel. Christ Jesus, our Head, has given to us everything into our hand. He's given us everything freely by His grace that He accomplished for us. He's given it to us. And it's a great privilege to have this given to us. And we ought to say at the face of every temptation, this ought to be our first thought, how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And then finally, Potter's wife falsely accused Joseph, just like Christ was falsely accused, and Potiphar threw Joseph in prison. He threw him in prison. Still Joseph remained faithful, even in prison. Pharaoh threw two of his servants into prison where Joseph was, a butler and a baker. And they were there in prison with him. And Joseph interpreted their dreams for them. And Joseph declared that justice and mercy were going to be shown. He declared that the baker would die, but Joseph revealed good news to the butler. He told the butler that he would go free. He would go free. And both came to pass, just like Joseph said. Now again, this is not just dreams like you and I have dreams. This is the Spirit of God declaring what God was going to do, what He was about to do. And the picture here is of, in Joseph, is of Christ our intercessor. standing between us and God, as Joseph stood between God and the baker and the butler. And it's a picture of Christ, who has the Spirit of God, just as Joseph had the Spirit of God to interpret these dreams. Christ has the Spirit of God to come forth and reveal the Gospel in our hearts. And when He reveals the Gospel in our hearts, He declares to us, mercy and justice have been done. He declares to us that He has died in the place of His people. And He declares to us particularly, I've died in your place, when He comes forth. And He says now, mercy can be shown justly. And that's the good news. And just like the butler went out free, He makes His people to be freed from the shackles and bondage of the law and condemnation. And He sets us free in Him. That's the picture we have here in all of this. But Joseph charged that butler after he had done this. That butler was so happy you could imagine that he heard the good news he was going to be set free. And Joseph charged that butler to make mention of him to Pharaoh to bring Joseph out of prison. And Joseph said this, for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I've done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him. He forgot him. But still Joseph remained faithful. He remained faithful. Two years passed. Over two years passed. And that butler forgot. He forgot to say anything to Pharaoh about Joseph at all. And then one day, Pharaoh needed a dream interpreted. And the butler remembered Joseph. He remembered Joseph. And so he told Pharaoh about Joseph. And Joseph came forth. They went and got him. He came forth and he interpreted the dream just like the butler had told Pharaoh he could do. Do you see the picture in that? Do you see the picture of Christ's faithfulness in that? In spite of all the wrongs that's done to Christ in this earth, Christ is faithful to His people to reveal the truth of God in our hearts through the Spirit. He's faithful to do it. And when He reveals the gospel to us, He charges us just like Joseph charged that butler. And He charges us to go forth and speak of Him in the ear of sinners in this earth. He tells us to go forth and to declare Christ is the Holy One. He's done nothing wrong. He was falsely charged. And He tells us to go forth and declare Christ is faithful. He's faithful. He's been faithful in everything that's been put into His hand, like as Joseph was faithful in that prison and everything that was put into His hand. And He gives us to declare that Christ is the Righteous One. He's the righteousness of His people so that Christ shall be called upon by needy sinners like Pharaoh when he heard about Joseph, then he called for Joseph. And so by telling others about Christ, Christ works it in their heart to call on Christ. And Christ comes forth and He reveals it in their hearts. And yet often we do just what the butler did. Christ gives us the truth. He gives us these unsearchable riches. And we get so caught up in our day-to-day, everything going on with us, We forget Him. And we come to the opportunity to tell somebody about Him, and we forget about Him. We forget Him after everything He's done to us. But Christ remains faithful. Christ remains faithful in the hour of our need, when we need Him and we call for Him. He still comes forth to His people and forgives us of our forgetfulness, forgives us of our sins. And He comes forth and He reveals grace in our own hearts and He intercedes on behalf of us and He works grace in the hearts of those that He's going to call. I pray He'll give us grace to remain faithful to Him. He's been faithful to us. He remembers us always. He remembers His people always. He never forgets His people. He's continually thinking of His people, continually making an intercession for us before the Father. So we ought to always remember His mercies to us and look for opportunities to tell somebody about Him. He's charged us to do that. That's Joseph's faithfulness. There's a picture of Christ's faithfulness. Now let's look at the strength. Joseph's strength is a type of Christ's strength. Look at verse 24. But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands... You see this, Genesis 49, 24. Genesis 49, 24. His bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. From thence is the shepherd the stone of Israel Christ. In all that Joseph endured, the mighty God of Jacob made the arms of his hands strong, so that his bow abode in strength." You ever pull back a long bow? You ever pull back a recurve bow? A compound bow that they make now has release. You pull it back and most of them have about 75% let off, what they call let off, 80%, some of them now 90%. You pull it back and it just lets off at a certain point and you're not holding back all that weight. But not with a longbow, not with a recurve. You pull it back and the harder you pull it back, the harder it gets to pull back. And you can't hold it. You sit there and try to hold it and you shake it and you can't shoot it. You gotta draw it and shoot it. at one time. But God did what you see fathers do. You see a father, he'll take his hand, he'll put it on the hand of his son, and he'll take his son's other hand, and he'll draw that bow back, and he'll hold it for him, and he'll let go of it, showing his son how to shoot it. Well, that's how God deals with us. That's how God works with us. He's got his hand on our hand. so that He's doing the holding. And all the strengths of Him, we're not holding it back. All the strengths of Him and He's working everything by His strength and by His power among us. It was the hand of God that sent the Israelites that day to Joseph so that he was sold rather than remain in that pit. God directed them right there. It was the mighty God, the God in the man, Christ Jesus, who protected Christ as He walked this earth, so that nobody could do Him harm until His hour was come. It was God who exalted Him and raised Him out of the pit and set Him at His own right hand in glory. Look back at Genesis 39 again. And look there at verse 2. In Potiphar's house, it tells us this. The Lord was with Joseph. And he was a prosperous man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him, and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. Why? The Lord gave him favor in his sight. The Lord was with Christ as he walked this earth, so that the pleasure of the Lord prospered in his hand. And the Lord is with Christ now. He's the God-man, so that the pleasure of the Lord prospers in his hand. Christ enters our house just like Joseph entered Potiphar's house, and by his Spirit, just the opposite. Joseph found grace in Potiphar's sight, but he enters in, we find grace in his sight, in Christ's sight. And he makes us to see God's with Christ. He makes us to see Christ prospered when he served for us and he accomplished the redemption of his people. He didn't try, he did it! He did it! And He makes us to see He did it. He makes us to see He accomplished it. And the power of God brings His lost child to put all we have in Christ's hands. Just like Potiphar gave it all into the hands of Joseph. And from that day forward, Christ becomes our strength and our wisdom. The overseer of all that we have. The overseer. Look at verse 21 of Genesis 39. Then Joseph was thrown in prison. What happened there? What was his strength there? But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed at Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison, and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. You see, everywhere Joseph went, he prospered because the Lord was with Joseph. And the Lord put it in the hearts of people to give him favor, to exalt him to these places. Well, when Christ appeared bound, nailed to the cross, when he appeared like when Joseph was put in that prison and it appeared like, well, now he won't prosper. Christ is bound on the cross and there it appears, now he's not going to prosper. He saved the man sitting right next to him. You can't bind Christ. You can't bind the Word of God. You can't bind Him. Even all our loved ones that are getting the prison of sin and death. You know what we do when Christ has revealed Himself to our hearts? We commit everything into His hand, trusting Him to save them by His will, if it's His will to do so. Because if they're saved, Christ shall be the doer of it. Just like Joseph was the doer of everything in that prison. Verse 23 says, like as the keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under Joseph's hand, so we cease our worrying about everything because it's all in Christ's hand. You see, the keeper of the prison, he didn't have to go around checking up on Joseph because Joseph was faithful and he knew God's with him and he's going to prosper in everything he did. And we don't have to worry about things in our lives because it's in Christ's hand and Christ is the mighty God and everything He does shall prosper. And He's going to give us favor just like in other sites, just like He did Joseph. So when we get promoted, we don't have any reason to pat ourselves on the back. Glory in God. God did it. God did it. Look at Genesis 41. Genesis 41. Joseph was then brought before Pharaoh to interpret his dream. And Joseph told Pharaoh seven years of plenty were coming and seven years of famine were coming. And look at Genesis 41-39. Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there's none so discreet and wise as thou art." This is not the Pharaoh we looked at on Thursday night. This is another Pharaoh. Pharaoh is an office, like a president. This was a Pharaoh that came before the Pharaoh that did so much injury to Moses. This was another Pharaoh. And he recognized, he said, To Joseph, for as much as God hath showed thee all this, there's none so discreet and wise as thou art. Well, in all the land, there's none so wise as Christ, none so wise as Christ, whom the Spirit of God is with him. without measure. God the Father was satisfied by Christ's finished work, so God the Father exalted Christ to the highest possible position as our Mediator. He's not above God in His Mediator office, but He is God working in that Mediator office, but He's working as a Mediator still serving the Father. He's drawing His people in, making intercession. He's our advocate with the Father. But look at Genesis 41, 40. It was pictured in Joseph. This is what Pharaoh told him. Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled according to your word. You see Christ in that? God's made Christ over all His house, and it's according to Christ's Word that all His people are ruled. Look at verse 41. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I've set thee over all the land of Egypt. Christ is over this whole land. We read that in Ephesians 1 at the end of verses 20 through 23. He's over everything. Look at verse 42. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain upon his neck. He had the seal of the King. He had the seal of the Most Powerful One. Well, we know Christ has that seal. God the Father raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in heavenly places. And He's adorned Him in fine linen garments. And He has all power. And He has the authority from His Father to work whatever He's pleased to work. He has power over all flesh to give eternal life to as many as the Father has given unto Him. And look at verse 44. Pharaoh swore by himself, but God swore by Himself when He raised Christ. And He said, Without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphna, Here's what it means. Treasury of glorious rest. That's what Christ is. There He sits, the right hand of God, our treasury of glorious rest, with all power over all things in the universe, all things in nature, all things great, all things small, all things seen, all things invisible, all things in heaven, all things in earth and below, all things now and all things to come. He's head over all things, and He's head over all things to His church, to His people, to work good for His people. for his people. And when the famine came, and all the land was suffering, and they didn't have any life, you know where they went? They went to Pharaoh. They ran to Pharaoh because he was the keeper of the storehouse. And Pharaoh, who had laid up all that plenty for them, he had it all at his disposal. And from him, he sold it to them that came to him to buy. Well, Christ is the one that God... He has laid up all righteousness, all holiness, all redemption, all wisdom, all spiritual blessings are in Christ Jesus. And He is the ruler over the storehouse of grace. And God comes to us and He reveals our sin, and our need, and our hunger, and our starvation, and He draws us to Christ. And when He draws us to Christ, we come to Him, and we confess all our sins to Him, and He freely forgives us. But Christ doesn't sell anything to us. He doesn't sell anything to us. He says, Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat. Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. How can I come buy Without any money. Because Christ is the price. Christ already paid for it all. And it's already laid up for His people. And when He draws His people, He reveals this to them. It's already been paid for, my son. It's yours freely. It's been yours freely from before the foundation of the world. And He reveals this in our hearts. And oh, we rejoice in Him. We rejoice in Him. Look at Genesis 50. Genesis 50. But preacher, I'm so sinful. I can't come to Christ. I'm just too sinful. You remember those brethren who've been so evil toward Joseph? Remember those brethren? Been so evil to him? Well, they ran out of corn. And they didn't have anything. And they went down there to where Joseph was. And verse, Genesis 50, 18 says, And his brethren also went and fell down before his face, and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not, for I am in the place, for am I in the place of God. But Christ is God, and our mediator is in the place of God. He draws us to himself. But look at this, verse 20, But as for you, you thought evil against me. But God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Well, just like God overruled everything that Joseph's brethren did to Joseph, so that God might be just in saving the people, God overruled everything that came to pass against Christ so that God might be just. Acts 4.26 says this, The kings of the earth stood up, the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ, for of a truth against Thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou has anointed in both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were all gathered together for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done. It's that counsel we looked at this morning. And so, there's Joseph and he's saying, you meant all this for evil. God meant it for good. Sinner, Christ says to those who have come to Him humbled and broken by His Spirit, He says what Joseph said to his brethren. Do you think Joseph turned them away? Think he turned them away? Look at verse 21. He says, Now therefore fear ye not. I will nourish you and your little ones." And He comforted them and spoke kindly unto them. Let's go home with this. Sinner, you don't have Christ. You're sitting here today that have never confessed Christ. You don't have Him. You don't have Him. None of these great blessings I've been speaking about that are true for the believer is not true for you. You don't have Him. You don't have Him. come to Christ a broken, contrite, empty-handed sinner, starved of all righteousness, starved of all good, seeking everything in Christ, just like these brethren came to Joseph. And Christ will say, fear ye not, I will nourish you, and He'll comfort you, and He'll speak kindly unto you. It'll take His grace to make that happen. It'll take His grace working in you to draw you to Him. Come to Him. Come to Him. And brethren, you there sitting here that trust Christ and trust Him for everything, you just keep on being steadfast trusting Him for everything. Trust Him to keep you trusting Him. Trust Him to keep you turned from yourself and trusting Him. Don't look to your righteousnesses. Don't look to your holiness. Don't look to anything that you think you've done. There's not one of the Ten Commandments that you have ever done. I hate to be the one to break that to you, but you've never done one of them. Nobody ever has. But Christ. By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. That one is Christ. Believe on Him. Trust Him. And look nowhere else. We have in Him real strength. It's full justification from all our sin, Christ's perfect righteousness, separation into Christ our holiness, complete redemption from all the chains of sin and death. We have the mind of Christ to guide us always. Our strength's covenant strength. When it says, the mighty God of Jacob, it means covenant, the covenant. Spurgeon said, mightier than giants are men of the race of heaven. That's true. That's true. Look at verse 24. Here's why. From thence is the shepherd the stone of Israel. It meant he would come through the lineage of Joseph, but all of this is from the shepherd, the stone of Israel. I'll just remind you. Go home tonight and read Psalm 23. He's our shepherd. He's, the Lord's my shepherd, I shall not want. And Christ is the stone of Israel. He's the stone of Israel. The stone which the builders refused, the same has become the headstone of the corner. That's what happened to Joseph. They refused him and they threw him away, and by God's grace, he became the most powerful man there was. And it was by him that he saved us. That's who Christ is. That's who Christ is. I want to tell you a story Mr. Spurgeon told on this passage. He said it may be true or not. I don't know if it is, but it's a good illustration whether it is or not. When Solomon's temple was being built, Among all the stones that they would bring from the quarry, they'd bring those stones sort of rough cut. They'd bring them and then they'd take those stones and they'd put them down between two stones. You've heard Brother Don talk about that. They'd move them and put them down into place in there. Well, they had this stone that they kept trying to put someplace and it wouldn't fit anyplace. It wouldn't fit anywhere in the house. And it fixed them, and they got angry, and they got perturbed at this stone. And they took this stone, and they just threw the thing over to the side. And they went on building the building. And after so many years and years, that stone laid over there, and it just covered over with moss and covered over with grass and things, and nobody even noticed it. If they did notice it, they looked at it and thought, that's that stone that fixed us. That's that stone that bothered us so. That's that stone we despised. And they kept on building the temple. And they built it, built it, and they get it to where it's almost finished. And just when it almost gets finished, they call all the people out, and all the people come out to see this temple, the Solomon's Temple that's now been built. They come out, and they just needed to put one more stone in the top, the top stone. And they had no more stones. They looked around, and there wasn't another stone anywhere around there to put in there. And somebody said, maybe that stone that was refused is the top stone. And they hoisted it up there and it fell right in place on the top and held the whole thing together. Now I don't know if that's true or not. But it's a good picture of Christ. It's so of Christ. It's true of Him. He's the foundation. He's the builder. And He's the topstone. And in the fullness of the dispensation of time, He'll be the one who consummates all together and holds it all together. The stone the builders refuse has become the head of the topstone, the head of the corner. That's Him. That's who He is. I pray he'll give you rest. I pray he'll make you trust him. Amen.