All right, take your Bibles, turn to Genesis, Genesis chapter 46, Genesis chapter 46 tonight. And we're going to continue our study in the life of Joseph. I don't know if this has been a help to you or not, but just to see the consistent way scripture points out someone's character and their responses to difficulty. One of the things that I've been encouraged is I've read the narrative again, and especially this latter portion is how much detail the word of God gives us about Joseph and his brothers and their interaction. And there's some things tonight I'd like us to see in Joseph and the directions a family needed. Would you say that following directions or being open to directions is something that we are challenged with at times? You ever found it difficult to take directions? Especially when the one giving the directions, you have some degree of doubt or lack of trust in. Now, who gives directions in our culture that you have doubts? And I'm not wanting you to get sidetracked here, but if you stop and think for a minute, are there people that give directions that you have question marks about their giving of their directions? Do they really know what's best for me? Whether it's about your health, or whether it's about your finances, or whether it's about how the government should be run. Are there a lot of people that want to give direction that you sometimes can wonder, I don't know if I want to listen to them. Do they really know what they're talking about? You ever felt that way? You all are quiet tonight. You're not sure if this is a trick question, are you? Well, following directions is something that is needed, and trust in the person giving them really is the foundation that I want you to see from scripture tonight. In order to follow, one must have faith in the one giving directions. And we find here a family that has had a lot of challenges with trust. In the people of Joseph's family, have there not been some challenges? We looked at the beginning of his life, some issues with trust. I mean, his father, what's he known for? Being a deceiver, trickery, and then how Laban, his father, Father-in-law treated him and the trickery. And we saw that in Isaac. We saw it in Abraham. How there were times when they were not living in honesty. But now we've come to the other side of Joseph revealing to his brothers who he is. And they're being honest about the way that they have done wrong by their father and done wrong by their brother Joseph. And honesty is now beginning to flow both from the brothers, but also in the mind of Jacob. Look again at chapter 46. We saw this at the end of last time, chapter 46. God speaks to Jacob in chapter 46 verse 2. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father. Fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will there make of thee a great nation. I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will also surely bring thee up again. And Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. Now, that was God speaking to Jacob. Do you think that encouraged Jacob that he could trust God? That this is direction to take. Yeah, because the brothers come back and Joseph's brothers tell their dad that Joseph's alive, but there no doubt was some question about that. It's been 22 years since he's seen his son, and he has no doubt some questions about going to Egypt. Is this really the case? My son is alive and God tells him, yes, you're gonna go see him. Now, not only the fact that there's trust being restored on the part of Jacob about God, because God's desire and Jacob's desire was that Joseph be the heir. You remember this? And God had given that dream to Joseph to make that clear, that his brothers would be under him, that they would bow down to him. And Joseph's, part in God's working with Jacob's life and his family had seemed to be, okay, what's happening? 22 years of where's my son? This isn't possible. God, what are you doing? But now Jacob's trust in God is being restored. But I think it's interesting as well to see their trust in their brother, the brothers who have done wrong by Joseph. They have hated him, they've rejected him, they've hurt him, yet he is demonstrating He is trustworthy. Do you think that that was easy to trust their brother Joseph? I mean, we'll see after Jacob dies, what are they worried about? Our brother's gonna whack us. They're still living in questions of can I trust? Now, I wanna ask you tonight to consider in this passage how Joseph's family responds in directions that God gives. Follow along with me in verses 5 through 7, and then we're going to jump down to verse 27. So Genesis 46, verse 5, And Jacob rose up from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. And they took their cattle and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his seed with him, his sons and his sons' sons with him, his daughters and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with them into Egypt. Now the following verses enumerate who all these people were. I want you to jump down to verse 27. Verse 27 says, And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten. That's 70. Now notice verse 28. And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph. So Jacob sends Judah before him unto Joseph to direct his face unto Goshen. And they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him. And he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive. And Joseph said unto his brethren and unto his father's house, I will go up and show Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me. And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle, and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we and also our fathers, that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians. Okay, now we're gonna jump into what these verses have to speak of regarding this matter of him telling them to be shepherds or telling them that they take care of cattle because I think it's an important part of this. The first thing I want you to notice back in verse 28 is this matter of Jacob sending Judah before unto Joseph to direct his face unto Goshen. In your outline there on the back of that sheet tonight, number one, notice with me a family receiving direction. A family receiving direction. Now, what is the direction that Jacob is sending Judah to go get? How is it and where is it that we're supposed to go to? What part of the place is it? Where is it going to be? But there is direction being given. There we go, a family receiving direction. Jacob sends him ahead of time. And here's why that matters. There was need for someone to guide, someone to give them the way that they're to go into this place. And I believe it's interesting that Judah was sent to Joseph. Do you remember Judah's the one who really broke down before Joseph and said, I can't leave Benjamin, my brother here. My father would die if I did this. And he showed his great concern for his father and his family. But you remember Judah was the one that was all about getting rid of Joseph back at the pit. So a great change has taken place in Judah's attitude in life. And while he was once the one giving direction to do harm to Joseph, he's now the one receiving direction about the way by which their family is going to be helped. Do you ever notice in scripture there's great irony? that God can turn something that is so faulty and messed up and show the exact opposite can be done. You would not expect Judah to be the one accepting directions or gaining directions for their family from Joseph, yet God shows us him now receiving that. What would it require for him to receive directions? What does it require for any man who is lost or needs help to get directions? Humility! Now, let's just take a minute and consider that. Does this family need to live in humility? Yeah. What is it that has caused all the friction at the first? Pride. the attitude of pride rising up and being irritated that Joseph is being exalted by their father in the coat of many colors, by even God in the dreams that Joseph received from God. Guess who they were having a problem with when they didn't like the dreams? I said this before, it wasn't with Joseph primarily, it's with the God who gave Joseph the dreams. And you and I need to recognize humility is needed for us to follow God's plans. Humility was needed for this family. And humility is on display as Judah does what his dad directs and goes back and they are sent on their way into, they come into the land of Goshen, the Bible says. And in verse 29, you have a wonderful reunion. and a reunion of a father who loves a son, Joseph. Look at verse 29. There's been a lot of weeping in this story. Have you noticed that? A lot of emotion involved. I want to tell you, we often lack emotion where we ought to have it. Sometimes we don't think that it's able to come out. Things have been so hard. Things have been so difficult. But there is a place, a right place for emotion. And this family has been so tight, just sprung up tight. And there's a need for there to be some crying. There's a need for there to be some emotion shown. And he shares that emotion with his father and in front of his brothers. And notice the response in verse 30 by Israel. Jacob says, Now let me die since I have seen thy face because thou art yet alive. I'm able now to die happy. Now he's not gonna die right away. In fact, the scripture will tell us he's in that place of Egypt for 17 more years. He's not just gonna die today. What does he mean by I'm now able to die? What's that all about? I have seen thy face because thou art yet alive. What has Jacob believed about Joseph? His favorite son who he would give what to? The inheritance, the place of position over his older brothers. Now, do you know this? Will he, Joseph, get the inheritance or will his two sons get that? It's interesting, is it not? But in Jacob's mind, his son Joseph was the one of prominence. And God shows Joseph as the one of prominence. Do you not see that? But in Joseph's being gone and out of the picture for 22 years, Jacob has wondered at God's plans. He's been frustrated by them. We read the story as though we know what's gonna happen, but Jacob has lived all that time wondering, God, what are you doing? Similar, perhaps, to what Joseph has wondered while in Egypt. God, what are you doing? If Jacob believed his son Joseph should be the heir, and he's not, is he going to be confused a little bit? Absolutely. And all that time of confusion now has come to a conclusion. And this family is now receiving direction about what God is doing. This is the fulfillment of God's promised blessing. And I think that's important for us to see. God does keep his promises, but there are times when we go without seeing how it's all working out. You ever been there? You just seem to think, how is this going to work out? I don't see it. I don't see how this could be good. This does not seem to be working. And there's a family here who is receiving direction by God. And what seems like a long time to them and even to us, is that a long time for God? The answer is no, no, it's not. And God gives the direction at the time when they needed it. So this is a family receiving direction. But then notice, secondly, a family directed in honesty. Now, this passage outlines for us how Joseph describes what they're going to say when they come to Pharaoh. And that's important because Joseph has lived in this culture and has seen how these people operate. Now, I've read commentators who take this passage and make the impression to be Joseph is telling his brothers to be deceptive, and then in chapter 47, his brothers still tell them the wrong thing. that we're not really shepherds, we're keepers of flocks because they hate shepherds. Did you read that in the verses? That's a little bit confusing, but here's the thing. Both shepherds and keepers of cattle in the Egyptian eyes are on the same level. They take care of animals and they are not looked on favorably. Okay, so when Joseph's telling his brothers, tell them what we are, I believe he's encouraging them to be honest. And Joseph, in this passage, number two, is helping his family by directing them in honesty. Joseph gave directions about how they would go and see Pharaoh, because he knew what Pharaoh would say, and what he would ask, and what they would think of what he would ask. And I'll just go ahead and put this up here. Joseph prioritized what God does. What does God prioritize? God prioritizes honesty. The Lord is against dishonesty. You know that, don't you? Honesty is a crucial aspect of what a Christian, what a Bible believer needs to have at their forefront of their thinking. Joseph was interested in them communicating something that was not to Joseph's notoriety. Hey, where's your family from? Well, they're from Canaan. What did your family do, Joseph? They took care of animals. Now, if Joseph was concerned about what people thought about him, that could be something he'd want to cover up. I don't think that Joseph had any concerns about what God was going to do with him if someone thought poorly of his family and their background. But do we sometimes live in a culture where people are concerned about what are other people gonna think of us? And do we wanna make that impression that we're that? Or do we wanna make the impression something other than what we really are? There is a whole industry of making people look better than they really do for their picture on Facebook or on social media. Here's a way to make your face look like you really don't look, but you look like what someone else might like. What is that called at its core? You may have used these services, and I'm just going to tell you, it is encouraging what? Dishonesty. Okay, you're like, Pastor, I don't want to put a bad picture. No, I want to put my glamour shot on there. Well, there is a part of us that wants to be seen in a positive way, but not in an honest way sometimes. Now, looking your best is one thing. Looking your best when it's not true, or looking to impose upon someone an idea that is not really what is truth. That is not how a Christian ought to operate. And in this passage, notice what he says in verse number 32. Here's the thing, and this is true in Egyptian culture, you can look back and see this, how people picture shepherds in Egyptian culture, what I read was, oftentimes as very thin, as very haggardly looking, and not the best light of people that they saw. In fact, those parts of culture that they saw very low, taking care of animals was way low on their list. All right, where did, by the way, shepherds and herdsmen often go? In desert places, transporting their herds, where it was often very difficult. It wasn't always a walk in the park job to have. It was a stinky job. How many of you have ever worked with animals? Okay, it's not always beautiful. Okay, a lot of people have these visions of grandeur of having their own cattle or their own chickens. And the big reason why people didn't want those things anymore is how much they stunk and how much it's dirty. Okay, it's nice to just go get your eggs at the store, isn't it? Now, I know there's nothing wrong with you having your eggs, okay, and your chickens and milking your own cow, all right, making your own butter. But isn't it ironic that even in our culture, Most people don't wanna mess with livestock. In their view, these were dirty jobs, rough jobs, not the most glamorous. And Joseph doesn't try to hide that. I put up on the screen there, Proverbs 6, verses 16 through 19. You might look over at those verses. Proverbs 6, verse 16 says, the Lord is against something. These six things doth the Lord hate, yea, seven are an abomination unto him, a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. Boy, that sounds like his brothers, doesn't it? I mean, they were willing to shed their brother's blood if that was needed, they were lying, and they had a proud attitude towards their brother. And heart that deviseth wicked imaginations. Feet that be swift to run to mischief. Does that sound like Joseph's brothers a little bit? Okay, to say that Joseph was encouraging his brothers to be deceptive is really, I think, not helpful biblical exposition. I don't think that that's at all what you take from these verses when you go to the next chapter and we'll see this. Joseph's not going to go against what God wants. He's going to highlight what God does desire. God's against dishonesty. Verse 19 of Proverbs 6 says, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. Okay. God is against dishonesty, and so are we. Don't you understand that, church? Now, we tolerate dishonesty when we think that it'll make us look good in someone else's eyes, or it will give me an edge. In the business world, dishonesty and, well, just cook the books or manipulate things is commonplace, but it's displeasing to God. It has no place. And you do realize that where you allow dishonesty to fester, it grows in the degree to which you'll continue in it. This family has had a challenge with dishonesty. I pointed this out before, but who else in the family has lived dishonestly? Not just Jacob, but Isaac and Abraham. Remember how Abraham was dishonest? With Sarah, every place that they've gone, you find in the latter time of this happening, she's my sister, she's my sister, she's my sister. And what was the reason for saying she's my sister? Well, yes, to save his own life, but also to protect Self. Self-preservation as a way, not just on his life, but for his things, for his keeping of stuff. And if Joseph wants to follow the pattern of the past, hey, tell Pharaoh what Pharaoh wants to hear. You ever heard someone say that? Just tell them what they want to hear. No! You're a follower of God. Don't follow the pattern of the world that says tell people what they want to hear. Notice in chapter 47 how this continues. So he's directing his family in a correct way, not in dishonesty. Verse number 1 says, flocks, and their herds, and all that they have are come out of the land of Canaan. And behold, they are in the land of Goshen. And he took some of his brethren, even five men, presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? So this was the question he knew would be asked. And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers. They said, moreover unto Pharaoh, for to sojourn in the land are we come, for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan. Now therefore we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. Okay, that was what Joseph had instructed them towards, and I believe that they're saying exactly what their brother had given them direction to. They're speaking honestly about the thing that they have need. The Lord is against dishonesty, but what else is the Lord for? The Lord delights in honesty. In Proverbs 11, 1, what does the Bible say? Look over there with me. Proverbs 11, verse 1. If you don't have this starred or marked in your Bible, you ought to. Proverbs 11, verse 1. Proverbs 11, 1, a false balance is abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight. The thing that is weighed, you know, on a scale to show what is the value of a piece of metal on one side or the kind of good that's being weighed to see how much of a thing. If someone had a dishonest weight or an unjust weight, they were being deceptive to gain for themselves. And what does the verse say? A just weight is whose delight. It's the Lord's delight that you be honest in your dealings. Look at Proverbs 12, 22. Just a couple of pages over probably in your Bible. Proverbs 12, 22. Lying lips are abomination to the Lord, but they that deal truly are his delight. Okay. Delighting. God delights in honesty. And you know what this family needed to be directed in? We're going to deal with this king, this pharaoh, in a way that demonstrates honesty. Now, consider in our day, you don't have a pharaoh, but do you have influences that you could be honest with or dishonest with? And that could benefit you or hurt you. Take your taxes, for example. See the smile on my face? You have a responsibility before God to be honest before the government. Yeah, but I don't want to be. Yeah, but it's going to cost me. Before you start thinking of how can I manipulate and get what I want by being dishonest, you need to consider what does my God want above everything else. Now, you may have questions relating how, you know, should I report this? Should I count this as a deduction? And you know, as well as I do, our culture loves to find loopholes inside of loopholes inside of loopholes to not take responsibility. Would you agree that there have been things like that that are done? Where there is something that is provided by the government for you to take a deduction or something, fine, go ahead. But to be dishonest so that you can, Okay? Or to manipulate things so that it looks good for your benefit. Does you know good? Because what the Lord delights in is honesty. Now, not just in the culture that we live in, but even personally. Are we sometimes not honest with the Lord regarding things in our own minds and hearts? Can that be an area of challenge? You know, you ought to ask yourself, are there areas I'm not being honest in before the Lord? God isn't delighting in this. I think I'm good, but I know I'm really not. I'm being dishonest, perhaps with someone else, perhaps with other Christians, perhaps even in my own heart with myself. You know, we can tell ourselves a lot of lies and be deceiving ourselves. where we don't need to, where we can live in honesty. And what Jacob's family needs is someone to say, here's the honest way to present things. And I think there was a reason for this truth being shared. Joseph knows something about this man, this king. What does he know? Well, he said it at the end of verse 34 of chapter 46. What does he know about the Egyptians? For every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians. Okay, where does Joseph believe the best place for his family to be is? Goshen. Separate from, probably to the east side of the Nile, and yet in an area that's still in prosperity, in the protection of Egypt where there is food, but separate from everyone else. Why is that valuable for the children of Israel to be there but separate from everyone else? Well, because God has a plan for this family, a special plan for this family. And if nobody likes them because they take care of animals, that's okay. That's actually to their benefit. They're going to be able to grow as a family unit and continue to thrive. And unlike the rest of the Egyptians, they're going to stay in one place. You say, what do you mean by the rest of the Egyptians? Look ahead to chapter 47, verse 21. Chapter 47, verse 21, Joseph outlines a lot of plans for Pharaoh's benefit. And one of the things he gives after the people run out of money to pay for food, the Egyptians run out of money, and after they run out of animals to give to Pharaoh for the food that they need, he has them basically give themselves to be taken wherever he needs them to go in the land. And in verse 21 of chapter 47, as for the people, the Egyptian people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to the other end thereof. Now, they basically got spread all over except for what group of people? The people in Jacob's family who are all in Goshen and who are going to grow there and prosper. And we'll find out that the future of this family is important because as they grow and as their family grows in size, they become a great nation. and they have great prosperity until there is a Pharaoh who is against them. But this truth and declaring something true, I believe was vital to their future. And God delights in truth. And so take note of the fact, a family directed in honesty. And then finally, a family blessed by direction. Look at chapter 47, verse seven. after they're given the direction, notice the blessing that comes in the following of the direction that they were given. And Joseph brought unto Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years. Few in evil have the days of the years of my life been. and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers and the days of their pilgrimage. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from before Pharaoh. And Joseph placed his father and his brethren and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Ramses, as Pharaoh had commanded." Now, notice, if you underline in your Bible, you might underline the statement in verse 11, and Joseph placed his father and his brethren. Joseph is able to give a place and direction to them. And it is a place where blessing is for his family. And he nourishes them in verse number 12. And Joseph nourished his father and his brother and all his father's household with bread according to their families. So Joseph has care for his family. Let's get on to this next point. The family blessed by direction that they have received and Joseph's care for his family is seen in verses 7 through 12. Then notice Joseph's care for Pharaoh. Now you say, why does Joseph's care for Pharaoh matter? In verses 13 through 26, there's no bread in all the land, and as I mentioned earlier, the people in the land of Egypt give their money, and when the money runs out, you find that they give their cattle and their animals to Pharaoh, who, by the way, who does Pharaoh give them to to take care of, do you think? Who did he want to help take care of his flocks? The people of Israel are the ones caring for these flocks that are growing in abundance. And after they run out of their flocks, the people even say, we'll give our land in ourselves. And who is the beneficiary of that? Pharaoh. Now, why is it a big deal that Pharaoh is benefiting from all of this? I want you to stop and think. Who's following directions in the land of Egypt? Not just Joseph's family, but Pharaoh. And when Pharaoh follows directions that benefit the children of Israel, God's chosen people, guess what happens with him? He's blessed by it, he's prospering. What will happen later when a Pharaoh chooses to oppress them? What's gonna happen to that Pharaoh? He's going to find God is against him. And so where there is following the direction of God, there is care both for the family of Joseph, but also for the king who is doing God's bidding and God's blessing. You find at the end of this that there would even be, once these people are established, they give them seed to continue to grow and plant and have flocks, and they're to give one-fifth, the fifth part of what they have, to Pharaoh. 20%. How many of you think a flat tax at 20%? Okay, we'll talk about that later. Hey, guess who the beneficiary of that is? Pharaoh. And the Pharaoh's to come. until there's a king who loses it all because of his oppression of these people. And so Joseph's care is seen in his family and towards Pharaoh. And this is a leadership decision on the part of Pharaoh. When the future king decides not to treat them in this way, God deals harshly with him. And then finally, Joseph's family summarized is seen in verse 27. If you want to define how God deals with these people, Verse 27 is a great summary, and Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen, and they had possessions therein and grew and multiplied exceedingly. Now, all of that because of directions that are followed, but all of that stemming from a man who said, I'm not going to respond to my brother's wrong actions with wrong response. You know, Joseph's faith towards God is obvious in this narrative because his response towards his brothers when he could do them harm is not, I desire that, I desire what God wants. You know, really when you think of honesty, When we come to vengeance opportunities, what is the most honest thing you can consider when someone has done you wrong? What's the honest reality? Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Is it mine to take vengeance? No. Is it mine to exert on someone else the hurt and pain that they've caused me? No, that's not honest. And yet we live in dishonesty often when we take into our hands what isn't ours to do. And when we do not see, and this is the great lesson of Joseph, that God has allowed these things for a purpose that is bigger than what I am experiencing in this moment. We oftentimes will not see all that God is doing in our lives in this moment. and our responses may have impact that last hundreds of years. Have you ever thought about that? The responses of your life this year, this week, this month, could have impacts upon hundreds of years into the future. You're like, I thought the Lord's gonna return. He may, but if he does not, could your life matter and have impact upon the lives of others into a long distance into the future? Absolutely, absolutely. All the more importance of living in honesty today. all the more value in our seeing, God, I'm gonna trust you with the outcomes and the direction, I think, of honesty that you will give to those around you is vital. Maybe to your spouse, maybe to those that you work with, maybe to your students, around other students. I'm gonna live in honesty. Parents, living in honesty before our children, living in honesty before other Christians. so that God would be glorified. And may that be our focus as we continue on in our