Genesis 37 to start with, and then we're going to go to John 10. I didn't know, and I still don't know, which direction to go with this study now. We're at the point where Joseph will have a big part of this for the remainder of the book of Genesis. And I think Joseph is one of the greatest pictures and types of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, I didn't know. We wanna pick those types up and bring them into the New Testament, if we can. So, that's what we're gonna do today. Joseph, a type of Christ, this is the number one, number one study on this one, the shepherd. And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen-year-old, was feeding flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Billah. These sons were Dan and Naphtali. And were the sons of Zilphah, Gad and Asher. his father's wives, and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a coat of many colors. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. I could have and started to have gone to Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. But this conflict there in verse three, this conflict between Joseph and his brothers, which led to his going to Jacob and telling his father sort of intrigued me. What was this evil? that led to this exposure of these four brothers. I think it was neglect of their duty. They were shepherds. So I think they neglected their duty. What specifically, who knows? Who knows? Could have been many things, but the sheep were being neglected, I think. Turn to John now, chapter 10. We're going to pick up at verse 11. I am the Good Shepherd. I am the Good Shepherd. It's interesting in the Bible concerning our Lord, the metaphors used in Scripture concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. The lily, the rose, the foundation, the door. We've got the door there in verse 7 of chapter 10. The door The bread, the water, the way, there's others. None of them really and fully explain our Lord, do they? They're metaphors. Paul wrote in Ephesians 3, 8, he said, to me, grace is given that I might preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. and they are unsearchable. That's why these metaphors are so many and none really explain Him completely. But, whatever the metaphor, whatever metaphor is used, always keep this in mind, whatever metaphor is used, it will always, when it was concerning our Lord, will always have a definite article. The. The. He is THE Good Shepherd. He is THE door. He is THE foundation. Our Lord is never an A. He's not a rose. He's not a lily. He's not a shepherd. He is THE. If my Lord Jesus Christ is not THE in all things, Rod, I have absolutely no hope. If He's just another A, If he's just another physician, then I'm gonna die. He is the physician. He is the great physician. He is the Good Shepherd. There is not another anything to compare with our Lord. Nothing. I am. I am God. I am God. I'm Jehovah and I am the Good Shepherd. I'm holy, I'm righteous, I'm great, but mainly I'm good. You say, well great's better than good. I don't know, I don't know. You know Moses said, Lord show me your glory. And what'd he say? I'll cause my goodness to pass before you. I think of all the names given. The lily, the rose, this is the sweetest, don't you? The good shepherd. Good shepherd. That's the sweetest. Somebody says, what sounds best? What sounds more endearing? He's a great dad or he's a good dad? She's a great mom or she's a good mom? I think good has feeling, doesn't it? Doesn't good have feeling? She's a good mom. He's a good shepherd. The good shepherd, it says, gives his life for the sheep. That's good, isn't it? Scripture says, greater love has no man than this than to lay down his life. Joseph, Joseph obviously in the text was a good shepherd. His father was a good shepherd, his grandfather. Great-grandfather. David was a good shepherd. None of those men gave their life. Only THE shepherd gave his life. Verses... Go to Isaiah 40. Let's read about this. This is good. Isaiah 40. Verse 9, O Zion, that's the church, O Zion that bring us good tidings, Get thee up into the high mountain. Go way up there, to tell this. O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up. Don't be afraid. Say unto the cities of Judah, behold your God. Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rue for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young. He's good because he's all powerful, but he's so gentle. Good shepherd. As compared to what? Verses 12 and 13. But he that is at hireling, this is Jacob's brothers, He that is a hireling and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. And the wolf catches the sheep and scattereth the sheep. And the hiring fleeth, because he is a hireling, and careth not for his sheep. Joseph's brothers had no love for their father's sheep. They neglected them. They just waited for Jacob to pay them. That's what they were there for, pay me. Only Joseph loved and cared, cared enough to try to get something done about it. See, Hyrulean and Levith, Levith and those brothers left. They left Joseph and those sheep for anything they wanted more, which was about anything. They left when the sheep needed extra care. Maybe they were sick and needed bandaging and doctoring and nursing. They left when they needed extra care. They left when the sheep needed protection from this wolf. They left, they weren't there. Didn't care. Let me read Ezekiel 34. This is, this is, this is those brothers, this is bad preachers, this is anybody that don't care about the sheep, Ezekiel 34. And of the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesying, saying to them, Thus saith the Lord God unto you shepherds. It's not Ezekiel preaching, it's God preaching. Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves, Should not the shepherds feed the flock? Don't you feed your horses if you're a calvary man before you feed yourself? Don't you feed, huh? You eat the fat and you clothe yourselves with wool, you kill them that are fed, but you feed not the flock. The diseased have you not strengthened, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought again that which was driven away, neither have you done anything, neither have you sought that which was lost, but with force and with cruelty you have ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd, and they became meat to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. Now she wandered through all the mountains and upon every high hill. Yea, my flock was scattered upon the face, all the face of the earth, and none did search, none of these shepherds, none did search or seek after them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. As I live, saith the Lord, God surely, because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherd search for my flock. But the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock. Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against you, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock. Neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more, for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat. for them, bad shepherds, bad shepherds, hirelings. Paul wrote this. He was going to send Timothy to that church and he wrote this, there is no one like Timothy who will care for your situation. He said, everybody else, every other preacher that I know of, they seek their own, not the things of Christ. Verse 14, I am the good shepherd, he says it again, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. Spurgeon said this implies four things. Number one, the implication is I know them because I own them. They're mine. They're my sheep. He says on this rock I will build my church. He says over in Malachi 3, on the day that I will make up my jewels, they're His, owns them. Number 2, they're known because they're a gift of His Father. Verse 29 of John 10, My Father which gave them Me is greater than all. Joseph's sheep were Jacob's sheep. They had mutual interest in them. Not to those other four boys. They cared nothing but what they would gain from the money that their father paid them. He says on in verse 29, ain't nobody can pluck that out of my father's hand or mine. Why? Because verse 30 he said, he and I are one. Me and my father are one. I'm their surety. I'm their responsibility. Third thing, they're known, their names are known. It says that in verse 3 of chapter 10. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. Gave a distinct message, didn't he? God spoke. God spoke by name to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob. All by name. He gave all of those men a distinct message. Leave. Sojourn. Trust me. Worship me. He called others. He called Peter, James, John, Paul. He called me. He called me. He called you by name. The Lord Jesus Christ never forgets a name. I forget names. Do y'all forget names? I do. I'm pretty good with faces. I told Kim the other day, we were somewhere, I said, boy, that lady looks familiar over there. She said, that's your mother. I said, oh, okay. The Lord Jesus Christ knows my name. Knows my name. And he'll remember my name. Why? Because once again, verse 12, gifts given by the Father. The Father. You can't forget somebody that God Almighty has given you, can you? He says this, all that the Father gives me shall come to me. And I'll know them. I'll know their names. I'll call them. They'll come because I'm going to call them. You know, over in Luke 10, 17 or so, two or three verses there, the Lord sent those disciples out. I think it was the 70. He sent them out to preach and to do miracles. And they came back and they were so full because they had cast out those devils and demons. And they said, even the devils listen to us. And what our Lord say, don't be happy because of that. Sort of a strange response. He said, be happy because your names are known in heaven. Well, we love for our names to be known somewhere, don't we? We do. We do. Somebody that we think is important, you know. He knows my name. He knows my name. Well, what's most important? Who do you want to remember your name of? What was I reading in Proverbs? What's the most important thing after this little short life is over? That the sheriff knows your name or that God knows your name? He knows them and known of them because he's always known them. If you're known of Christ, there was never a time He did not know you. Think about that. Never a time He didn't know you. He says, I have chosen you from the foundation of the world. He said, before I formed you, I knew you. And He says this, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness, I called you, I drew you. He says this, Jacob have I loved, E.D. Not will love. Not that I'll look and see all the good things he'll do. I've loved him. He saw have I hated. Not because I saw the bad things he would do. I just hated him. But I loved Jacob. I loved him. Loved him from all eternity. Verse 14, continue on. I know I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. Now there's some out there, there's some out there that don't know Him right now, but they will, because He says they will. They will, in time they will, they'll come. They'll come, I'll know Him because He knew and loved me before I knew and loved Him. That's what the scripture says, isn't it? Here's love. Here's true love. Not that we loved Him. You know, religious say, oh, I love Jesus. Oh, I love Jesus. Like that's a big thing. No, the big thing is that He loved you. Yet I never loved Him outside of that. I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep, I'm known to mine, as the father, this is all continued, all relies on the same thing, as the father knoweth me, even so I know the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. Father knows me. Jacob, over in verse three of our text, Genesis 37, said, was loved of his father. He was loved more than all others of His Father. This union of Christ and the sheep is just like the union of the Father and the Son. I'll show you that. Just flip over a few pages to John 17. 21. This is His prayer. This is our Lord's prayer. Praying to God His Father, verse 21, that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me and I in you, that they also may be one with us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me." Same love. Isn't that amazing? The same love. Verse 15, the latter part, he said, I'll lay down my life for the sheep. Here's some things that most Protestant religion knows. Number one, religion in general knows that Christ came to redeem a people. For God so loved the world. Everybody knows that. He came to redeem a people. Most religion knows that those people were sinners. 1 Timothy 1.15 tells us that. He came to preach to sinners. Our gospel is to sinners. Religion knows, as our representative Christ, the second Adam. 1 Corinthians 15.45 says, the first Adam was made a living soul, the second Christ, a quickening spirit. So most know as our second Adam, our representative, He lived, To do this, he lived without sin. He died our curse and rose that we would live. Most religion knows that, don't they? They're all indisputable. If you take this as your guide, this Word of God, your religion, and you use this Holy Bible as your guide, it's there. Very few in religion would dispute those facts. Here's the question. Who is it for? That's the question. Who is it for? Who was redemption for? Well, chapter 10 is clear. It was for the sheep. The sheep. Verse 11. I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Verse 15, As the Father knoweth me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. It's even further and clearer brought out in verse 24, Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If you're the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. but you believe not, because you are not of my sheep." That's why folks don't believe, they're not the sheep of Christ. As I said unto you, my sheep, these sheep, hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anybody pluck them out of my hand. That's for the who all this was made possible for. The sheep. The sheep. Verse 16, And other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Who's that? That's us. That's me and you. That's modern-day sheep. Go back to Abraham. Our Lord promised that he would give him a people as the sand of the seashore and as the stars of heaven. Revelation describes that as a people of every tongue, tribe, and kindred. Innumerable amount of people. He said that to Jacob at least twice, reiterated that promise. Genesis 28 and Genesis 32. Now who is that? Who is that going to be? So many that nobody can number them. I mean, our numbering system goes pretty high, don't it? Well, a lot of preachers, a lot of preachers, a lot of grace preachers say that this is infants. And I agree, there have been a lot of infants die, you know, in infancy, in childhood, before they understood anything. And I do, with them, believe they'll be taken in the covenant of election. But I think it's more than that. I really do. I think if that's it alone, then to me, Christ is going in the back door. I don't think that's what he's declaring through the scriptures. Look at, look at Isaiah 11, 9. Or I'll turn over there and read it to you. Isaiah 11, 9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." The whole earth at one time, not sporadically over time. All at one time. Chapter 45 of Isaiah, verse 22, Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else." All at one time this is going to happen. I think Haggai 2-7 says, I will shake all the nations, and the desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts. All at one time that's going to happen. Not Not Pentecost, then Europe, then the U.S. No. All at one time. I think it's a... I think... I hope... I hope... I'm wrong and I'm wrong. It's no big deal. I'm not going to cut a fella off because he don't agree with it. But I hope it's a great revelation of the gospel one day. And I hope that's what he's talking about. That's the them that I think in verse 16 he's talking about. I think that's them he prays for in John 17 and 9. Alright, verse 17 of John 10. Let me get back over there. Therefore doth my father love me, because I laid down my life for the sheep, that I might take it again." Jacob loved Joseph above all others because of his unfeigned love for his father. Just such a mutual love there. They couldn't, it's like a husband and wife better. They just constantly trying to outdo the other. Mutual love. You can read about this love that he had for his father over in Isaiah 53, that whole chapter. All that our Lord went through was love for us and love for his father. And the very same love the father had for the son, the son hath for the father is our love. I read it to you all ago. You love them as you love me. verses 19 through 21, and there was a division therefore again among the Jews for these things. And many of them said, he hath a devil and is mad. Why hear you him? Others, others are two factions, others said, these are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? Which Jesus is yours? Which one's yours? Do you believe Him? Do you believe Him? Do you believe He is the Good Shepherd? Is He your Good Shepherd? Which is yours? Which faction are you on? Which side are you on here? Does Christ our Lord, as Joseph did, defend you before His Father? Does He care for you? Does He love you for the sake of His Father? Does He? Can you say As David writes in Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.