If you would, in your Bibles, please open with me to the book of Genesis, chapter 37. If you're here with us this morning and you do not have a Bible, I would encourage you to have one open, and so you may use the pew Bible in front of you. And our passage this morning is found on page 31. Genesis, chapter 37. Last Sunday, we began a new series entitled Old Testament Faith, to see Christ and to follow Christ. And so we have put on pause our series in the letter of Revelation. We'll come back to that in the month of May, near the end of the month of May. But for these next several Sundays, we're going to be turning our attention to Old Testament stories. And when I say stories, they are not fictitious stories. These are true accounts, historical events, that's refilled to us our God, and he has preserved them in his Word. And so we're turning to these Old Testament stories, to these Old Testament characters, and we are looking at these stories, at these characters, so that they might point us to Christ. Because if you recall the words of Jesus in Luke chapter 24, as he was walking on the road to Emmaus with those two disciples, and Jesus tells them this, he says, wasn't not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? In beginning with Moses and all the prophets, Jesus interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And so with those two disciples, Jesus began to go back to what we call the Old Testament, pulling out Old Testament characters, Old Testament stories, and to show how they pointed to Him, that how those lives in the Old Testament foreshadowed His life. But these Old Testament stories and characters do not just foreshadow Christ, they don't just show us Christ, but they also show us how we are to follow Christ for us today in the 21st century. If you recall the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 15, there he wrote, for whatever was written in former days, that's a reference to the Old Testament. So whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope. So the Apostle Paul and the other New Testament writers, they would frequently turn to the Old Testament and to use those stories as an encouragement to Christians in their day, and therefore in our day today, about how we are to follow Christ. And so that's what we're going to see here this morning in the life of Joseph. in the life of Joseph. And really today, we're gonna be going from Genesis chapter 37 to chapter 50, because those chapters of Genesis really cover the life of Joseph. 13 chapters out of 50 chapters are really devoted to his life. It's not just about him, but he certainly is the main character. And I know what you're thinking this morning. 13 chapters, pastor, we barely get through 13 verses on a Sunday. Well, let me just tell you, we made it through in the first service. So if y'all listen as fast as they listened, we can make it through, I promise you. But we're gonna be looking at Joseph's life really from what we call 30,000 feet. We're not getting into the details of his life. I'll be pulling a few things out throughout his life. And so that at the end of the sermon today, we'll first look at Joseph's life. So that way we have it in front of us, a summary of his life. then we'll be coming to the point in the message where it points us to Christ. How do we see the life of Joseph foreshadowing the life of Christ? And then we'll close our time together in looking at his life and how it teaches us to follow Christ today. And so let us go to the Lord in prayer before we come to his word. Father, we do bow before you, and God, with the words that we have sung already, God, I do pray that you would continue to be our vision, that we would one look at all of life through the lens of your truth, of your scripture. And God, that we would continue to keep our focus set upon you, the one true God, who has delivered us from sin, death, and hell, has brought us to Christ and made us citizens of his kingdom. So God, now, as we come to your word, and as we turn our attention to an event, to a life that occurred thousands of years ago, oh God, let us see that you're the same God yesterday, today, and forever. And what we see of you in Joseph's life is still true today. So God, use this time. God, use it for the good of your people and for your glory. We pray these things in your son's name. Amen. And so as we come to Joseph's life, let me break his life out for you into three parts. It's just really easy to understand his life in three stages or three epics of his lifetime. The first of those is Genesis chapter 37, and that is Joseph is bitterly hated and betrayed. He's bitterly hated by his brothers and betrayed by his brothers. And then the second stage of Joseph's life is Genesis chapters 39 and 40. And that is Joseph is falsely accused and condemned. He'll be falsely accused by Potiphar's wife and condemned by Potiphar. And then the last stage of Joseph's life is chapters 41 to 50 through the end of the book. And here we see that Joseph is providentially restored and exalted. Providentially restored and exalted. So those are the three phases that we're gonna be looking at Joseph's life. So let's begin here this morning in the first of his phase. And so we'll see Joseph here. He is 17 years old at this time. We're told that there in verse two. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph being 17 years old. So just keep that in mind. This is gonna be helpful for us to understand his life a little bit more. But here we see Joseph in his father's house. And in his father's house, what we learn is that Joseph is favored by his father. Look there at verse three. It says, now Israel, now just me pause here. Israel here is not referring to the nation of Israel as we're used to it being used later on in the Old Testament. But Israel is the name of Jacob, Joseph's father. Recall that Jacob is the grandson of Abraham. We looked at Abraham and Isaac last Sunday. So Abraham has a son, Isaac. Isaac has two sons, they're twins, Esau and Jacob. But it is to Jacob that God says, I will give the blessings, the promises I made with Abraham that were passed to Isaac are being passed to Jacob. And so Jacob is later renamed Israel. Now there's a night in Jacob's life where he wrestles with an angel of the Lord, and he is then renamed Israel by God. The word Israel just means wrestle or struggle with God. So that's referring to his father there. So back to verse three, it says, now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a robe of many colors. Now we need to recall that Jacob has 12 sons, including Joseph. And those 12 sons become the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel. But out of those 12 sons, Jacob loves Joseph the most. It says because he was the son in his old age. So Joseph is one of the youngest of the 12. But also when you read through the book of Genesis, we learn that Joseph, his mother is Rachel. And Jacob loved Rachel the most. He had two wives, Rachel and Leah. But it was Rachel that he loved. And she was barren for many years. But then the Lord finally opened her womb and the first son that she gave birth to is Joseph. And so he loved Joseph because it reminded him of his wife who has now departed. And the way that Jacob showed his favoritism towards Joseph, at least in one way, is that he makes him this robe of many colors. Now, the best way for us to understand that is this way. I want you to imagine the other 11 sons all putting on overalls in the morning so that they could go out and work in the fields, they're shepherds. But to Joseph, he has given a robe. It'd be like giving him a three-piece suit. You don't expect him to go out and to work in the fields alongside the others. So while they are out working, Joseph stays behind. So he's favored by his father. But Joseph is not just favored by his father, he's also favored by his God. Because we learn in verses five to seven and in verse nine, that God gives two dreams to Joseph. And in both of these dreams, it's illustrative language or an illustrative dream. But in the first of the dreams, there's 12 sheaves or there's 11 sheaves of just think of wheat, of hay all gathered together, and they're bowing down before Joseph's sheaves of grain. And he tells that dream to his brothers and his brothers rightly interpreted as meaning, are you saying that one day we're gonna bow down before you? And they just mock him for it. But then God gives Joseph another dream, and it's of the moon, the sun, and the stars all bowing down before him. Again, the brothers recognize that what this dream means is that they one day will bow down before Joseph. God has favored Joseph. And because Joseph is favored by his father and favored by his God, Joseph is hated by his brothers. Look at verse four. It says, But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. And I want you to turn to verses 18 and 20, because one day all the brothers are out in the field. In fact, they have wandered off into another country to find grass for the sheep. And Jacob, their father is concerned about their safety. And so he sends Joseph out to find them. So Joseph isn't working, but he sends Joseph out to find them, to check on them, make sure they're okay. And so as Joseph is approaching them, listen to verses 18 to 20. It says, they saw him, that is his brothers, they saw him from afar. And before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of these pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him and we will see what will become of his dreams. And so that's their plan. It is to kill him. They hate him. They despise him, especially for these dreams that he shared with them. But what we learn is that Reuben, one of the brothers, he doesn't want to kill Joseph. And so he says, let's not kill him. Let's just throw him into this pit. And so the brothers do that. Joseph comes and they throw him into this pit. And they began then to eat lunch and to decide what to do now with Joseph. And if you know the story, what we learn is that the brothers see these traders of goods, traders of slaves off a caravan, off in the distance. And they said, here's a great idea. Let's sell him as a slave. That way his blood's not on our hands. We're not responsible for his death. We'll make a little money in the meantime. But they knew very well that he would probably come to an early death. by being a slave sold in Egypt. And so they do just that. And so he's bitterly hated and betrayed in chapter 37. And that brings us to the second stage of Joseph's life. And that's chapters 39 to 40. And in these two chapters, chapter 37, Joseph is 17 years old. But in chapters 39 to 40, it covers 13 years of Joseph's life from the age of 17 to the age of 30. And here we're going to see that he is falsely accused and condemned. He's going to begin in Potiphar's house and then he's going to go to the jailhouse. Let's first look at Joseph in Potiphar's house there in chapter 39. So Joseph is taken by this caravan of traitors and he's taken to Egypt and he's sold as a slave and he's purchased by Potiphar, at least by someone in Potiphar's household. And we learn there in verse 1 of chapter 39 that Potiphar is an officer of Pharaoh, so he's a man that had a high position there in the Egyptian government, had much wealth and power, and so he's bought to be a servant, a slave, in his household. And as Joseph is in Potiphar's house, the Lord begins to show him favor. In fact, we're told there in verse two, it says, the Lord was with Joseph and he became a successful man in the house of his Egyptian master. So just hang on to that. I want you to hang on to that. The Lord was with Joseph in the midst of being sold into slavery by his brothers who wanted him dead. And now he's in a foreign land, in a foreign house, sold as a slave, but the Lord is with him and the Lord blesses him. And Potiphar recognizes this. And so what we see in verses two to six is that Joseph is favored by Potiphar. Potiphar puts Joseph in charge of everything in his household. And so Joseph now is running this household for Potiphar. And then in verses seven to 18, We see that Joseph is accused by Mrs. Potiphar. We're not told Potiphar's wife's name, so we'll just refer to her as Mrs. Potiphar. But it seems like things are going well for Joseph, at least for a period of time, but that begins to change. And so we're told there in verse seven, it says, now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, lie with me. Now the word lie doesn't mean tell me a falsehood. She's seducing him. And this will go on for a period of days and weeks and who knows months. She's constantly seducing him and he is constantly saying no. But then comes that time in verse 11, it says, but one day, and I'm not going to read this whole account, but one day, Mrs. Potiphar puts out all the servants from the house. So it's just her and Joseph. And she basically grabs Joseph, pins him to the wall. And again, she says, lie with me. And we're told that Joseph, that he wiggled out of her grip and he left his outer cloak behind and he just ran from the house. And Mrs. Potiphar, she's left behind holding this cloak and I'm sure she's angry, embarrassed, but she wants revenge. And so she begins to devise this scheme and she yells out, basically yelling out, this man tried to rape me. And the other servants come running in from being put out, they come running in, and she says, this foreigner that my husband has brought into our house, he's tried to rape me. See, I have his cloak in my hands. And she hangs on to it until her husband comes home. And she tells this false tale to him. And it seems like Potiphar is in this position of, do I believe my wife? Do I believe that he really tried to attack her? It doesn't seem in character with Joseph. But nonetheless, after this false accusation, Potiphar has him put into jail under these false accusations. So we see in chapter 39, verse 19, that Joseph is confined in jail. He's in the jailhouse now. And while he's there in the jailhouse, I want you to look there at verse 21. It says, but the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. Once again, we're told that when things begin to turn in Joseph's life towards what isn't bad, we are reminded that the Lord is with him and blesses him. And so there in the jailhouse, the jailer of the jailhouse, he puts Joseph in charge. I typically think of Andy Griffith, for those of you that know the show, watch the show. You know, they would just hang the key right there in between the two jail doors, right? You'd let yourself in and out. Well, that's kind of how it was for Joseph. Kind of let yourself in and out. He was in charge over all the other prisoners. And while he is there in prison, we're told in chapter 40 that two servants of Pharaoh are imprisoned. It's a cupbearer and it's a baker. And both of these men had done something to offend Pharaoh. So they're put into jail. And while they're in jail, obviously they meet Joseph, but one night while in jail, each of those two men have a dream. And the dream disturbs them. So they wake the next morning, they're disturbed by this dream that they each had. And Joseph is talking with them. They say, yeah, we had this strange dream. And Joseph says, well, tell it to me. And so the cupbearer gives his dream to Joseph and Joseph says, here's the interpretation. In three days, you're going to be released from jail and restored back to your service. Now, as the cupbearer, that cupbearer was trusted. By Pharaoh because this cupbearer would give counsel to fit to the Pharaoh would test all the food of Pharaoh make sure nothing was poisoned So he had a close relationship with Pharaoh. So I mentioned that because Joseph tells this cupbearer He says when you are restored to your position Remember me and tell Pharaoh that I am innocent And I'm here in jail and get me out of here And then the baker tells his dream to Joseph and And Joseph says, well, in three days you're going to be released from jail, but you're going to be sent to execution and have your head removed. And sure enough, in three days, the cupbearer is restored to his position and the baker is executed. But I want you to turn to the end of chapter 40 there, verse 23. So the cupbearer, as he is restored back to service, it says, yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. Now I want us to hang on to that because we need to remember that these two chapters cover 13 years of Joseph's life. We don't know how many of those years are in Potiphar's house, how many of those years are in the jail house. It seems like probably most of those years are in the jail house. It seems like he's forgotten. Forgotten by the cupbearer. As the reader, we would think, is he forgotten by God? But he sits there and waits. But that brings us to the third phase of Joseph's life. And that's chapters 41 through the end of the book, through chapter 50. And here we see that Joseph is providentially restored and exalted. He's providentially restored and exalted. Notice there in verse 1 of chapter 41, it says, after two whole years. Now that's to take us back to chapter 40. So the cupbearer has forgotten Joseph. He's back in his position serving Pharaoh, but he's completely forgotten about this young man, Joseph. But after two years of being forgotten, we are told in chapter 41 that Pharaoh has a dream. And not just a dream, but two dreams. And they're like nightmares to him. And so he calls all of his religious guys to himself and he tells them his dreams and he says, tell me what they mean. And none of his men could do it. But then the cupbearer remembered something. He remembered that there was a man in jail who could interpret dreams. And so we're going to see here in chapter 41 that Joseph is called up to Pharaoh's house. He's called up to Pharaoh's house to interpret these two dreams. And Joseph does just that. Pharaoh tells him his dreams. And Joseph says, here's what your dreams mean. And basically here's what the dreams mean. They are of imminent events. of a seven-year harvest and a seven-year famine. That there will be a seven-year harvest that Egypt has never seen before. They are going to be just flooded with crops, with grain. But immediately after that seven years, there's going to be a seven-year famine that's going to eat up all that excess grain from the previous seven years. So Joseph says, that's what your dreams mean. And just as Joseph was favored by Potiphar, was favored by the jailer. So Joseph is favored by Pharaoh because Pharaoh begins to scratch his head. It's like, who's going to oversee this for us? Cause he believes Joseph. He doesn't think this is all just made up. He believes Joseph. And he's like, who's going to oversee this seven year harvest that we can store up enough grain to help see us through those seven years of famine. He thinks to himself, who better than Joseph himself? And so Joseph is placed in second in command to oversee the collection and distribution of grain. He is in second in command over the country of Egypt. Now just think about that. A young boy that we're introduced to in chapter 37, a 17 year old boy in a small family home in the land of Canaan. And now 13 years later, he's second in command over Egypt. And so look at Genesis 41 verses 56 to 57. It says, so when the famine had spread over all the land, so the seven years of harvest are over, the famine is beginning. It says, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain because the famine was severe over all the earth. Meaning that this famine spread to all the other surrounding countries and they had nothing to eat and they began to send their people to Egypt because they heard that in Egypt, there's grain, there's food, let's go there and buy. And I said, I tell us that I draw our attention to that because what we see in chapters 42 to 50 is that Joseph is reunited with his family. He's going to be reunited with his brothers and with his father because of this famine. Look there at Genesis 42 verses six and nine. So this famine, it is spread all the way to the land of Canaan, where Joseph is from, where his brothers still live, where his father still lives. And they have nothing to eat. And so Jacob says to his sons, he says, go to Egypt, buy us grain. And that's what they do. So in verse six, Who is it that they're going to have to talk to, to get grained? It's Joseph himself. So verse six, it says, now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and, now get this, and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. What does that remind you of? The dreams that God gave to Joseph when he was 17 years old. They said, are we going to bow down before you, Joseph? That's ridiculous. Here they are doing it. Verse seven, Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them. Now get this. He has not seen his brothers. I think that Joseph at this time, he's around 39, 40 years old. He has not seen his brothers since the age of 17, but he saw them and he recognized them. But he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. Where did you come from? He said. And they said, from the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. Now they didn't recognize him. I mean, he was 17 when they last saw him. And he is now what we would call a middle-aged man, even though he lives to be 110. So he's not quite middle-aged, but close enough, I guess. And he's probably all dicked out in the garb of the Egyptian culture, so they don't recognize him. But Joseph recognizes them. And just now through a series of events, they buy grain, he never tells them who he is, they buy grain, they go back to Canaan. But all that grain that they buy is used up and they have to go back to Egypt again. And I want you now to turn with me to Genesis chapter 45, verses 1 to 8. Because it is at the second visit of his brothers that Joseph finally reveals himself to them. So we're told there in verse 1 of chapter 45, it says, then Joseph could not control himself before those who stood by him. That's talking to his own servants there in his household. And so he cried, make everyone go out from me. So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. His brothers are there in his house. They still don't know it's him. They're eating dinner. And Joseph can't contain himself any longer. So verse two, it says, and he wept aloud so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, now get this, I am Joseph. Is my father still alive? But his brothers could not answer him for they were dismayed at his presence. Now, do you think that they expected to be in the presence of their brother Joseph? They thought to themselves, he is long dead. We sold him as a slave. He was taken to Egypt. He is not going to live long. And yet here he is. And now verse four. So Joseph said to his brothers, come near to me, please. And they came near and he said, I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Now, these would not be my words to my brothers. I don't have brothers, but I don't think I would have said this, but listen. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. And why? For God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, so your two years into the seven years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here. But God, hang on to that. He has made me a father to Pharaoh and a Lord of all his house and a ruler over all the land of Egypt. And so hurry, go up to my father and say to him, thus, your son, Joseph is alive. God has made me Lord over all Egypt. Come down to me and do not tarry. Oh, Joseph, what forgiveness he has for his brothers. Says, don't be angry at what you did. God is the one that sent me here. Not you, I mean, they did it, but it was God's plans. He says, go and get dad and move down to Egypt, let's all live together. And so they do that. And that's from basically Genesis 45 to 50. All of his family comes to Egypt and they're living together there in the land of Egypt. I want you to turn with me to Genesis 50 for one last look into Joseph's life. And then we'll see how his life foreshadows the life of Christ. So we come now to the end of Genesis and Really, we're coming to the end of Joseph's life, but before he dies, his father Jacob dies. Now, I want you to look at verse 15. It says, When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, It may be that Joseph will hate us and will pay us back for all the evil we did to him. 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. And now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father. Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Oh, if I was one of these 11 brothers, I think I'd be thinking the same thing. It's Hey, since dad's been alive, Joseph has been kind to us, gracious to us. But now that dad's dead. Oh, Joseph is going to exact vengeance upon us. And so I really think that they make up this story here about their father saying, Hey, Joseph, you need to forgive your brothers. As if Joseph hasn't already forgiven them. And so when Joseph hears his brothers say this to him, he just weeps. He weeps because he thinks he's looking into the heart of his brothers and his brothers are still fearful. They don't recognize that he has forgiven them. So verse 18, it says, his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, behold, we are your servants. But Joseph said to them, do not fear. For am I in the place of God, meaning I'm not the one to judge, God is. And now verse 20, 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 as they are today. So do not fear, I will provide for you and for your little ones. Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Oh, what a heart of forgiveness Joseph continues to have all these years later. But I want you to see there in verse 20, that statement that Joseph makes. When he says, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. Yes, his brothers meant evil against Joseph. They wanted him dead. But notice when it says, when Joseph says, but God meant it for good, notice what it does not say. It does not say that you meant it for evil, but God somehow turned it into good. As if God is outside of my life, kind of watching what's going on in my life, something bad happens to me. And now God says, you know what? I think I'll intervene at this point and I'll kind of turn it and make it into something good. You know, the old phrase, you know, if you have lemons, make lemonade. That's not what God's doing here. Know what? Joseph is confessing. He's saying, yes, you intended to do me harm, but you know what? It was God's plan all along from the very beginning. It was his plan from the very beginning to have you sell me as a slave and that I would be sold into Potiphar's house. And from Potiphar's house, I'd be put into the jail house. And then from jail, from the jail house, I'd be put into Potiphar's house. This was all God's providential plan. Could God have done it different? Sure. Is this the way that God did it? Yes. This is the faith of Joseph. So what does his life foreshadow about the life of Christ? First, just as Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, so Jesus was betrayed by his own people. I want you to see the connection here. It's not just Joseph being betrayed and Jesus being betrayed, but who was Joseph betrayed by? His other 11 brothers who are the heads of the tribes of Israel. The very people chosen by God and the very people that through generation after generation, Jesus, the son of God, would be born into. So just as Joseph was betrayed by the tribes of Israel in a sense, so Jesus was betrayed by his own people, the Israelites. I want you to turn to John chapter one with me. Over in John's gospel chapter one, these verses, you have to really understand verses one to 18 of John's gospel to understand the rest of his gospel, because it's like a prologue. But I just want you to see here in verses nine to 11, What will be the reception of Jesus as He is born into this world, the Son of God, as He is incarnated, born of the Virgin Mary, takes flesh upon Himself? He is the man Jesus. How will He be received by the very people, the very Israelites, that they are expecting a Messiah? Well, look there at verse nine. It says, the true light, which gives light to everyone, that's the son of God, Jesus, was coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. Now get verse 11. He came to his own and his own people did not receive him. Who's his own people? His fellow Israelites. He was hated by them. You read about the Pharisees, they hated him. The people of Israel, yeah, there were some that gathered around Jesus and they followed him. But there were some that really just followed Jesus because he did a lot of neat stuff. Look at all these miracles he does. He gives us bread. I'll follow him for that. But when you get to the end of his life, those same people are crying out, crucify him. He's betrayed. And just as Joseph was falsely accused, falsely accused by Mrs. Potiphar, so Jesus was falsely accused of blasphemy by the people. On that night that Jesus is betrayed by Judas, he's taken to a religious court. And it's basically, what charges do we have against this man? What's his guilt? And ultimately they say he is guilty of blasphemy because he has said that he is the son of God, that he is God himself in the flesh. And they're saying that is blasphemous. And they would be right. It would be blasphemous if it were not true. But Jesus is the son of God. God incarnate. But they brought this false accusation against him. And that false accusation led to his suffering. And just as Joseph endured suffering for the good of his family, just think of all that Joseph went through, all that suffering that he went through. And why did he go through it? It was so that he could be in a position to bless his family. Well, so Jesus endured the crucifixion for the good of his people. That false accusation led to him being crucified. And there on the cross, he suffered immensely. Certainly physically, but it's not that. It's that the sin of the world was placed upon him and God the Father poured out his wrath upon his son. He suffered. And why? It was so that we might be forgiven of our sin. And just as Joseph was exalted to a place of power to help his family, so Jesus is exalted to the right hand of his father as our high priest. God raised his son up out of that pit, out of that jailhouse. He has now been seated at his right hand where he was before. And he now watches over us, and he doesn't just give us our physical bread, grain. We don't go to him for grain. We go to him for our physical or for our daily bread, and he gives it to us. And just as Joseph freely forgave his brothers who betrayed him, so Jesus freely forgives those who betray him. And I'm not just talking about the Israelites in his day. I'm not just talking about Judas in his day. I'm talking about you and me. Because we have betrayed Christ, we have sinned against him. Do you recall the words of Jesus there in Luke 24, verse 34, while Jesus was hanging on the cross, he said, Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do. Oh, brother and sister in Christ, I don't know how you have betrayed Jesus through your sin. But there is no sin of yours that Jesus has not forgiven. And for the man, for the woman here today that does not know Christ as your Savior. You may be thinking, well, my sin is too great for Jesus to forgive. Let me tell you, there is no sin too great that Jesus did not atone for on the cross. His blood was shed for all our sin and his blood will cover all our sin. Well, Jesus is our great high priest who gives us forgiveness of sin. I wonder as Jesus, when He walked with those two disciples on the Emmaus Road, I wonder if He turned any to Joseph's life, just to show how that life foreshadowed His own. But the life of Joseph does not just show us Christ, but it tells us how to follow Christ. I want to just pull out three ways in which we see from the life of Joseph, from a life that was lived thousands of years ago, that still speaks to us today. First, freely offer forgiveness. freely offer forgiveness. This is one of the things that really, over this past week as I was studying the life of Joseph, that really just stood out to me more than any other time when I've read through his life, just how forgiving Joseph was to his brothers. I mean, I kind of joke, I wouldn't have done that with my siblings, and I kind of am fearful I wouldn't have been that way. You sold me into slavery, now here I am in charge, off with your heads, how's that? Yeah, thanks for that brotherly love. That's not what he does. I mean, twice we hear Joseph just speak so tenderly to his brothers, you're forgiven. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are even more, called upon even more to forgive others who sin against us. I say even more than Joseph because you and I, we have been forgiven by Christ. Ephesians 4.32 says, Forgive one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. So let me ask you, brother or sister in Christ, what sin of yours has God not forgiven you in Christ? Name one. Give me one. There's zero that you can name to me. All your sins have been forgiven by God in Christ. And so why should we hang on to unforgiveness and hold a sin against another person? At that point, what we're saying is, Jesus, you should forgive me all my sins, but I should not have to forgive other people. I'm greater than you. Oh, we wouldn't put it that way. But that's what's going on in our heart. So let me ask you. Who have you not forgiven that you need to? And I get it. Someone has sinned against you. They have betrayed you. They have hurt you. But you are called upon to forgive them. We see it in the life of Joseph. We see it ultimately in the life of Jesus. You have experienced it and now freely give it to others. Secondly, what we see about how to follow Christ today is that we are to fight against sin. And there are so many sins that we could list, but just two that I see in the life of Joseph. The first of those is the sin of sexual immorality. Not that Joseph was guilty of it. In fact, Joseph is innocent of sexual immorality. He fought against it. But there is Mrs. Potiphar who is daily seducing him. Going after him. And yet he fights against it. So, brother and sister in Christ, how much more are we to fight against sexual immorality in our day? And I don't know, maybe you have someone in your life who is pressuring you to lie with them. to engage in sexual behavior with him or her. It might be someone in your workplace. And let me just say, take all the steps that you need to, to get away from that person, even if that means that you have to change your jobs, go someplace else. I realize that's kind of extreme, but remember what Jesus said, if your right eye causes you to sin, what are you supposed to do? Gouge it out. If that temptation is becoming too great for you in the workplace, do what you must to get away from it. Or it may be that you have a boyfriend, a girlfriend who is pressuring you to enter into sexual relationship with him or with her. Let me just say, end that relationship immediately. That is not good for you. That is not God's plan for you. That does not honor Christ in your life. And that sexual immorality will only lead to hurt and harm in your life. But it may be that you don't have someone pressuring you from the outside. But it's just all the images that we're surrounded by on our devices, on television and magazines. There is that sexual or that temptation for sexual immorality within your flesh. Fight against it. You have the Spirit of God within you to flee from that. It's not just the sin of sexual immorality that we see in the life of Joseph, but it's also the sin of jealousy. And this isn't a sin that Joseph committed, but this is really the sin of his brothers. His brothers were jealous. Yes, they were jealous that their father was showing more love to Joseph, which was wrong of Jacob to do. Jacob was not a perfect man. But they were more jealous of the favoritism that God gave to Joseph. God gave those dreams to Joseph saying, one day your family will bow down before you. And his brother said, never will we do that. I don't care if God gave you that dream. We will fight against God. That's what was going on in their heart. They were jealous of the special attention and privileges that God was giving to Joseph. And how often can we face that sin of jealousy today? We see how God is blessing another brother or sister in Christ in ways that he's not blessing us. He's giving them a favoritism that he has not given to us. Now, let me just say, I'm not saying that God loves that other person more than he loves all of his other children. God is not like Jacob at all. God loves his children all. But just as the parables that Jesus said, where it says that a landowner, that a master gave talents to his servants, he gave five to one, three to another, one to another. And those talents represent the gifts and the skills that God gives to his people. But they were all, whether you had five or whether you had one, you were all responsible to be good stewards of it. And you might be looking at the life of another brother and sister in Christ, and you see how God has favored them in some way. you're jealous. Why him? Why her? Why not me? That jealousy will eat you up from the inside. Brothers and sisters in Christ, what you must realize is that yes, God will bless his people differently. God is free to do that. But you don't need to be looking at the blessings that God gives to others. You need to see the blessings that God has given to you. And whether he's given you five, four, three, two, or one, he has entrusted you with something. And to say, God, you have entrusted me with this. And this is enough. Let me carry it out. Let me use my gifts, my skills, my talents, all for your glory. Let's fight that sin of jealousy. But then lastly, what do we see about how we're to follow Christ today? It is this, to live under providence, to live under providence. We are reminded throughout the life of Joseph, just little dots here and there where it says that the Lord was with Joseph. It doesn't just mean at that point that God is just like, hey, I'm hanging out here with you, Joseph. I know what you're going through is tough. I wouldn't have done that for you, but hey, I'm right here with you. That's not at all what that means. When it says that the Lord was with Joseph, what that means is that this was God's providential plan for Joseph. It was God's providential plan for Joseph to suffer, to suffer there at the hands of his brother, at the hands of Mrs. Potiphar and Potiphar, and to suffer there in jail for all of those years. That was God's providential plan. Even Joseph acknowledged that. God sent me here. God is behind all of this. This is God's purpose for my life. So brothers and sisters in Christ, I don't know what it is that you're walking through right now. I don't know what you have gone through over the past week or the past month. I don't know what you're going to go through over the next week, over the next month, over the next year. But what we must do is to see all of life under the providence of God. Now I want you to turn with me to one final passage in Romans chapter eight. One of these verses that we read is gonna be familiar to you, but I don't want us to disconnect that verse from something that comes before it. And so the two verses I'm gonna read for us is Romans chapter eight, verse 18, and then verse 28. And of those two verses, probably 28 is more known by you. But what we need to recognize is that starting in verse 18, this is all one continuous thought for the Apostle Paul. And so we tend to disconnect these at times. But listen to these two verses together. They're in verse 18. The Apostle Paul, he says, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. And now verse 28, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Brothers and sisters in Christ, whatever sufferings you have gone through, whatever sufferings you are going through, whatever sufferings you will go through. They are not even comparable to the glory that's going to come when Christ returns. So in this life, when we go through these sufferings, it's not that God is on the outside and saying, maybe I can make lemonade out of these lemons in your life. No, it's God from the very beginning carrying out his providential plan. And all that is done in this life, all the good, the bad, the ugly, it doesn't compare to the glory that is to come. That's why Paul says, we know that for those who love God, that is his children. All things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. It's his providential purpose, brothers and sisters in Christ. And if you fight against that, if you say, well, that doesn't make sense to me, so I'm not going to accept it. Life is going to be very difficult for you. That doesn't mean that once you accept it, it just makes everything peachy. But when you can recognize that there is a good and holy God who's over your life, carrying out his plans, it's all done for your good and for his glory. Oh, that's what set your mind on the kingdom to come on that glory to come. Let us pray. Oh, God, we do praise you that you are a God who is provident over all things. You are sovereign. You are all powerful. Nothing can keep you from carrying out your purposes. And Father, as we read through your scriptures, how you have worked and shown your providence in the lives of saints in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Now, there's many times that we see you work out this plan in ways that we don't always understand. Why was it necessary that Joseph go through such times of suffering and separation from his family? Well, God, that was your plan. And you were with Joseph every step of the way. And you brought your plan to fruition. You protected your people. And Father, as we see your providence over the life of your son in the Gospels, we see how he was attacked time and time again, betrayed time and time again, and ultimately being put upon the cross. And God, whereas, yes, those men, those women who put them on the cross, they had evil intent. God, that was your plan for your son. To be punished for our sin, to die in our place. And God, you're the same God yesterday, today and forever. And this is the same way that you still work in the lives of your people today. And God, we go through times of suffering that we do not always understand. We don't have the benefit of hindsight. God, we live in the moment. So God, I pray that you would give us this persevering faith that we see in the life of Joseph and other saints. To be able to look at our events in life, our sufferings in life. And yes, they are hard to go through. And yes, they bring us sadness. They bring us anger. God, let us keep our eyes fixed on you. God, let us be preserved in it. Let us not give ourselves to sin in such times, but let us continue to fight sin, even when we are going through times of suffering, so that Christ would be glorified in our lives. And let us know that there is nothing that we face in this world. There's no experience in this world that is so hard that can even match the glory to come. So God set our eyes upon our Savior, upon our King Jesus. So we can walk through such times all for his glory. We pray these things in his name, amen.