We are in Genesis chapter 42. Genesis chapter 42. Lord willing, we'll cover the whole chapter today. It's a lot more verses than we covered this morning in Luke, but it is one section, so to speak, and it's pretty straightforward. Louis Armstrong was an African-American trumpeteer. Some of you may have heard of him. He had a career that spanned a number of decades, and in his biography, I'm sure all of you have read it, Louis, the Louis Armstrong story, he's quoted as saying this. Some of you heard this phrase, but this is where it comes from. As for me, if I tell you that a hen dipped snuff You just look under her wings and you'll find a whole can full. Now there is some discrepancy as to whether that quote actually came from him or not, but the point is simple enough. What he meant by that is when I say something, you can rely on it. Or if I say something, you can believe me, it's true. Now that may have generally been true about Louis Armstrong. It may have been true about George Washington. It may generally be true about you. It may generally be true about me, but it's not absolutely true. But when God speaks, that is absolutely true. If God tells you that a hen dips snuff, you can look under her wing, there's a full can. If God says something, it's going to happen. God can never say anything less than 100% accuracy. In fact, anything and everything that God says is equal to and on par with Scripture. That's one of the reasons that we reject these supposed prophets today that boast a 74% accuracy rate on their website. Listen, if God gives prophecy, there's a 100% accuracy rate. In fact, the Old Testament called for the death of any prophet that missed one. He may get a thousand in a row right, but if he misses one, put him to death, he's a false prophet. Because God has a 100% accuracy rate, and we will see that today in this text. So we know from the last several chapters that we've looked at, there is this famine. And Joseph, being promoted to second in command in Egypt, has planned accordingly. And he has stored grain. And he has effectively saved Egypt from dying in this famine. But it was not Joseph's idea. It was not Joseph that did it. God is in this. It was Him who gave the information. It was God's ability given to Joseph. All of this is from God. And by the way, back in chapter 41 verse 39, even Pharaoh recognized that God was the one that actually did this. Joseph is just His servant. But the Bible isn't about Egypt. They're just a character in this story. The Bible is a story about Jesus. And history is His story. So Genesis is continuing to follow the family of Abraham since God has promised to bring the Messiah into the world through him. Every time that you study the Scripture, you should never lose sight of the fact that you are somewhere in the story of Jesus. Here, we are early. We're in the book of Genesis. In Luke, we are later, but that's not the whole story. Revelation is coming. We are always somewhere in the story of Jesus. That's called understanding biblical theology, or having a scriptural meta-narrative, the main story of Scripture. Never lose sight of the fact that the Bible is not about you. It's about Him. You know, sometimes pastors and preachers have a tendency to try to stick themselves and their congregants into the story. They may preach on David and Goliath, and they may preach about you slaying your giants in your life, but that is not what that story is about. That story is a story about God raising up David because the Messiah is coming through His line. Never lose sight of the story of Scripture. It's not about you and it's not about me, it's about Jesus. And that's where we are here in Genesis 42. We are early in the story of Jesus, but that's still what's going on here. And there's a lot more going on, so we'll talk about it. We'll try to make sure we weave the story of Jesus in and out appropriately and hopefully not add to what we have. The name of the sermon today is Mission Unaccomplished. Mission unaccomplished. We're going to see Jacob send Joseph's brothers on a simple trip. A trip many thousands of people no doubt made without any hiccup at all. But they're going to hit a snag. Because unbeknownst to them, their kid brother is now ruling Egypt. The same kid brother they sold into slavery two decades earlier. This is amazing. The sovereignty of God working through the life of Joseph is beyond explanation. And here it is. This is awesome. Alright, let's begin reading in verse 1. When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, why do you look at one another? And he said, Behold, I have heard there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die. So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan." Egypt's power extended beyond the borders of Egypt at this time. They were the world's superpower. In fact, from the biblical narrative, they had far more power than we think America has today. They really were the superpower of the world at this time. And this famine stretched to the ends of the known world, all over the Egyptian empire. everywhere that they ruled. In fact, Moses tells us that the famine was severe over all the earth. That's the last verse of the previous chapter. Somehow, Jacob got word that Egypt had grain for sale. It wasn't through a text. It wasn't through an email. It wasn't even through a phone call. is spread by mouth. But it made its way there. People were trying to help one another because everybody was starving. What was the likelihood that this message was going to make it to this poor little shepherd man and his family over here in Canaan? It was 100% likelihood because this is where the Messiah is going to come from. And God is going to sovereignly make sure they survive. There is no plan B. So, somehow Jacob got word that Egypt had grain for sale, and then he asks his son, why do you look at one another? We might say, what are you standing around waiting for? There's grain in Egypt. Go get it. And he says that we may live and not die. This is urgent. There is no food. Go get us some food. So ten of Joseph's brothers went to Egypt. Benjamin stayed behind with his father. Now Jacob was scared something might happen to Benjamin. He was the only child left from Rachel. Jacob's favorite wife. At least that's what Jacob thought. It sounds like he's still showing favor to the children of his favorite wife. And it's going to sound that way all the way through this chapter. He seems to have not quite learned his lesson yet. Rachel's son, Benjamin, is now the favorite, so he does not send him. Now, from the words of verse 5, it seems that there was this flood of refugees from surrounding areas going into Egypt to buy grain. Notice what it says. Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came." So they weren't the only ones there to buy. I'm certain there were long lines of people there to try and stay alive. There was no food anywhere else. God did not give a vision to surrounding areas. He gave this dream to Pharaoh whom Joseph, by God's power, interpreted and saved them from any problem at this point. Everybody had to go to Egypt. Jacob's family was just part of those people. And so here they come amongst everyone else, but they hit a snag. In fact, something happens that they don't understand. They never understand it in this chapter that we're going to study today. They will understand it soon enough. But this is what verse 6 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 bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. "'Where do you come from?' he said. 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. And he said to them, You are spies. You have come to see the nakedness of the land. They said to him, No, my lord. Your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies." Well, they've not always been honest men because about 20 years ago, they sold their kid brother to the hands of some slave traders and he got hauled off to Egypt. They somewhat misrepresented themselves, but nobody would know that. except that they were standing before that kid brother here. So the text reminds us that Joseph was governor over Egypt. He was governor, it says here, over all the people. He sold to all the people of the land. He was the one that was the ruler of the land. That's what the New American Standard says. This stresses the extent of Joseph's power. He ruled everyone. In fact, if you'll recall, there's only one person he didn't rule over. Pharaoh. And Pharaoh wasn't ruling at all. Pharaoh seemingly was kicked back in a chair with somebody waving a fan at his face, eating bonbons, while Joseph did all the work at this time. He was effectively the highest man in the world. Because Pharaoh wasn't doing anything. This particular day, Joseph went to work. just like he had, no doubt, several days before. Not expecting his brothers to show up. Not expecting anything that happens throughout the rest of this story. But he hadn't seen them for 20 years up to this point. And here they show up, and Moses tells us that they bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. The last time Joseph saw his brothers, he was begging for his life. And they walked away counting the money that the slave traders had given them for him. This is the next time that they meet right here. The last time was when he was sold into slavery, and the next time he lays eyes on his brothers is this day, right here, in this text, twenty years later. Really, chapter 42 just picks up where chapter 37 left off. Everything else is sort of a parenthesis that just explains how Joseph got to this point. I mean, the point of Genesis is not how Joseph rises to power. It's not the story of Joseph. The point of Genesis is how God's going to bring the Messiah into the world. Joseph is a character here. So we are back to studying the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We've just come back to that. We had that little parenthesis section that explained to us how Joseph is standing here before his brothers. Now Joseph knew it was them, but they didn't know it was him. He recognized them. They looked like they did the last time. They do not recognize Joseph. Why? How is that? I think there's a number of reasons. First of all, it had been 20 years. And Joseph was the absolute last human being they thought that would be ruling over Egypt and that they would be bowing before and buying grain from this day. They never ever thought this was who they were going to see. It was the furthest thing from their mind. And when they left him, he was 17. He was a kid. I keep trying to tell Caleb he's still a kid and he keeps telling me he's an adult. We did buy his breakfast this morning though. He was a kid the last time that they saw him. Now he's at least 37. He's an adult. He's a man. I can assure you a lot happens to a human body from the time that you're 17 until you're 37. But the Hebrews were bearded people. They were rugged people. They dressed in a certain way. They looked a certain way. And I don't know if Joseph had a beard when he was 17. Maybe he did. I was able to grow a beard earlier. Maybe he was like Caleb. He's been working on that thing for three months. And that's what you see right there. I don't know. But he doesn't look this way this day. He looks like an Egyptian. They all had a similar skin tone, same part of the world. He would have had a smoothly shaved face, probably a smoothly shaved head. He's wearing not Hebrew clothing, not the clothing of a shepherd. He's wearing Egyptian clothing. Most of those in power in Egypt wore makeup. He's probably wearing Egyptian makeup, not in a pagan way, but in whatever way that would have been acceptable at this time. And even more so, He's speaking to them through an interpreter as if He can't understand His native language. He's doing everything in the world He can to keep them from recognizing Him. That's why they don't know who He is. And the text here tells us that He treated them like strangers and He spoke roughly to them. This does not refer to the way He talked to them. It doesn't. I'm sure of that. How do we know? Because He didn't talk to them. He talked to them through an interpreter. It's not the mannerisms in which He talked to them that this speaks about. It's what He said that was rough to them. Not His attitude, but the words that they heard. And for the record, I don't think Joseph is being mean to them. I don't. I believe he's merely testing them. You say, why? Well, I'm certain Joseph was angry at him. He was a human. We get angry. And none of us have ever been sold into slavery by our family. From the human standpoint, he had every right to be angry. And I'm certain that he did have some frustration up inside of him. But I think here, he is merely testing them. And the reason that I say I don't think he's acting out of anger is because he possessed, from the human standpoint, every bit of authority he needed to do whatever he wanted to do to them. And he doesn't do it. He could have had them murdered. He could have said, you're spies and you're going to die today. Or, you're spies and you're now slaves in Egypt. He could have. He had that type of authority. He's just testing them. And we're going to see that as we move along. We're going to see Joseph's heart for his family. So he asked them, where are you from? They say, we're from the land of Canaan. We're here to buy food. I don't know if he asked everybody that, who came that way or not. You wouldn't think so. I'm sure the lines are long. You didn't have time to get into this conversation every time. But maybe it was just as simple as this. Where are you from? I'm going to write it down. What are you here for? We're here to get this much grain. I'm sure that Joseph was a meticulous bookkeeper. I mean, obviously they're there to buy food. Just like everybody else. That's why they came. And then it tells us that Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. That is so interesting. See, back in verse 6, it says, Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. Verse 9, and Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. That had to amaze Joseph. You remember those dreams, right? Back in chapter 37, he actually had two dreams. The first one is fulfilled here. It is that dream in which they were all out, all twelve brothers were out binding sheaves, and their sheaves bowed down to Joseph's sheaves. He had another dream. The sun, moon, and the stars were bowing down to him. Back when he told his brothers this dream, here's what they said. Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us? In fact, in chapter 37, we find that it is those dreams that intensified the hatred that they had for Joseph. Jacob even had a problem. He said, Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves before you to the ground? Well, Jacob's not here yet. But the sheaves are. Right here, His brothers are actually fulfilling that dream from twenty-plus years ago just as accurately as the dream of the baker and the butler had been fulfilled. And get this, who's fulfilling the dream? Isn't that interesting? Joseph is not. He's not demanding that they bow down to Him in order that the dream be fulfilled. No, they bow themselves to the ground. Unbeknownst to them, they are fulfilling the dream that they ragged Him about some twenty years ago. How about that? God obviously gave Joseph a glimpse of the future way back then when He gave him those dreams. And right here, those dreams are fulfilled, or at least the first one is fulfilled without any problem, without any work on God's part whatsoever. It just happens exactly like Joseph dreamed. In fact, the very men that so adamantly opposed the thought that those dreams might be fulfilled are the ones fulfilling it. That's called God's sovereign power. That's called God's providence. And here's what Joseph says to his brothers, you're spies. You've come to see the nakedness where the famine has left the land. You've come to see the nakedness of the land. He knows better. He knows that's not the truth. They vehemently deny it. No. Listen to what they call Joseph. My Lord. They didn't think they'd be saying that. Not to Joseph. No, my Lord. Your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies. Verse 12, He said to them, No, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see. And they said, We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man, in the land of Canaan. And behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more. But Joseph said to them, It is as I said to you, you are spies. By this you shall be tested. by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you and let him bring your brother while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you or else by the life of Pharaoh. Surely you are spies." And he put them all together in custody for three days. He continues accusing them of being spies, saying, no, no, no, you've come to see the nakedness of the land and they deny that again. But this time, they give information that I would suspect they would like to have gotten back here in just a moment. They give too much information. Now I can suspect somebody spoke up as the spokesperson. If this was during the days of the apostles, we would say Peter said this probably. But this is not at that time. One of the brothers speaks up and says, oh no, no, we're all sons of one man. We got a kid brother back home. Now when they're in custody later, nine of these guys say, what kind of thing did you say? Why did you have to go say that? You know they did. That's just normal. And I'm certain he was accused for quite some time. Nevertheless, Joseph does not take their explanation. He continues to accuse them, telling them that they must go get Benjamin, their youngest brother, or none of them will leave Egypt except the one that went back. This was meant by Joseph to appear to be a test of whether they were spies or not. He's going to confirm their story. But he knows their story. He's not sending anybody back to confirm whether they're spies or to see whether there's a younger brother. Joseph knows everything about this here. It's a test. I know that part is true, but he's testing their character. Not a story. And again, if this is retaliation, Joseph holds back a lot. because he's got authority to do whatever he wants to do with these guys. He puts them in jail for three days. And verse 18 tells us, on the third day, Joseph said to them, do this and you will live for I fear God. If you are honest men, Let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the family of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die." And they did so. Then they said to one another, in truth, we are guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us. And Reuben answered them, did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood. They did not know that Joseph understood them. For there was an interpreter between them. Then he, Joseph, turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to replace every man's money in his sack and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them." So before, Joseph had sworn, so to speak, by the life of Pharaoh. If you don't do what I'm telling you by the life of Pharaoh, you won't live. Now he's not revering Pharaoh as God, like many of the Egyptians did. He's simply acknowledging that Pharaoh is a high-ranking official in Egypt. And if you don't do what I'm telling you to do, you will die, because Pharaoh's not. He's the leader here. But He changes in this section. He comes to them here and He says, I fear God. He is what we would refer to as a God-fearer. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Here, Joseph simply means that he is a moral person. He has moral character. He is not going to imprison all of them any longer. He's come up with a better solution than that. He changes the deal. At first he had said, one of you will go back and the rest of you will stay confined. Now He says, one of you will stay confined and the rest of you will return home. Why do you think He changed that deal? I think the answer is simple. That's Joseph's family back there. And they need grain. They're starving. They need food. And so Joseph sends as many brothers as he can back with grain to feed his family, not theirs only, though it certainly is their family. So these nine men must return back to Egypt with Benjamin, and then they won't die. You notice there's a positive giving of that law. He doesn't say, or you will die. He positively says, if you do this, you won't die. So it's a positive way of saying this. This would get Benjamin, his full brother, back under his care, where he could take care of him. And he tells them that this is going to verify their words to prove whether they are spies or not. But again, he knows who they are. He's verifying their character, not their story here. And they really don't have a choice. This is all they can do. They're probably glad to leave. But before they leave, they have this conversation that we just read. Verse 21. Then they said to one another, in truth, we are guilty concerning our brother." They're not talking about Benjamin. No, they're talking about Joseph. They said to one another, in truth we are guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us. This is obviously referring to Joseph and this is giving us information that we did not get back in chapter 37. Chapter 37 didn't tell us anything about Joseph begging, but this chapter does confirm that that happened. It happened exactly like this says. Joseph begged for his life when he was sold to these slave traders by his brothers, and in their eyes, now they are being punished for what they had done to him. What they didn't realize is the one punishing them is the one they sold into slavery. The irony is amazing. But it does expose their heart. They do seem to be at least somewhat repentant. They've had twenty years to live with the fact that they had effectively murdered their brother, even though they stopped short of that. They took his life from him. And it does seem that they are somewhat repentant. I mean, do you remember the words that they used when they killed the animal and put the blood on Joseph's robe and they carried it back to Jacob? Do you remember what they said? Here's what they said. This we have found. Please identify whether it is your sons or not. But notice the language they use here. In truth, we are guilty concerning our brother. This was a change of attitude that occurred over twenty years. At the least, it was occurring here, now. But they do seem to be somewhat repentant. And then Reuben adds more, did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? You didn't listen. Now there's coming a reckoning for his blood. Now they still have not recognized Joseph. Joseph is doing everything in the world he can do to make sure they did not. He was speaking through an interpreter even though Hebrew was his first language. And it tells us that Joseph turned away from them and wept. Joseph is angry, I'm sure, with his family. But he is not retaliating against them. This is the heart of Joseph for his family right here. The heart of Joseph is that he wept as he heard what they said. And in some way, he must have walked off so they could not see him weeping because it tells us that he returned to them. I'm certain that seeing their change of heart at least to a degree, a heart that was far different from twenty years prior when they all took money, that it was affecting him deep inside. So Joseph binds Simeon in front of them so that they can see it. I'm assuming so they'll hurry back. And he orders that their bags be filled with their money. and to give them provisions for the journey. Now, he may be mad at them, I'm sure he is, he's a man, but he still loves his family. And so he gives their money back. Why he gives it back, we cannot be 100% sure. Two options are possible. The first is simply he's not charging them for the food, he's giving it to them. That's possible. Probably not the real reason, but that's possible. The second option is that he plans to trump the charges when they return with Benjamin. And that's actually what happens. So we assume he's setting them up here. Nevertheless, we'll see that next time when he actually includes a cut, but I'll leave you in suspense. That's not in this chapter. Verse 26, Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed, and as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder, at the lodging place he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. He said to his brothers, My money has been put back. Here it is in the mouth of my sack. At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, What is this that God has done to us? So nine of the brothers load their donkeys. They hit the road. They have no other choice. This is all they can do at this point. There's not an option. One of the brothers, we don't know which, presumably the same one that opened his mouth earlier, we don't know, but not really. That's just a joke. But he opens his bag to feed his donkey and notices that his money has been returned to him. So he tells his brothers, hey guys, my money's back in my back. The Word of God says, at this their hearts failed them. This is paralyzing fear. They knew this could not be good. The Lord of the land, Joseph, But they didn't know that. The Lord of the land has already charged them with being spies. Now they're thieves. This can't be good. And they believe even more than ever that God is punishing them for what they did to Joseph. Maybe this is Joseph's point. Maybe he's trying to convict them even further of what they've done. If so, it surely worked. Verse 29. When they came to Jacob, their father, in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, The man, the Lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land. But we said to him, We're honest men. We've never been spies. We're twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more. And the youngest is this day with our Father in the land of Canaan. Then the man, the Lord of the land, said to us, By this I shall know that you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I shall know that you are not spies, but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land." So they get home. and they rehearse everything that we've already studied in this chapter up to this point. They do leave out a few details here and there, but for the most part, they go straight through the events that we've studied exactly. And they told him that Joseph, whom they call the Lord of the Land, told them that in order to free Simeon, they must return with Benjamin. Now, we have no idea how Jacob is feeling at this point. We don't know. At this point, Jacob may be thinking, hmm, should I do that? We don't know. Maybe he's considering it. But this next section is going to take that off the table. Here's what happens, verse 35. As they emptied their sacks, Behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said to them, You have bereaved me of my children. Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me. Then Reuben said to his father, Kill my two sons, if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you. But he said, My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol. So we don't know what Jacob thinks up to this point. But they all empty their sacks and realize that not only that one brother's sack had the money in there, but they all have their money in there. It had to terrify them. Again, they're no longer just spies. Now they're thieves. Jacob is angry with them. And notice what he charges them with. You have bereaved me of my children. And then he says, Joseph is no more. He charges them somehow with Joseph's death. That's interesting. Simeon is no more, now you would like to take Benjamin. All this has come against me." It's odd because back in chapter 37 we get no idea that Jacob is blaming these brothers with the death of Joseph, but here he does to some extent. Why? I don't know. I have no idea. They seem to have a good story when they come to their father. Joseph's coat that has blood all over it and he says, it's my son's. But that's not all they brought back with that bloody coat. They also brought back a little bit of extra money in their wallet back at that day too. Maybe Jacob was suspicious at that point. And now, here they are, returning from Egypt with another brother gone and more money. Maybe he's starting to think something's going on here. Maybe if they send Benjamin back, maybe they return without Benjamin and more money in their pockets. Maybe he's beginning to see that his sons aren't the honest, stand-up men that they seem to be saying that they are. Reuben speaks up and says he's willing to put his own kids up for collateral. in order to take Benjamin. Now you may think this is harsh. First of all, I don't think he literally was ready to kill those two children, but it didn't matter. If they didn't get more food, they were all going to die anyway. They didn't have a choice but to go back and get this food at this point. Jacob has none of that. You're not going. You're not going. And then he says that if something happened to Benjamin, it would bring his gray hairs down with sorrow to Sheol, to the grave. It seems his entire life is wrapped up in this one kid right here, to the exclusion of the other, well, eleven actually, but he thinks Joseph is dead. What are we to get out of this? It's an odd chapter. It's not even the complete story. The next chapter certainly will begin to bring it all together and connect some dots for us. Well, as I began telling you, when we started, God's Word is authoritative. He gave Joseph these two dreams twenty plus years ago. And they were just as sure to be fulfilled as those dreams that the baker and the butler received. Now, in that instance, those dreams were fulfilled in three days. In Joseph's, it was greater than two decades. But it didn't matter. It was just as sure to be fulfilled if it had been two thousand years. Because when God speaks, it's reliable. I don't mean that Joseph didn't have doubts of those dreams being fulfilled. I'm certain that he did. But we are reading this text in hindsight, and we should get the picture that when God speaks, we can trust it. That's a great perspective that we all ought to learn. Now Joseph did not understand everything that he had gone through for the past twenty years. That I'm sure of. He didn't know why Potiphar's wife had accused him of rape, and he ended up in prison. And he sat there for years while nobody seemed to care about him. Even when he told the interpretation of those two dreams to those two men, he thought, sure, he'd be out in a few days. And it wasn't. It was still another couple of years. Joseph certainly did not understand all of the events of his life over the past twenty years. Now these last seven years, I assume he'd lived in a lot of luxury. But the previous thirteen had been very, very tough. Listen, there are ups and downs in life. Now all of our downs aren't as down as Joseph's downs were. But even if you're an unbeliever, there are ups and downs in life. But God's children have this promise. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. To those who are called according to His purpose. Now there's a group out here in Christendom today that wants that to say, we know only good things happen to those who love God. That's not what the text says. Now the text says, whether it's good or bad, it's working for your good. Your good may be that you lose your life this afternoon. You know, one of the most popular things that's said from pulpits today is God has a wonderful plan for your life. But that plan may be that you lose your life as a martyr for Jesus. That's the plan God had for many in the New Testament. That's the plan that God had for the prophets. God does not promise converts to Christianity that they will have a hope-filled, cushy life full of prosperity and wealth. That is false. That is a false gospel. But God does say He's going to work everything for your good no matter what it is. And that's a much better deal. What God has planned for your life, you don't know. But I know this, whatever happens, you can trust Him. You can take Him at His Word. His purpose is better than our purpose, even if we don't understand it. Joseph did not understand everything that was happening in his life for twenty years. And I'm not even completely sure he understands it right here in Genesis chapter 42. But before this whole event is over, he will get it. And he will say, you meant it for bad, but God meant it for good. He brought you here to save lives. And Joseph will say, one day you're going to leave Egypt. And when you do, you take my bones and you bury them in Canaan. Joseph will die a man full of faith. Full of faith. But he's having to learn it on the go. That's just how it works. We are not the center of the story. The Bible is not about us. And this life is not about you. You are not the hero. There's one hero. One hero. And it's Jesus. Jesus is the hero. I think I told you recently I got a picture texted to me in which there was a bumper sticker that said, so-and-so died, heaven must have needed another hero. Listen, heaven doesn't need another hero. That's blasphemy. Heaven's got one hero, Jesus, and He'll never need another. The writer of Hebrews says, In these last days, God has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things. This is what the story of Joseph is working about. It isn't about Abraham. It isn't about Isaac. It is not about Jacob. It isn't about Joseph. And for that matter, it's not even about Judah. This story is about Jesus. And we are working towards Him. Back in Genesis chapter 3, you remember what God told the devil? I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel. That's what we see unfolding in Genesis here. We see the story of redemption of the Messiah coming. We see the seed of the woman coming right here. Right here in this. That's what Genesis is about. Don't miss that. Oh, I love the story of Joseph. No, it's not the story of Joseph. It's the story of Jesus. Now, I don't mean we can't use that language. That's not what I'm saying. That's normal human language. But don't ever really believe that. Because foundationally, it's all the story of Jesus. And that's what we're learning. We can trust the promises of God just like Joseph here. Jesus is coming. His enemies are going to be made a footstool for His feet. All men will stand before Him in judgment somewhere at some time. God has promised condemnation to those who die. enemies of the Lord, but He has promised eternal bliss to those of us that have been brought to believe on the person of Jesus Christ. Those are the promises of Scripture, and we can believe in them just as much as Joseph could believe these dreams here. I hope you're trusting God today because that's what we learn here. He's trustworthy. Stand with me, if you will. Blake, will you dismiss us please, sir?