It Is Well - Genesis 37:9-36

[0:00] So we've come as far as verse 18. 37 was we picked up with the life of Joseph. Jacob's still involved in this, but we're changing the lens.

[0:11] We're changing the narrative, right? We're going to now track with Joseph pretty much through the end of the book. Jacob's going to be there still and some of the other sons of Jacob. But Joseph is kind of driving this whole thing forward now.

[0:23] And we saw him. We looked at who he was, his character last time, 17-year-old kid. But it said that he was the favorite son of his father or loved above his brethren because he was the son of his old age.

[0:36] And it doesn't mean that he had him exclusively when he was older and the rest when he was younger because Jacob was having kids in his 70s. Lifespans were different back then. So all of his sons were the sons of his old age.

[0:49] But Joseph, it meant not speaking of Jacob, wasn't focusing on Jacob having him as a son of his old age, but it was focusing on Joseph. Joseph, that Joseph is a son of old age or he has a wise head.

[1:04] He had an older head on his shoulders, right? And so Jacob puts him in charge of the family farm. He puts him in a position of authority and responsibility by giving him the coat of many colors.

[1:14] It wasn't just a bunch of bright colors. It was a coat of authority. And it was the type of cloak that one would wear who directed work, not one who did the work.

[1:26] And so he puts him over all his brothers. The only brother younger than him is Benjamin, who's a little kid. The rest of the 10 brothers are all older. And now here's Joseph.

[1:37] But we also saw how Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Dan, Asher, Naphtali, and Gad might have been, they pretty much all disqualified themselves from being the son to inherit the birthright.

[1:53] Remember, there's a difference between the birthright and then the covenant blessing. When Jacob goes to Isaac and pretends to be Esau and he wants to get the blessing, what he's getting from Isaac is the blessing of the firstborn.

[2:08] It's not the Abrahamic covenant. Jacob thought that those two things were linked, but they're not. It's not until Isaac sends Jacob off to Haram that he then passes on to him the Abrahamic covenant.

[2:19] So they're two different things. So Joseph here is essentially being put in the position of oldest son. So Jacob is saying, this is the one who's in line for the blessing of the firstborn.

[2:32] And his brothers don't like that. They hate him for that. And then he has these dreams and he begins to tell these dreams. And like we said, these aren't the first two dreams he's ever had in his life. But he tells these dreams that are very specific.

[2:43] And he realizes it's the Lord speaking to him on behalf of his family. So he tells his family. But instead of receiving that, they reject that. And they reject him along with God's word. And that's where we left Joseph.

[2:57] In verse 18, he's heading off to check on his brothers in that position of authority and responsibility. His dad's sending them out. They've gone to Shechem, returning to the scene of the crime, where Simeon and Levi had tragically murdered so many men in Shechem.

[3:12] They're back up there with the flocks. And Joseph goes to do his job on behalf of his father. Knowing his brothers despise him. Knowing his brothers reject him. The son of favor still obeys the father.

[3:27] We're going to see a whole lot of typology today. So many pictures of Jesus in Joseph's life as we go through this. Joseph heads out and he can't find him in Shechem. Instead of going, oh, well, I can't find him.

[3:38] I'm going to go home. Get out of there because he doesn't want to be around his brothers. He persists in looking for them. And then we see an unnamed messenger, type of the Holy Spirit, directing him in the field to find his brethren on behalf of his father.

[3:52] And he finds them in Dothan where we left him. In 17, he went to Dothan and Joseph went after his brethren and found them in Dothan. In verse 18, and when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.

[4:09] So they saw him a good way off. They said, that's Joseph. I can tell by that silly coat he's wearing. I can tell by the way he walks. Let's kill him. We don't like him. Let's get rid of him. Joseph's brothers despised him.

[4:22] And that's where we left him. And they're going to kind of hatch out this whole scheme. Our outline for today, verses 19 through 22, is an unwelcome guest.

[4:33] That's when Joseph shows up. They don't want to see him there. Verses 23 through 28, a well-devised scheme. That's the brothers decide what they're going to do with Joseph. Verses 29 through 35, what about my welfare?

[4:47] And that's the response of, we're going to see these individuals, the way they respond to getting rid of Joseph. And lastly, well met. And if you notice, there's a word that kind of keeps playing through there.

[4:59] The title for today's message is, it is well. Because Joseph's going to get thrown in the well. I guess today you'd call it getting thrown under the bus.

[5:10] But the theme for today, the verse is Jeremiah 29, 11. For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end. It might not appear that way.

[5:21] Circumstances may be differently. But the Lord's thoughts towards us, that he thinks towards us, what he is thinking about us, they're thoughts of peace, not of evil. That he has an expected end or a future and a hope, another translation may say.

[5:34] So even though Joseph knew his brothers despised him, he did not hesitate to obey his father. And he heads out and he finds them. And now we're going to see this conversation that's happening among the 10 sons.

[5:47] In verse 19, and they said one to another, behold, this dreamer comes. The word dreamer literally means master or owner of dreams. They're like, hey, here comes this master of dreams, the dream master, Joseph.

[6:01] Here he comes. And even though they're kind of mocking, I think, they're also acknowledging that God has gifted him. This is a legit gift. God has given him interpretation of dreams.

[6:12] He is a master of dreams, not by his own choosing or by anything he's earned, but because God has gifted him. And they are despising the gift of God and Joseph, which then in turn causes them to despise Joseph.

[6:27] You see, they saw Joseph, they saw in him what they did not have in themselves. And they did not like that. If you remember last time we saw that verse, it said they envied in verse 11. His brothers envied him.

[6:38] They envied this. They didn't have this. He did. Galatians 5, verse 14. Paul is instructing the church in Galatia.

[6:50] He says, For all the law is fulfilled in this one word, even this. Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. But contrary to that, if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another.

[7:03] See, they think, oh, we're going to get rid of Joseph. This is going to benefit. This is going to add to us. Paul is saying here, no, no, no. You're just losing. If you bite and devour, you don't gain, you lose. You're taking away.

[7:14] You're not going to gain anything here. They think by getting rid of Joseph, it's going to add to them. But in reality, they're just going to lose. Verse 20. Come now, therefore, let us slay him.

[7:25] Man, these guys are cruel. But if you remember Simeon and Levi, they had killed all the men of Shechem. So cruelty seems to be a character trait for them. Come now, therefore, and let us slay him and cast him into some pit.

[7:38] And we will say that some evil beast has devoured him. And we shall see what becomes of his dreams. Still with those dreams. They just can't handle that. It's not even, well, we will see if dad likes him anymore, who the favorite is now.

[7:52] But what will become of his dreams? They were convicted by the truth that was contained in Joseph's dreams. They're going to kill him, they say. They say, well, that'll be the end of it.

[8:04] Obviously, if he's dead, then God can't fulfill his word, can he? But not even death can prevent the fulfillment of God's word. Abraham knew that when God told him to offer up Isaac.

[8:15] In Hebrews 11, it tells us that by faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac. And he that received the promises, offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called, accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure.

[8:34] We see the same thing with Joseph today. He's essentially going to be put to death, cast into the pit, slain. But he's going to be raised back up. Not even death can prevent the fulfillment of God's word.

[8:46] And didn't Jesus, ultimately, the word made flesh, do that as well? Acts 5, verse 30 says, the God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree.

[8:56] This is Peter on the day of Pentecost, speaking to the Jews at that time. Him as God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a savior for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

[9:09] Not even death could prevent the fulfillment of God's word, which was to come and to redeem mankind. In fact, God used that. We said last time that the emotions of love and hatred, they share many of the same characteristics.

[9:22] One of those was that they're not affected by distance, right? They saw him a long way off and they hated him. They said, let's get rid of him. So you can think, well, I can't stand that person. If I can just get away from them, then everything will be fine.

[9:33] But the problem is when we hold on to anger or hatred, we're essentially holding on to that person. And wherever we go, he goes, right? And so we still have that until we let go of that and become free.

[9:44] That's what forgiveness is. The word forgiveness literally means to let go, a releasing. And so love is the same way. I mean, distance, you know, when you're away from the person you love, it's not like when you get back together, you're like, I remember you.

[9:58] We used to be a thing. It's been a few weeks, right? No. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. But there's another characteristic, and it's that both behave in the extreme. Both have a tendency, hate and love, have a tendency to behave in the extreme, right?

[10:13] You've seen a young man in love with a young woman, and they're engaged before they're married. Man, that guy's goofy. I think, did I act that way? Was I that extreme? I think I was.

[10:25] It's pretty extreme, right? I mean, trying to convince this girl. Yes, yes. You know, and what you see, you see it in nature, like the birds that kind of do all the weird things and like, to try and like the peacocks and to convince the girl, like, yes, I'm the one.

[10:38] Love is extreme and does some pretty extreme, extreme things, the emotion of love. But same with hate. It's very extreme. In Luke 23, Jesus is brought before the crowd.

[10:50] Pilate brings him out again for the last time. And they cried out, crucify him, crucify him. And Pilate said unto them the third time, why? What evil has he done? I have found no cause of death in him.

[11:02] I will therefore chastise him and let him go. He's going to beat him and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and the chief priests prevailed.

[11:14] How extreme the emotion of hatred is. It's unreasonable. It's irrational. But we see in these boys and these young men, we're talking like Joseph 17, we're talking 18, 19, 20, 23, 25, up through there, that there's this behavior, this characteristic that is weaved through their lives and is unchecked.

[11:36] Jacob never checks this behavior. And behavior unchecked is behavior affirmed. Right? We live in a culture and a society today that no longer checks behavior.

[11:46] No longer stops anyone's behavior. Now, the scripture tells us that rulers and authorities and governments, that they're put there for the express purpose of checking bad behavior.

[11:57] To put down on righteousness and to promote righteousness. Our society now doesn't check behavior anymore. Doesn't even need to necessarily promote unrighteousness. But by not stepping in and checking bad behavior, you're affirming it.

[12:12] You say, well, we need to get out there then and make a loud noise and tell people, stop what they're doing. No, we don't. No, we don't. We need to be the light of the world. The best way to check bad behavior is to shine the light of the truth on it.

[12:24] When you bring the truth into a situation, when you bring the right behavior into a situation, when you live out the truth, that's what checks unrighteousness and bad behavior. And so for these young men, unfortunately, they didn't have that.

[12:37] Their father did not check their behavior. You had Simeon and Levi, who killed off the men of Shechem. Reuben went into Jacob's concubine. And then you had, when Joseph brings the report about the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, Jacob does nothing again.

[12:53] So these young men know, man, our behavior is not going to be checked. Dad's not going to do anything. We can do whatever we want. And so their plan is, we're just going to kill Joseph. And we'll just say some wild beast has killed him.

[13:06] And Reuben heard it now. So Reuben is the natural firstborn. He heard it and he delivered him out of their hands and said, let us not kill him. And well, way to go, Reuben. Good job, Reuben.

[13:17] Standing up for Joseph. The word there, delivered, means that he snatched him out of their hands. The idea here is that he literally, he was rescuing them. Good job, Reuben. You came in to rescue them. But what we see here is Reuben doesn't say, guys, this is wrong.

[13:31] We can't do this. In verse 22, he says to them, shed no blood. Good job, Reuben. But cast him into a pit that's in the wilderness. Say what? Reuben, you're supposed to be his rescuer.

[13:44] And lay no hand on him, that he might rid him out of their hands. Or Reuben is saying this, that he might rid him out of their hands to deliver him to his father again. Joseph is the son of favor, the favored son.

[13:55] Reuben has lost favor. In this situation, he thinks, oh, I can regain favor with dad if I rescue Joseph and bring him back. But instead of standing with Joseph, Reuben believes that he could do more good by compromising with evil.

[14:08] He thinks, you know what? They're going to completely reject me if I side with truth and righteousness. I won't have any standing with them anymore. So I'll compromise a little with these guys.

[14:21] And I won't go all the way. I can justify my stance because I'm not going as far as them. And I can actually do more good for Joseph by compromising, which is not true.

[14:32] Reuben was a coward and he was hiding behind his own version of morality, a version that cost him absolutely nothing. He wasn't willing to take a stand. He's like, guys, let's work this in a way that I can gain from it.

[14:44] And so then Reuben says, well, don't shed blood. Let us not lay a hand on him. Really? Is he going to jump into the pit by himself? You're going to lay a hand on him when you throw him in the pit.

[14:55] He might break his neck when he goes down there. Reuben's morality was so warped and twisted that it was twisting his thinking of what he thought right and wrong was.

[15:09] And a lesser degree of cruelty is not mercy. So here Reuben is being merciful, but he's just cruel. He's just as cruel as his brothers. It's just a lesser degree. Reuben was using Joseph's relationship and his relationship problems as an opportunity to regain favor for himself.

[15:27] So he looked at the problems Jacob or Joseph was having in his relationship with his brothers. And he's like, hey, I can use this as an opportunity to regain favor with dad.

[15:40] And it came to pass when Joseph was come to his brethren. Joseph doesn't know what's going on. He just sees, hey, guys. He waved and they waved back. That they stripped Joseph out of his coat.

[15:52] His coat of many colors that was on him. So here comes Joseph. You know, the one voice we're not going to hear in this chapter is Joseph's. He's been dehumanized.

[16:03] You know, they despised him. And now they disrobe him. And ultimately, they're dehumanizing him. He has no value to them anymore. He has no identity. They stripped this robe off him.

[16:14] And remember, we said that Joseph's different garments throughout Genesis represent his identity that's being put on him. The identity of authority and position that his father puts on him. And then he's going to have other garments we'll look at as we go.

[16:26] When he's down in Egypt as a slave and then before Pharaoh. But here, they're removing his identity. They're like, no way. This is not who you are. That to his brothers, Joseph no longer had an identity.

[16:38] And we see the same picture as Joseph, a picture of Jesus, as they rip that coat off of Joseph. No longer an identity. No longer any value. Dehumanized. And in Matthew 27, it might be a little small.

[16:51] The soldiers and the governor took Jesus into the common hall. The soldiers of the governor. This is Matthew 27, 27. And they gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him and put on him a scarlet robe.

[17:04] And when they had plated a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head and a reed in his right hand. And they bowed the knee before him and mocked him saying, hail, king of the Jews. And they spit upon him and took the reed and smote him on the head.

[17:18] And after they had mocked him, they took the robe off him and put his own raiment on him and led him away to crucify him. They've actually found archaeological evidence of what this is.

[17:28] It was a game that the soldiers would play. They would be cruel and mock the one who was going to be crucified. Because at this point, as soon as the Roman authority said that you are going to be crucified, you have no rights.

[17:39] You are a dead man walking. If they accidentally killed him, oh well. It wouldn't have mattered. They were dead because he was already dead. But they wanted to use his life to make an example of the power of Rome, the ones who were crucified.

[17:50] He had no identity, completely dehumanized. That's what they did with Jesus. Joseph, with no desire of his own, no will of his own, cast into this pit.

[18:01] But Jesus, contrary, he did. He went a step further. It wasn't just that they crucified him. But we know that Jesus came of his own volition. In Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 through 8, it says that, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

[18:15] This was in his mind. Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Remember that theme verse we looked at? That God's thoughts towards us are peace, not of evil.

[18:26] Well, in Christ's mind, this was in his mind, to come and be crucified. That was that thought of peace that was towards you and towards me. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

[18:41] And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. The idea there is that Jesus laid aside, he took off his own robes.

[18:53] That robe of authority, that robe of position he had with God, to come as a servant and to humble himself and to die. So they stripped Joseph's robe off of him.

[19:04] The favored son, the son of favor. And they took him, verse 24, and they cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty, and there was no water in it. So into a well. And Joseph, the favored son, he goes down into the pit in silence.

[19:18] Now we're going to find out much later in Genesis 40, maybe 42 or 3, when the brothers come to Egypt because there's famine.

[19:31] It's 20 years later. And there in their mind, their conscience is like, the trouble that is befalling us is because of the way we treated Joseph. That we heard his cry, and that we did nothing when he was crying out to us.

[19:44] So we know Joseph cried out. But the picture here in this chapter, Joseph doesn't make a sound. He goes down into the pit, into death in silence. Isaiah 53, verses 6 and 7 tells us a prophecy of Jesus.

[19:59] It speaks of us that we, like sheep, we've gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way. And so the Lord had to lay on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.

[20:12] He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb. So he opened not his mouth. So when Pilate brings him out, he just quietly goes into the pit.

[20:27] So Joseph, he's thrown into the pit. Just into the well he goes. Jesus says in John 10, 18, he says, No man takes my life from me, but I lay it down of myself.

[20:39] I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my father. So where Joseph is thrown into the well, and Jesus was crucified, we have that same picture, that same type, except that Jesus went willingly.

[20:52] No one took it from him. And verse 25 says this, after the brothers tossed him in the well, and we know from Genesis 42, verse 21 tells us that he's crying out to them, and they are heartlessly just not caring.

[21:08] It says in verse 25, And they sat down to eat bread. They sat down to eat. Man, when you've done something wrong, and you know it, what does that do?

[21:21] Ooh, get your stomach in knots. You know, when you got that feeling of guilt on you, or, you know, as a kid, you know you're in trouble. You got away with it, maybe, but you know what you did. And they just sit down to eat.

[21:34] This is where I think Joseph has no value in their lives anymore. He has no identity to them anymore. Paul tells us that this type of condition is called a seared conscience. In 1 Timothy chapter 4, he says, The Spirit speaks expressly that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies and hypocrisy.

[21:56] Why would someone do that? Why would someone follow a teaching of devils? Why would someone leave the faith, which can save their soul? Why would someone speak a lie and hypocrisy? Because their conscience is seared with a hot iron.

[22:06] It no longer has any feeling to it anymore. God, though, heard Joseph's cry. God heard his cry. And little does Joseph know it, but he is sending deliverance.

[22:20] He's sending deliverance and the next step on the path that he's already revealed to Joseph in these dreams. Joseph's like, I just need to get out of here. I need to get back to dad. I need to get rescued.

[22:32] And he's about to get rescued, but it doesn't look exactly like he's expecting to. In Psalm 40, it tells us in verses 1 and 2, I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me, and he heard my cry.

[22:44] And he brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And that's the process that Joseph's going to go through.

[22:54] Between that phrase, I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. I'm sorry, between the verses 1 and 2, he brought me up also out of a horrible pit, and out of the miry clay, and set my feet on a rock.

[23:09] That process can be a lot longer than we'd like it to be. Joseph is going to be established in all of the authority and position that God has promised, but it's going to take a little while.

[23:19] Galatians 4.22 says, For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, and the other by a free woman.

[23:30] But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh, but he of the free woman was by promise. Remember who that was referring to? You had Isaac, and you had who? Ishmael.

[23:41] And here we see, in verse 27, the brothers say, oh, I'm sorry, I think I skipped verse 26. And Judah said unto his brethren, what profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

[23:54] Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh, and his brethren were content. So Judah steps in, says, you know what?

[24:07] We're not going to profit from his death. We're not going to get anything from that. Let's see if we can get something. Here come these Ishmaelites. Let's sell him, sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. Little did Joseph know that this was God sending deliverance.

[24:20] This isn't going to, Joseph's going to be brought out of the pit, like, thank you guys, and then handed over to the Ishmaelites. Guys, really? This is God's deliverance. Proverbs 16, 9 says, a man's heart devises his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

[24:37] And here these brothers, the sons of Jacob, they thought, well, we're going to kill Joseph. We have our idea. We've devised our way, but the Lord is directing his steps. And here you see that they are completely, they've completely devalued Joseph.

[24:51] Let's just sell him. You know, he's our brother in our flesh. We don't really care what happens to him. We just don't want this to reflect badly on us. So we're going to sell him. And they're using cruelty for gain.

[25:04] A seared conscience is easily appeased. As Judah says, let's just sell him. And the rest are like, okay. And so then they're passed by these Midianites. And so it's the, they're Ishmaelites.

[25:16] And I think they lived in Midian because we're going to see Midianite and Ishmaelite. Kind of goes back and forth between them. They're passed by Midianite merchants. And they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit. And they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver.

[25:29] And today's money, that's 200 bucks divided by 10 between 10 guys. That's the value they placed in him. You know, we're not going to get anything out of this. Let's sell him. They sold Joseph for $200.

[25:43] And they brought Joseph into Egypt. Joseph has been brought down to Egypt. What Joseph was thinking was going to be deliverance just looked like a much worse situation.

[25:59] He's like, Lord, I obeyed. I told them the dreams. I've been obedient to my father. You know, these guys are not responsible. I've shown responsibility. I've taken authority. And why am I the one being sold?

[26:14] Joseph's brothers, they despised him. They disrobed him. They devalued him. And now you see they deliver him up to these men. Joseph thought he was being delivered over to slavery and probably death.

[26:28] But it was true when it said that Reuben delivered him. God was using that to rescue Joseph. And he's taken what? It says there in the scripture that they lifted up him out of the pit.

[26:41] They drew him up out of the pit. They lifted him out. In the same way, Jesus, the favored son of the father in John 12, he said, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me.

[26:53] And this he said, signifying what death he should die. So in the same type, Joseph, the man of the covenant, I mean, the man of, the son of favor, Jacob's the man of the covenant, going down into the pit, down into death on behalf of his brethren, is now raised up again to life.

[27:09] Sold, just as Jesus was, Joseph is being sold by his brethren. The son of promise, the true son, sold into the hands of the false son, the Ishmaelites.

[27:24] You see, for Joseph to be used as the means of God's deliverance, he had to first experience that deliverance for himself, right? God wanted to use him to deliver his family and his people, but he had to first learn that himself.

[27:38] And Reuben now returns to the pit. So Reuben, all this time we find out, was gone. He's like, out of sight, out of mind. I'm just going to pretend I don't know what happened, and then when dad says what happened, I can say, I don't know.

[27:51] I wasn't there. His twisted version of morality. And so Reuben returns to the pit. It seems like the rest of the brothers have moved on from there. And he kind of comes back and he looks in, and behold, Joseph was not.

[28:06] He was not in the pit, and so then he rends his clothes, and he returns to his brethren and said, the child is not, and I, whither shall I go? What shall I do?

[28:17] What about my welfare? What about me? What about Joseph? Reuben's absence in this, it did not lessen his complicity or his responsibility.

[28:29] He thought that it would. He thought, well, if I'm not there, I'm not responsible. I'm not complicit in this. Reuben's relationship with the favored son, with Joseph, it was all about the opportunity that he could use for himself to regain favor with his father.

[28:43] Right? He said, he's gone. What am I going to do now? This whole situation was just a setup so that I could regain favor with my father. In Matthew 7, Jesus is describing a situation when those that have been resurrected will stand before God.

[29:04] There will be those that say they knew Christ, those that really knew Christ, and so those that say they rejected him. But there's this group here that Jesus says, not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.

[29:16] So there will be those that will say, you are Lord. But Jesus said, he that does the will of my father, which is in heaven. Those are the only ones that enter into heaven. Not those that say Lord, but those who treat him as Lord.

[29:29] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? In your name cast out devils. In thy name done many wondrous works. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you.

[29:41] Depart from me, you that work iniquity. And Reuben is kind of a picture of that. Right? He names the name of supporting Joseph. He names the name of being in favor of his father.

[29:57] But he really has no interest except what he can gain from it. He does all of these things in the name of being the oldest son, taking responsibility. But it's all about his own gain. And so then they take Joseph, or Joseph's coat, I'm sorry, and they kill a goat and they dip the coat in the blood.

[30:15] If I had flannel graph, guys, I'd be doing the flannel graph, but you just can't find that anymore. And they dip the coat in blood and they set the coat of many, sent the coat of many colors and brought it to their father.

[30:26] And they said, this have we found. Now tell us, do you know whether it be your son's coat or not? And so they bring this coat to Jacob.

[30:38] And Jacob knew it. And he said, it is my son's coat. An evil beast has devoured him. And Joseph is without a doubt rent in pieces.

[30:51] Where's the body? Have you ever seen an animal take some guy's shirt off and then eat him and kill him? There's nothing? I mean, he ate him?

[31:01] He ate, it's just all eaten? When'd you find that? What? There's no other evidence? Just this coat? This kind of torn? Jacob was right. An evil beast did devour him.

[31:15] You see, sin is self-propagating. Sin is self-propagating. In 1 Corinthians 5, verse 6, Paul tells us that we're not to glory in sin.

[31:26] He says, know you not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Purge out, therefore, the old leaven that you may be a new lump as you are unleavened. So we have been essentially unleavened in Christ.

[31:38] He takes out the leaven of sin. He takes out the effect of that leaven of sin. We can live in a way now that we don't have that self-propagating nature of sin. But sin left unchecked and sin undealt with generates more sin.

[31:52] If we sow to the flesh, we shall have the flesh reap corruption. Right? Sin self-propagates itself. And where these guys at one time were like, we just, we want to get rid of Joseph. You know, it started out with they couldn't speak peace to him.

[32:05] They couldn't speak shalom, literally. I just can't, I can't even talk to the guy. And it degenerated to the point where they were going to kill him and now they've sold him and now they're lying to their father and they're pretending he's dead.

[32:16] This self-propagating nature of sin is continuing. What started with something as seemingly innocuous as envy, they envied him. It's led to the wreckage of Joseph's life, their father's life, and they didn't know it, but it's going to wreck their lives too.

[32:30] For 20 years, they're going to be under the cloud of this guilt and of this decision. And so they take this coat to Jacob and he knew it.

[32:41] He said, it's my son's coat. He devoured him. At the end of the verse 33 there in the Hebrew where it says, and he knew it, he said, it's my son's coat. An evil beast has devoured him.

[32:52] Where it speaks of devouring him, it's actually the same word repeated three times in a row in the Hebrew and like to emphasize, pointing back to the fact that Joseph was devoured, that Jacob is emphasizing this and it means to tear up for food.

[33:06] Like he has been, he is just distraught over this. He is sure that he has been rent in pieces. But Jesus, as that reflection that we see in Joseph, the reflection of Jesus, the son of favor, you think of how Jesus' body was torn.

[33:25] Torn for food, wasn't it? In Luke 22, Jesus at the end of the feast of the last supper there in the upper room, he took bread and he gave thanks and he break it and he gave it unto them and he said, this is my body which is broken for you.

[33:39] This do in remembrance of me. So where Jacob says, oh, my son, he's been tore apart for food. It's a picture where Jesus willingly gave his body.

[33:51] But Joseph now is on his way to Egypt. Jacob is back here with the boys and they're thinking, I mean, they say to like, look it, Naphtali, you're the best at crying.

[34:04] Go and act sad. You know, oh, dad, someone killed Joseph. You know, how did they fake that? They have no empathy left towards their brother. But an evil beast did devour Joseph, didn't it?

[34:16] And it was the evil beast of envy. A sound heart is the life of the flesh, but envy the rottenness of the bones. This was the beast that Joseph was devoured by.

[34:27] Proverbs 24, verses 1 and 2 says, Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them, for their heart studies destruction and their lips talk of mischief.

[34:40] The direction that envy takes us. And then Jacob, now he rends his clothes. You know, there's three garments that were rent in this chapter. You have Joseph, which was rent off of him.

[34:53] Reuben rends his in hypocrisy. And now Jacob rends his in sorrow. And Jacob rent his clothes and put sackcloth upon his loins and mourned for his son many days.

[35:05] And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

[35:17] He thought that he was torn by a wild beast. You think, Jacob, I mean, Jacob, you deceived your dad by wearing goat skins and putting Esau's clothes on him.

[35:30] You know, you lived with Laban for 20 years. I mean, I think Jacob knew a con when he saw it, right? In Genesis 42, when the boys are, there's famine in the land and there are these men, they're 20 years older and they're saying to their dad, they're all still living with their dad, and they're saying, we need to go to Egypt to get food and we need to take Benjamin back or they won't release Simeon, the Egyptians, because it's all set up.

[35:53] Remember, Joseph's doing this to test them. Jacob says this to them in Genesis 42, 36, Jacob, their father, said to them, me have you bereaved of my children. Joseph is not and Simeon is not and you will take Benjamin away.

[36:07] All these things are against me. Who does he say took Joseph? You bereaved me of Joseph. I think he knew. I think he knew something happened. I send Joseph out to check on you and he comes back all tore up, just his coat.

[36:23] He knew. I think he knew. But he refuses to be comforted. He says, I'm not going to be comforted by your hypocrisy. Do not refuse the comforter no matter how difficult the loss.

[36:39] We have a comforter. Who's our comforter? We have the Holy Spirit. It's given to us as a comforter. No matter how difficult the loss, we are not to refuse the comforter. Jacob's grief was genuine but his actions were completely self-indulgent which is kind of the pattern in his life.

[36:55] And once again, Jacob's lack of leadership is on display here. Instead of taking ownership of the situation and investigating it and confronting these boys, he just continues to leave this, again, another situation left undealt with.

[37:08] And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's and a captain of the guard. That's the last part of our outline.

[37:20] Well met. Joseph shows up in Egypt on a slave's market. He's put up for sale and Potiphar buys him into his house. Potiphar's name means belonging to the sun, S-U-N.

[37:34] Right? God's favor was continuing to shine upon Joseph. Joseph thought, this is terrible. My life is over. And yet, here he comes into this home of one belonging to the sun, S-U-N, because Joseph belonged to the S-O-N.

[37:48] God was continuing to shine upon his life. Psalm 80 verse 1 says, Give ear, O shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock. Thou that dwells between the cherubins, shine forth.

[38:00] God was leading Joseph. God had everything in hand. And in Joseph, we can see that God's favor, it cannot be removed. You can rip that coat off of him. It cannot be stolen and it cannot be destroyed.

[38:12] God's favor will never be removed from his people. And as Joseph is a type of that picture of Christ, our son of favor, who went down into the pit willingly and took off his robe, took upon him the form of a servant and was made made over unto death, that we now rest in that favor.

[38:33] It's not, I don't have to worry about, you know, does God have favor on my life? No. As a sinner, as one, you know, apart from God, he doesn't have favor on my life. But I can come into favor by coming in to the same favor that the son of favor has, the same favor that Jesus has can be put upon me.

[38:51] And then we can have that same promise just as Joseph is going to discover as he goes down into Egypt that God wants to deliver. But first, Joseph, I have to teach you that I can deliver you before I use you to deliver others in the same way as Joseph's going to discover that, man, God has never left me and I was never separated.

[39:07] We have the same promise. In Romans 8, 35, we read, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Who shall separate us from the favor of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?

[39:21] No, and all these things were more than conquerors through him that loved us. How are you more than a conqueror? You're a victor. You don't have to do that. The battle's over. I don't have to fight. A conqueror is one that fights the battle and wins.

[39:33] We are more than conquerors. We don't have to fight. We just have the victory given to us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth no matter how deep that pit is nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[39:54] You see, for Joseph, Egypt represented isolation. Isolation from God's people, from God's promised land, and from God's place.

[40:05] He was in Hebron. He was in Bethel, the house of God. He was with God's people. He was in the land God promised to him and now he's been sent to Egypt. Represents the world. He's been sent away and into the world and he's isolated.

[40:18] And yet, Joseph was not isolated from God's presence, from God's promise, and from God's purpose, no matter what his circumstances looked like. What appeared to be a tragedy was in fact God's means of deliverance.

[40:32] Joseph thought this is the worst thing. No, Joseph, the worst thing would have been if they killed you. But God had a greater plan than Joseph could have pictured and it will come through what appears to be his death to his family.

[40:45] He will die and 20 years later it will seem like he comes back. It is well, as we looked at the title to the message, it is well, it is well because the Son of Favor was delivered up for our deliverance.

[40:59] Romans 4.25 says, He who was delivered up for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. So it's well for us because Jesus went down into the well. He went down into the well of death and then he was delivered up for our offenses.

[41:12] It is well because the promise of God and the purpose of God is fulfilled by the presence of God. The promise of God and the purpose of God is fulfilled by the presence of God.

[41:25] 2 Corinthians 1.20 For all the promises of God are in him in the presence of Jesus. Are in him, yes, and in him, amen, under the glory of God by us.

[41:37] It's well because the Son of Favor was delivered up for our deliverance. It is well because the promise of God and the purpose of God is fulfilled by the presence of God. And it is well because God's favor is upon all those who belong to the Son.

[41:53] As Potiphar belonged to the Son, we belong to the S-O-N. Psalm 90, verse 17 says, And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us.

[42:04] And so it's well for us today because our son of favor, our Joseph, willingly went down into death, was delivered up so that we could have deliverance.

[42:15] Little does Joseph know this, that God is using him for the deliverance of his people. 2 Corinthians in chapter 6, it says, Receive not the grace of God in vain, for he has said, I have heard you in a favored time.

[42:35] And in the day of salvation have I helped you. Behold, now is the favored or acceptable is what it is. Same idea. Now is the favored time. Now is the day of salvation.

[42:46] We don't have to wait to be under God's favor. We don't have to be in a good situation. Joseph doesn't have to get out of the pit and back home with dad. You know, he doesn't have to get out of Potiphar's house and then he's going to go down into prison before he's then raised up to this position of authority with Pharaoh.

[42:59] He doesn't have to wait. He's under favor now. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the favored time. But how do we receive that favor? We receive the grace of God, right?

[43:12] Don't refuse to be comforted. Don't refuse the comfort that the Holy Spirit gives. It's been a topsy-turvy season, right? As far as like circumstances and where we are maybe as a church, God's always blessed it.

[43:26] It's been wonderful because God's presence is not linked to a place, right? He's put his presence in a person, in Jesus. And then he's put that person in us.

[43:37] He's linked it with a person. So this morning, and I can say this morning, receive God's favor.

[43:48] Know that you are favored by God. That in every situation, whether your brothers hate you or they want to kill you, I hope not. Maybe you've been thrown in a pit, thrown under the bus, right?

[43:59] Maybe they've lied to you, to dad. Maybe there's a con job going. Or maybe things are great and you experience a season of God's favor. But know that you are favored. And that your sin and your enemies and the enemy, they can't separate you from the love of God.

[44:15] Nothing can. Father, thank you so much. Lord, you have favored us with your presence, Lord. It's not by works of righteousness which we have done.

[44:26] Lord, it's by your grace. For by grace, we are saved through faith that is not a work of ourselves, but as the gift of God. Lord, I thank you that this morning we can sit as people under your favor.

[44:42] We can look at Joseph, the favored son. Lord, in the narrative we went through today, he had the short end of the straw. The short end of the stick.

[44:53] He had the short straw. He had it rough. He had it worse than anybody. And yet, he was the one under your favor. He was the one rejected, despised. He was the one that was thrown into the pit.

[45:04] He was the one that was sold for pennies. He was the one who went down into slavery. He was the one isolated. And he was the one under your favor. He was the one who all the promises and deliverance of God was attached to.

[45:18] And he was the one that you would raise up. And we will go through that and we get to that point, Lord. We will get to see that as you raise him up to be the deliverer for those who've rejected him.

[45:30] So this morning, Lord, I thank you that we are under favor, never to be separated from that. I pray that, Lord, as we close in song now, Lord, those that have heavy hearts, those that feel like they're in the pit, Lord, Lord, as we read in that psalm, Lord, you have delivered us, Lord, from that pit, from the miry clay.

[45:52] That, Lord, you would raise them up and remind them of your favor. We have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

[46:05] The self-propagating nature of sin, Jesus, was not in you, was in all points tempted like us. He knows what it feels like, but he did it without sin. Therefore, let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may find mercy and obtain grace to help in time of need.

[46:26] We come to the throne of favor, Lord, to receive from you once again the blessing of the Son of Favor, our Jesus. Amen.