[Peter Eddington] There is someone we got to talk about today, who I know you can relate very well to. If you've ever been wronged, if you've ever had family problems, if you've ever messed up, if you've ever been lied about, if you've ever been maligned, if you've ever been in jail, if you've ever been set up, if you've ever been misunderstood, if your life has ever been out of control, if you've ever been dad's favorite, you can relate to this biblical character.

So who am I talking about? If you've ever been wronged, you can relate to Joseph. If you've ever had family problems, you can relate to Joseph. If you've ever messed up, you can relate to Joseph. If you've ever been lied about, you can relate to Joseph. If you've ever been maligned, if you've ever been in jail, if you've ever been set up, you can relate to Joseph. If your life has ever been out of control, yes, you can relate to Joseph. And if you've ever been dad's favorite, you can relate to Joseph.

So, put yourselves in the sandals of Joseph. As we read about in the book of Genesis, how can his experiences guide your life? What can we learn from his struggles and triumphs? I've titled the sermon today, "The Life of Joseph: Be the Change You Want to See." "The Life of Joseph: Be the Change You Want to See." The Bible spends more time covering the life of Joseph than any other character, more than Abraham, or Moses, or Noah. Maybe the only exception would be the life of Jesus, but actually, there's a lot more verses about the life of Joseph than even Jesus.

Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel, who was born around 1724 BC. So we're going back a long time, almost 4,000 years. And he lived in the land of Canaan with 10 half brothers, one full brother, Benjamin, and at least one-half sister. He was Rachel's firstborn and Jacob's 11th son. And all the sons, Joseph was the one preferred by his father. To give you a little bit of the family perspective here, his grandpa was Isaac, his grandma was Rebecca. He also had a grandpa Laban, uncle Esau, auntie Leah and, of course, great-grandpa Abraham and great-grandma Sarah.

I've divided the sermon up into four main categories, see how the life of Joseph can relate to our everyday lives. Let's begin with part 1, which I've titled, inside the head of Joseph as a child. Inside the head of Joseph as a child. Jacob's parenting style contributed greatly to everyone's hatred of Joseph because he preferred Joseph to his other children. His dad gave him a coat of many colors, a long coat of many colors. And you can imagine the conversation. "Thanks, dad. I knew you liked me more than all my troubled half brothers. In fact, you know, dad, this long coat of many colors, almost looks like a royal robe. Thanks." Now, I'm not going to turn to every Scripture today, but tell you which chapter of Genesis we're in as we recount the life of Joseph. I'm going to do it often in the first person. And let's start with Genesis 37. Now, this is me speaking for Joseph.

So I brought my little robe here of many colors. Now, Frank Dunkle is not the only one that can make costumes when he gives a sermon. So here we go. So when I speak as Joseph, I'm just going to put this on so that I don't lose track of where I am here. We're in Genesis 37 if you want to follow along. When I was 30… Sorry, when I was 17 years old, my dad sent me out into the pasture to feed his flocks, with four of my older half brothers, but they were not doing the job properly that day. So when I got home that night, I ratted on all four of them to dad. I'm sure he was glad to get the inside scoop from me because after all, I was his favorite. My dad made me this coat of many colors. It was great. It immediately let my brothers and sisters know who the best kid was on the block. They needed to start taking more notice of me anyway. I often had very vivid dreams. Some of my dreams were in super widescreen, technicolor 3D and they were amazing. So I told them to my older brothers, I said, Hey, guys, listen to this dream I had last night. You guys were all in it. We're all gathering sheaves of wheat in the field and my sheave stood upright and tall. And guess what? Your sheaves all bowed down to mine. It was amazing. And then my brothers asked, “Do you think you're going to rule over us? Shall we have to bow down to you? Surely not. Boy, do we hate you.”

I had another vivid dream as well. I told my brothers, “Look, I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and the stars all bowed down to me. Amazing! Huh?” For some reason, they were not impressed. But surely dad would be, after all, I was his favorite son. So, I told him and he wasn't. Instead, he questioned me, “Do you really think your mother and I, and your brothers are going to come before you, bow down to the ground before you?” Well, not long after this, my brothers went up to Shechem to feed dad's flocks. And dad pulled me aside and asked me to go up there to see how it was going. He said, 'Make sure nothing is being done that shouldn’t.' Of course, I said, ‘You bet, dad.' And so he said, "Bring me back word on what your brothers are doing. I need you to check up on them again for me.”

Well, my brothers had already left Shechem and had headed down to Dothan. I didn't know it but they saw me coming. And as I got closer, I saw them whispering. Maybe they were thinking of bowing down to me then. That'd be awesome. Luckily, I had my colorful robe along for the occasion. But boy, was I in for a nasty surprise. As soon as I arrived, they grabbed me, pin me down, stripped my colorful robe right off my back. Boy, dad was going to hear about this. But I never got the chance. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a daze in a deep empty well. And then I had my brothers talking about killing me. They said they would tell dad that a wild beast ate me. And then they were talking about my dreams and how mad that made them, how much they hated me. The eldest, Reuben, I could hear him say, "Spare his life let's not actually kill him." And then a group of Ishmaelites from Gilead came by with the camels on the way to Egypt to sell spices.

And Reuben intervened so my brothers wouldn't kill me. I heard him say to them, "Hey, let's sell Joseph, sell him to the Ishmaelites, or the Midianites. If we kill him, we won't make any money, but this way, we can at least make a few bucks." So I was pulled out of the well, and they sold me for 20 shekels of silver. I thought I was worth way more than that. But actually, that amount matches precisely the going price of slaves in the region. After doing journey with those smelly camels, I came to my senses in and of all places, Egypt. My own brothers and sold me into slavery.

So let's now turn to Genesis 37, and read verses 31 through 36 together, if you want to follow along with me. Genesis 37 starting in verse 31. This is where dad first finds out that his favorite son is lost, presumed dead, and eaten by wild beasts. Genesis 37:31, "So they took Joseph's tunic, his coat of many colors, killed the kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, ‘Hey, look what we found. We found this thing. Do you know if maybe it's your son's or not? I wonder whose it is?’"

Verse 37, "And, of course, dad recognized it and said, 'It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt, Joseph is torn to pieces.’ Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.” Verse 35, "And all sons and all these daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, 'For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.’ Thus his father wept for him.” He said he was going to mourn this for the rest of his life.

Verse 36, "And the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard." And so, there ends the tale of Joseph's childhood and teenage years. We go inside the head of Joseph, just for a few minutes. What did you think? What lessons are there for us? What would you do differently? It reminds me of Proverbs 14:3. Let me read to you Proverbs 14:3, "In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride… In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, the lips of the wise will preserve them." Joseph's behavior and pride in front of his brothers was a foolish way to behave. He did not use wisdom, and it certainly brought strife and violence upon him. Are we careful with our words? Are we filled with humility, instead of pride? Do we take care before we speak, before we blurt out our thoughts? Joseph was very prideful of his life, his special place in the family, and his status in his own little world.

Notice 1 John 2:16. We're reminded that "All that is in the world— the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life— is not of the Father. It is of the world.” The pride is not of God, that emotion. It's important that our children have respect for their siblings, honor their parents, and live life with humility. It's important that our kids don't get the big head like Joseph did. Getting inside the head of Joseph as a child teaches us a number of lessons. Think of your calling as firstfruits in the family of God, which we observed last weekend on the day of Pentecost. Yes, we are the first to be called. Yes, we have been offered salvation when the majority of people have not. Yes, we have been given that figurative coat of many colors, but there's no need to flaunt it.

Be humble. Let your light shine, quietly, circumspectly in this world. Persecution will come soon enough for those who follow God, but there's no need to speed up the process. So that's point 1, inside the head of Joseph as a child. Point 2 is kind of what I base the title of this sermon around, and that is, be the change you want to see. Be the change you want to see. And this brings us to Genesis 39, if you're kind of following along, the first 6 verses is where we are now in the story. Joseph's betrayal at the hands of his brothers appears to have sobered him, calmed him down, set him straight. And being sold to Potiphar, a captain of the guard, an officer of Pharaoh, actually, was certainly a good turn of events and no doubt inspired and led by God. We ask ourselves, have we matured as Joseph finally did? Would we handle responsibility in the same way? Be the change you want to see.

Potiphar noticed that Joseph was different than the other servants. He was successful at whatever he turned his hand to do and he helped the household to prosper. Joseph's God was blessing him. And so Potiphar made Joseph overseer of his house and put all under his authority. The Egyptians household and entire property was greatly blessed by God for Joseph's sake. Joseph ran everything, to the point, the Potiphar never even had to look at the books. "All he had to do," the Bible says, "was eat and enjoy his prosperity." Joseph had matured into a responsible overseer. Let me recount the next part of the story from the perspective of Joseph. His maturity, faith, and trust in God was about to be greatly tested.

And this part of the story begins in Genesis 39:7. So I was going over the books and financial transactions for my boss when I noticed his wife looking at me. At first, I thought I was mistaken, but then she told me I was really handsome. She asked me into her bedroom to lie with her. I might point out at this point that Joseph's coat is long gone, right, when they gave it to his dad with the blood on it, but I'm just wearing this so that I kind of keep track of when I'm Joseph, and when I'm not, right? "I loudly refused. "Look," I said to her, "your husband has granted me supervision over everything in his house. He has not kept back anything from me, except you, his wife. I'm not about to break his trust or sin against God." And I hurriedly left the scene.

The next time I went into the house to finish up some work for Potiphar, she cornered me. The house was empty except for me and Zuleikha, the traditional name given to her. Zuleikha grabbed my robe and again said, "Lie with me. I love you so much." Immediately I fled and ran outside. But my robe came off my shoulders and into her hand. I heard her scream out, "Help. Help. This Hebrew tried to sleep with me." And then Potiphar came home, my boss. I couldn't believe it. Zuleikha showed him my cloak and told him I tried to seduce her. He went into a rage, angered that I had betrayed his trust. And Potiphar sent me into the dungeon along with the other prisoners of the king. But God was with me in that dark, dirty dungeon. I did not relent in making the changes in my life I wanted to see. Eventually, the prison warden put me in charge of all the other prisoners. I was still locked up, but I ran the whole place.

The prison Superintendent didn't even come by to check up on us. He trusted everything I did. But I knew this was all God's doing. Soon after, the pharaoh's chief butler and chief baker were thrown into the prison. One morning they woke up and told me they had vivid dreams, but there was sad because they didn't know what the dreams meant. They were very cryptic, so I offered to interpret them. Butler's dream was about a vine with three branches that were budding. And as they budded, blossoms came out and produced grapes. The butler took those grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. Excitedly, I told the butler, "God says, this dream shows you being restored as butler to Pharaoh within three days." So I said to him, "When you get out of the damp dungeon, please tell Pharaoh I'm here. I'm innocent. I've been framed by Potiphar's wife." The baker then begged me to interpret his dream. It was about three baskets of bread for Pharaoh. And his birds were eating the bread out of the basket. I reluctantly told the baker, "God says, within three days, Pharaoh will chop off your head and impale your body on a pole, and the birds will eat away your flesh."

So let's take a look in Genesis 40, beginning in verse 20, and see the graphic end to this account. Genesis 40:20. "It came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and the chief baker among his servants.” He brought them out of the prison on his birthday. Verse 21, "Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. But he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted. Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.” Rats! He never mentioned Joseph or tried to secure his release from prison.

Let's look at Genesis 41 now verse 1, Pharaoh himself now has dreams. Genesis 41:1, "That it came to pass at the end of two full years,” it's been going on a while now that Joseph's been in prison, “that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river. Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows in the bank of the river. And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows.” And then Pharaoh woke up. Verse 5, "He slept and dreamed the second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good. Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. And the seven thin heads developed the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream."

Notice verse 8, “It came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all of the magicians of Egypt and all of its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh. Then chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: ‘I remember my faults,’" verse 12, "When you put me in prison, there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted that dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream. And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us.” And imagine words of Joseph again.

So there I was several years behind bars, running that dungeon from the inside when the prison guard receives a message from Pharaoh himself, he said, "Get Joseph out of prison and bring him to me." So I shaved my beard, took a shower, cut my hair, put on fresh clothes, and I came to Pharaoh. He told me, "I've had two dreams. I don't know what they mean. My cup-bearer, the butler, tells me you can interpret dreams." So immediately I told Pharaoh, "It's not me. But God, who will answer your dream and give you peace." And then Pharaoh told me of his dreams, seven skinny, ugly cows, ugliest you'd ever seen. were eaten up by seven beautiful fat cows, and seven blighted stalks of grain devoured seven healthy stalks of grain. I said, "Pharaoh, here is what God has revealed to me. The two dreams tell the same story. There'll be seven years of bounteous crops. Food will be plenteous throughout Egypt for seven years, but then seven years of famine will arise and the land will be depleted." Pharaoh looked very worried. I told him the dream came twice because it was from the Almighty God and it was sure to happen.

He told me, "You're a wise and discerning man." I thought, "Boy, have I come a long way from those days in the desert with my brothers. I'd been humbled by false accusations, been left for dead in a well, accused of sexual misconduct, imprisoned and shackled, and now made free." I had to continue with the changes I needed to see in my life. Pharaoh amazingly asked me to lead the nation in storing up food for the next seven years, collecting the produce of the nation in preparation for the seven years of famine. Little did I realize that an even greater plan was being worked out by God, which would bring me back to my family. My dad still thinks I've been long dead at the jaws of a wild animal.

Let's turn to Genesis 41 now, look at Joseph's sudden rise to power, a second in command, the Governor in Egypt. It's in Genesis 41, let's start in verse 38, "Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘Can we find such a one is this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?’” Joseph was obviously being led by the Almighty God. "Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.’"

Verse 42, "And Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph's hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him riding the second chariot which he had. And they cried out before him, ‘Bow the knee!’ So he set him over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh also said to Joseph," verse 44, “'I am Pharaoh, and without your consent, no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.’ And Pharaoh called Joseph's name, Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all The land of Egypt."

In verse 46, "Joseph was about thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt." This is a huge turn of events, obviously, at the hand of God for a much bigger plan and purpose, actually a huge plan that would affect the rest of mankind eventually. And then, the seven years of plenty begin, followed by seven years of terrible famine and drought. Far away in another country. Joseph's dad and half brothers, all the families are struck down by the famine as well.

In the sixth year, Asenath bore to children to Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim. And those sons became very significant as I'll note in a moment, When the famine finally came after seven years of plenty, it was so severe that people from surrounding nations came to Egypt to buy bread. Often they went straight to Joseph, but many were directed to him by the Pharaoh himself. Yes, but he's a change you want to see. Make the most of your life. Don't compromise and sin. Flee immorality. Keep God's commandments. And even when wronged, do not give up. God has a plan for your very salvation for each one of us. If you've ever been wronged, if you've ever had family problems, if you've ever messed up, lied about, been maligned, if your life has ever been out of control, you can relate to Joseph. You might never run Egypt or even become the mayor of Milford, perhaps not even the secretary of your School Parents Association, but in whatever lot you find yourself in life, be faithful. Be faithful. Whether you're rich and prosperous or whether you're in a deep, dark dungeon, be faithful.

Jeremiah 29:11, is a good passage to note here at this point. Jeremiah 29, I'll read through verses 11 through 13. Jeremiah: 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Then verse 12, "Then you shall call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” If you search for God with all your heart, He will give you a future and a hope. Be the change you want to see. We all have a future and a hope. You have a future and a hope, no matter in what circumstances you currently find yourself, no matter what you may be facing.

Point 3, don't perpetuate a problem. Don't perpetuate a problem. In this story, we see Joseph break the mold of his upbringing, break the mold of his immature teenage years. He made changes. He matured. He reconciled with his family. In the second year of the famine, Joseph's half brothers were sent by their dad to Egypt to buy food. Of course, they were running out themselves there in Canaan. Only his full brother, Benjamin, was left behind. Genesis 42:4 says, "Lest some calamity befall him." When they came to Egypt, they stood before Joseph but did not recognize him as their brother, who was now in his late 30s. Joseph recognized them but did not speak to them in their native tongue of Hebrew. He used an interpreter. So, once again, let's listen to Joseph. I actually remember the picture in the Bible story, this part, when Joseph's brothers come in, there's this black and white picture by Basil Wolverton of Joseph peering app behind the curtain to look at his brothers. I'd see it on my mind when I was about five years old of Joseph peering behind the curtain when these brothers come in.

"Who are you and where do you come from?" I shouted. "They told me they're from Canaan to buy food." I yelled, “You're spies, you've come to see our land." But in fear, they told me they were 10 brothers of a man in Canaan. The youngest, they said is at home with dad and the 11th brother is dead. I said, "No you're spies. On the name of Pharaoh, you shall not leave Egypt unless your youngest brother comes here first. Guards, lock them up in the dungeon." After three days, I went to the prison and told them if they wanted to live and prove they were not spies, they had to bring their youngest brother to me. I heard them speaking Hebrew amongst themselves and they were worried that their blood would now be required by God because of their past sins against their younger brother, which was me, but they didn't know that. At this point, I had to turn my head away, as tears streamed down my face. I wanted to tell them it was me, Joseph, who they had sold into slavery, but I first had to let this play out a little longer if ever I wanted to see my dad and youngest brother again, Benjamin.

I asked the guards to seize Simeon, and I had him shackled and chained right before their eyes. I commanded my officers to fill my brothers' sacks with grain and provisions and to secretly put their payment money back in their sacks. And I sent them back to Canaan without Simeon. I found out later how it went when they got back to dad. They told him all that had transpired in Egypt, and they also discovered their sack still had their money in them. It looked like they'd stolen from me, and they were very, very dismayed. Then they informed their dad that the Governor demanded Benjamin be brought back to show they were not spies. And dad said to them, "You have bereaved me. Joseph is no more. Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me." That's in Genesis 42:36.

So let's pick up the story in Genesis 43:1. Genesis 43:1, "Now the feminine was very severe in the land. And it came to pass when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt that their father,” that's Jacob or Israel, “said to them, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’” The famine was bad. “But Judah spoke to him, saying, ‘The Governor solemnly warned us, saying, "You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.”’” You know, little Benjamin. Verse 6, “And Israel said, ‘Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you still had another brother?’ But they said, "The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, “Bring your brother down”?’" Verse 8, "Then Judah said to Israel his father, ‘Send the lad Benjamin with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not starve, both we and you and also our little ones." Verse 9, "I myself," says, Judah, "will be surety for Benjamin; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.” I think it was Reuben that said, in another passage, "If Benjamin doesn't come back, I'll kill my two boys.

And so my brothers returned to eat with Benjamin. My chief steward received them. I ordered him to slaughter an animal and prepare a banquet. My brothers would dine with me at noon. But upon hearing this, my brothers became very afraid. "He wants to have lunch with us?" Perhaps this was going to be the last meal before I executed them for being spies or because of the money found in their sacks that looks like I stole from them. So then I had my steward send Simeon up to see them. And after a little while, I myself came out to greet them. And when I saw Benjamin there, I could scarcely contain myself, but I had to. They handed me presents of balm, honey, spices, myrrh, pistachios, and almonds. And they gave me back twice as much money as I put in their sacks, trying to justify themselves saying they had not tried to steal from me. And then guess what? They all bowed down to me. In many respects, despite my great lack of wisdom as a teenager, this showed that my teenage dreams as told to my brothers were from God. And later they would come to realize this too. I quizzed them incessantly. "Is your father well, the old man you told me about backing Canaan? Is he still alive?" And all my brothers bowed their heads low and lay flat on the ground before me in humility. And then I said, "Is that your younger brother of whom you spoke to me about?" Of course, I knew it was. And at that point, I immediately retired to my chamber and cried where no one could hear me. But I composed myself, I came out and commanded that lunch be served. I personally served each of them their lunch, from oldest to youngest.

And to the youngest, Benjamin, I gave five times as much food as I did to anyone else. The old drank wine. They were very happy and wondering what my next move would be. But all I did was send them home with fresh grain and provisions as much as they could carry. However, in Benjamin's sack, I secretly put my personal silver cup right at the top. My brothers saddled up their donkeys and headed out of the palace grounds. But as soon as they got out of the city, I sent my steward after them. He stopped them in their tracks and asked, "Who stole the Governor's Cup? Why have you repaid evil for good?" Of course, they denied having stolen anything. They told my steward to search everyone sacks. And he said, "If the silver cup is found, let that person become a slave to the Governor." So my steward searched each man's goods from the eldest, ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. My brothers tore their clothes and returned to the city.

Upon returning, Judah said, "God has found out our iniquity. Here we are, your slaves, both we and also with whom the cup was found." It was in Genesis 44:16. "But immediately I said, "No, I'm not going to take you all as slaves, only the one who took my silver cup. I'll keep Benjamin as my slave, and the rest of you go back to your father." And then Judah tried to intervene and save Benjamin. He cried out to me that this will be the end of their father if his beloved youngest child would not return home, just like his beloved child, Joseph, never returned home decades earlier. He said, "Dad would surely die of a broken heart." Judah pleaded with me in tears to free Benjamin and let him take Benjamin's place.

So now, if we turn to Genesis 45, the story gets even more emotional. It's read here, Genesis 45:1, "And Joseph could not restrain himself any longer before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, ‘Make everyone go out of here!’ So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers." Verse 2, "And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it. Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph; does my father still live?’ But his brothers were speechless, for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, 'Please come near to me.' So they come near. Then he said, 'Look, I'm Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. It is all part of God's plan what you did to me."

Verse 8, Genesis 45, he says, "So now it's not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry.”’" Verse 10, "You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children's children, your flocks, your herds, everything that you have. And there," says Joseph, "I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all you have will starve, come to poverty; for there's still five years of famine left."

Verse 14, "Then he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Wherever he kissed all these brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him. A reporter was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, ‘Joseph's brothers have come.’ So it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well. And Pharaoh said to Joseph," verse 17, "Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan. ‘Bring your father back and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat of the land.’" Joseph sure was in favor with Pharaoh, wasn't he? To the point, Pharaoh wanted to take care of all of Joseph's family. Of course, you may recall that hundreds of years later, there was a pharaoh that did not know Joseph. The time of the Exodus, right? But right now, Pharaoh likes Joseph.

So you remember how the story goes after this. It begins the amazing history of the 12 tribes of Israel in the land of Goshen, hundreds of years before Moses and the Exodus. It sets the stage for the fulfillment of many, many Bible prophecies, down to our very date and time, into the time of the end and the return of Jesus Christ, those prophecies. Jacob, dad, also known as Israel, plus his entire house of 66 males, not including all the wives, gathered up all their livestock and journeyed to Egypt. And along the way, God told Jacob, that he would make a great nation of him in Egypt. As they approached Egyptian territory, Judah went ahead to ask Joseph where the caravan should unload. They were directed into the province of Goshen.

And Joseph readied his chariot and his horses to meet his father there. It had been over 20 years since Joseph had last seen his father. And when they met, they embraced each other and wept for quite a while. His father then remarked, "Now let me die, since I've seen your face, because you are still alive." It's in Genesis 46:30. And the family then settled in Goshen. The rest, as they say, is history. History that we know very well. Don't perpetuate the problem. Learn from your mistakes. Make changes in your life, like Joseph did. Forgive your enemies. Forgive your family. Forgive your brothers. Forgive your sisters. Become reconciled. Change your future. Don't dwell on the past. Move forward in faith. Bless those who curse you. Bless those who throw you in a well and leave you to die.

Matthew 5:43-45 is just a note that I wanted to make here. These are the very words of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Matthew 5:43, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You should love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ No," says Jesus, "I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you," verse 45, "may be sons of your Father in heaven,” that you may be like God. Don't perpetuate hatred. Joseph's brothers actually hated him. They wanted to murder him. He would probably have been killed if it wasn't for his older brother. Joseph, though immature at first and bringing the grief upon himself, came to forgive his brothers, and was a great blessing to them all, and a blessing for generations to come.

We are all sons and daughters of God and have the potential for eternal life in the Kingdom. We must love one another, no matter what race or station in life we find ourselves. So don't perpetuate the problem. And then, fourth point I've titled "Blessings for Following God." "Blessings for Following God." Seventeen more years then passed, Joseph's father, who was 147 years old and bedridden, he had fallen ill and lost most of his vision. Joseph came to his father, having with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. God had promised great blessings to the descendants of Abraham because of Abraham's faith and obedience to the Almighty. These blessings were passed from Abraham to Isaac, to Jacob, and particularly to Joseph and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

The family of Jacob, of Israel, would eventually multiply into millions of people in the land of Egypt, particularly in that area of Goshen by the time of Moses and the Exodus. And today, there are hundreds of millions of descendants of the tribes of Israel around the world. Many know of the tribe of Judah, of course, but the other tribes, the so-called last tribes are in many of the Western nations today. You may be among them. And so, on his deathbed, Jacob, the dad, declared to Joseph that these two boys, Manasseh and Ephraim, will be heirs to the inheritance of the house of Israel as if they were his own children. That leads us to Genesis 48 here in the story. Genesis 48, let's start in verse 15. Genesis 48:15.

So Israel or Jacob “blessed Joseph, and said, 'God, before who my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads.’" He's saying God bless these boys. And he says, "Let my name be named upon them." And what we find later in the Bible is that Ephraim and Manasseh are often called Israel in Scripture. Some of the prophecies about Israel and the prophets referred to Ephraim and Manasseh, and their descendants. An actually very important point in understanding end-time prophecy.

Now, the last part of verse 16, “…in the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; so let my name Israel be named upon them, let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” You know, a huge multitude on our planet. Verse 19, breaking into the middle there, "And Manasseh shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." And then goes into chapter 49, where Israel called all of his sons, not just Joseph but all of his sons in and he prophesied blessings and cursings to all 12 of them in order of their age, ending up, of course, with further prophecies or blessings for Joseph. And then those there in Genesis 49, with the last words of Jacob to his sons, to the 12 boys. Of all the brothers, Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph would receive the greatest blessings of all and be known as Israel, not just having great influence in the land of Egypt or Canaan, but power and influence around the world.

Figuratively, as you're reading Genesis 49, there are branches running over the walls of their neighboring countries with a strong military bow, ruling the oceans of the world, as ruling the deeps. Of course, this is a topic for another sermon. But it's only in the last few hundred years that these prophesied blessings have actually been completely fulfilled. And after relaying his prophecies here in Genesis 49, Israel died, Jacob died. The family, including the Egyptians, mourned him for 70 days, took weeks to embalm him. And Joseph buried his dad across the Jordan River in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah. In that cave, were buried Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob's first wife, Leah. Jacob's second wife, Rachel, Joseph, and Benjamin's mom was buried in Bethlehem. Because Rachel died while giving birth to Benjamin is what happened. And so, here is how Joseph recalls things after Jacob died.

After we all returned from burying my father, my brothers said, "Now that our father is dead, are you're going to hate us and repay us for all the evil we did to you when you were a teenager? Before dad died, he said, we should beg you for forgiveness. And so, before the God of your father, please forgive us." And they fell down before me and pledged to be my servants. And I told them by my hand, no harm would come to them. And I said, "Please get up. Don't be afraid, I'm not God." And then I said these very important words to them.

Let's read them in Genesis 50. These very important words. Genesis 50:20, "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.’ And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.” This is, of course, the opposite reaction of what they had expected from Joseph.

Verse 22 says, "Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph's knee.” I like the picture here of him bouncing his grandchildren and great-grandchildren on his knee here. Certainly, it seems to have been, you know, a very enjoyable last, you know, several decades. Hundreds of years later, Moses made sure the bones of Joseph were taken to the promised land after the Exodus, you recall. His bones were reburied in the land given to the descendants of Ephraim. Here's a point for us today. Blessings come from obedience to God. And even we here today are blessed because of the faithfulness of our patriarch, Abraham, and his great, great-grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh. It's not because of anything we did. It was promised to Abraham. Because of the faithfulness of our forefathers, we must honor that blessing in how we live our lives and not take it for granted.

I want to turn to 1 Peter 3 as a final passage, verses 8 and 9. 1 Peter 3 verses 8 and 9, “Finally," says Peter, "all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil," as Joseph's brothers had expected, "or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary return a blessing, knowing that you were called to this, you may inherit a blessing too.” Of course, the ultimate blessing from God. Our ultimate hope and blessing is to lay hope of the hope set before us, the promise of salvation, the promise of eternal life, to approach the throne of God behind the temple veil, the throne of grace, where Jesus Himself has entered.

And so what are our takeaways here today? Number one, inside the head of Joseph as a child, become mature. Be humble. worship God in spirit and truth. Let your light shine, quietly, circumspectly in this world. Persecution could come soon enough for those who follow God, there's no need to speed up the process. Secondly, be the change you want to see. You have a future and a hope. No matter in what circumstances you currently find yourself, live a life of change. Thirdly, don't perpetuate a problem. Joseph's brothers actually hated him. We're all sons and daughters of God and has a potential for eternal life in the kingdom. We must love one another, no matter what race or station in life we find ourselves. And fourthly, blessings for following God. Blessings come from obedience to our Father in heaven. And we are blessed in the Western nations today because of the faithfulness of our patriarch, Abraham. We must honor that blessing in how we live our lives. Be the change you want to see, that God wants to see in you, leading to your ultimate change, your resurrection, and inheritance to salvation.