“And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for [am] I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; [but] God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as [it is] this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them,” Genesis 50:19-21.

This wonderful account of the dealings of God with Joseph and his brethren is like a photo album in which the Lord displays his future plans for the descendants of Jacob or as he is here titled, Israel for his name was changed from Jacob to Israel by the Lord, Gen 32:28, 35:10.

We may see how such passages do indeed hold pictures of the future by Stephen’s use of it in Acts 7. “And at the second [time] Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh,” verse 13. Stephen also referred to Moses’  experiences, verses 22-25, 34-36. So there is here in these events a foreshadowing of the second coming of Christ. “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation,” Heb 9:28.

I. WHAT WONDERFUL GRACE GOD SHOWS HERE!

1. The kindness that the Lord planned for the brethren of Joseph was most gracious. Gen 45:5-7.

2. The extent of God’s goodness was beyond measure. As Joseph states: “And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance,” Genesis 45:7. “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; [but] God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as [it is] this day, to save much people alive,” Gen 50:20. Behind the ‘frowning providence’ was God’s merciful plan to ‘preserve a posterity’, to save your lives by a great deliverance’, ‘to save much people alive’.

3. That, in brief is God’s purpose for all His people. “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9-10.

II. UNBELIEVING MAN DOUBTS THAT SUCH WONDERFUL MERCY IS POSSIBLE

1. Although they had already enjoyed kindness and mercy, doubts flood in when their father dies! Genesis 50:14-17.

2. They failed to believe the word of Joseph. They forgot the kindness and mercy already enjoyed at the hands of Joseph and in fact considered that he had been deceitful and lied to them!

3. It took the reiterating of the merciful words of Joseph to banish their fears and reassure them, 19-20. Note the tender-hearted way Joseph responded to their doubts. “And Joseph wept when they spake unto him,” verse 17. Take heart doubter and believe God’s Word of mercy!

III. SINNERS MUST BE BROUGHT DOWN AND HUMBLED BEFORE THEY WILL EMBRACE GOD’S MERCY

1. If you are not saved tonight it is because of your STUBBORN resistance to and rejection of God’s offer of mercy. Psalm 78:6-8.

2. The Bible is filled with the accounts of God’s patient dealings with the stubborn hearts of men. Paul said of himself, and he speaks for us all, Acts 26:9-11; Gal 1:13; 1 Tim 1:13. If we are to be saved and delivered from our own obstinacy then we must be broken as were the brothers of Joseph.

3. Sometimes that takes a long time and much bringing down involving the mighty hand of God. Consider the case of Manasseh, 2 Chron 33:9-16.

IV. THE LORD’S DEALINGS WITH JOSEPH AND BRETHREN WAS BUT PART OF GOD’S ONGOING PURPOSE TO BRING HIS ANCIENT PEOPLE INTO THE PROMISED LAND.

1. This much Jacob understood and believed. Genesis. 48:21.

2. Joseph lived and died in that hope. Gen 50:23-26, Exodus 13:19.

3. The promise made to Abraham would be kept and that to the letter!

Part of that promise states: “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed,” Genesis 12:1-3.

4. From Abraham came the Saviour, Matthew 1:1. He is central to God’s purpose. It is through the wonderful work of atonement wrought by Christ and the preaching of that message throughout the world and by faith in that message that countless multitudes are saved and will enter the promised land of GLORY.

Believe the gospel message of salvation through Christ tonight and start for heaven! John 14:6.