The Practical Redemption Of Man

The Life Of Joseph, Session #10- The Redemption Of A Country

Intro.

- What was Joseph’s life like during the time when His family was being restored to him?

- He was likely unable to take any personal days to handle the family issues that arose.

- What we read from Genesis 47 is a synopsis of what Joseph’s days as Prime Minister in Egypt were like. The famine was severe in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan.

• Genesis 47:14 : “And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.”

- Joseph’s stewardship had brought a great amount of riches into the house of the Pharaoh.

- Unfortunately for the people, the famine outlasted their cash flow.

• Genesis 47:15-17 : “So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, ‘Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.’ Then Joseph said, ‘Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.’ So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.”

- “The money has failed,” an economic crash of immense proportions, forced the Egyptians to surrender their livestock. However, that was not the lowest point, for the famine continued in severity.

- With both money and livestock gone, and the threat of death very sincerely at the door of the Egyptians, there was little else that could be done.

• Genesis 47:18-20 : “When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, ‘We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.’ Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s.”

- The riches, the livestock, the land and the people all now belonged to Pharaoh.

• Genesis 47:23 : “Then Joseph said to the people, ‘Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.”

- In our day of capitalism and a free money market, this would seem to be a great blow.

- For the part of the citizens of Egypt, they appear incredibly grateful to Joseph, as they quite literally owe him their lives.

• Genesis 47:25 : “So they said, ‘You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.’”

- As we finish out this section, I want us to examine a few final concepts before the season finale next week. They are concepts which lead to act of redemption.

I. The Gifting Of A Man

II. The Desperation Of The World

III. The Salvation Of Our God

Text

I. The Gifting Of A Man

- Joseph had a gift that was appropriate to this situation. He was the perfect man for the job.

- Imagine if he had a preaching gift, or the gift of tongues. How useless would he have been in this situation.

- This is not to diminish any particular gift from the Holy Spirit, as all of them are of divine origin and are thus useful by Him to bring glory to Himself.

- But Joseph was given the gift of administration.

• I Corinthians 12:4-7 : “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:”

- After a long parenthetical passage regarding the gifts being used in order, Paul speaks of a few more.

• I Corinthians 12:27,28 : “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.”

- The Greek word for “administrations” is a word that can be translated “ruling” implying the wisdom to manage a group of people.

- The point is that Joseph was particularly gifted for this time and that gift was a gift that brought redemption to the Egyptians and to his kin.

- Your gift may be something less glorious than you think, but God wants to put it into use nonetheless. Because the gift comes from Him, it is therefore valuable and useful toward redemption.

- Joseph’s gift was mundane, lacking in any kind of glory. We never see him preach. We never hear that he discipled anyone. And it seems that his influence died with him.

- But during his days, he was useful and used greatly by God, when God chose to magnify the gift of administration through him.

- Are you being faithful with the gift that God has given you? Do you realize that your gift could be useful in bringing about a great harvest from the Lord?

- Some of you might be saying, “Hey, that is the Lord’s part of it! I don’t need to do anything with my gift.”

- Let me answer that by saying two things. First, Joseph did not become Prime Minister of the Year overnight. He practiced his gift in Potiphar’s house, then in prison, and now here in the Palace.

- Second, Paul exhorts Timothy and you and I to practice our gifts.

• II Timothy 1:6,7 : “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

- The word “stir up” comes from the Greek word which means to “rekindle.” It’s a picture of a fire that has been reduced to embers, but that is still hot, needing only to be kindled to be brought back to full force.

- Men, stir up those gifts!

II. The Desperation Of The World

- A second event that we see happening here is the spiral effect of desperation.

- Men, if they are to put confidence in Christ, must first lose confidence in everything else!

- Notice the digression here in these verses.

- First, the money failed. There was not enough money to insulate them from the famine.

- Second, their possessions failed. Livestock, an ancient indicator of wealth, lost it’s value when the famine continued.

- Finally, we see their very homes, the last chance of equity, was lost as well.

- You’ll notice their cry before Joseph in verses 18-20. They are begging for their lives.

- Perhaps months before, they surmised that they might be able to hold out.

- Perhaps the famine would subside and life would get back to normal.

- It did not and they cried out for life.

- The Bible makes no bones about it: Those without Christ are in dire, desperate straits.

• Ephesians 4:17,18 : “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;”

- Notice the word “alienated.” They are shut out, estranged from the life of God.

- Paul speaking about his ministry to the Gentiles, recounts God’s words to him:

• Acts 26:18 : “‘to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’”

- Alienation, in darkness and Paul says in other places, blind!

- How does God break this? Allowing resources to dry up, famines to encroach upon that which they trust in, so that they might be turned and brought into life.

- And when those resources dry up and the dry times come, who will they go to?

- Often the one gifted by God, trustworthy and willing to administer the life and hope of Christ.

- The Joseph’s who are out in the world, displaying the giftedness of God.

III. The Salvation Of Our God

- Finally, we come to the glorious relief of the tension between these two first concepts.

- Notice again with me:

• Genesis 47:23 : “Then Joseph said to the people, ‘Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.”

- One cannot ignore the obvious type that is seen here in this verse. The language cannot be interpreted any other way.

- Joseph literally “bought” them and their land.

- I cannot believe that this is accidental, as the Apostle Peter employs the exact same language in his epistle.

• I Peter 1:17-19 : “And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

- The word “redeemed” is a synonym for bought, purchased.

- Joseph had bought the people of Egypt, just as Jesus would later and more perfectly purchase us with His own blood being the price that was paid.

- But that alone is not the salvation of the Lord. He has not just saved us to remove guilt and confirm heaven.

- Salvation is our life! It is all that we are! It draws us into fruitful, enjoyable life in and with Christ.

- Notice what Joseph says next: “Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land!”

- Joseph buys them, then brings them into fruitful production.

- He saves their lives, then gives them life with purpose.

- The classic text on salvation encompasses these three concepts in concert.

• Ephesians 2:8-10 : “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

- Look at this: By Grace, for a majority, the grace of being ministered to by one of God’s planted gifts. You have been saved, indicating a sense of total loss and dependance upon a third party to provide deliverance. For good works, fruitful participation in the things of God upon the Earth!

Conclusion

- What a beautiful section of scripture, which to me and hopefully to you, illustrates the balance of how the Lord brings salvation/redemption to the Earth.

- It’s exciting that we can participate and watch Him bring this to pass in front of our eyes.