[00:00:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Welcome to Gracious Words. Gracious Words is taken from the Weekly Women's Bible Study,
[00:00:14] [SPEAKER_03]: taught by Cheryl Brodersen at Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.
[00:00:19] [SPEAKER_02]: We're behold to glory God in the face of Christ. It shows us who you are. We're feeling who you are.
[00:00:36] [SPEAKER_03]: Joseph's life demonstrated the faithfulness of God. On today's program, we'll see how the Lord went before Joseph
[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_03]: and made preparations for his rescue and deliverance.
[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_03]: And now here is part one of Cheryl's message titled, The Vantage Point of Deliverance.
[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_00]: I've been amazed this week as I've been studying Genesis, just how appropriate it is.
[00:01:27] [SPEAKER_00]: This passage in Genesis speaks to our fears and it tells us that we have a deliverer who has already gone before us
[00:01:39] [SPEAKER_00]: and made preparations for our deliverance. I don't know what you're going through today, but I want you to know
[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_00]: you have a deliverer who has already gone before you.
[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_00]: So I want to talk to you just beginning about a man named William Ogden. I bet you don't know that name.
[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_00]: It's not a household name. It might have been about 100 years ago. In 1841 to 1897, that's when William Ogden lived.
[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And he was a very famous hymn writer. In fact, he wrote over 200 hymns. And I bet you sing some of those hymns
[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_00]: and you don't even realize that William Ogden was the one who wrote them.
[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_00]: He lived during the Civil War and he was 20 at the outbreak of the Civil War
[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_00]: and he enlisted in the 30th Indiana Volunteer Infantry fighting on the northern side.
[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_00]: He was originally from Ohio. Well, when they realized his musical talents, he was asked to form a men's choir
[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_00]: and this choir was meant to bring inspiration to these men who were fighting against slavery.
[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_00]: So most of his hymns have as their backdrop the violence, the upheaval and the uncertainty of the Civil War
[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_00]: where literally thousands of Americans were dying.
[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_00]: One of my dad's favorite hymns was written by William Ogden and it's, He is able to deliver thee.
[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps you remember if you attended Calvary or been here, some of the lyrics.
[00:03:21] [SPEAKER_00]: It went like this and I'm going to resist singing it to you which is really a blessing in disguise.
[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_00]: But, "'Tis the grandest theme through the ages rung, "'Tis the grandest theme for a mortal tongue,
[00:03:37] [SPEAKER_00]: "'Tis the grandest theme that the world airs sung,
[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_00]: "'Our God is able to deliver thee, He is able to deliver thee,
[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_00]: "'He is able to deliver thee, though by sin oppressed go to him for rest,
[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_00]: "'Our God is able to deliver thee, "'Tis the grandest theme in the earth or Maine,
[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_00]: "'Tis the grandest theme for a mortal strain, "'Tis the grandest theme till the world again,
[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_00]: "'Our God is able to deliver thee, "'Tis the grandest theme let the tidings roll,
[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_00]: "'To the guilty heart, to the sinful soul,
[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_00]: "'Look to God in faith, He will make thee whole,
[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_00]: "'Our God is able to deliver thee.'
[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_00]: These same lyrics have given me so much hope through every crisis of my life.
[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I have found myself singing these very lyrics on the streets of London, in peril,
[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_00]: in hard times, in traffic, in all sorts of circumstances.
[00:04:51] [SPEAKER_00]: I have found myself singing these songs.
[00:04:53] [SPEAKER_00]: I have found myself singing it about protocols, about struggles,
[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_00]: about financial constraints, about things that look like a certain loss.
[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_00]: I have found myself singing it over my children, over my husband,
[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_00]: over my loved ones, over the church, over my parents.
[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: I have found myself singing it over and over and over again
[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_00]: because my God, our God is able to deliver.
[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 spoke about an overwhelming circumstance
[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_00]: in which he was sure that he was going to lose his life.
[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Remember this is Paul who had lived through riots and hunger and beatings
[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: and imprisonments and shipwrecks?
[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Yet in 2 Corinthians 1 9-10 he says this,
[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes we have the sentence of death in ourselves
[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_00]: that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,
[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: who delivered us from so great a death and does deliver us
[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_00]: in whom we trust that he still will deliver us.
[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_00]: God is working in all the circumstances of our life,
[00:06:25] [SPEAKER_00]: even the darkest seasons to accomplish our deliverance.
[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_00]: And friends let me say this,
[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus has already delivered us from our greatest enemies.
[00:06:39] [SPEAKER_00]: He has delivered us from sin, he has delivered us from death,
[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_00]: he has delivered us from condemnation.
[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_00]: But he is even now living and working to deliver us
[00:06:52] [SPEAKER_00]: from the circumstances of this life,
[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_00]: from the tremendous to the trivial.
[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_00]: From our vantage point we can only at times see the things
[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_00]: that are conspiring against us to take us down.
[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Isn't that true?
[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_00]: That's all we see is like the worst.
[00:07:13] [SPEAKER_00]: The Bible though gives us a heavenly perspective.
[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Through the Word we see that God is in the details,
[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_00]: even in the hard things, even in the darkest things.
[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Taking even the worst that he might do his best
[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_00]: for those who serve him.
[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I remember reading a quote years ago by F. B. Meyer,
[00:07:38] [SPEAKER_00]: where he says men go to work in the morning at the sunshine
[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_00]: and work until the dark.
[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_00]: But God works in the darkness to bring about the light.
[00:07:51] [SPEAKER_00]: God works in the darkest of circumstances
[00:07:55] [SPEAKER_00]: to bring about the light to cause the sun to rise.
[00:08:03] [SPEAKER_00]: I want to remind you that the Bible was not written
[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_00]: in an atmosphere of prosperity or of plenty
[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_00]: or of perfect pervasive peace,
[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_00]: but in the context of a heavell, oppression,
[00:08:17] [SPEAKER_00]: betrayal, violence, famine.
[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_00]: It is the story of God's continued faithfulness,
[00:08:26] [SPEAKER_00]: God's grace, God's provision,
[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_00]: God's discipline and training,
[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_00]: God's compassion even in the atmosphere
[00:08:37] [SPEAKER_00]: of a broken world.
[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_00]: This is what the Bible tells us.
[00:08:45] [SPEAKER_00]: This is what the Bible reveals to us by men who were writing
[00:08:51] [SPEAKER_00]: in upheaval, in oppression, in betrayal, in violence,
[00:08:56] [SPEAKER_00]: in famine, in imprisonment, in captivity.
[00:09:01] [SPEAKER_00]: They were declaring to us the goodness,
[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_00]: the greatness of the Lord.
[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_00]: His good plans and promises are being woven
[00:09:11] [SPEAKER_00]: into all the circumstances of life,
[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_00]: not in spite of what is happening,
[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_00]: but through what is happening in everything.
[00:09:23] [SPEAKER_00]: In our lesson this week from Genesis, chapters 41 and 42,
[00:09:28] [SPEAKER_00]: we get the divine vantage point.
[00:09:32] [SPEAKER_00]: To those in the midst of these circumstances,
[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_00]: to Jacob, to the sons of Jacob,
[00:09:39] [SPEAKER_00]: there is little hope.
[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_00]: However, from our vantage point,
[00:09:45] [SPEAKER_00]: we know that Joseph is alive
[00:09:49] [SPEAKER_00]: and that the power that is working in Egypt
[00:09:54] [SPEAKER_00]: is for the family of Jacob,
[00:09:59] [SPEAKER_00]: for the sons of Jacob.
[00:10:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Already we see that God has been victorious
[00:10:05] [SPEAKER_00]: even in the betrayal of Joseph
[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_00]: and has used that for the highest good.
[00:10:12] [SPEAKER_00]: We already see that all the hard places in Joseph's life
[00:10:17] [SPEAKER_00]: have prepared him and trained him
[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_00]: to be the administrator of the world.
[00:10:25] [SPEAKER_00]: We see that the famine,
[00:10:30] [SPEAKER_00]: God is already prepared for the famine
[00:10:32] [SPEAKER_00]: and that those who seek out Joseph
[00:10:36] [SPEAKER_00]: will not starve but will have plenty
[00:10:40] [SPEAKER_00]: even during the famine.
[00:10:43] [SPEAKER_00]: God is working both the deliverance of God's family
[00:10:48] [SPEAKER_00]: from the famine and extinction,
[00:10:51] [SPEAKER_00]: but he is also working to deliver them from the sin
[00:10:56] [SPEAKER_00]: that is slowly but surely eating them alive
[00:11:00] [SPEAKER_00]: and keeping them from all of the blessings
[00:11:04] [SPEAKER_00]: God wants to bestow on the family of Jacob.
[00:11:11] [SPEAKER_00]: God doesn't want any obstacles in our life
[00:11:15] [SPEAKER_00]: that will keep us from his blessings
[00:11:19] [SPEAKER_00]: and he will use hard places,
[00:11:22] [SPEAKER_00]: he will use famines to bring to light
[00:11:25] [SPEAKER_00]: all the lies that we've been living in,
[00:11:29] [SPEAKER_00]: all the sin that we've been suppressing,
[00:11:33] [SPEAKER_00]: the evil of our past to bring to light
[00:11:37] [SPEAKER_00]: our fears, our doubts, our loss of faith.
[00:11:42] [SPEAKER_00]: This is what he's going to bring out in these hard places
[00:11:46] [SPEAKER_00]: that he might eradicate,
[00:11:50] [SPEAKER_00]: that he might forgive,
[00:11:52] [SPEAKER_00]: that he might cleanse,
[00:11:54] [SPEAKER_00]: that he might remove these obstacles
[00:11:57] [SPEAKER_00]: that have barred the blessings
[00:12:00] [SPEAKER_00]: that he wants to pour into our lives.
[00:12:06] [SPEAKER_00]: In Genesis chapter 42,
[00:12:09] [SPEAKER_00]: we realize that Jacob's family is in dire straits.
[00:12:13] [SPEAKER_00]: There's a famine in the land
[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_00]: and there is not enough grain
[00:12:17] [SPEAKER_00]: to sustain his livestock.
[00:12:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Jacob needs grain in order to keep his family alive
[00:12:25] [SPEAKER_00]: in order to keep his livestock alive.
[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Without this vital grain,
[00:12:31] [SPEAKER_00]: he will lose his camels, his donkeys,
[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_00]: his cattle, his sheep, his goats,
[00:12:37] [SPEAKER_00]: and therefore his income.
[00:12:40] [SPEAKER_00]: See, this is how Jacob made his wealth.
[00:12:43] [SPEAKER_00]: This is how he prospered through livestock.
[00:12:46] [SPEAKER_00]: It's not through farming, he was a nomad,
[00:12:49] [SPEAKER_00]: but he has prospered through raising this livestock.
[00:12:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Now there's a famine.
[00:12:54] [SPEAKER_00]: There's no grass, there's no feed for the animals.
[00:12:58] [SPEAKER_00]: He needs grain.
[00:13:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Jacob hears that there is grain in Egypt,
[00:13:04] [SPEAKER_00]: so he commissions 10 of his sons to go to Egypt.
[00:13:08] [SPEAKER_00]: He will not let Benjamin go with them.
[00:13:11] [SPEAKER_00]: After losing Joseph,
[00:13:13] [SPEAKER_00]: he probably kept Benjamin so close to him,
[00:13:16] [SPEAKER_00]: always in his sights.
[00:13:19] [SPEAKER_00]: His name means son of my right hand,
[00:13:21] [SPEAKER_00]: and that seems to be exactly where Jacob always wanted him,
[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_00]: right at his right hand,
[00:13:29] [SPEAKER_00]: right where he could always see him.
[00:13:32] [SPEAKER_00]: When I was a little girl,
[00:13:35] [SPEAKER_00]: my mother always kept me in her sights.
[00:13:38] [SPEAKER_00]: My mother was adopted,
[00:13:40] [SPEAKER_00]: so family was very, very important to her
[00:13:43] [SPEAKER_00]: and she was especially protective of me.
[00:13:46] [SPEAKER_00]: She wanted me named Sherry,
[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_00]: but my father wanted me named Cheryl,
[00:13:50] [SPEAKER_00]: which is the feminine form of Charles,
[00:13:54] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'm really thankful to be named by my father after himself.
[00:13:59] [SPEAKER_00]: That's just something really, really special in that.
[00:14:02] [SPEAKER_00]: But in the meantime,
[00:14:03] [SPEAKER_00]: my mother had had a really dear friend
[00:14:06] [SPEAKER_00]: who had a daughter named Cheryl,
[00:14:08] [SPEAKER_00]: and when I was only about a month old,
[00:14:11] [SPEAKER_00]: this other Cheryl, the older Cheryl,
[00:14:14] [SPEAKER_00]: she was thrown from a horse, her own horse,
[00:14:16] [SPEAKER_00]: and she was killed.
[00:14:19] [SPEAKER_00]: She died from being thrown from that horse.
[00:14:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Consequently, my mother was terrified
[00:14:25] [SPEAKER_00]: to ever have me go horseback riding.
[00:14:28] [SPEAKER_00]: My mother was raised around horses.
[00:14:31] [SPEAKER_00]: She was a very accomplished horseback rider.
[00:14:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Nobody knows those things about my mother,
[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_00]: but she was very accomplished at riding horses.
[00:14:40] [SPEAKER_00]: But she didn't want me to ever ride a horse
[00:14:42] [SPEAKER_00]: because she had this fear that I might die,
[00:14:45] [SPEAKER_00]: so I was never allowed all my life
[00:14:48] [SPEAKER_00]: until I was 13 years old to go horseback riding.
[00:14:52] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was at an idle wild camp
[00:14:54] [SPEAKER_00]: and all the kids were going horseback riding.
[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_00]: So my mother decided she would accompany us.
[00:15:02] [SPEAKER_00]: She was so afraid of me dying, and she came.
[00:15:06] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was like the worst ride of my life.
[00:15:09] [SPEAKER_00]: All the horses were tethered together,
[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_00]: and I think they were all ancient.
[00:15:13] [SPEAKER_00]: I think that we never even traveled above
[00:15:16] [SPEAKER_00]: three miles an hour, and they were one right behind each other.
[00:15:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was just a circular trail.
[00:15:23] [SPEAKER_00]: I think the Lord did that for my mother.
[00:15:26] [SPEAKER_00]: She just needed that relief.
[00:15:28] [SPEAKER_00]: But she sat there and she watched,
[00:15:30] [SPEAKER_00]: and she actually walked alongside my horse.
[00:15:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Here's all these kids, and I'm the only one with a mother,
[00:15:37] [SPEAKER_00]: walking beside my horse.
[00:15:40] [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's how Benjamin was in the sight of Jacob.
[00:15:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Jacob was so concerned.
[00:15:48] [SPEAKER_00]: He had lost Joseph, and he was so afraid
[00:15:52] [SPEAKER_00]: that he might also lose Benjamin.
[00:15:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Now from our vantage point,
[00:15:59] [SPEAKER_00]: we know that Joseph is the prime minister.
[00:16:04] [SPEAKER_00]: From our divine perspective,
[00:16:06] [SPEAKER_00]: we already recognize God's purposes
[00:16:08] [SPEAKER_00]: and the fulfillment of God's promises
[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_00]: that will be accomplished through this famine.
[00:16:15] [SPEAKER_00]: However, for the brothers,
[00:16:17] [SPEAKER_00]: there is no such divine vantage point.
[00:16:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Joseph's brothers go to Egypt
[00:16:26] [SPEAKER_00]: and come into the presence
[00:16:28] [SPEAKER_00]: of the prime minister of Egypt.
[00:16:31] [SPEAKER_00]: This is incredibly intimidating.
[00:16:35] [SPEAKER_00]: They need grain for survival.
[00:16:37] [SPEAKER_00]: So they bow before the prime minister of Egypt.
[00:16:43] [SPEAKER_00]: They do not recognize their brother Joseph.
[00:16:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Remember, it's been 20 years
[00:16:49] [SPEAKER_00]: since they have last seen him?
[00:16:51] [SPEAKER_00]: He was 17 when they sold him into slavery.
[00:16:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Now he is over 30.
[00:16:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Last time they saw him,
[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_00]: he was dressed as a Hebrew.
[00:17:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Now he's dressed as an Egyptian.
[00:17:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Last time they saw him,
[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_00]: he spoke Hebrew.
[00:17:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Now he speaks to them in an Egyptian language
[00:17:11] [SPEAKER_00]: through an interpreter,
[00:17:13] [SPEAKER_00]: not even directly.
[00:17:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Also, those who were officials in Egypt
[00:17:21] [SPEAKER_00]: all wore eyeliner.
[00:17:23] [SPEAKER_00]: So Joseph's face looks different.
[00:17:29] [SPEAKER_00]: His hairstyle is different.
[00:17:31] [SPEAKER_00]: His garments are different.
[00:17:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Now Joseph speaks roughly to his brothers
[00:17:39] [SPEAKER_00]: through this interpreter.
[00:17:41] [SPEAKER_00]: But even as he is roughly questioning them,
[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_00]: he is flashing back on the dreams
[00:17:49] [SPEAKER_00]: that God gave him over 20 years earlier.
[00:17:53] [SPEAKER_00]: In his mind, he is seeing the sheaves
[00:17:55] [SPEAKER_00]: of his brother bowing down to his sheave,
[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Genesis 37.7.
[00:18:01] [SPEAKER_00]: He is seeing his brother as the stars
[00:18:06] [SPEAKER_00]: that are bowing down to him in his second dream,
[00:18:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Genesis 37.9.
[00:18:12] [SPEAKER_00]: From Joseph's vantage point,
[00:18:15] [SPEAKER_00]: he is seeing the promises of God fulfilled.
[00:18:19] [SPEAKER_00]: He is seeing that God has kept his word to him,
[00:18:24] [SPEAKER_00]: that those dreams were indeed divine.
[00:18:27] [SPEAKER_00]: And you see there are two dreams.
[00:18:29] [SPEAKER_00]: The first dream is now being accomplished.
[00:18:32] [SPEAKER_00]: The sheaves are bowing down to Joseph,
[00:18:35] [SPEAKER_00]: but there's another dream.
[00:18:37] [SPEAKER_00]: In the next dream, it will be Jacob
[00:18:41] [SPEAKER_00]: and the wife of Jacob
[00:18:43] [SPEAKER_00]: and all 11 stars, Benjamin including,
[00:18:48] [SPEAKER_00]: bowing down to Joseph.
[00:18:51] [SPEAKER_00]: So do you understand what Joseph's vantage point is?
[00:18:54] [SPEAKER_00]: He realizes that God is fulfilling all his word to him.
[00:19:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Here is this word that God spoke so many years ago,
[00:19:04] [SPEAKER_00]: but there's a greater work,
[00:19:05] [SPEAKER_00]: a greater word yet to come.
[00:19:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Joseph tests his brothers.
[00:19:11] [SPEAKER_00]: He accuses them of being spies,
[00:19:13] [SPEAKER_00]: of coming to Egypt
[00:19:15] [SPEAKER_00]: to seek out Egypt's vulnerabilities.
[00:19:19] [SPEAKER_00]: He asked them pointed questions.
[00:19:21] [SPEAKER_00]: How is your father? Is he still alive?
[00:19:24] [SPEAKER_00]: How is his health?
[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_00]: About their family.
[00:19:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Do you have any others?
[00:19:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Is there a younger brother?
[00:19:32] [SPEAKER_00]: He demands that they bring their younger brother to his court.
[00:19:35] [SPEAKER_00]: He says, you will not leave this place
[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_00]: unless your younger brother comes here,
[00:19:40] [SPEAKER_00]: verse 15 of chapter 42.
[00:19:43] [SPEAKER_00]: He commands that they send one of them back
[00:19:46] [SPEAKER_00]: to bring the youngest brother to him, verse 16.
[00:19:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And then he places them all in prison for three days, verse 17.
[00:19:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Then he brings them out of the prison
[00:19:57] [SPEAKER_00]: and he makes an arrangement with them.
[00:20:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Do this and live for I fear God, verse 18.
[00:20:06] [SPEAKER_00]: This word for God, Elohim,
[00:20:09] [SPEAKER_00]: this is a Hebrew word
[00:20:10] [SPEAKER_00]: and it speaks of God as the supreme one.
[00:20:15] [SPEAKER_00]: It is the name of God, the creator.
[00:20:17] [SPEAKER_00]: It is the name that God first revealed himself to Abraham as.
[00:20:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Then Joseph gives specific orders to his brothers.
[00:20:31] [SPEAKER_00]: He tells them that they are to leave one of the brothers behind in Egypt
[00:20:35] [SPEAKER_00]: and that brother will be placed in prison.
[00:20:39] [SPEAKER_00]: They are to carry back grain
[00:20:40] [SPEAKER_00]: for the rest of their family to Canaan.
[00:20:43] [SPEAKER_00]: They are to bring their youngest brother back
[00:20:48] [SPEAKER_00]: when they return in order to verify the word they have spoken.
[00:20:54] [SPEAKER_00]: The brothers begin to talk among themselves
[00:20:57] [SPEAKER_00]: and in their conversation that Joseph over here
[00:21:02] [SPEAKER_00]: we realize that what they did to Joseph is still haunting them.
[00:21:09] [SPEAKER_00]: This is what they say to each other, verse 21.
[00:21:12] [SPEAKER_00]: We are truly guilty concerning our brother
[00:21:15] [SPEAKER_00]: for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us
[00:21:20] [SPEAKER_00]: and we would not hear.
[00:21:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Therefore this distress has come upon us for 20 years.
[00:21:29] [SPEAKER_00]: These men have lived with the guilt of what they did to Joseph.
[00:21:35] [SPEAKER_00]: For 20 years they can still see the anguish on Joseph's face.
[00:21:43] [SPEAKER_00]: 20 years later they can still hear Joseph's cries, his pleadings with them.
[00:21:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And for 20 years they have attributed all their distress
[00:21:56] [SPEAKER_00]: on what they did to Joseph, on the consequence of their actions.
[00:22:04] [SPEAKER_00]: They recognize that they deserve the condemnation
[00:22:08] [SPEAKER_00]: that they are experiencing.
[00:22:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Ruben adds, did I not speak to you saying,
[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_00]: do not sin against the boy and you would not listen.
[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Therefore now his blood is required of us.
[00:22:28] [SPEAKER_00]: This is how they feel.
[00:22:30] [SPEAKER_00]: It's coming down.
[00:22:32] [SPEAKER_00]: It's finally catching up with us.
[00:22:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Here is what an earthbound perspective does.
[00:22:41] [SPEAKER_00]: We deserve this distress.
[00:22:43] [SPEAKER_00]: We are paying for and we will pay for the evil we did to Joseph.
[00:22:48] [SPEAKER_00]: They are being treated as spies.
[00:22:50] [SPEAKER_00]: They have not been believed.
[00:22:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Their word has no credibility.
[00:22:55] [SPEAKER_00]: They have been placed in prison.
[00:22:56] [SPEAKER_00]: They are having to leave a brother in Egypt.
[00:23:01] [SPEAKER_00]: What they have hidden for 20 years is coming to light and haunting them.
[00:23:08] [SPEAKER_00]: How can they expect God to bless, protect or deliver them
[00:23:15] [SPEAKER_00]: after what they have been hiding and suppressing
[00:23:19] [SPEAKER_00]: and the lie that they have been living under?
[00:23:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Joseph overhears them discussing their guilt.
[00:23:28] [SPEAKER_00]: For Joseph, this is an incredible vantage point.
[00:23:32] [SPEAKER_00]: This is more light to already good circumstances.
[00:23:37] [SPEAKER_00]: He realizes now how they feel about what they did.
[00:23:43] [SPEAKER_00]: He realizes that they have not been free from the condemnation
[00:23:47] [SPEAKER_00]: of what they did to him.
[00:23:48] [SPEAKER_00]: That God has been faithful to haunt them.
[00:23:52] [SPEAKER_00]: God has been faithfully speaking to their heart,
[00:23:56] [SPEAKER_00]: convicting them this entire time.
[00:24:01] [SPEAKER_00]: And he also realizes that Reuben tried to save him.
[00:24:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Joseph has the divine vantage point.
[00:24:11] [SPEAKER_00]: He is in the promise of God.
[00:24:15] [SPEAKER_00]: His dreams are being fulfilled.
[00:24:17] [SPEAKER_00]: He is hearing that the brothers did have guilt
[00:24:22] [SPEAKER_00]: and continue to hold guilt for what they did.
[00:24:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Joseph has never been forgotten.
[00:24:31] [SPEAKER_03]: God doesn't want obstacles in our life
[00:24:33] [SPEAKER_03]: that will keep us from his blessings.
[00:24:35] [SPEAKER_03]: He'll use situations and circumstances to bring them to light.
[00:24:39] [SPEAKER_03]: For Joseph's brothers, God used famine
[00:24:42] [SPEAKER_03]: to expose the lies and evil of their past.
[00:24:45] [SPEAKER_03]: God allows hardships that he might bring freedom,
[00:24:48] [SPEAKER_03]: forgiveness and cleansing.
[00:24:50] [SPEAKER_03]: He wants these obstacles removed
[00:24:51] [SPEAKER_03]: so that he might pour into us
[00:24:53] [SPEAKER_03]: so that we can live in the fullness of his promises and blessings.
[00:24:57] [SPEAKER_03]: Sometimes God may allow a famine
[00:24:59] [SPEAKER_03]: so we can return to him and partake of his love and goodness.
[00:25:04] [SPEAKER_03]: We hope you have been blessed by today's Bible study.
[00:25:07] [SPEAKER_03]: For more information about the Gracious Words Radio program
[00:25:10] [SPEAKER_03]: and the teaching ministry of Cheryl Brodersen,
[00:25:12] [SPEAKER_03]: please visit our website at graciouswords.com.
[00:25:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Coming up next time on the Gracious Words program,
[00:25:18] [SPEAKER_03]: we'll look further at Joseph and his brothers
[00:25:20] [SPEAKER_03]: as we continue our series, Our Great Creator,
[00:25:23] [SPEAKER_03]: in the book of Genesis with Cheryl Brodersen.
[00:25:26] [SPEAKER_03]: We do hope you make plans to join us.
[00:25:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Again, for more information,
[00:25:30] [SPEAKER_03]: please visit our website at graciouswords.com.
[00:25:52] [SPEAKER_03]: This program is sponsored by Calvary Chapel,
[00:25:55] [SPEAKER_03]: Costa Mesa, California.
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