Gabe continued our series ‘Joseph – The Promotable Life’, by reminding us this week that we are not Joseph, but more like his brothers.
The complete story of Joseph points perfectly to Jesus and mirrors his life from being the favourite son, then betrayed, sold for silver, falsely accused, being in the middle of two thieves, condemned, but then ultimately given all authority.
JOSEPH IS JESUS
The lesson of Joseph is that we need to stop trying or working harder to please God to become promotable, but instead, put our trust in Him and allow His grace to guide us to run life’s race well.
In Genesis 42 we read how Joseph’s brothers went to buy grain to save them from starvation, leaving behind their youngest brother Benjamin, at the insistence of their father Jacob. But Joseph made them go fetch Benjamin, to prove they weren’t spies, even though he knew they were not.
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE TEN, ITS ABOUT BEN
The brothers came to Egypt bowing, begging, and buying which is a pattern we also tend to do when we are under pressure, needing to make a plan, and asking ourselves if we have done enough.
However, there are 2 points we need to remember: –
- It’s all about our trust, not our toil
Stop being tempted to try harder and dig deeper. The enemy has us on a hamster wheel trying to do more, be more and consume more, always living for applause. This is exhausting and will always leave you winded and defeated.
The 10 brothers were born from Leah and her maidservants are a shadow of the 10 commandments that carry the shame and guilt of our striving. But Joseph and Benjamin were born from Rachel, Jacob’s true love, which symbolises God’s promise.
Joseph sending his brothers back to get Benjamin is a picture of God’s grace. ‘Simeon’, the brother who was made to remain, means ‘hearer’. God is saying that when you release your hearing to listen to Him, He will pour out His grace towards you.
The economy of this earth is our sweat, but the economy of Heaven is Jesus’s blood.
- It’s all about His grace, not our guilt
Guilt is our number one enemy that keeps us in the cycle of shame. When the brothers saw the money had been returned with the grain, they saw it as a curse, instead of a blessing that it was. You will always fail to see God’s gracious provision when your eyes are on your guilt.
Jesus is not looking for our excuses for why we have fallen short. He Is looking for people whose hands are open to receive His grace. In Genesis 43:31-34 we see that Joseph served his brothers’ bread to feast on. We need to stop trying to get the grain when God wants to serve us His provision of already-made bread – not the world’s kind of bread that never satisfies, but the eternal Bread of Life, who is Jesus. It is interesting to note that Benjamin was given 5 times the amount to eat compared to his brothers – 5 being the number of grace.
God wants us to feast from harvests which we haven’t even sown into. Before all our efforts and hard work, He named us His children, worthy to receive His gracious provision. All we need to do is run into the future He has set before us, with a posture of trust, ready to receive the provision of His grace.