Part Two: Waiting on God—Joseph's Lessons in Trust, Patience, and Divine Timing

Join us for another inspiring Word on Wednesday with the Simons. In tonight's episode, we dive deep into Genesis chapter 43 and explore the story of Joseph and his brothers returning to Egypt with Benjamin. We begin with an impactful prayer and later unpack the layers of this biblical narrative, emphasizing themes of trauma, trust, and God's sovereignty. We discuss the remarkable journey of Joseph from the pit to power and the significance of faith in challenging times. Don't miss this enlightening study and powerful testimonies that demonstrate God’s unwavering guidance and blessings in our lives. Tune in, and let’s grow together in faith.

00:00 Welcome and Opening Prayer

01:51 Introduction to Genesis 43

02:27 Joseph's Journey and Rise to Power

04:46 The Brothers' Return to Egypt

06:37 Facing Past Traumas

10:34 Jacob's Reluctance and Decision

16:01 Reunion and Revelation

21:06 Trusting God's Plan

26:11 Testimonies of Faith

28:59 The Fiery Furnace: A Lesson in Faith

29:34 Trusting God's Plan in Uncertainty

30:40 Sharing Personal Testimonies

31:19 Joseph's Story: Divine Providence and Compassion

34:24 Obedience and Blessings

38:45 Joseph's Emotional Reunion

42:45 Segregation and Divine Elevation

45:37 Feasting in the Presence of Enemies

49:00 Trusting God's Timing and Plan

55:55 Final Reflections and Prayer

Pastor Tony and Laura Simon live in Orange County, California, and are the founding pastors of New Covenant/Covenant City Fellowship, a wonderfully colorful congregation of vibrant members who love Jesus, food, fellowship, and fun.

Laura is an award-winning author and passionate speaker who serves pastors' wives, ministry leaders, and women seeking to live authentic lives within church culture.

Together, Tony and Laura have two young adult daughters and sons. They'd love to hear from you and can be reached at newcovenant007@yahoo.com.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Alright, good evening. How's everyone doing tonight? Hopefully all is well welcome to Word on Wednesday with the Simons. it's been a long day, but we are grateful to God for his grace and mercy towards us. We're going to get everything gathered, and then we're going to go into prayer.

I need a word from the Lord today. As we go in for prayer continue to pray for our sick and shut in and all the bereaved families.

And then we're gonna get into the lesson. Alright, let's pray. Father God, we thank you for this day. God, we thank you for life, health, and strength.

We thank you for everything being as well as it is with us and with our families. We thank you for all that we travailed through. even if we're tired, that we have the energy to. Come out, study your word now. God, we pray that you will enlighten us and give us the energy to get through this Bible study [00:01:00] and to see you through the pages of your holy writ.

God, as we go through this lesson, we pray that somebody will be affected by what they hear, see, and experience in this moment that we spend together in the worship of the Word. Now, God bless our church, covenant City Fellowship. Bless me and Laura as your teachers, and bless all those coming in.

Bless those that will see the rebroadcast. And then God, we thank you for all that you've done. We pray for our bere family. We pray for sick and shut in. We pray for those that are downtrodden. God, those that are in the throws of decision making. We pray for them. And then God, we pray for our world, our leadership, and our country.

And Jesus name amen. All right we're going to get right into the text. Those of you that have been following our mother-in-law, she's doing well. The Lord Performs miracles for us in spite of ourselves. he's still gracious and consistent in [00:02:00] blessing us even though we don't deserve it.

We are in Genesis chapter 43. Lord Laura's gonna be with us shortly. She's with her mom, and we're gonna give her just a few minutes, We are at Genesis chapter 43. The return to Egypt. With Benjamin. Those of you that have been with us throughout this study, understand that Joseph is now second in command in Egypt. he was there because of circumstances that his brothers did by putting him in a pit and then selling him. To a camp . And then he ends up from the pit to Polymer's house where he becomes the second in command, a polymer's house, and then he's falsely accused by Mrs. Poter. Then he's put in what will be a federal prison for us.

He's put in the palace prison. And there he encounters the baker and the butler. He then interprets their [00:03:00] dream. One gets his head cut off the other gets put back into his position. He asks that they don't forget him. Two years have passed since he's been in the prison.

He's still not complaining. He's still leaning on God. Pharaoh has a dream. The cattle dream of the 10 thin and 10 fat and the thin swallow up the fat. I'm trying to get you all into where we are. then he has the interpretation of the dream of the corn where there is thin stock or dying stock, and then healthy stock and the dying stock.

Takes over for devourers the healthy stock and then Pharaoh needs somebody to interpret that dream the butler says to Pharaoh that there is someone in your prison that can interpret dreams. And they call up for Joseph.

They clean him up, they get him up. He interprets the dream. He's now put second in command in Pharaoh's kingdom. [00:04:00] He has them save for seven good years. And then the famine would be for seven bad years.

They save back 5% of all that they take in, which is a savings plan that God revealed to me and then when this famine hits, Egypt is in position.

Everybody's coming to Egypt to buy grain and corn and Egypt is in a good position economically. During the famine. Joseph's brothers and Jacob or Israel, are now in a place of want.

they go to Egypt to seek food for families. Unbeknownst to them, they have an audience with Joseph. Joseph recognizes them in chapter 42. He recognizes them. They don't recognize him. He he talks harshly to him. He puts Simeon in jail sends the other brothers back to [00:05:00] go and get Benjamin, his youngest brother.

When they tell the dad that he's asking for Benjamin, the dad reluctantly sends Benjamin with him. that's where we are when we get to chapter 43, verse number one. Laura, anything you wanna add, you covered it.

So now we're at the return. To Egypt with Benjamin. They're going back for a second time. The food is running out, and the famine is still severe in the land according to verse one.

So we go to chapter 43 of Genesis Verse number one reads like this, and I'm reading out of the new Living translation. Now the famine was severe in the land. When Jacob's sons had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, go back and buy us a little more food.

in verse number three, Judah replies. The man solemnly warned us, you will not see my face. unless you bring your [00:06:00] younger brother with you. Verse number four, if you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you.

Now, here's what we're dealing with in these first four verses, we see the trauma from Joseph's alleged departure Israel or Jacob is still dealing with that trauma of losing a son and he cannot bear to lose another son. That's why he doesn't send Benjamin with them the first time.

he explains to them, in verse four, they say to him, if we will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you. The deal was the 11 sons, Simeon, is already locked in jail in Egypt. So he's already short Simeon. He's also now without Joseph, because Joseph allegedly dies by what his father, knows from the stories the brothers had told him.

And he's about to give up [00:07:00] Benjamin. he is dealing with his traumas. Traumas Saints are real, they're real in the church, they're real outside the church. We need to understand that some of the things that we're dealing with is not necessarily Satan, but it's what has happened to us and what we are traumatized by.

We have not talked to anybody professionally. Or psychologically to get us help to how to get from one place to the next place. It may have been an incident that happened to you when you were a kid. It may have been something that happened to you while you were in a marriage.

It may be something that happened to you by a loved one dying. Everybody suffers some type of trauma. in dealing with the trauma, here's where the Holy Spirit or God can give us refuge or safety. And as he gives us professionals, to talk to, we can reason it out psychologically, to get a direction [00:08:00]where we should go.

So in verse number four, they're saying, if you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food. But if you will not send him, we will not go. For the man talking about Joseph told us, you will not see my face again unless your brother is with you. Joseph is testing his brothers to see if they will come through with what he says.

He's testing the waters because he's taking some form of retribution, for what they've done. So he's testing them, going, let me see if these guys are still the same with the same jealousy and issue. He's working out his trauma.

His dad is working out his trauma, his brothers are working out their trauma. we've seen a situation that causes us to come to verse number 43, verse number six, where the father makes a statement. Why did you bring this trouble upon me? Israel ask. [00:09:00] He's asking, why did you even put this out amongst the man?

Why did you tell the man that you had another brother? They replied that the man questioned us in detail about ourselves and our family. Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother? And we answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that? He would say, bring your brother here again.

I wanna slow down and get everybody understand that there's some traumas that we just cannot dodge. no matter how much praying you do, no matter how much fasting you do, there's some traumas you must go through for God to heal the trauma on the other side. So they're there and they answer their dad look sir, this is what he asked us.

We were being honest. we needed food. he asked us questions. We didn't know it would lead to him us to bring our younger brother [00:10:00] back. Judah says to his father, Israel, Jacob, send the boy with me and we will go at once.

So you may live and not die. Neither will you, nor our children. So he's saying to him, look, you've gotta send him with us because if you don't send Benjamin with us, then we're all going to perish. Now they're being responsible men taking care of their family. And I think I said this last week, and I'll say it again sometimes a boy has to become a man.

Men have to stand up and protect their families and households from harm. And that's what Judah's doing. He is protecting and saying to his father, trust me, in verse nine, he says, I will guarantee you safety. You may hold me personally responsible, and if I do not bring him back and set him before you, then I may [00:11:00] bear the guilt before you all my life.

That still did not settle the trauma which Israel or Jacob is dealing with. Some traumas are very real to the person that has gone through it. So you cannot say that we fully understand. They will just tell him, look, we get it, but at the same time, this the only way that we'll go back.

they asked the question that he makes a guarantee in verse number nine. He says, hold me responsible. Then he gets bold with it and tells his dad, if you had already sent him with us and had not delayed us, we could have gone and come back twice by now.

And then the father says to them in verse number 11, if it must be so then do this. Put some of the best products. Of the land in your packs. Now remember, why is he doing that? He's doing that because they discovered that the money they had put in the treasury to buy the [00:12:00] food was in the mouth of one of the sacks of one of the brothers.

And they all panicked. Israel says, Jacob says, okay, if you must take him, if it's gonna be that I have to send Benjamin, I'm gonna send him with extra to guarantee he comes back. their father says to them in verse 11, if it be so, then do this.

Put some of your best products. Of the land in your packs and carry them down as a gift for the man. A little bomb, a little honey, a little spices, a little myr, pistachios, and almonds. Then he says in verse 12, take double the silver with you so that you may return the silver that was put in the mouth of your sacks.

it was a mistake. So he says, just go back with extra and double just in case it was a mistake. And if it wasn't a mistake, then they [00:13:00] will know that we're not stealing from them. So he strategizes here is Israel now getting past his trauma?

Dealing with the protection of his family. I hope all you men are listening to me, that sometimes we have to sacrifice ourselves and our traumas so that our family can move forward. so that's where we are.

They're taking the silver, they've taken double silver. They've taken honey, they've taken spices, they've taken pistachios, they've taken almonds. They presented to Joseph, not knowing that it was Joseph. And then he says, take your brother as well.

He makes the ultimate sacrifice. He doesn't want Benjamin to leave, but he knows that if he doesn't leave, then everyone's gonna perish. Everyone is going to perish if we don't do what we're supposed to do. that should be a thing that we look at as believers.

There's sometimes we have to do [00:14:00] self-sacrifice in order for somebody else to benefit sometimes a husband has to do it for a wife. Wife has to do it for a husband. Sometimes parents have to do it for children. And we as a people have to do it for each other and make self sacrifices and trust one another everybody can benefit together and move forward together.

So in verse number 12, they take everything that he says. They take the brother as well in verse number 13. In verse number 14, he says, may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man that he may release your brother along with Benjamin. As for me, look what he says. He makes a statement.

He makes a a honest assessment of himself. He says, as for me, I am bereaved. He says it twice, I am bereaved. this is stressing me out. This is causing me sorrow. This is causing me anxiety. He says, but I'm [00:15:00] praying that the Lord's mercy will be granted before you in this man, so that I am bereaved.

So the men the double amount of silver and Benjamin, and they hurried down to Egypt, they hurry because folks are starving for every moment that they are taking. So they hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

Now let's get to the text. They are in fear. Not knowing what to expect, but they're carrying stuff that they hope will satisfy the need of Joseph because he is already accused him of being being spies. And now they're spies and thieves in their mind. sometimes our imagination is worse than our reality. Sheree she was avoiding the test because her mind told her that the report won't be good.

And the reality is we gotta trust God when we don't know. in the dark. [00:16:00] when there is no money in our pocket. when our bills are due. We gotta trust God when situations that we think are going to develop. Don't develop,

we gotta trust God when it's slow. When we have nothing else to lean back on. We've exhausted all of our energy, all of our intellect, all of our loans, all of our grants, and then we got to trust God for what he says he will do for us. It doesn't stop us from being human.

'cause he says in verse number 14, I'm bereaved, I'm stressed. I'm not distressed, but I'm stressed. I'm exhausted. I've carried this mentally as far as I can carry it.

There's some things that we can't figure out, we can't understand. Our minds are too finite. We gotta trust on the God that can do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we ask, say, or think. [00:17:00] Laura's tired and she's mentally tired and that's why she's not saying much.

through it so that folks can understand that in, even in our weakness, God has made strong, even in our dark days, God is still the light. Even in our valleys, he will take us up to the mountaintop. These things have to be said so that we don't just present a God that does good.

even when things aren't good, God is still good and His mercy endured forever. So they journey down to Egypt. They take the gifts, they take the double amount of silver, they take Benjamin as well. They hurry down to Egypt and they stood before Joseph.

When Joseph saw Benjamin he said to the steward of his house, take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare it for they shall dine with me at noon. He does something [00:18:00] unusual in his hospitality.

what he considers hospitable, they consider a setup. Have you had enemies that have been so nice to you that you've figured out, or you figure it's a setup? When's God presenting his self to you? You ask for him to make them footstools. They've been beat down and now they see, and now they you you confuse him as enemies and they're not, they're allies.

When Joseph saw Benjamin with his brothers, he said to his servant take these men to my house, slaughter the animal, and prepare it for they shall dine with me at noon. And the servant did as Joseph commanded, and took his brothers to Joseph's house, 

Verse number 18. But the brothers were frightened. The brothers were afraid that they had been taken to Joseph's [00:19:00] house. This is what they said. We have been brought here because the silver that was returned in our bags, the first time they're now letting their imaginations run away with them.

They intend to overpower. And take us as slaves along with our donkeys. They're gonna jump us. They're bringing us out to the alley to jump us. They're gonna bring us to a place of fatten us up so that they can take advantage of us. Verse number 19.

So they approach Joseph Steward and spoke to him at the entrance of the house. They went to his servant and spoke to him. Here's what they asked. Verse 20, please, sir. They said, we really did come down here the first time to buy food. They're pleading their case. But when we came to the place we lodge for the night, we open our sacks and behold, each of us found silver in the mouth of his [00:20:00]sack.

It was the full amount of silver. And we brought it back with us. So we're gonna pay you what was in our sack. And we have brought additional silver with us to buy food. We do not know who put our silver in our sacks. We don't know when God decides to bless us through the enemy.

We don't know when we see things that are unlikely that God is now speaking on our behalf. You've prayed, you complained, cried, you fasted, you have bowed down. But yet when you come up, we come up with doubt. We come up saying, okay, this is what we did, and yet I did all this.

They said in the last chapter. This is a sin or a curse against us for what we did to Joseph. Some things are setting you up for a comeback. [00:21:00] God is setting you up to get back to where he wants you to be.

They could take no credit for nothing that has happened so far They're at the palace, in Joseph's house and they're gonna be served food. Can you imagine how they're feeling at that point where they've done everything right yet they sit at the palace in Joseph's house.

They sit to have lunch with him at 12 noon. He's not there. they talk to the servant. When we come to the house of God, folks are coming to us for news.

They're telling us, this is what I've done. This is how I live. This is what my life has been. they're expecting good news from us. They're expecting encouragement from us. But if we're complaining, if we're afraid, if we're not in praise mode, if we're not sharing what God has done for [00:22:00] us.

Then it makes the situation bleak for them. So when you come to church, know that you're coming to church to praise God for yourself. But there's also a brother sister that may have gone through something that has been traumatic and they're looking for a brother, sister, in to give them some encouragement, some peace of mind, some relief from where they have been and where they are going, 

So they approached the steward in verse 19. He spoke to them at the house. They explained their plight. They said that we came down here to buy food. They said, when we opened the sacks found money. it was the full amount of silver and we brought it back and 

Additional silver to buy food. We do not know who put this money in our sack and look what the steward says or what the servant says to them in 23. The servant says, It is fine. Whatever you have prevailed through. God is saying to you on this Bible study, it is [00:23:00] fine.

Whatever your health tests have revealed. it is fine. The songwriter wrote It is well with my soul. if it's well with your soul, you have to have enough gumption. Enough fortitude, enough faith to believe the steward's report When he says it is fine, do not be afraid.

Do not be afraid. Look what he says to him. Your God, the God of your father gave you the treasure that was in your sacks. I received your silver. Then he brought Simeon out to them. It is fine. Do not be afraid. That's my encouragement for you today. It is fine. Do not be afraid, your God.

Look what he says, because he's Egyptian. He's a servant. But he says, to the followers of God, your God, the God of your [00:24:00] fathers, Gave you the treasure that was in your sack. I received your silver. Then he brought Simeon out to them.

Not only did he tell 'em everything's all good, but then he brings the brother out to reunite them the steward took them into Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided food for their donkeys,

Since the brothers had been told they were going to eat a meal there, they prepared gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon. imagine you're stressed to the hills. you don't know what's going on. You come into the house, you plead your case with the servant. The servant says to you, it's fine.

It's all good. Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your fathers gave you the treasure that was in your sack. he didn't say we did it or Joseph did it. He says, your [00:25:00] God of your fathers gave you the treasure that was in your sack. Here's what I want you to understand. God is still giving treasures in your sack.

He's still putting things to bless you. I'm going to piggyback on Sister Maritza's testimony. She went through this whole ordeal just by applying for a job to find out that she didn't have the proper paperwork. And God knows what's happening, allows her to go through it.

She's interviewing for a different job she wasn't looking at in the first place. But God is that kind of God that he decides he's going to dictate your path. that's why they sing the song, order My Steps. And the Bible says in Psalms, a good man, steps are what ordered by the Lord.

He orders everything that we go through. He knew that this place at this time, we were going to go through what we are [00:26:00] going through. he's given praise report after praise report. our mom was supposed to be out on Saturday.

They gave an extension from Saturday. when they rejected the claim. we made an appeal and the appeal went through now she's able to get the care she needs for a time that's proper for her, proper for us, and proper for everything to be arranged.

And like I told her today when I was at her bedside, God is not impatient. So you don't need to be impatient. He didn't rush you. He knows exactly what you need. And so he puts it there. So when you come into a situation, you come into a situation that's better than you even imagine it could be. Anybody out there can testify that God will put you in a better position than you imagined.

God will give you a better report than you can imagine. God will give you a better job than you imagine You were going for this. He intended that [00:27:00] for you. And unless you do by your understanding, you would be in a place that he doesn't want you. Laura even has the testimony of going for one position and then she gets offered another position.

That is what she wasn't looking for, but it was what God was looking for in directing her path Acknowledge him and he shall direct your path. He's going to give you the pathway. the plan. He's going to give you the obedience. He's gonna give you the wherewithal to see it through.

He's gonna give you the patience to walk through it. We just heard from pastor La Kazi on Sunday that when the Hebrew boys were in the fiery furnace, they said, we are gonna be careful how we answer you they said, we will not bow down to your image. And they had to be careful.

We said we're gonna be careful. Here's the thing that still amazes me. When we get into [00:28:00] that text in Daniel, the folks that took them up to the fiery furnace, they were slave. The folks thrown in a fiery furnace, nothing happened to them.

Their ropes were burned, but their eyes, their eyebrows, their hair their clothing was not sins. Their ropes were burned. So they came, they went inbound, but they came out free. They went in with uncertainty, but they came out certain. And that's what God is wanting to tell you today.

I don't know who this is for, but God is saying, even in your uncertainty, trust what I do. Trust, why I do what I do. I'm taking you a route that's not necessarily familiar to everybody else. So everybody can't sign in on your journey. Everybody cannot sign in. what you've gone through, the traumas that you have endured for the purpose, for God to [00:29:00] be glorified.

That's why we come to the fellowship, that God gets the glory for all the things he has taken us through, all the uncertainties we had at the beginning of the week. Now there's certainties God has said when you get the notice that it's gonna be cut off or they're gonna do this or notice that your test was inconclusive or it would show positive, I'm here to tell you that God is saying I have already set it up for you to come 

Or a distance or a path that only you can testify about. And that's why I said even now our evangelism is tell your story. Don't tell my story. I can tell my story. I need you to tell what God has done for you, what God has brought you through. And I need you to put it on the chat right now.

Anybody that just wants to have a testimony, just put in briefly. God brought me through this and we will be able to share [00:30:00] it with everybody. so that we can understand that this is how we gain our faith from one another and how we clinging to one another.

The brothers were in the same vicinity. In talking to the steward he says it is fine, do not be afraid your God. Your God, your father, God of your father has given you treasures in your sack. He didn't say Joseph instructed me to do this. He says, God instructed me to do this.

God will instruct your enemies to bless you. God will instruct your enemies to do things for you that you didn't expect God will provide the way out of no way. then they go into the house. He not only gives them confidence, but then he gives them the treatment.

He gives them the place where they can have their feet washed, and he provides food for their donkeys. the brothers have been told they were going to [00:31:00] eat a meal with Joseph. They didn't know it was Joseph, but they were preparing the gifts for what the chapter earlier calls the.

That's all he would refer to man as the man. The man. So they're ready for Joseph Arri arrival, verse number 26. When Joseph comes came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought and bowed to the ground before him, which is exactly Joseph's vision that he shared with them when all this started.

He started with them that I had a dream that you all will bow down to me. His father told him, cut the foolishness out. We're not bowing down to you. if you do what God says don't worry about your current situation Go for what God is telling you or what God has showed you.

He showed you. where it is better for you in your future. go for it, pin it [00:32:00] down, shoot for the moon, and you'll fall amongst the stars.

If you're gonna fall, you'll fall amongst the stars. And if you understand that God has doors that we have not even begin to imagine, that will open for us once we open door that he gives us the faith to walk through. the brothers have been there they've been there, they've been preparing to to give presents and presented to Joseph, and they bowed down before him.

Verse number 27 says, he asked if they were well, they say they were he asked about their father. They say he's still alive in verse number 28. They said, your servant, our father is well. They answer. He's still alive and they bowed down to honor him.

When Joseph looked up and saw his brother, Benjamin, verse number 29, his own mother's son, he asked, is this your youngest brother, the one that you told me about? Then he declared, may God be gracious to you, [00:33:00] my son. He gets a blessing that he wasn't even anticipating because his brothers and his father were obedient.

In that lesson, your obedience may not be just for you. Your obedience may be for somebody else's blessing to be unlocked, if you want all of us to be blessed, be obedient to what God has told you about somebody else. You don't have to repay evil for evil.

You don't have to repay pain. All you gotta do is say, God, you put me in this position for your purpose, for your promise, for your goodness to shine upon me, for your grace to be with me. You've put me in this place.

It may not look like I'm a survive it, but I'm a survivor. I'm gonna survive because I don't give up. I have faith and I'm gonna bless others because you said if I bless others, you're going [00:34:00] to bless me. when you get that in your spirit, we will not be selfish in what we're doing.

Do I wanna be blessed? Absolutely. I do. But then I also know what Christ told his disciples. He said, the first shall be what? Last in the last shall be first. And so I want to put myself in position to be a blessing for others so that God can, when he elevates, he'll elevate me to a place that I cannot imagine, that I never thought about.

He never bothers to tell us the roadmap. He says, just trust the navigational system that tells you where to go. Amen. You're talking to me, brother.

I'm talking to all of us that we share in this place of carrying one another. Bible says that if we carry one another, one another's bourbons, we so fulfill the law of Christ. That's our job. That's our responsibility. Joseph [00:35:00] blesses them. In spite of his trauma with them. They then turn around and carry their trauma back with their father, and then they carry the blessings back to Joseph with the intentions of being a blessing.

when they get to where they are, God says through the servant, Do not be afraid. I want to tell you the same thing. It's fine. Don't be afraid.

It's fine to have question marks. Don't be afraid. It's fine for the trauma to kick in. Don't be afraid. It's fine to be knocked off balance, but be like a weeble. We will wobble, but they don't fall down. You cannot fall into a place where we do not trust God.

God knows exactly what he's doing exactly when he's doing it, where he wants to bless you who he wants to bless you how he wants to bless you and what position [00:36:00] he wants you to be at, to be blessed, because we just, again we look at it over and over again. God will answer the secret prayers of our heart, the things we did not say out loud.

God will speak to him and let us know that what you imagined, what you saw, what I'd revealed to you was not for you. I can't tell you how to do it because you'll spoil it. You'll try to do stuff yourself to make it come to pass. And God is saying that's not how he operates.

Trust me. I'll make it Work out for your good, for my yoke is easy. My burdens are like, you trust me. Even though you're going through the pain, even though you're going through the sorrow, you trust me. Even though you may be in a bed right now, you trust me.

God says, if you put in the work, if you sacrifice yourself, if you trust what I'm showing you in the process, I'm gonna bring you through. Ms. [00:37:00] Capus says, if you trust God, he will bring you out of anything because he is God. he says, lean on him don't trust your own understanding.

quit trying to make yourself God in front of God. Quit trying to put yourself in front of his plans. it's gonna be perfect timing. as we get into this story, Joseph looks up, sees his brother, he blesses him.

He blesses him and says, God be gracious to you, my son. And then he's overcome with emotions. Verse 30 says, Joseph hurried out because he was moved to tears for his brother and he went into a private room to week. Verse 31 says, then he washed his face, came back out and regained his composure.

he said to his servants, serve the meal. the same brothers that had [00:38:00] planned to kill him. in the earlier chapters Simeon told them not to kill him. Oh, Reuben. they want to kill him.

Reuben the oldest said, don't kill him. Just put him in a pit. The reason why God has spared your life is so that you can be a beacon to somebody else. he goes out the room, he's moved to tears, he has compassion. when you see all these, he had compassion upon his brothers.

He wept for them. Joseph is also a type of Christ, a representation of what Christ would be in the New Testament, shown in types and shadows in the Old Testament. if you really examined it, he is the character represented in his story.

He has compassion on those that have done him in. compassion on Jerusalem because they were [00:39:00] as a sheep without a shepherd. He had compassion on us.

While we were yet sinners, Christ died for our sin. Ms. Audrey says God's timing is not our timing. We have a problem with patience. we have a problem with God's timing in our life because we're selfish. we think we deserve it when we deserve it.

And I'm having this conversation with my baby boy. He's looking for a car and I'm telling him, when God is ready to bless you with a car, you're going to get a car because right now you're not in position to buy a car, but then God knows what you stand in need of, and that you ask God for what you stand in need of.

He's gonna bless you. With what you need. you may want a Corvette, but you may not have Corvette money and you may not really need it. All he needs is a car to go from point A to point B, like most of us, don't want to endure the inconvenience of going through. There's an inconvenience of [00:40:00]going through. So when Joseph look up, he saw his brother Benjamin. He ask his mother's son. He blesses him. He says, God, be gracious to you. Verse number 30, he hurs out the room.

He's moved to tears for his brothers. He went into a private room the week. He then compose himself washes his face. Separately serve. They separately serve Joseph and his brothers. The Egyptians here, and we're almost there. they separately serve Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptian, 

He's in Egypt. He's an enemy territory. God has blessed him to thrive in enemy territory. he has allowed him to be trusted in enemy territory. But make no mistake about it. Just because he's blessed doesn't mean that they're not folks that are plotting against him.

It doesn't mean that they're not folks that are jealous of him. It doesn't mean that they're [00:41:00] not folks that look at him. Degrading because of who he is and because of his ethnic background, They separate Joseph and his brothers from the Egyptians.

even though they're in the palace, even though he is second in command, he eats separately. They're segregated. it sounds familiar. They're segregated in a foreign land. where God brought him by divine providence.

They're separated and segregated don't be offended brothers and sisters, even though you are being blessed. They were served separately, his brothers and the Egyptians. they ate separately because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews since it, that was the testable to them.

We keep wanna be [00:42:00] accepted as equals, and God knows the world does not look at us as equals. But God continues to bless us through the world system. He continues to elevate us so that there can be godly people in segregated tables. we can be at the table vying for our people and for what our people need.

I'm not offended that I've been separated. We need to come together as a people. Joseph eats with his brothers. he's a second in command, but he eats with his brothers and the Egyptians who have no authority, but they're running the system separately because Egyptians would not eat with Hebrews.

It was considered detestable to them. Verse 33, they were seated before Joseph in [00:43:00] order by age. Look at God. They're seated before Joseph in order by age. They still don't get the clue from the first born to the youngest. And the men looked at one another in astonishment. How would he know?

Who is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. They're all set in order. How would he know he's a stranger when their portions were served to them? Verse number 34 from Joseph's table. Benjamin's portion was five times larger than any others, so they feasted and they drank freely with Joseph.

The table is prepared before them in the presence of their enemies. Everybody needs to understand that you're going to [00:44:00] go through something to eat at the right table. You're gonna go through something for God to elevate you to the right position that he wants you in when the portions were served to them.

Watch the text from Joseph's table. Not the Egyptian table from Joseph's table, second in command, Benjamin's portion was five times larger than any of the others. Why Benjamin's portion? I'm glad you asked. Benjamin is the blood brother of Joseph. It's him and Benjamin that come from his mother.

All of them are brothers by their father, but they're not all brothers by their mothers.

So he gives him five times as much because of his direct connect, with him. Now I see [00:45:00] here that there's no women in this. No, because a woman would've figured that out, given the time that they were in, wasn't no woman gonna come to house? Oh yeah.

that was the story. it was meant for them to go through that was their comeuppance, had Dina been in there? She would've figured that out.

Donna wasn't there when they did Joseph in, So again, at that time, that's not how they operated I just don't understand how not one of 'em, they're bowing down to them. When you're scared and have done wrong.

Exactly. They weren't thinking, They thought it was astonishing.

We are astonished by what God will do. God is gonna do what he's gonna do and he tells us he's gonna do what he's gonna do. And why are we astonished? I think God is amazing. All the things that we saw, all things that he's done for us, even as a family.

we were trying to figure it out. God was working it out. And while God was working it out, he's working out with the purpose that he's going to get the [00:46:00] glory we cannot take credit for it. A woman would've figured it out.

But if a woman would've figured out what was happening, then that's who would've got the credit. God's gotta get the credit. Mike says there's a place in faith where we all can, ill afford to be around people who do not believe exactly as we do.

Correct. sometimes we got to be in a place. Or God places us in a place where we are like-minded in what we believe and our faith carries us to the next level or destination. They were in a place separate from the Egyptians, but their faith was also different than the Egyptians.

because they had a different faith. they couldn't be in there because they wouldn't understand what was going on. he blessed his Benjamin because of the bloodline, because of the closeness with a portion five times larger than the others. Why did he Benjamin so much? we got what we got. [00:47:00] But the text doesn't say that. So they feasted and they drank freely. With Joseph, they still had a good time. they were free now. When we come in the beginning of the text there's dread, doubt, trauma. We come to the end of the text where the spirit of the Lord is. There is liberty, freedom. So we feasted and they drank freely with Joseph. Still didn't recognize who he was.

But yet they loosened up. They were free with him. Now we knocked down one whole chapter. 'Cause very little discussion. Anything else you want to bring to this, study or any questions that you may have of what we've gone through today in this lesson.

Ms. Connie Jones says, women with wisdom. we don't operate by ourselves. We're a unit. When the unit is whole, I thank God for a woman.

But even with that, she wasn't wise enough to get outta the situation she found herself in. 'cause she went out of the arc of safety chapters back. [00:48:00] And then they end up destroying a whole city, a whole people behind her, behind Dina. So even though she's a, could be a woman of wisdom, she's wise.

And now, because she's no longer in the picture, She knows how to drop back, stay back. And like I said, if we examine the story slowly and closely, I'm challenging you to look at it and see how many traits.

Christ that we see in this text, how many things of Christ that we can identify that, you know what, that's just what Christ did for us. that's just what Christ would've done. so that's what we see Joseph as a type of Christ. And why it the parallel of what is happening to him and happening to us.

And that's why I don't fear what we're going through. God is soon to come. Christ is soon to come. He's telling us these things must be, these things have to happen. But then he also is telling us, I'll protect you from the pestilence. I'll [00:49:00] protect you from the things that's harming everybody else, but won't necessarily harm you.

Okay. And so when we are looking at what he's sharing. We look at verse number 14. May God almighty, again, El should die. That's where we get the word el should die from, 

Grant you mercy. all these things point to what God is doing in our lives. Even now, we are facing famine, droughts. storms in our societies. yet God continues to move in a way that he wants to move and he's sovereign in what we're going through.

And that's why I want you to understand, God is all powerful. In whatever trial you are going through, whatever situation you're going through, God's sovereignty is what we have to concentrate on versus the discrepancies or versus the discrimination or versus when folks think we're detestable.

But [00:50:00] God puts us at the table to be reckoned we have to acknowledge that these people are at the table. Ms. Barbell says he did not take retribution against his brothers. No, he did not.

He did not. Which is a lesson for us because some of us get crazy and want to retaliate against He was pretty petty with Simeon. Yeah. he had to be a little bit

But he did not get him like he could. He did not exact retribution. Against all the brothers, which he could have. Ms. Audrey says, not sure why the brothers weren't worried about the seating arrangements. Maybe they were thinking about the good treatment they were getting after they behaved so badly.

They were relieved. They were in a place of relief, relaxation that they just said, oh, okay. This is good. I don't know how he knows it or how they know it, but they all sat in their chronological order. Ms.

Karu says most people are afraid to bow down to anything because they're afraid and don't [00:51:00]know what to do, especially a woman. most people are afraid to bow down to anything because and don't know what to do.

Especially a woman. there goes to separation, discrimination, sexism a woman can do better. If that's their assignment I don't have no problem if that's their assignment, if that's your assignment.

I don't have a problem if it's a woman pilot or a man pilot, sex doesn't make a difference. Let me see. what Nancy said. I'm trying to discern what she's saying.

So yeah, when we are looking at that, we're looking at a place where they start out stressed in the top half of the chapter. And then by the time we get to the 34th, first they're served portions from Joseph's table and they're feasting and drinking freely.

can I put us currently in that position, some of us are sitting here stressed out over stuff that [00:52:00]God doesn't bother to tell us how it's gonna come out. He just said, trust me, and when you trust me, I'm gonna make it work out. So we're now sitting at a place on the other side of the going through.

Where we're able to now understand why we had to go through what we had to go through. And even in explaining that with my mother-in-law, I had to explain to her. I know you don't wanna be here. I know your patience is being tested and that you, that they think you crazy and all that.

I'm like, ain't nobody's following that. We're trusting what God is saying for us to do in this time. from that we're able to navigate as he is navigating, we drive, we are following the GPS. The GPS will show you the turn prior to it sometimes, depending on what you're looking at, 

But it tells you before you get to where you gotta turn off and it tells you enough [00:53:00] time for you to make adjustments, and follow directions. God's not gonna tell us before time because we'll try to figure out a shortcut. There are no shortcuts listening to God.

God says, this is how you gonna do it, and it's gonna be my way. when you do it my way it turns out all right when you do a your, it's gonna be full of stress and anxieties and things you cannot control we can control what we decide to believe and trust in, and who we decide to believe and trust in.

Let's pray, Father, how we love you, how we thank you for this lesson. God, we thank you for thanks being as well as they are.

God, we thank you for allowing us to be in a place in a country where we can share openly our love for Christ. we thank you for each and every listener. We pray for those that will catch the rebroadcast. God, we pray for those that needed the encouragement of this lesson. God, I pray that as things are revealed to us and as we work through our [00:54:00] traumas, you will soothe our spirits. we thank you for being a great God. A God that even in spite of all that we go through will look at us with compassion as a sheep without shepherd God. . But every believer that's under the sound of my voice, I lift them up to you. Some are making decisions, some are changing careers, some are looking for the next direction. God, we unequivocally trust you and all that we say and do help us to lean not to our own understanding, but in all our ways to acknowledge you, for you shall direct our past and God, even though we may start out stressed out in the beginning of the story, give us enough faith to carry us into the banquet hall that we can be with you and be free to enjoy the goodness of being with you 

God bless us now we pray. Bless all those that are the sound of my [00:55:00] voice. God, I pray for a good night's rest that we wake up, refresh and renew. We may go about the daily task that you placed for us to do for asking in Jesus' name and I pray, amen. All right, y'all, god bless you, God keep you is our prayer. Y'all have a great night.