Biblical Truths from West Palm Beach church of Christ

Joseph has revealed himself to his brothers in Egypt. The brothers have changed over the years and now are willing to lay down their lives for the sake of their brother, Benjamin. Joseph has invited his family to move to Egypt where Joseph promises that he can care for them during the famine. Joseph told them that there were five more years of the severe famine to come (Genesis 45:11). So they need to leave everything behind and move to Egypt. So Jacob and his family move to Egypt where there are now 70 people in all…

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We are starting a new series today called Deconstructing and Reconstructing Faith. Right now there are many who have grown up in pews of various Christian denominations and churches who are going through a process that they call “deconstruction.” Brian Zahnd defines deconstruction as “a crisis of Christian faith that leads to either a reevaluation of Christianity or sometimes a total abandonment of Christianity.” This is what I am going to mean by the term “deconstruction” in this series of lessons.

But my reason for wanting to do this series is not because there are many of social media who are promoting the idea of deconstruction. The purpose of this series is not to address all of the objections that people who are deconstructing have. The reason for this series is far more personal…

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Joseph’s brothers are back in Egypt to buy grain for the family due to the severe famine occurring at that time. Joseph enacts his plan to keep Benjamin with him. He has his silver cup placed in his bag and sends the brothers away, fully expecting the brothers to abandon Benjamin like they did to him. Joseph likely sees himself as trying to rescue Benjamin from his hate-filled brothers. But the brothers surprise Joseph. Rather than abandoning Benjamin to Egypt, they return to Egypt and offer up their lives for Benjamin’s sake. Judah, the one who had sold Joseph into slavery, was the one who was willing to trade his life to set Benjamin free so he could return to his father. This brings us to Genesis 45 as we wait to see what Joseph will do next…

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The famine continues in its severity over the earth. Pharaoh’s dream revealed that it would be a seven year famine that would wipe any abundance accumulating during the seven years of prosperity. The grain that Jacob’s son purchased in Egypt has run out as we come to Genesis 43. Jacob instructs the sons to go back to Egypt and buy grain. But the sons remind him that they cannot go back without bringing Benjamin. There is no point in going if we do not bring Benjamin with us. Jacob is upset by this but the brothers defend themselves that they did not know that the ruler of Egypt would tell them to bring their brother back with them…

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I would like to draw your attention to Matthew 27. As you are turning, I want to make an important point as we begin this morning. This lesson is not delivered because of the time found on our calendars. Every Sunday we come together to celebrate and remember the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are doing nothing different this Sunday than we do the other 51 Sundays in the year. We have been going through the Gospel of Matthew and now we come to the final scene in Matthew’s gospel. It is the most important event and, therefore, the Gospel of Matthew ends with this historical moment. Jesus has given his life on the cross and the centurion has proclaimed that Jesus truly was the Son of God (Matthew 27:50, 54)…

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Joseph has experienced a major turn around in his life. What looked like a life ruined by his brothers hatred and jealousy has been dramatically reversed by God. Joseph went from prisoner to prime minister in a matter of moments in Genesis 41. At 30 years old, Joseph is running Egypt and only Pharaoh is greater than him. But there is a subtle reminder in the text that this story is not about Joseph but about what God is working through Joseph to accomplish his plans. You see this reminder in Genesis 41:49. We are told that the grain Joseph stored up was like “the sand of the sea” and it could not be measured. This is the same language that God used when he told Abraham regarding the number of his offspring (cf. Genesis 22:17). God said this again to Jacob in Genesis 32:12, confirming that God would carry out this promise through Jacob. God’s promises are going to be accomplished through Joseph’s elevation to power. But what we are going to see in these chapters is that Joseph still does not know or understand what is happening or what God is doing. What we are going to see is Joseph is still working through it…

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As we return to Matthew 27 we are in the midst of a horrifying scene. Jesus has been crucified and now hangs from the cross, suspended in the air by nails in his hands and feet. He has been crucified between two other criminals. The scene before us is a scene of shame and mockery. People are passing by on their way in and out of the city of Jerusalem. As the people walk by, they are hurling insults and shaking their heads at Jesus. The scribes, elders, and chief priests are also mocking Jesus. I want us to remember that each of these events, and even the very words these insulters are proclaiming, are all recorded prophetically in Psalm 22. The details are shockingly accurately. In our last lesson we looked carefully at the many connections to Psalm 22. But I want to remind you that we are seeing Psalm 22 unfold before our eyes…

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We are looking at where God is in the midst of suffering. We are looking for these answers through lens of the life of Joseph. Joseph now finds himself in a prison but he is innocent. Joseph has done nothing worthy of being imprisoned. Nothing has gone right for Joseph in his life. Joseph did what his father told him to do, yet his brothers hated him and sold him into slavery. Joseph faithfully served his master, Potipher, in all of his house, yet he was false accused of sexual assault and now is in Pharaoh’s prison. But through all of these terrible and painful circumstances, we are told four times that the Lord was with Joseph (Genesis 39:2, 3, 21, 23). This is what I want us to think about as we approach Genesis 40. The Lord was with Joseph, the Lord is blessing Joseph, but Joseph is in a prison. Joseph’s circumstances still appear hopeless. How is Joseph going to get out of prison? How can any of the dreams that the Lord gave him come true? How can Joseph have any hope for his life considering where he is at this moment? Why not just give up now that he is hopelessly contained in the prison? Let’s see where God is with Joseph in the midst of his suffering…

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Jesus has been condemned by the crowd. Barabbas has been released to the people and Jesus has been scourged in preparation for his crucifixion. But it will not be as simple as going out to the place of his execution. The Roman soldiers now will take a turn with Jesus. The Roman soldiers bring Jesus inside and gather a whole company of soldiers around him. They strip Jesus of his clothing and then place a red robe on him. Then they take some thorns and twist it together to make a crown out of it. Then they put the crown of thorns on his head. If this is not enough, they put a staff in his hand. Now they have achieved the look they are going for. Jesus looks like a crippled, bleeding king. Bleeding from his scourging, marred beyond human semblance according to Isaiah 52:14, now Jesus has a red robe, a crown made of thorns on his head, and a stick in his hand. You can imagine them dying laughing at the sight…

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