Joseph the Mediator

[0:00] Last week, Joseph's brothers returned to Canaan with stunning news for their father.

[0:14] ! They told him that Joseph was alive.! Not only that, Joseph was ruling Egypt and Joseph wanted the family to move to Egypt! because the famine would last five more years.

[0:24] We saw that in Genesis 45, verses 25-27, so let's look at those verses again. 45-25-27 say, So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob.

[0:41] And they told him, Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt. And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. But when they told him all the words of Joseph which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

[1:00] And Israel said, It is enough. Joseph, my son, is still alive. I will go and see him before I die. In the first verses of chapter 46, God made Jacob a promise when the caravan stopped to spend the night at Beersheba.

[1:16] And we saw that in Genesis 46, 2-4. Those verses say, And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob.

[1:27] And he said, Here I am. Then he said, I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.

[1:37] I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes. Tonight's lesson will cover the remainder of chapter 46 and the first 12 verses of chapter 47.

[1:53] In that section of scripture, we'll see Joseph provide for his family by serving as the mediator between them and Pharaoh. That's the main idea. Joseph will provide for his family by serving as the mediator between them and Pharaoh.

[2:09] We ended last week at verse 27 of chapter 46. So let's read Genesis 46, 28 through 47, 12.

[2:20] And as we start with verse 28, the he at the beginning of the verse refers to Jacob. So it says, He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen.

[2:33] And they came into the land of Goshen. Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel, his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good wall.

[2:46] Israel said to Joseph, Now let me die since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive. Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, My brothers and my father's household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me.

[3:06] And the men are shepherds for they have been keepers of livestock and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have. When Pharaoh calls you and says, What is your occupation?

[3:19] You shall say, Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers, in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen. For every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.

[3:34] So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, My father and my brothers with their flocks and herds and all that they possess have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.

[3:45] And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to his brothers, What is your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh, Your servants are shepherds as our fathers were.

[3:59] They said to Pharaoh, We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.

[4:13] Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land.

[4:24] Let them settle in the land of Goshen. And if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock. Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh.

[4:36] And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Jacob, How many are the days of the years of your life? And Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my sojourning are one hundred thirty years.

[4:50] Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.

[5:05] Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Ramses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their descendants.

[5:23] We'll break tonight's text into four sections, starting with verses 28 through 30 of chapter 46. And in those verses, we will see the reunion.

[5:39] So, the reunion is your first blink. Here are Genesis 46, 28 through 30, one more time.

[5:50] They say, He, talking about Jacob, had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen. And they came into the land of Goshen. Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel, his father, in Goshen.

[6:05] He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. Israel said to Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.

[6:17] Jacob chooses Judah rather than any of the older three sons to make sure that the caravan finds its way safely to Goshen. This is more evidence of the change in Judah.

[6:31] Judah previously had been the one who suggested selling Joseph. That suggestion caused 22 years of separation between Jacob and Joseph. Now Judah is the one who is making sure that Jacob makes it safely to the reunion with Joseph.

[6:46] Perhaps Judah wanted to be the one to scout out the territory. Scouting out the territory would have been as close as Judah could come to undoing the earlier wrongs that he'd done.

[6:57] Judah could never make up for the lost years, but he could make sure that Jacob's remaining years would be more pleasant. The first part of verse 29 shows how eager Joseph was to see his father.

[7:09] The wording suggests that Joseph prepared his chariot himself rather than having a servant do it. Verse 29 also says that Joseph presented himself to his father.

[7:20] Some translations say that Joseph appeared to his father. In Genesis, that word typically is used for appearances by God. Maybe Moses picked that word to remind us that God is present during this reunion even though he's not expressly mentioned in that text.

[7:38] The end of verse 29 then documents the long, tearful, but otherwise silent reunion. Jacob finally breaks that silence by speaking the words of verse 30.

[7:51] This might remind you of a touching scene that's recorded in Luke 2. Remember in Luke 2, an old man named Simeon cradles a baby in his arms, and that child is the infant Jesus Christ.

[8:04] Simeon has waited all his life to see his Savior, and at last his eyes behold the Messiah. And we have a similar thing here. Jacob is ready to see his son one last time at least before he dies.

[8:18] So just imagine what thoughts go through Jacob's mind during all those moments of reunion with Joseph. 22 years of sadness are washed away, and now the dreams Joseph had are fulfilled.

[8:33] Jacob must have embraced Joseph with the combination of both sadness and joy. The lost years couldn't be retrieved, but perhaps Jacob will have time to spend with his boy. But if not, Jacob has at least seen him.

[8:47] One commentator also mentioned that it was probably very confusing to Jacob because Joseph would look like an Egyptian. He wouldn't look anything like the son that he left behind.

[8:59] And one even suggested that maybe that's why the text doesn't say that Jacob cried along with Joseph. Maybe Joseph was still the only one crying because his father was trying to process how much different his son looked.

[9:16] Either way, Jacob had lamented death about Joseph twice before, but now that he's reunited, he anticipates a death where his heart is at peace and is relieved of its grief.

[9:28] With that, we'll move to the second section of the lesson and in verses 31 through 34 we see the rehearsal. The rehearsal is what comes next on your sheet.

[9:43] Joseph wants to be certain that his family is prepared to meet Pharaoh, so he rehearses with them what they need to say. Listen to verses 31 through 34 again.

[9:54] They say, Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me, and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.

[10:17] When Pharaoh calls you and says, What is your occupation? You shall say, Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers, in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.

[10:36] The wise and discerning Joseph advises his family on how to act and what to say in order to achieve what to Joseph is an already foregone conclusion. Joseph's family will settle in Goshen.

[10:50] When it comes to the formal announcement of the decision, however, Joseph wants everything to confirm what Joseph has already decided. The family has to be presented to Pharaoh and the way they address Pharaoh is important.

[11:05] Joseph has surveyed the land of Egypt and the region of Goshen where he intends for his relatives to settle is ideal for ranching. The Egyptians avoid associating with shepherds.

[11:17] That means that the Israelites are likely to be left alone if they're allowed to settle there. It's an ideal spot to build a nation in relative isolation. Pharaoh, though, might have other ideas.

[11:30] Perhaps he'll want Joseph's family to dwell in the capital. So Joseph tells the family his plan. Joseph first will visit Pharaoh alone and in verses 31 and 32 Joseph summarizes what he will say.

[11:45] Notice how Joseph plans to emphasize that his family is a family of shepherds. Joseph wants to plant the thought in Pharaoh's mind that Pharaoh wants shepherds to be nowhere near Pharaoh lives.

[11:58] Joseph also plans to make sure that Pharaoh knows that his family has their livestock and all their possessions with them. Moving them further into Egypt would be very difficult. Joseph actually is shrewdly leading Pharaoh to the conclusion that the lowly shepherds and their dirty, stinky animals should be kept as far away as possible from the population centers of Egypt.

[12:19] Then in verses 33 and 34 Joseph tells the brothers what they need to say when they meet Pharaoh and he also tells them why they need to say it.

[12:30] Look at those verses again. Joseph tells his brothers when Pharaoh calls you and says what is your occupation you shall say your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now both we and our fathers in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptian.

[12:52] So Joseph wants his brothers to tell Pharaoh themselves that they're shepherds and by having them add the comment that they have been shepherds all their lives just like their ancestors were Joseph is subtly driving Pharaoh to the conclusion that shepherding would be the only thing the brothers could really do.

[13:10] Joseph wants Pharaoh to say just stay out there in the boondocks of Goshen where you already are. Joseph planned to overemphasize the fact that his brothers were abominable shepherds.

[13:21] He knew that he had to keep his family separated from the pagan society of Egypt. Pharaoh had already indicated to Joseph remember that Pharaoh would prefer Joseph's family to be assimilated into Egypt.

[13:34] We saw that in verses 17 through 20 of Genesis 45. So let's look at those verses again. Genesis 45 17 through 20 say this and Pharaoh said to Joseph say to your brothers do this load your beast and go back to the land of Canaan and take your father and your households and come to me and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you shall eat the fat of the land and you Joseph are commanded to say do this take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives and bring your father and come have no concern for your goods for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours Joseph knew that God had promised to bless the world through his family and to make them a great nation but for that to happen the family had to be kept separate from the pagan society of Egypt and for that separation to happen Pharaoh needed to change his mind about allowing

[14:36] Jacob's family to associate with the Egyptians and that's why rehearsing what to say to Pharaoh was so important now that the family has rehearsed what they will say to Pharaoh the time has arrived for Joseph to introduce at least some of them to Pharaoh and we will see the introductions in the third section of the lesson in this third section we have the representation so the representation is your third fill in Joseph will be there with his family as their representative when they introduce themselves to Pharaoh this section really is the heart of our passage tonight it covers the first ten verses of chapter 47 and it's the key part of Joseph's mediation for his family remember the main idea Joseph will provide for his family by serving as the mediator between them and Pharaoh and we'll see that this section will showcase Joseph's skills as the mediator let's read verse 47 1 first it says so Joseph went in and told

[15:41] Pharaoh my father and my brothers with their flocks and herds and all that they possess have come from the land of Canaan they are now in the land of Goshen Joseph executes the plan exactly as he laid it out to his brothers he first approaches Pharaoh alone Joseph tells Pharaoh that his father and brothers along with everything they own have arrived in Egypt Joseph subtly notes that they are shepherds by mentioning their flocks and their herds then he adds one more detail to his speech he tells Pharaoh that his family already is in Goshen Joseph has done his part of the plan the brothers turn comes next Genesis 47 2 says that Joseph picked five of his brothers to appear with Joseph in front of Pharaoh and remember Pharaoh was the most powerful human in the world at that time I would have liked to have known which five Joseph picked and why he picked them we're probably pretty safe to assume that Judah and Benjamin were included in the five but Joseph lacked very many other obvious choices from his other brothers so maybe one day we'll find out who those five were verses 47 3 and 4 document what happened when Joseph introduced those five brothers to Pharaoh let's see how the brothers remembered their lines did they actually follow the script that Joseph rehearsed with them starting in verse 3 it says

[17:11] Pharaoh said to his brothers what is your occupation and they said to Pharaoh your servants are shepherds as our fathers were they said to Pharaoh we have come to sojourn in the land for there is no pasture for your servants flocks for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan and now please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen do you notice a difference in the brothers they do a good job of sticking to the script but they also add a couple of things by saying that they've come to sojourn they offer to stay temporarily then they boldly make a request they directly ask to stay in Goshen keep in mind that these are the same brothers who were shaking in their sandals when they first appeared before Joseph when they didn't realize who Joseph was now the brothers are making a direct request of someone who's even more powerful than Joseph so what made the difference in those brothers what made them be so bold all of a sudden well the brothers now have a mediator standing with them before Pharaoh and that mediator has a trusted connection with Pharaoh having

[18:27] Joseph as their mediator changes everything because of the mediator the brothers confidently can approach Pharaoh Pharaoh's answer comes in verses 5 and 6 Pharaoh gives an even more favorable answer than the brothers requested those verses say then Pharaoh said to Joseph your father and your brothers have come to you the land of Egypt is before you settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land let them settle in the land of Goshen and if you know any able men among them put them in charge of my livestock Joseph's father and brothers can forget about sojourning in Goshen Pharaoh says that they can settle in Goshen Pharaoh even offers employment some of Joseph's brothers are going to attend to Pharaoh's livestock having Joseph's brothers tend to Pharaoh's livestock is significant the people tending

[19:28] Pharaoh's livestock have reason to be there if anybody questions why Pharaoh allowed these foreigners to be there the brothers can say that they're legitimate civil servants working for Pharaoh gives them more protection than a typical foreigner in Goshen would have we again see God at work by carrying on with the main point of the book of Genesis remember that the main point of the book of Genesis is to show the progression of redemptive history how God will redeem his people from the curse of sin throughout Genesis God shows us that he's faithful to preserve!

[20:04] the line of the seed who is going to redeem God's people tonight we see God preserving the line of the seed by convincing a pagan king with a distaste for shepherds to allow those shepherds to settle rent free in a prime spot of land that pagan king Pharaoh himself even hired those shepherds to work for him the next four verses could be a separate section because these verses show what happened when Joseph presented Jacob to Pharaoh however the verses fit here because Jacob would never have had an audience with Pharaoh without Joseph's representation of him so again we see Joseph acting as a representative look at Genesis 46 verses 7 through 10 then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh and Jacob blessed Pharaoh and Pharaoh said to Jacob how many are the days of the years of your life and Jacob said to Pharaoh the days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years few and evil have been the days of the years of my life and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days when I first read these verses

[21:25] Jacob sounded very ungrateful Jacob has received numerous blessings from God but Jacob's words sound like the words of a grumpy old man studying it more I think Jacob was showing humility here let's dig into the verses now and we'll see whether or not that was the case verse 7 should strike us as a bit odd at first glance!

[21:53] Why would Jacob bless Pharaoh instead of the other way around?

[22:13] Most people would think Pharaoh should be the one blessing Jacob is immensely grateful for all that Pharaoh has done for his son Joseph he's deeply appreciative of the ruler's willingness to allow his family to settle in Egypt he's a man whose heart is filled with gratitude so he very humbly!

[22:33] blesses Pharaoh for the part that the king has had in making life better for Joseph and for the whole family we're not told the specific content of the blessing but most people believe that Jacob likely referred to his God in that blessing and I think that's probably a safe assumption to make Pharaoh's first recorded words to Jacob are a question he says how many are the days of the years of your life just another way of saying how old are you the king is the age reflects the value that ancient near eastern cultures placed on longevity in Hebrew culture the esteemed help for the age was related to the assumption that the old had received divine favor they also assumed that someone that old had possessed wisdom the Egyptians had a similar view Pharaoh assumed!

[23:27] Jacob must be special because he had lived so long Egyptians actually thought the longest life span would be about 110 years Jacob really tries to change that opinion by his answer and this is where we see Jacob display some humility through his answer Jacob says that his age means nothing he's less successful than his ancestors were Jacob's answer comes in verse 9 that's again where he said the days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years few and evil have been the days of the years of my life and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning we'll find out later that Jacob will live 17 more years under the watch of Joseph the implication of Jacob's answer testified of the Lord's favor toward the family but he also admitted!

[24:24] that his life was difficult Jacob here is in a very reflective mood he recognized that his life has been scarred by the treachery he suffered at the hands of others and that that was a just sentence for his early days of trickery against Esau he describes his life and that of his ancestors in terms of their itinerant status as aliens in the world so there really is a sobering humility about his answer that he made to Pharaoh the accumulation of blessings that have come to Jacob have come with a heavy toll because of his earlier deceitfulness he understands that what he perpetrated in his early life he suffered the consequences of in his later life in other words what goes around comes around he had paid a heavy price for his deceitful supplanting ways Jacob's attitude when appearing before Pharaoh might remind us of Joseph's first appearance before

[25:24] Pharaoh flip back a few pages and look at Genesis 41 verses 15 and 16 Genesis 41 verses 15 and 16 this is the first appearance of Joseph before Pharaoh verse 15 and 16 say and Pharaoh said to Joseph I have had a dream and there is no one who can interpret it I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it Joseph answered Pharaoh it is not in me God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer Joseph took no credit for his ability when he appeared before Pharaoh and now when Jacob appears before Pharaoh Jacob downplays his own longevity and he makes sure Pharaoh doesn't see that as a blessing previously

[26:46] Jacob had received blessings from God at Bethel and Peniel he had even stolen the blessing that rightfully belonged to Esau now though in keeping with the Abrahamic covenant he gives a blessing to the ruler of a foreign nation going back to Genesis 12 1 and 2 listen to what these verses say they say now the Lord said to Abram go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to a land that I will show you and I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing then a little bit later in Genesis we see this in Genesis 22 18 shortly after Abraham had been willing to sacrifice Isaac and in Genesis 22 18 the angel of the Lord said to Abraham in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed my voice we see here that God keeps his promises the descendants of

[27:49] Abraham are starting to bless other nations we talked about how Joseph's brothers were much bolder standing before Pharaoh because Joseph was there as their mediator that also may have played a part in Jacob's confidence before Pharaoh however Jacob had an even better reason remember that God had personally told Jacob to go to Egypt Jacob knows he's supposed to be there we saw that in Genesis 46 3 and 4 when the sovereign God the creator of the universe personally speaks with you even the most powerful human then alive on earth pales in comparison so we've seen the reunion the rehearsal and the representation in the final two verses of tonight's passage we see the resources are what we'll look at next these resources are documented in Genesis 47 verses 11 and 12 we see from verse 11 that

[29:11] Joseph settles this family just as Pharaoh had commanded of course we know that Joseph skillfully led Pharaoh to that conclusion nonetheless Joseph's family was granted the right to settle in the best part of the land by the order of Pharaoh himself because Ramses is a city that's located in Groshen it's going to be fairly near where Joseph likely is Ramses is 75 miles south of the Mediterranean it's in the Nile Delta region 75 miles north of Memphis where Joseph likely is headquartered so the family is going to be comfortably close to Joseph Joseph does more than just set up his relatives with the fine piece of real estate in verse 12 we see that he also provides everybody with food he doesn't play any favorites here each brother receives provisions!

[30:06] according to the number of children that he has and that's how life in Egypt begins for the children of Israel as we've gone through this passage we've seen the main idea Joseph provided for his family by serving as mediator between them and Pharaoh without Joseph Jacob and his sons would have been unworthy of appearing before Pharaoh with Joseph Jacob and his sons got the best of what Egypt had to offer in addition to the main idea we should consider at least two other things the first is that true believers have an even better mediator than Joseph true believers have an even better mediator than Joseph when we read a passage like tonight's text we sometimes can think about how nice it would be for us to have a mediator between us and someone important of course we do have a mediator our mediator is a much better mediator for us than

[31:07] Joseph was for his family even without the handout you likely would know where we're headed listen to what Paul wrote in 1st Timothy 2 verses 5 and 6 1st Timothy 2 verses 5 and 6 say for there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom for Joseph represented his brothers in front of Pharaoh Jesus represents believers in front of God himself listen to Hebrews 7 verses 22 through 25 Hebrews 7 22 through 25 say this makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant the former priest were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office but he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever consequently he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to

[32:09] God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them listen to verse 25 again that's the real key that I want you to focus in on in that Hebrews passage consequently he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them Joseph's intercession enabled his brothers to confidently approach Pharaoh most ancient rulers were unapproachable by anyone but their highest advisors the Holy Spirit calls for all of us to come confidently before God's throne to receive mercy and grace through Jesus Christ we've looked at this verse as a cross reference in earlier lessons but Hebrews 416 is worth looking at again Hebrews 416 says let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need

[33:10] Joseph's intercession allowed Jacob and Joseph's brothers to receive even more than they could have expected Jesus' salvation of us and intercession for us allow us to experience more blessings from God than we could ever expect Ephesians 3 20 and 21 tell us that listen to what Ephesians 3 20 and 21 say they say now to him who is able to do far more abundantly!

[33:38] than all that we ask or us to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever amen Joseph's mediation allowed his family to live a good life in Goshen Jesus' mediation allows all who believe in him to have eternal life John 3 16 is a familiar verse that tells us for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should perish but have eternal life so the first thing we should consider besides the main idea is that we have an even better mediator than Joseph the second additional thing we can take from this text is how believers should interact with others we should take away how believers should interact with others in this passage Jacob

[34:39] Joseph and his brother show us how to interact properly with other people for most of the Genesis text that we've studied so far we would want to avoid acting like Jacob and his older sons but God has been working on them sanctifying their character and now we see them behaving in ways that we should want to emulate!

[35:30] ! When Jacob stood before Pharaoh Jacob blessed Pharaoh we as believers know we have the mediator who's Christ we of all people should bless those with whom we interact regardless of whether those people are believers or unbelievers however unbelievers in particular should notice something different about us when they interact with us Jacob standing before Pharaoh readily confessed his unworthiness believers also should be ready and willing to admit that we are unworthy of the blessings we have received and we should be willing to admit that we know someone who can make us be counted as worthy Jacob and his family showed contentment with God's provision we as believers also should be content with what God provides for us regardless of how much or how little we have on earth and regardless of what happens to us here we know that our eternal destiny is secure that should be the source of true commitment remember the words of

[36:36] Jesus in Matthew 6 25 through 33 Jesus said in Matthew 6 25 through 33 therefore I tell you do not be anxious about your life what you will eat or what you will drink nor about your is not life more than food and the body more than clothing look at the birds of the air they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them are you not of more value than day and which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life and why are you anxious about clothing consider the lilies of the field how they grow they neither toil nor spin yet I tell you even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these but if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven will he not much more clothe you oh you of little faith therefore do not be anxious saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear for the

[37:45] Gentiles seek after all these things and your heavenly father knows that you need them all but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you Joel Beakey a pastor in Michigan noted that the behavior of Jacob and his sons in this passage should inspire us to take our own personal spiritual!

[38:09] inventory! Pastor Beakey encouraged his congregation to ask themselves five questions that were based upon the behaviors that we just saw and those five questions are first do I depend on the mediator Jesus do I depend on the mediator Jesus secondly do I behave with wisdom when interacting with others do I behave with wisdom when interacting with others do I convey blessings to others when I interact with them do I convey blessings to others when I interact with them do people see something different about us as Christians when they are interacting with us fourth do I readily confess my unworthiness for God's blessings blessings do I readily confess my unworthiness for God's blessings and fifth do I show contentment with

[39:11] God's provision like Jacob and his family did do I show contentment with God's provision like Jacob and his family did this will be our last Wednesday until the first week of January between now and then think about taking some time to reflect on your answers to that five question spiritual if your answer to some of those questions is no remember 1 John 1 9 1 John 1 9 reminds us if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness we can be confident that 1 John 1 9 is true for many reasons one of those reasons is because we have the perfect mediator who has provided true believers with eternal life so if your answer to some of those five questions is no ask God to help you change but also take comfort in the truth of 1 Timothy chapter 2 verses 5 and 6 and also

[40:15] Hebrews 7 verse 25 1 Timothy 2 5 and 6 again says for there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom for all which is the testimony given at the proper time that is great news for all of us as believers but what Hebrews 7 25 tells us is even greater news than that that mediator the only perfect mediator always lives to make intercession for us let's pray father we thank you for what we see here we see that you are not only working to fulfill your plan to redeem the seed and to keep the seed alive that will be providing the redeemer you also are showing us how believers and followers of you should interact with others help us put those behaviors into practice more and more as we try to become more and more like your son

[41:20] Jesus Christ and give us the strength to do that in Jesus name we pray!

[41:31]