Jacob and Doubting Souls a Parallel
(No. 2470)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, JUNE 21, 1896,
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, JUNE
20, 1886.
"And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive: I will go
and see him before I die." Genesis 45:28.
I THINK that the Patriarch Jacob may well serve as the type and emblem
of a doubting soul, one who has been told the good news of salvation,
the Gospel of God's Grace, but who cannot bring his mind to believe it.
Let us think for a few minutes of old Jacob. First of all, he was a man
who was very ready to believe evil tidings. When his sons held up
before him a coat dipped in the blood of a kid and asked him if it was
not the coat he had given to Joseph, the Patriarch answered, "It is my
son's coat; an evil beast has devoured him. Joseph is, without doubt,
torn in pieces." He had no doubt about it, yet it was not true. And we
have many hearers who will believe anything that is terrible, even
though it may not be true. If there is something in the sermon which
seems to condemn them, even though it may not be meant to condemn them,
they are sure to take home that part of the discourse. If they see any
passage of Scripture that appears to frown upon them, they retain that
in their memory and they keep on stinging themselves with it, often
making themselves unhappy with that which was never intended to apply
to them! I wish that readiness to believe the dark sayings could be
turned to an equal readiness to receive the consolations of the Word of
God. Surely, we ought not to be so prejudiced against ourselves as to
accept every evil thing and to reject every good thing. No, let us
weigh fairly the evidence for either form of teaching and believe, or
reject either according as the evidence, for it may be strong or weak.
Jacob would, all the while, have willingly believed that which was
good, if he could have believed it. If you could have asked him if he
had any objection to believe that Joseph was alive, the old man would
have answered, "Oh, no! It would be the joy of my heart if I could but
think it to be true." There are some whom I am now addressing who are
in a similar case. Ask them whether they have any objection to believe
that Jesus Christ is their Savior, that He loved them and gave Himself
for them, and they would, each one, reply, "Object to believe this?
Why, I would give my eyes–I would give my life–if I could but think
it to be true!" Such an unbeliever as that is a very hopeful one
because it is evident that he is not a willful unbeliever–he does not
desire to be so. His heart longs to grasp the Truth of God which, for
the moment, his mind dares not accept! Jacob, in this respect, is the
type of very many who hear the Gospel, but dare not receive it and yet
oh, how they wish they could! Their very soul hungers and thirsts after
it, but they are afraid to take it lest they should be taking that
which is not truly theirs.
So far, the parallel between Jacob and the doubting soul runs very
properly. Next notice that to the Patriarch, the truth about his son
Joseph seemed altogether incredible. Joseph was alive and governor over
all the land of Egypt–but the old man had so long believed the
contrary that he could not readily get out of the rut! He had
sorrowfully said, "Joseph is, without doubt, torn in pieces," and this
idea, though it was most painful to him, had, nevertheless, eaten its
way into his belief and he could not get it out of him. So do I know
some who have written bitter things against themselves– "I shall be
lost, I know I shall. It is not possible that Christ will save me. He
will certainly reject me." And, although that is quite untrue–as
untrue as Jacob's belief that Joseph was dead–yet they have hugged
their despair so long that they cannot give it up! They are like the
man who refused to be comforted, or those afflicted ones of whom we
read, "Their soul abhors all manner of meat and they draw near to the
gates of death." Oh, that the Holy Spirit would come upon these poor
unwilling doubters and help them to know that a lie, however long it is
believed, is not the truth! Though we may be in despondency of spirit
for years, yet, if there is no real cause for that despondency, it is a
pity that we should continue in it. Oh, that the Holy Spirit would
enable us to break those bands asunder and joyfully to believe what is
true–that there is a Savior, an all-sufficient Savior, that all power
is committed into His hands–and that He will rejoice this very hour to
save and bless our souls!
The news appeared incredible to Jacob because it seemed "too good to be
true." His eyes flashed for the moment with a joyful light. "Joseph
alive? Joseph–my Joseph–ruler over all the land of Egypt?" And then
the very brightness of the thought seemed to blind the eyes of his
faith. "It cannot be true," he said–"it is too good to be true."
Suppose that one of you had lost a son many years ago and that a person
met you outside the Tabernacle and said to you, "That boy of yours who
was reported dead 20 years ago, is not dead! He is in Australia, alive
and well"? You would be staggered, would you not? And I have no doubt
you would say to yourself, "It must be somebody like him, or somebody
else of the same name–it cannot be my son–it is impossible! I know
that he is dead." You would hardly believe it! Therefore, do not blame
poor old Jacob for his doubts!
There are many who are, spiritually, in just that state. They say,
"What? You say that Jesus died for me, that I have been redeemed with
His most precious blood, that I can have my sins forgiven? It cannot
be! What? That I can be taken up to dwell with Christ in Heaven? Oh,
that it were true! It cannot be true. I did sing, just now–
'Even me, even me, Let Your mercy light on me.'
but oh, surely, it cannot come to me! I must be left out. When the
showers of blessing are falling, I cannot hope that there will be even
a drop for me." Well, then, you and old Jacob are very much alike! I
think you must be first cousins! Yet Jacob was wrong and so are
you–the news is not "too good to be true."
Through not believing his sons, Jacob began to faint in spirit. When
they told him that Joseph was yet alive, we read that "Jacob's heart
fainted, for he believed them not." There is nothing that so stops the
action of the heart and brings on faintness of the spirit as unbelief!
As soon as the old man began to believe the good tidings that his sons
brought, "the spirit of Jacob, their father, revived." Faith makes our
spirits revive, but unbelief seems to strike us dead. I do not wonder
that some of you are sad, dull and unhappy–as long as you cherish your
unbelief, you must be so. O Holy Spirit, deliver them from this
unbelief! Revive them by enabling them to believe what is true–there
is a Savior, a Savior yet alive, a Savior who is Lord of All–able and
willing to save them!
There, then, is the parallel between Jacob and a doubting soul.
But, at last, Jacob rose out of his despondency and doubt. According to
our text, "Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive: I
will go and see him before I die." I think the time has come for some
others to say, "It is enough." After having been attendants on the
means of Grace, perhaps for 30 years or more, they ought to be able to
say, "It is enough." There came in here, last Lord's Day, from a
distant part of the country, an aged man, a farmer. He came up on
Saturday for no other reason but to find the Savior. He heard me say
that I would see enquirers on Tuesday, so he was here then. He said, "I
left my farm, though it is a large one," and then he told me something
about himself, and he added, "I want to find the Savior. I thought,
Sir, I would come and see if I could find Christ on the Sabbath day and
I waited on that I might go to the Prayer Meeting on Monday night, and
then come and speak to you about my soul."
I thought, "Yes, and it is worthwhile to leave your farm to find a
Savior. It is worthwhile to come from a distant county of England–it
would be worthwhile to come from the ends of the earth if one might but
find the Savior." Before I left him, I think he could say, "It is
enough. Jesus is still alive and I will trust Him even now"–and he
went on his way rejoicing! Oh, that some others might be able to say
with him, "It is enough!"
There are two points upon which I think Jacob could say, "It is
enough." First, the evidence was enough to convince him–"It is enough;
Joseph my son is still alive." Secondly, the conviction was enough to
move him–"I will go and see him before I die." The second point is
quite as important as the first. Indeed, it is that to which the first
ought to practically lead us.
I. The first point is that Jacob had ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO CONVINCE
HIM–"It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive."
The question for us to consider concerns not Joseph, but Jesus. He is
still alive. He died upon the Cross, but He has risen from the dead and
gone into Glory–"therefore He is able also to save them to the
uttermost that come to God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make
intercession for them."
The evidence that good old Jacob had received was personal testimony.
His sons said concerning Joseph, "We have been to Egypt and we have
seen him." There have been many witnesses to testify that Christ is
still alive. Not only did the 11 Apostles see Him many times, but over
500 brethren at once saw the Son of God after He had risen from the
dead. There is no fact in history that is better attested than the fact
that He was crucified and that He rose again. The Resurrection is as
true after nearly 1,900 years as it was the day it happened! The
distance of time does not alter the fact! Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
died on Calvary and was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea. The
third day He rose from the dead, no more to die, and ascended into
Heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God. To this fact, His
disciples bore unfaltering witness–they were honest, simple-minded
men, without enough imagination to make up the story. They were so sure
of this Truth that they died rather than deny it–most of them died by
the most painful forms of death–yet nothing could ever make one of
them speak a word to the contrary! They declared that they had seen
Him, that they had eaten with Him–some of them could say that they had
touched Him and one had put His finger into the print of the nails.
Yes, Brothers and Sisters, Jesus Christ is still alive and I pray that
each one here may say, "The testimony of these many witnesses is true,
I believe it. It is enough; Jesus is still alive."
Moreover, the Holy Spirit bore witness to this fact, for after the
ascension of the Savior, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles
and their companions and they began to speak with other tongues. They
went into all the countries of the world and wherever they went, they
were able to speak the language without having to learn it. At the same
time, the Holy Spirit enabled them to work miracles by which the sick
were healed–and these two things, together, were the witness of the
Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, still lived and that in
His name salvation was to be preached to the sons of men! To me, this
is evidence enough–the witness of faithful men and the works of the
Holy Spirit.
Beside that, there are many of us who are witnesses that, in answer to
prayer, we have received pardon through the living Christ. We have also
received, through that living Christ, a new life into our soul. We have
passed from death to life and those who knew us before our conversion
must notice a very remarkable change in us. They may not all admire it,
but they must all admit it and bear witness that we are now other than
we used to be! The Lord Jesus, in whom we have trusted, has given us
new motives, new desires–in fact, a new nature and a new life–and we
are witnesses to this Truth of God that He is a living Savior, still
mighty to save! I wish you could all say, with regard to these
witnesses, "It is enough." I do not know what more witnesses we can
give you and I may say of the Apostles, and of all those who bear
witness by the Holy Spirit, "If you receive not their witness, neither
will you believe though men should rise from the dead and bear
testimony to the fact that Jesus lives to save the sons of men."
But then Jacob had, in addition to this personal testimony of
witnesses, the testimony of accurate reports, for we find that Jacob's
sons told their father, "all the words of Joseph, which he had said to
them." Those words of Joseph were remarkable words, for he traced God's
Providence in all that had happened. He said to his brothers, "God sent
me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save
your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me
here, but God, and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all
his house and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." Jacob knew
that those words were after the manner of Joseph, for Joseph always
lived in the fear and love of God. As for our Lord Jesus Christ, He has
come to teach us of the Father. He reveals God to us–that which He
speaks to us, He speaks not of Himself, but in the power and in the
name of God–and we know that His word is true because it is a word
which glorifies God and not man!
Joseph also spoke somewhat about his own position and power. "Tell my
father," he said, "thus says your son, Joseph, God has made me lord of
all Egypt." So, the Lord Jesus Christ has told us that all power is
given to Him in Heaven and on earth and, therefore, we are to go and
teach all nations and bring them as disciples to His feet. The words He
speaks concerning Himself are not boastful or false–they are the
utterance of a humble, meek and lowly Savior who never said a word more
or less than the truth!
Joseph had also spoken to them very tenderly and kindly about their
father. He would do everything for his father and his brothers, giving
them the best of the land. And our Lord Jesus has spoken very tenderly
to us. "Come to Me," He says, "all you that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest." The words of the Lord Jesus Christ, if you
hear them or read them, are their own witness! There is a certain
distinct unique majesty about the language of Jesus Christ which
somehow penetrates to the hearts of men and carries its own convincing
witness into the mind. I pray you, then– you who have for years heard
His words–say, "It is enough. We have heard quite sufficient from Him
to compel us to believe that He lives and that He is able to save." How
long must He continue to speak to you who are now getting old hearers
of the Gospel and yet have not believed it? How much longer must we
persuade, entreat, exhort in the name of the Lord Jesus? How much
longer must His Words be read and quoted in your hearing? May God the
Holy Spirit speedily end your indecision and bring you, each one, to
say, "It is enough; Jesus is alive, there is a living Savior, I will
take Him to be my Savior!"
There were also abundant tokens which greatly helped to convince old
Jacob–"When he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him," he
said, "It is enough." To what shall I liken these wagons? It seems to
me that some of you who are doubting whether Christ will save you ought
to think to yourselves, "Well, there is the Sabbath, which is a special
token of God's love." As I came here this evening, I thought to myself,
"Why has God appointed a Sabbath day if He does not mean to give rest
to men?" What a mockery it is to have one day in seven set apart for
you to think of God if God does not mean to think of you! The very
institution of the Sabbath seems to me to be a "wagon" in which to
bring you to Christ. And why does God send ministers to preach His
Gospel? I said to myself, as I came here this evening, "I am going on
the silliest errand that ever moved the foot of man unless God means to
save men by the message He has given me to deliver." What is the use of
my talking, and talking, and talking, unless there is a living Christ
and unless that living Christ is really able to save? He has sent you a
minister who, with all his faults, loves your souls and who would do
anything within the compass of a human mind to bring you to Christ if
he only knew how to do it! Surely God did not send us to speak in His
name and move us to an agony about your souls if He did not mean to
bless you! So, the Christian ministry, itself, is like a "wagon" in
which to bring men to Christ.
I have often thought to myself, when I have been going home after
preaching, "I have put the Truth of God before my hearers so plainly
that if they want to be saved, I have clearly shown them the way to
Christ." I used to attend the means of Grace very, very often when I
was under concern of soul, and to the best of my knowledge and belief I
never heard the Gospel simply and plainly put to me while I was
listening for it. This is the pity, that so often our Brothers preach
very fine sermons, but they are no good to seeking souls and they do
not lead them to Christ. But as soon as I heard that poor Primitive
Methodist preach Christ–and he preached Christ, alone, because he did
not know anything else and I, myself, am very much in that
condition–why, as soon as ever I heard that, I laid hold of it! When
fish are hungry, they bite at the bait, and if you really want Christ,
you will at once lay hold of Him! If you do not accept Him, at any rate
He has been plainly set before you. And if you refuse Him, you shall
deliberately and willfully reject and refuse Him. I pray that you may
not do that.
O Sinner, play not the fool with your own soul! If you must play, go
home to your children, pick up their toys, throw their balls and twist
their skipping-ropes, but trifle not with your souls, and with God, and
Heaven and Hell! If I have lied to you about these matters, condemn me,
for I deserve it. But if I have spoken the truth to you, hear me, or if
you do not hear me, hear the still small voice of your own conscience,
or rather, hear the voice of God which has been speaking through me!
Believe in Jesus, now that you are under the influence of a ministry
which may be to you what Joseph's wagons were to old Jacob!
Think also, why is it that you are instructed in the Truths revealed in
the Word of God? Why is it that there are so many expostulations and
warnings in it? Why is it that this precious Book is put into all your
homes? Why is it so full of invitations and promises but that all this
is intended to be a "wagon" to bring you to your Joseph, even to Jesus?
When you see God, as it were, moving Heaven and earth to help you to
salvation, bending Providence in the direction of aiding you to hear
and to believe the Gospel, surely you ought to say, "It is enough;
Jesus is still alive; God means mercy for me; Christ Jesus can save me
and He will save me."–
"Jesussits on Zion'shill,
And receives poor sinners still."
The evidence brought before Jacob was sufficient to convince him. He
said, "It is enough." Oh, that you, also, may say the same concerning
the evidence brought before you!
II. But now comes the tug of war–THE CONVICTION WAS ENOUGH TO MOVE
HIM. "Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive; I will
go and see him before I die."
Oh, how many people there are in the world who say, "Yes, there is a
Savior," and yet they are not saved! Some of you have often sung–
"There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Immanuel's veins And
sinners, plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains."
Is it so? Do you believe that? Then, why have not you lost all your
guilty stains? "He that believes on the Son has everlasting life." You
never doubted the truth of that text and yet you have not believed on
the only-begotten Son of God and you have not received everlasting
life! I can understand those who reject the Scriptures, altogether, and
who deny that there is any Savior for sinners. I see where they are and
feel that there is some kind of consistency in their conduct, deeply as
I grieve over it, but I cannot understand what you mean when you admit
the truth of what we preach, yet do not practically obey it! If the
Gospel is true, why do you not believe it? If you believe it, why do
you not act upon it? It is not sufficient to merely say that you trust
Christ for salvation and then to fancy there is nothing further to be
done.
I have often tried to expose that delusion by representing a pilot as
being brought on board a vessel and the captain and sailors saying that
they all had confidence in him–that he would take the ship safely into
the haven. They said they trusted him but, having declared their faith
in him, they all went below and lay down to sleep. Now, of course, the
pilot needed to have the sails attended to and the ship put in good
trim! And he needed the helmsman to manage the rudder, so he called
out, "What are you all doing down there? Why have you all run away from
me?" And one of them answered, "Because we trust in you! You are the
pilot and you said you would bring us safely into port. We trust in
you, so the captain has gone to his cabin and all the sailors have gone
to their berths. You see, it is a wet night, a strong northwester is
blowing, it is very cold and we would rather be comfortable and snug in
our berths than up there on deck. You said that you would bring us to
the haven and we trust in you to do it." The pilot would, of course,
reply, "You do not really trust in me, for if you did, you would do as
I bid you! You are mocking me, you are insulting me. You have brought
me on board your ship to make a fool of me! If you really trusted me,
every man would take his proper place and do his duty, and then, as I
gave the word of command, it would be obeyed, and so you would be
brought safely into port."
It is just so with Christ and ourselves. We trust Him entirely to save
us, but we have no right to say that we are saved if we do not
practically obey Him. It is beyond all excuse that men should know that
they need a Savior and that there is a Savior–and yet that they should
not trust that Savior! It is as if Jacob had said, "Joseph is still
alive, but I shall not trouble my head about him." Oh, no, no, no! The
Patriarch does not talk like that, but he says, "Joseph is still alive;
I will go and see him before I die." And, straightway, the poor old man
and his household started to go down into Egypt–for the very next
verse reads, "And Israel took his journey with all that he had."
One reason why Jacob wanted to go to Egypt was because he wished to see
his son. Some of us know the delight of seeing, again, a dear son who
has been absent from us for years, and of seeing him return. It is not
so much a matter for us to talk about–it is rather a thing for our own
hearts to rejoice over and to remember! And we often breathe the
prayer, "God grant that we may see our beloved son again!" Yet, after
all, to see a son is but the gratification of a natural
affection–there is a great deal more reason why we should, by faith,
see our Savior, for he who truly sees the Son of God shall live
forever! O dear Hearts–
"There is life for a look at the Crucified One!" A faith-look to God in
human flesh, a believing sight of Him who bore our sins in His own body
on the tree will bring you life forevermore! I think that every sinner
who knows that there is a living Christ ought to say, "I will go and
see Him, whatever else I do not go to see." There are some sights in
the world of which we say, "I should like to go and see that." Well,
you may forego all the things of beauty that ever charmed the eyes of
men, but, I charge you, do not forego this sight of the Lord Jesus
Christ! He is the Heaven of angels! He is the delight of God, Himself!
There is no true life for you other than that which will come through
your looking to Him who says, "Look to Me, and be you saved, all you
ends of the earth." Since you believe that there is a Savior, I pray
that you may be moved at once to say, "I will go and see Him." May you
be preserved from putting it off even till the daylight breaks again!
This very hour, through your tears, look straight away to the Cross and
may the Lord Jesus Christ reveal Himself to you, that in His light you
may see the Light of God!
Further, this old man, who said, "I will go and see my son," yet felt
that it was but for a little while. He says, "I will go and see him
before I die." He had 17 more years to live, but he did not know that.
He felt so old a man at 130 that he thought he should only just manage
to see his son and, perhaps, die on his neck. He said, "But I will go
and see him, even though it is only with my dying eyes. I will die with
the sight of Joseph before me and that will be enough to make me
happy." And, dear Souls, if you did but get to Jesus, you might be
happy if you could only say, "Lord, now let Your servant depart in
peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation." But it need not be death
to you any more than it was to Jacob! Indeed, when you have seen Him,
you shall live and never die! But your eyes shall be opened to see yet
more and more of Him and the light of Christ shall so shine into your
soul that you shall behold Him after a still more glorious fashion till
He shall be the joy of your heart and the Heaven of your soul forever!
Therefore, since there is such a living Savior, go to Him, I pray you,
and you shall not merely see Him for a little while and then die, but
you shall see Him and live forever! Therefore hasten by faith to see
Him this very moment!
Old Jacob also felt that age should not hinder, but rather speed him.
He believed that he was soon going to die, but he said, "I will go and
see him before I die." I think that Jacob's age really made him go more
quickly. "Ah," he said to himself, "I shall soon be dead, therefore let
me hasten down to Joseph, that I may see him before I die." So, dear
Friends, do not let anyone say, "I am too old to be saved." Who is too
old to trust Christ? Who is too old to seek and find the Savior? I have
often heard stories told about people not being converted until after
they are 55 or thereabouts–but that is all untrue and I do not believe
a word of it! I have seen just as many people in proportion converted
at one age as at another. There are more young people in the world than
there are aged persons and, therefore, there are more people converted,
by God's Grace, while they are young. There are fewer old people than
young ones, but I thank God that even in this building, I could point
out a great many who I know who were baptized after their hair had
grown gray! Some of them put their trust in Jesus when they were 70
years old and others even later than that!
There was a dear old Brother who came in here when he was past 80 years
of age–and he found the Savior! He was such a Little-Faith, or
Feeble-Mind, that he hardly dared to speak to any of us as he came in
and out among us. But at last he said to himself, "I must join the
Church." I fancy that he was 88 when he was baptized and he was so
happy with us for about six months, but then he gently slipped away and
went Home. I am sure I never saw a more childlike person, or a more
genuine conversion than that of this dear old man! However old you are,
Friend, come along! If Methuselah were here, I would preach to him the
same Gospel that I would teach to one of these dear girls, for, however
old a sinner is, there is nothing in the Gospel about limiting it to
persons of a certain age. "Go you into all the world and preach the
Gospel to every creature" does not mean, go and begin picking out the
creatures, and saying, "I only preach the Gospel to people who are
under a specified age." Go home, and go to bed, Sir, if that is how you
talk! Christ never sent you on such an errand as that! He sent us to
preach the Gospel to every creature and to you who are almost worn out,
if there is but life in you, I cry, "Come along, trust in Jesus, and He
will save even you!"–
"While the lamp holds out to burn, The vilest sinner may return"
and, returning, he shall find Christ! Be quick about it, however, you
who are getting on in life, you who are far advanced in years, and may
God bless you!
Yesterday I had many kind letters congratulating me on completing my
52nd year, but there was one that did a little surprise and amuse me.
One Brother writes that he has read my sermons for many years and that,
at my advanced age, he cannot pray that I may have many returns of the
day–but he does trust that God may spare me at least two or three
years longer for the good of the Church! Well, as I read the letter, I
could not help smiling, as you do, for I do not feel that I am quite as
advanced in age as that. But still, I thought that, perhaps, this
Brother's letter might be prophetic. We may be older than we think we
are–and two or three years may be all the time we are to have here.
[Brother Spurgeon went Home less than six years later.–EO] At any
rate, I will try to work for Christ as earnestly as if I had only two
or three years to live, and then it may be that He will add to us yet
more, but, if not, what does it matter? We shall go Home to Him who
sent us and be gathered to our Father in peace.
Once more, old Jacob was not kept back from going to see his son
because it was a long journey into Egypt. Journeys appear longer to old
men than they do to young folk and it was a very great undertaking to
go so far with those 70 and more people around him. There would be a
deal of packing up to be done and there were no moving vans in those
days to carry everything for the whole company. It was the
transplanting of a grand old tree and it was a difficult task, to move
so venerable an oak, with such wide-spreading roots and branches! Yet
Jacob said, "I will go and see Joseph before I die." Now, dear Friend,
if it does seem a long way to Jesus, yet undertake the journey! And if
you can persuade your wife and all your children to go, so much the
better. Christ will receive them all in Goshen and they shall dwell
with Him forever! I wish that there might be a blessed migration of
many who have been rooted to the soil of the old Canaan, the sinful
place, who will now go, not down to Egypt, but up to Jesus in the land
of plenty and of purity, to dwell with Him forever! That which ruins so
many is that hesitancy, that delaying, that halting between two
opinions which I find, in the original, is hopping upon two twigs and
never resting upon either! Let not that be the case with you.
Procrastination is the devil's net in which myriads are entangled to
their utter destruction–may the Lord deliver any of you who have been
caught in it!
Decide for Christ now, I beseech you! May the Holy Spirit constrain you
to decide at once, for Christ's sake! Amen.
HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"–241, 508, 607.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: GENESIS45:9-28; JOHN5:24-44.
Genesis 45:9. Hurry up and go up to my father, and say to him, Thus
says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to
me, tarry not. Joseph, having made himself known to his brothers, bids
them return to their father and bring him down to Egypt to see his
long-lost son.
10-11. And you shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near
to me, you, and your children, and your children's children, and your
flocks and your herds, and all that you have: and there will I nourish
you; for yet there are five years of famine; lest you, and your
household, and all that you have, come to poverty. It is just like
Joseph to speak thus, kindly, and to put the invitation so attractively
to his father–"You shall be near to me." That would be the greatest
joy of all to old Jacob and this is the greatest joy to a sinner when
he comes to Christ, our great Joseph–"You shall be near to Me." It is
not merely that He gives us the land of Goshen to dwell in, but He
promises that we shall be near Him and that is best of all!
12-22. And, behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see
that it is my mouth that speaks to you. And you shall tell my father of
all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall
hurry up and bring down my father here. And he fell upon his brother
Benjamin's neck, and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover he
kissed all his brothers and wept upon them: and after that his brothers
talked with him. And the report thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house,
saying, Joseph's brothers are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and
his servants. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Say to your brothers, This do
you, load your beasts, and depart, get you to the land of Canaan, and
take your father and your households, and come to me: and I will give
you the good of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the
land. Now you are commanded to do this, take your wagons out of the
land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your
father and come. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the
land of Egypt is yours. And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph
gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave
them provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of
raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and
five changes of raiment. Benjamin was his full brother, so he loved him
best, and gave him most.
23, 24. And to his father he sent after this manner; ten donkeys laden
with the good things of Egypt, and ten she donkeys laden with corn and
bread and meat for his father by the way. So he sent his brothers away,
and they departed: and he said to them, See that you do not become
troubled by the way. This was a sure sign that Joseph knew his brothers
and they might well recognize him even by that precept, for their
consciences must have told them that it had been their common habit to
become troubled either with or without reason, so he bids them not to
do so.
20-28. And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan
to Jacob their father, and told him, saying, Joseph is still alive, and
he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted,
for he believed them not. And they told him all the words of Joseph,
which he had said to them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had
sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: and Israel
said. See how quickly the Patriarch changes from Jacob into Israel?
When his spirit if revived, he becomes Israel!
28. It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive: I will go and see him
before I die.
Now we are going to read in the Gospel according to John, the fifth
chapter, beginning at the 24th verse.
John 5:24. Verily, verily, I say to you, He that hears My word, and
believes in Him that sent me, has everlasting life– If we truly
believe the Word of Christ and trust in Him who sent His Son into the
world, we have at this moment everlasting life!
24. And shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death to
life. What a grand verse this is! It is worthy to be written in letters
of gold at every street corner! Would that we all knew the fullness of
its meaning by heartfelt experience!
25-30. Verily, verily, I say to you, The hour is coming, and now is,
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that
hear shall live. For as the Father has life in Himself; so has He given
to the Son to have life in Himself; and has given Him authority to
execute judgement, also, because He is the Son of Man. Marvel not at
this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves
shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good,
to the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, to the
resurrection of damnation. I can of Myself do nothing: as I hear, I
judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not My own will, but the
will of the Father which has sent Me. Christ as Mediator did the will
of the Father and yet, also did His own will, for His will was always
the same as His Father's!
31. If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. He did bear
witness to Himself by His miracles, but that was not the witness upon
which He relied, nor was it the only witness to the truth of His
mission.
32-40. There is another that bears witness of Me, and I know that the
witness which He witnesses of Me is true. You sent to John, and he bore
witness to the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these
things I say, that you might be saved. He was a burning and a shining
light: and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I
have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father
has given Me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of Me,
that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, which has sent Me,
has borne witness of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time,
nor seen His shape. And you have not His Word abiding in you: for whom
He has sent, Him you believe not. Search the Scriptures; for in them
you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me.
And you will not come to Me, that you might have life. They were great
Bible-readers, great students of the letter, but they would not come to
Christ and, therefore, the Scriptures, themselves, became a sepulcher
in which they were entombed.
41-44. I receive not honor from men. But I know you, that you have not
the love of God in you. I am come in My Father's name, and you receive
Me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.
How can you believe, which receive honor, one of another, and seek not
the honor that comes from God only? Some men find it difficult to
believe in Christ because they are always seeking honor for themselves.
Desire for the praise of men often blinds the mind and prejudices the
spirit. How boldly our great Master speaks! There is no flattery on His
lips. He is the faithful and true Witness, the very Word of God! Oh,
that all men would give heed to His message!