God Meant It - Beacon Sunday Service: July 13, 2025

Please rise again with me for the reading of God's Word. I'm going to be reading from Genesis chapter 50, verses 19 to 21. And I actually would encourage you to hold your Bibles to Genesis 50, because we're going to be going through it today, but it's also going to be up on the screen. Verse 19, it reads, But Joseph said to them, do not be afraid. For am I in God's place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to do what has happened on this day to keep many people alive. So now, do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones. And he comforted them, and he spoke to their heart. Let's pray together.

And we thank you, God, for opening up our eyes to your sovereignty. And we see a lot of pain. We see a lot of evil in this world. And I pray that you would help us not to be jaded by it. We pray that our hearts will be protected from getting cold and calloused. Help us to love people. Help us to minister well with the love of Christ to people. And for those of us who wrest with hurt and scars from people. Teach us this morning, Lord, how to move forward in reconciliation between both God and man. So we pray that your word would bear its fruit mightily. Grant us ears to hear and minds and hearts that are fully engaged to the proclamation of your word. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Go ahead and take a seat.

Well, I heard a pastor once joke that the best job in the world is pastoral ministry. And it would be the best job in the world if it wasn't for people. I've heard a nurse say the same thing. Nursing would be a great job to have if it weren't for people. So church would be great if it wasn't for people, right? To mess it up. And the same can be jokingly said of all jobs, because all jobs involve people. Unfortunately, people are a plenty, and people are also on purpose. And the people are the reason why ministry even exists. So in God's sovereignty, he's placed many people in your life, and he's placed you in the lives of many people. And he's placed all these people there on purpose. Every single person.

And he's placed you in theirs also on purpose. He hasn't made one single mistake in the placement of people in his good pleasing and perfect will.

Matthew 5 44. And we will likely affirm that those who forgive their enemies are actually doing good. You guys would agree that's a good thing. And we're touched by stories of forgiveness. And we know too that we also should forgive. But if we were to understand that God has placed those who have hurt us in our lives on purpose for a purpose, that's where we can get a little theologically discombobulated. And our understanding of God's goodness gets a bit confused. God is sovereign, his will is perfect, he makes no mistakes. So today we're going to be thinking through God's sovereignty in the life of Joseph and the people placed in his life. So Joseph should be a familiar character to you if you've grown up in the church, and most of you have.

So when most people think about the book of Genesis, they think like creation of Adam and Eve, flood, Babel, Abraham, and those aren't insignificant things, but the book of Genesis is more about God's selection of the Hebrew race than it is about creation. And Joseph's story takes up more than 25%, 13 chapters of the book of Genesis. So the original recipients of the book of Genesis were the second generation Israelites wandering in the wilderness. So Joseph for them is very much the person of interest. So to this generation of Israelites, he actually is more significant to them than even Abraham. So remember, the more the ink, the more the significance. So I'm gonna look at the last portion of the last chapter of the book of Genesis together.

So Genesis 50, verses 15 to 18. I'm gonna read, so uh pay close attention. Then Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, and they said, What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and returns back to us all the evil we dealt against him? So they sent a message to Joseph saying, Hey, your father has commanded before he died, saying, Thus you shall say to Joseph, please forgive, I beg you the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they dealt evil against you. So now, brother, please forgive the transgression of the slaves of the God of your father. And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. And then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, Behold, we are your slaves.

Not here is if you read this story before. Pretty much, right? All of us. Jacob, the great patriarch, has just died. And now the brothers are worried. They come to Joseph to ask for forgiveness. Now, whether their father had really told them to do this, we will never know. But we do see that Joseph's brothers approached Joseph to plead for forgiveness again. And then the three verses that I read for us in the beginning, but Joseph said to them, Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? Asked for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to do what has happened on this day to keep many people alive. So now, do not be afraid. I will provide for you and for your little ones.

And he comforted them and spoke to their heart.

So Joseph is 56 years old when Jacob, his father passes away. How old? 56. So for most of Genesis chapter 50, Joseph is 56 years old. Joseph lives another 54 years after the text that we just read together. So he's at the middle, we're at the middle of his life. Okay. But after this, the text moves super quickly and fast forwards to chapter to 54 years later to Joseph's giving instructions concerning his bones. So the book of Genesis pretty much ends with Joseph still having half of his life to live. Does that make sense? So why is the story of Joseph's forgiveness of his brothers just about the last major thing mentioned in the book of Genesis? Why does the book of Genesis say so little for the rest of the half of his life?

And why are the instructions about Joseph's bones so significant? Kind of a quirky, interesting thing. Well, because this recollection of the grace of Joseph is of supreme importance for their original audience, that's why this is the highlight. Joseph's bones are of supreme importance to that original audience wandering in the wilderness.

The book of Genesis is more descriptive than prescriptive. Okay, descriptive means it's just telling you what happened. Prescriptive means go and do. Okay? So it's descriptive. It's primarily written to remind the people in the wilderness of something. So this book in this section is more informational than it is instructional. You guys follow? Okay? So they're about to enter the promised land. So God wants them to learn from Joseph's forgiveness of their nation's patriarchs. So what is this that God wants him to learn and remember? Well, first, Joseph's forgiveness demonstrated his absolute trust in God's goodness and sovereignty. Okay, his forgiveness demonstrated his absolute trust in God's goodness and sovereignty.

Verse 20, as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to do what has happened on this day to keep many people alive. So now do not be afraid. And then it goes on. Okay. So the generation of wandering Israelites needed to remember that they were blessed by God simply because God chose to be good to them. Their favor as the chosen people of God was not merited. There was nothing in their patriarchs that merited the kindness of God.

They were evil men. Joseph had no choice in what family he was born into, right? His brothers actually were evil men. They meant evil. They schemed evil. They were intent on evil. So what was this evil that the brothers meant? For some of you, this will be review. But uh just for the sake of just kind of refreshing our minds, Joseph had ten older brothers who were jealous of him because he was dad's favorite. And these ten brothers are a bunch of irresponsible, spoiled brats. So the ten brothers travel very far away to an area called Dothan. Joseph's at home by himself, taking care of everything, and then the father sends Joseph to find his brothers in Dothan, and they're partying it up. Joseph crashes this party, and then they put him in a pit in order to kill him.

And you guys know this story, right? So they have second thoughts, and they decide rather than to kill him to make some money off of him. So they want to sell him off for profit. And after they sell Joseph, I'm not gonna read this for you, the brothers rip up Joseph's coat of many colors, they lather it in animal blood, then they return home with it, and they tell their father that his favorite son is dead. They break dad's heart, they get up, and they weep with him, and they proceed to comfort him. They put on a show. Do you see that? How hardened must a person be to deliver devastating news to your father, and then pretend to mourn. So these are evil men. So the children's Bibles don't do it justice.

They're all smiling and with their beards and their hats. No, they're evil men. So them selling off their brother as a slave is an evil deed. And this is the evil that Joseph acknowledges his brothers have done. But in a sense, God or Joseph is saying, God did this. Did you guys see that in Genesis 50? He purposed this. He deliberated this. Joseph did not say God caused you to devise evil against me, but what he is saying here is God ultimately purposed this. God willed for Joseph to have evil brothers. God willed Joseph's being sold off into slavery. God willed the brothers lying to their father. God willed Joseph being approached by Potiphar's wife. God willed Joseph being wrongfully put in prison for thirteen years.

How many? Thirteen years. God deliberately then caused the chief cupbearer to forget Joseph's interpretation, which saved his life. How do you forget that? But he forgets. Then God willed Pharaoh's dream. God willed Joseph's rise to power. God willed all of this, yet he did not cause sin. He remained perfectly good.

Now if you're a normal person, assume you are a normal person. And if you're paying attention, there should be some tension rising in your heart. Because it feels like God is playing games with Joseph's life. Right? So whenever the topic of God's perfect will and sovereignty versus man's free will is brought up, our finite mind starts spinning in circles. It is humanly impossible to fully grasp an all-powerful God who hates sin, allowing for sin. If you let your theologically finite minds run a little bit, you're gonna hit tension. Why? This is what God's sovereignty means for you and me. Every single horrible thing that has happened in your life that will happen in your life, God has allowed.

God has purposed, God has meant, and in effect, God has ordained. Yet God is love, God's will is perfect, and God is perfectly good, and he is not the one responsible for the evil that has befallen us. So here in Genesis 50, and much of the rest of the first five books of Moses, Moses the author never tries to explain away this tension. In fact, this paradoxical tension is all over the Pentateuch, the first five books of Moses. Did God create Adam good? Yes. Did God give Adam free will? Yes. Did God foreknow that Adam would sin? Yes. Did God set him up or cause him to sin? No. Did God harden Pharaoh's heart? Yes.

Did Pharaoh harden his own heart? Yes. So who hardened Pharaoh's heart? So even the root cause of why the Hebrews are wandering in the wilderness for 40 years contains this tension. Okay. So if you only read the book of Numbers, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, that's a fourth book. You will conclude that this group was wandering in the wilderness because of their sins, because of their disobedience, because of their rebellion. And that would not be an incorrect conclusion. But let's say I only gave you the book of Deuteronomy to read. You didn't read numbers, you didn't read Exodus. You would conclude that the Hebrews were wandering in the wilderness because God deliberately sent them there to test them and to protect them from the enemies.

That would not be incorrect. Numbers, they are in the wilderness because they sinned. Deuteronomy, they're in the wilderness because God purposed it. He ordained it for their good. Ha! This tension is present all over the first five books of Moses. And though we may want to, and though the unbelieving world demands that we do, we do not need to explain this tension away. Okay? What we see in Joseph's response in Genesis chapter 50 is that he fully trusts in the goodness of God. And his trust enables him to forgive and not just forgive, but to repay with kindness and generosity. Does Joseph sweep their sins away under the rug? No, he does not. He acknowledges that what his brothers did was evil.

He acknowledges that what his brothers did was absolutely unthinkable, horrible, and unforgivable even. Because he was 17 years old when he was sold as a slave. And then he's basically either a prisoner or a slave for the next 30 or 13 years until he's 30. So he's robbed of 13 years of the prime of his youth. But more than the physical hardship of imprisonment, I'm sure the emotional toll of not seeing his dad or seeing his brother, full brother, that's probably what was worrying this man. If I were to be taken away somewhere, my mind would immediately go to my wife, my kids, and my dad. I wouldn't want them to worry. So just imagining Becky and the twins and my dad not knowing what became of me is enough to make me shudder and tear.

But if I were to imagine one of you telling Becky and the twins or my dad that I was killed or murdered, that would create a lot of resentment. Because you're harming those whom I love beyond emotional understanding. Right? So Joseph had all the time in the world to imagine, to think and to wonder and to grieve, 13 years. But the thing that we don't get in the book of Genesis is any record of the conversations I'm sure he had with God while he was in prison. I cannot but imagine that there were times where I'm sure he was upset, bitter, confused. But unfortunately, we don't have any prayers or conversations at our disposal. But what we do have is Joseph's trust in God's goodness and the sovereignty in the face of this evil.

And this trust that he has frees him to forgive. Joseph's trust empowers his forgiveness. So the trust in the goodness and the sovereignty of God empowers forgiveness. And the original audience wandering in the wilderness was to be reminded of this. Secondly, Joseph's forgiveness put on display God's faithfulness to his covenant promises. Okay, so Joseph's forgiveness put on display God's faithfulness to his covenant promises. So in Genesis chapter 12, that you see right there, verses 2 to 3, I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great. So you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you, I will curse, and in you, Abraham, all the families of the earth will be blessed.

So we see throughout the book of Genesis the beginning of God making good on his promises. This promise in Genesis 12, 2 to 3 will ultimately be fulfilled in the future through Christ. That's what it's clear in Galatians. But we see a little snapshot of this through Joseph's rise to power in Egypt. So Joseph is handpicked by God to practically save the world from hunger. You guys know this, right? Joseph rises to power, and Joseph uses his wisdom and skills to prepare for seven years of famine that would come into the Mediterranean world. All the nations were coming to Egypt to buy food. Many lives were preserved. So the nations were indeed saved from death. So Joseph proved to be exceptionally wise, and the entire Mediterranean world benefited from his foresight.

But think with me for a moment here, okay? Would Joseph have been in the wrong if he paid his brothers back in full? Would he have been wrong to bear a grudge as that they had feared? No. Joseph had every right to be vindictive, and nobody would have blamed him, especially since everyone in Egypt saw him as only second in command of Pharaoh. He could have killed them, right? Justice would have been served. But here in Genesis 50, we see that Joseph, even though he could have single-handedly rebelled against God's plan by exacting justice, he doesn't. He could have simply kicked every single member of his extended family out of the empire and focused solely on making sure his two sons thrived and prospered.

But he didn't do that. And literally, God only knows why. Joseph's forgiveness proved faithful, the declaration of God to Abraham in Genesis 15, 13 to 14. Then God said to Abraham, Abram, no for certain. So if God says, no for certain, is it going to happen? Yes. That your seed will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs. They will be enslaved and mistreated 400 years. God did this. Why were the in the beginning of the book of Exodus? Why were they the Israelites' slaves? Because God allowed it to happen. But I will also judge the nation to whom they are enslaved, and afterward they will come out rich with many possessions. Joseph's forgiveness of his brother has displayed God's faithfulness to his covenant promises.

And later the Israelites walk out of Egypt, having plundered Egypt with all the wealth. So this too, the Israelites wandering in the in the wilderness, was to regularly remember.

But they're supposed to remember that Joseph was responsible for preserving God's promise. And third, Joseph's forgiveness gave testimony to the benevolent character of the Messiah to come. In Genesis chapter 50, Joseph closely resembles the person of Jesus Christ.

If you think I'm like speaking and pulling things out of all over the place, I'm not. Okay, so I notice five parallels between Joseph and Jesus, the Messiah. First, like the Messiah, Joseph was sovereign. All authority have been given to Joseph. You guys know this? In Egypt, he only answered to whom? The Pharaoh. So he was the sovereign in the land. Genesis 41, 41 to 43. Pharaoh said to Joseph, see, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand, put it on Joseph's hand, clothed him in the garments of fine linen, and put the gold necklace around his neck. He even gave him his daughter, the daughters of the priest. Okay. And he had Joseph ride in his second chariot, and everywhere went, they called out before him, bow the knee.

And he set him up over all the land of Egypt. So every Egyptian knee bowed to Joseph. So any attack, any slight, any offense given to Joseph was akin to an attack on Pharaoh himself. If Joseph's chariot was riding by, and then Egyptian did not bow the knee, the soldier would come and could execute him. You guys follow? This is a powerful man. And no doubt, for the 17 years Joseph's brothers saw Joseph being revered. They saw this time and time again. And if you also notice, only a sovereign or representative of the sovereign can tell you, don't be afraid. And he says that twice to the people or to his brothers in Genesis chapter 50. Second, like the Messiah to come, he learned humility. He learned to submit to the Father through hardship and suffering, to trust the Father's plan.

And we read in Hebrews 5.8. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered. Third, Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, by his kinsmen, by his own. And still, like the Messiah who would come 1,800 years later, he did not cast them out.

For both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all but one, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, I will recount your name to my brothers. In the midst of the assembly, I will sing your praise. Fourth, he suffered as a criminal, though he was innocent. Isaiah chapter 53.

But he paid the wrong with kindness, provision, and protection. So Joseph choosing not to exact vengeance, retribution would have been an incredible act of mercy in and of itself. His provision and his kindness and his encouragement for the next 54 years of his life was an act of pure and mind-baffling grace. Amazing, unmerited favor, astounding grace. So Joseph had amazing grace. You guys tracking with me? Okay.

When his brothers come and bow down before him, Joseph says to them, Am I in God's place? In the Egyptian context, actually, he was a God. But he did not receive their worship because he understood that Yahweh alone was God. So 13 chapters in the 50 in the book of Genesis. Why is there so much detail in Genesis about Joseph's life? More than a quarter of the book. Because a person of Joseph represented the perfect sovereignty of God and the preservation of God's people through grace. So the people of Israel would not be who they were and where they had been had it not been for the kindness of Joseph. If there was a person who could mess up God's plan all by himself, if that were possible, it would have been Joseph.

But Joseph submitted himself to the sovereign purposes of God. Who does that sound like? The Messiah to come, right? And God was pleased to let Joseph suffer as an innocent man to preserve many people alive. Hallelujah. If you're Joseph, the instinct might be, that's not fair. Jesus submitted himself to the sovereign purposes of God. And God was pleased to let Jesus suffer as an innocent man, Isaiah 53, 10, to preserve many people alive. Hallelujah. So Joseph's forgiveness, going back to what Joseph's forgiveness represented, demonstrated his absolute trust in God's goodness and sovereignty. Two, Joseph's forgiveness put God's faithfulness, his covenant promises on display. Three, Joseph's forgiveness gave testimony to the benevolent character of the Messiah to come.

So what is it that you and me today are to learn from the life of Joseph, especially from this episode in Genesis chapter 50? First, that God is sovereign, that he is good. He's working out every single detail of your life, either for good or for your good. Romans 8 28. God is sovereign, he is good. You can trust him. No matter how bleak the circumstance, no matter how long the hardship, no matter how injurious the person. Does that make sense? He doesn't make a mistake. Secondly, another thing we learned, God's plan has always been to bless his people in order to bless through his people. And more often than not, we see the means by which he blesses the sacrifice and suffering.

And that part is hard to reconcile emotionally. Because if you think the ultimate vehicle of God's blessing was the cross of Christ. And we are invited, if we're to come and follow after him, to take up our cross daily, and to follow. Because he will bless in and through our suffering. Third, the lesson that we can glean is forgiveness naturally lends itself to the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Always a Christian's forgiveness always lends itself to the sharing of the gospel of Christ. Now, for the original recipients of the book of Genesis, this account of Joseph's story, like I said, was more descriptive than prescriptive. There is no, therefore go and do likewise. So I'm not going to go beyond the text to exhort you to forgive those who've wronged you.

That's not the application. Forgiving the evil people in our lives is not the direct application of Genesis 50. Okay? So to be sure, is forgiveness important? Yes, in other parts of the scripture, it's commanded. Just read the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew chapter 18 to say, see what Jesus has to say about those who are unwilling to forgive. In fact, there are many places in the Bible that lead me to conclude that no genuine Christian can hold a lifelong grudge. You guys paying attention? Genuine Christians cannot but forgive. A forgiving heart is evidence of salvation. Let me repeat that. A forgiving heart is evidence of salvation because who's in you? The great forgiver. A person who professes a relationship with Christ, but lives in unforgiveness is espousing a theological impossibility.

Make sense? You can't follow Christ and not forgive. But that's not the point of this chapter. Genesis 50. Forgiving those who have sinned against us is not our main application for the text. I almost want to guarantee this, okay? That the twelve tribes wandering in the wilderness, when they hear the account of Joseph, they do not think, therefore we too should forgive our transgressors. When we read the scriptures, it's always important to first think how would the original audience have applied this text that we just read? So here's a question. When you read Genesis chapter 50, do you relate more to Joseph or to his brothers? Forgiveness is not the main point of this passage. If we were going to make application of this passage, we are Joseph's brothers.

We are not Joseph. When we think of the scene at Jesus' crucifixion, we are the thief on the cross. We are the Roman soldiers hurling insults. We would never dare think of ourselves as Jesus, right? So we are Joseph's brothers. If you're going to make an application, we are not Joseph. So the older I get, and the more I mature in my faith, I am coming to realize more and more that Joseph's brothers and I have a lot of similarities. There are many things that I've regretted over the years. There are many people that I've hurt. There are many impetuous, selfish, rash, evil things that I've done out of jealousy or self-interest. I am infinitely more like Joseph's brothers than I'm like Joseph.

And in fear, I too cannot but bow to the sovereign and say, Behold, I am your servant. I have no hope. I am utterly helpless. But I'm in good company. Most of the heroes of the faith that I find in the Bible more closely resemble Joseph's brothers too than Joseph. And I'm comforted by this. Most of the heroes that I read about in the scriptures are deeply flawed, like you and me. Amen? Hallelujah. You realize most people that we would consider heroes of the faith have betrayed like you and me. They have tripped all over themselves just like I have, like Joseph's brothers have. But more than anything, what I know this in Joseph's brothers is that they have a hard time fully embracing forgiveness.

They doubt the benevolence of Joseph and are fearful of judgment and wrath. Because Jacob died. So now they're like, uh-oh, we're done. Because they did an evil. Genesis chapter 50 is not the first exchange like this between Joseph and his brothers. A very similar exchange took place 17 years before in Genesis 45. And I'm just going to read through a few verses for you. Verse 5. Do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here. For God sent me before you to preserve life. Verse 7. God sent me before you to establish for you a remnant in the earth to keep you alive for a great remnant of survivors. Verse 8. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God. That's a third time he's saying God did this.

And he has sent me as a father to Pharaoh and Lord of all his household, ruler over all the land of Egypt. Verse 20. Do not concern yourselves with your goods, for the best of the land of Egypt is yours. Does this sound familiar? Genesis 50, they've already gone through that again. They've already gone through that. But perhaps for the brothers, this forgiveness felt too good to be true. They couldn't move past their shame, they can't move past their regret. I relate to this. I find myself often asking God for forgiveness of something I've already repented of because of the residual embarrassment and the shame. What I see here is that even though Joseph has been nothing but kind to them for 17 years, they're worried that the kindness is going to stop now that dad is dead.

So the brothers of Joseph are normal dudes. And as normal human beings, they're deeply flawed. May you and I be deeply encouraged that God uses flawed people to carry out his plans. So what is the word of God teaching us today? If forgiveness is not the application, we read up to Genesis chapter 50, verse 21, but the chapter actually goes on for five more verses. And we learn that Joseph spends the next 54 years of his life extending grace and showing kindness to his undeserving brothers. Genesis 50, 22 to 26. Now Joseph stayed in Egypt. He and his father's household, and Joseph lived 110 years. Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim's sons, also the sons of Makir, the son of Manasseh. They were born on Joseph's knees.

And Joseph said to his brothers, I'm about to die. Okay, so three verses, 54 years pass. But God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which he swore to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob. And then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, God will certainly take care of you. You shall carry my bones up from here. So Joseph died at the age of 110 years. They embalmed him, and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt. That's how Genesis ends. So why does Genesis end like this? What is the nation of Israel wandering in the wilderness supposed to learn from this? Before I answer that, I'm going to take you to Hebrews 11. And Hebrews 11 is that hall of faith with a list of all the Old Testament saints who were justified by faith before God, and then they were useful to him.

How many chapters in the book of Genesis were devoted to Joseph? 13. And Hebrews is a snapshot of all these heroes of faith. But the only thing, in Hebrews 11, 22, it reads, By faith, Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the Exodus of the sons of Israel, gave commands concerning his bones. That's it. There's nothing about him being sold into slavery. Nothing about Potiphar's wife. Nothing about his rise to power. The only thing written about Joseph is of his giving instructions concerning his bones.

Well, his instructions were well heeded 400 years later, Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. For he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, God will certainly take care of you, you shall bring up my bones from here with you. So these bones were of such importance that Moses, even in haste to lead the people in Egypt from Exodus, made sure he got Joseph's bones out of the coffin to take him with them. There was an army pursuing them. But Moses made sure to get Joseph's bones. And they carried his bones around throughout the wilderness. Wherever Israel went, Joseph's bones went. Everyone was aware of where his bones were. Every young child, what is that? They were likely made aware of the person of Joseph.

Joseph's bones were symbolic, and they're very important to the people wandering in the wilderness. Joshua 24, 32, 50 years after the Exodus, they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt. So we see from the time of Exodus to the conquest to the settling down into the promised land, Joseph's bones were always there. In fact, the book of Joshua ends with the detailing of Joseph's bones. And his bones are finally laid to rest. Isn't that interesting? Two books of the Bible close with Joseph's bones. So that's here's the question. Why are Joseph's bones so important? Joseph was a temporary and visual reminder of God's promises, God's provision, and God's grace for the people.

The Israelites had always been chosen by grace alone. They were favored and spared by grace alone. They were forgiven through the amazing grace of Yahweh. In response, they were to live by grace. They were to love God by grace. They were to love their neighbors by grace. They were to love foreigners by grace. They were to obey by grace. And yes, they were to forgive those who have wronged them all the way until they reach the promised land. So the call for God's people is no different today. Now, if I were to say, what's the symbol of sovereignty and the goodness of God, the symbol of God's faithfulness to his promises, a symbol of God's holiness and his grace? What's a symbol that we carry around?

It's the cross of Christ. So what is the appropriate application? It's to live as recipients of the grace and the kindness of God. And to live amongst people graciously. Every person in your life by the sovereignty of God has been placed there on purpose. Amen. Even the ones who deliberately and heartlessly mean for your evil. Let that sink in a little bit. Brothers and sisters who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, we've been forgiven. Let us worship in spirit and in truth, the one who has forgiven us. Because when we think of who Jesus is, how can we not forgive those who have wronged us? So I'm going to close with this. Unforgiveness grieves the heart of God.

Unforgiveness is evidence of one's being unforgiven. Colossians 3 12 to 13. So as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another, graciously forgiving each other. Whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you.

God is sovereign. God is love. We love because he first loved us. And why do we forgive? Because we've first been forgiven. So this morning, let the truths of the gospel of Christ cause a great understanding of who God is. May we marvel at his goodness. And as we understand who God is, and as we marvel at his forgiveness of us, may that empower us to forgive everybody that's in our lives. That means maybe even for our evil. Amen.

Let's pray. Father, we ask that you would strengthen us. And we know that the true source of strength does not come from our resolve, but it comes from knowing who you are and understanding who we aren't. Help us to worship in spirit and in truth. And in turn, lead others to worship in spirit and in truth as well. I pray all this in Jesus' name.