Thru the Bible

Steve Schwetz: Welcome to Thru the Bible. I'm Steve Schwetz, your host aboard the Bible Bus, Dr. J. Vernon McGee's long-running and beloved five-year journey through the whole Word of God. Now in our last study, Joseph's life launched from prison to power in Egypt, and in just a moment, we're going to pick up that story.

But let's check in with some of the listeners who join us through our app. Before we do that, let's talk briefly about really the strategy that we have in even having an app.

Greg: Well, it's pretty simple. We want the Word of God to be as accessible as possible, and almost everybody has a phone. I mean, I'm ashamed if I leave my phone at home. I panic. It's with us all the time.

What we've seen when you think about the ministry of Thru the Bible, if we were starting today, we would probably start on an app and go on radio second. You know why? Because with an app, you can listen anytime.

Sometimes when I'm listening in the car to Dr. McGee and I want to rewind and hear what he... I want to hear him say that again so I get it. An app is really a perfect way for people to listen whenever and as many times as they want. One of the things we're excited about is people are using the feedback section of the app. It's very easy to use, and we want to encourage you to keep communicating with us through that feedback section on the app. All of the responses we're going to share right now came through that mechanism.

Steve Schwetz: Yeah, and here's a great story. This is from a listener named Jason. He writes this: "I grew up going to church regularly and accepted Jesus at a young age. However, as time went by, I felt myself living in sin more and more. I knew it was wrong, but I was living more in the world than in Christ.

Years passed with many ups and downs, and life finally hit rock bottom for me in April 2022 when I was arrested and sent to prison for a year because of my sinful, lustful ways. I accepted Christ again the day I was arrested, and although I did not believe you can lose your salvation, I truly felt that I did not deserve God's grace.

Since that time, I have felt His blessings greatly. Lately, though, I feel like I may be backsliding. I pray daily that Jesus will keep me on the straight and narrow path, and I ask that you and your prayer team would also ask the Lord to watch over me and keep me from my sinful ways.

Dr. McGee's daily messages do my heart a great deal of good, and I am still following along on the Bible Bus through the five-year journey of the whole Word of God. I try my best to make my first and last thoughts of each day prayers to God, asking Him to show me mercy through His grace. Thank you for listening to my testimony. I'm always battling this sinful human heart of mine, and probably always will. Yet it's deeply comforting to know that God's grace alone is what will save me."

Greg: Wow, that's an amazing personal testimony story. One of the things I love about our listening family is the honesty. We're all sinners. We all battle the flesh. We're not sort of having these testimonies of just cruising to heaven with no struggles, and I appreciate that.

Here's what Niles had to say, again, through the app, through the feedback section of our app. He said, "I've been listening to Thru the Bible since 1993. I struggled with my salvation for a long time, but Dr. McGee's teaching and others helped me come to know Christ on October 18, 1995.

I knew something had happened that night when I prayed. God gave me a peace I had never known and a desire to read as much Scripture as I could. I began preaching in nursing homes and prisons. Soon after, I was ordained and started a church that I pastored for 15 years. I just wanted to say thank you. I am still listening and will continue to do so until Christ returns or calls me home."

Steve Schwetz: Thanks, Niles, for that encouragement and for your faithfulness in spreading God's Word yourself. This next one is from someone by the name of JR. He tells us this: "A few years ago, I was getting a ride to the airport in South Carolina and my driver began to share the Gospel with me. I listened and then shared that I am a believer in the true Christ as well.

He told me about Thru the Bible, and we struck up a wonderful conversation about the Southern preacher and teacher J. Vernon McGee. He even pulled out his very worn Bible. I now share these messages and teachings with my family too, and we are growing together. How much more exciting will it be to see in heaven the people we have shared the Gospel with. Thank you for all you do."

Greg, would you pray for us as we begin our study for today?

Greg: Father, thank you for all of these amazing responses. Thank you for the technology of being able to build an app that people all over the world can use to listen to Thru the Bible anytime, anywhere. We pray you'll use these tools for your glory. Now use us as we study your Word and change our lives in Jesus' name. Amen.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now today, our study brings us back to the 41st chapter. It was a rather lengthy chapter. We got down to verse 46. If you have your Bible and will turn there, I trust you have our notes and outlines, and if you do, you'll want to follow along with them as well as the text of Scripture. If you're not yet with us, if you're not in the "in group," then we'd like to invite you to join us. Get in the Bible Bus. That's the in group. Go through the Bible. Five-year program. It's a long one, but we're going to have a wonderful time along the way because there's so many wonderful things to deal with in the 66 books of the Bible. So write in and ask for notes and outlines, and read the Scripture that we are studying. It'll make it a great deal more meaningful to you.

Now as I come to verse 46, may I pick up the thread of our story? Joseph is down in the land of Egypt and he's had hard luck up to this point. He's now been called in to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh. He interprets those two dreams and tells them there's to be seven years of famine and there's to be seven years of plenty to precede it. During those years, Pharaoh should gather in all that he can in the granaries of Egypt and prepare for the day that's coming. So Pharaoh, he hadn't anyone better to put in charge of this than Joseph. Joseph now becomes what would correspond, I think, to the Prime Minister of Pharaoh.

Someone's apt to say, well, how in the world did this man get into this unique position? And why was it that Pharaoh was so willing to accept him? Well, primarily, number one: God's with him. All the way along, we've seen that. The hand of God, by His providence, is leading this man. As Joseph at the conclusion of Genesis says, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good." It's wonderful to know that. That's number one.

But number two, there's also a very practical reason, by the way. That is that at this particular period in the history of Egypt, there had come to the throne of the Pharaohs the Hyksos Kings. They were from out in the desert. They were a Bedouin nomadic group. For a period, they came in and took over the throne of Egypt. They belonged to the same race, the same human stock that Joseph belonged to. Actually, these Hyksos kings found it a little difficult to find in Egypt those that would be loyal and faithful to them.

Now that is one thing that characterized Joseph that we mentioned at the beginning. The fact that this man knew that God was moving in his life, it made him faithful. Faithful to whomsoever he was attached, faithful to his task, because he knew God was in it. He was faithful to Pharaoh. So that explains the reason that this man found such a ready reception from Pharaoh at that time. He not only at the very beginning proved his ability, but Pharaoh put this chain, as we saw, about his neck which gave him the same authority that Pharaoh had.

Then Pharaoh gave him for a bride the daughter of the priest of On. Her name was Asenath. Now that means "she who is of Neith," and Neith is a goddess of the Egyptians. In other words, she was an idolatress. That's what the name means. But Shakespeare said a rose by any other name smells as sweet, but he didn't call it Romeo and Asenath. Juliet sounded much better. She evidently comes right out of heathenism. She is a Gentile bride for Joseph.

By the way, there's a parallel, is there not? We've said this man's more like the Lord Jesus, parallels Him. The Lord Jesus is calling out of the world a Gentile bride today; that's the church. Joseph had a Gentile bride.

Now we're told in verse 46: "And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt." Now mark that down. He began his ministry when he was 30 years old, and I'm of the opinion you've already thought of the parallel to the Lord Jesus. He began His ministry when He was 30 years of age.

Joseph took up his work yonder in Egypt: "And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt." Now what is he doing? Well, during these seven years of plenty, why he's gathering the grain in, gathering all the produce of the land. Because these are years of great abundance. "And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls." In other words, there was a great harvest, a great abundance during those years.

You'll recall that after World War II, we began to accumulate in this country a great surplus that created a real farm problem. If you rode the trains in those days, especially through Kansas and Missouri and Iowa, you'd pass bin after bin, silo after silo. Literally hundreds, thousands of them, filled with grain that the government had stored. A great many people said it was rather foolish to store that up.

Now if you go through that country today, you don't see that. You know what has happened? We've been sending it to the needy countries, and right now we don't have enough to feed the starving millions of the world. Someone has said that 100 million people are going to starve. So somebody says, well, why not send them something? Well, the reason is we don't have enough now. That surplus is pretty much used up.

So 100 million are going to starve. Our problem is which 100 million is it going to be that we'll let starve in the next decade? Well, I don't know, but the important thing for us to note here is during these seven years of plenty—and this seems to be the way the earth produces, especially since the curse of sin is upon it—seven years of plenty, and then there are seven years of famine that came.

Now he's gathering together the grain. Notice verse 48: "And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities." We see a good distribution, by the way. During the Depression, people were in lines to soup kitchens in Chicago and New York. If you are old enough to remember, I know as a boy I was in Chicago, and those lines were a block long. Fellows, young men in those lines, and they wanted something. Some selling apples.

Out yonder stored up, there was an abundance even then, but the problem was distribution. That is, that's what they said: the problem of distributing it. Well, what you have here is Joseph doing a very practical thing, that he's laying up the food in the cities: "the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same." In other words, he's not only gathering together all this surplus, but he's putting it in areas for ready distribution.

"And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number." In other words, I tell you, Egypt was the breadbasket of the world. It's been called that, but under Joseph's management, it seemed to be two or three breadbaskets.

Now verse 50: "And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him." So we have to pause for this little family note here. "And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house." If you want to know a good name, it would be Amnesia. He made me forget. He was so busy down there, so much involved that he forgot about his father's house. He'd been a homesick boy at first, but he's not anymore.

Did you notice that I called attention to it last time? It mentions the fact that he shaved. He arrayed himself. You say that's not a very important thing; only the Gillette company might be interested in that. Well, he shaved himself because the Hebrews wore long beards. Now that speaks to me of resurrection, because he lays aside the old life and now begins the new life. Now keep that in mind. He looks like an Egyptian from now on. He dresses like an Egyptian. He talks like an Egyptian. He says, "God's made me forget." So his name is Manasseh. You can call him Amnesia if you want to.

"And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." He's fruitful. I've given these two boys two names: Manasseh Amnesia, and Ephraim, that means fruitful, Ambrosia. Here we have Amnesia and Ambrosia if you want the English of it. Somebody says, well, that sure is free translating. It surely is, friend, but that's exactly what the two boys' names mean if you'd put it in English today: Amnesia and Ambrosia.

And now verse 53: "And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended." Now this takes you through the seven years of the plenty. Now how old is Joseph now? 37 years old. Keep that in mind because I'm coming to something down here in just a few moments when we get into the next chapter.

"And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do." He was the one that had the bread.

Again, I have to call attention to the parallel. The Lord Jesus said, "I am the bread of life." Notice verse 56: "And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands."

Now that brings us to the end of chapter 41. Now when we come to chapter 42, why we see one of these dramatic incidents that is in the life of Joseph. In fact, I think you have here one of the most dramatic incidents in Scripture. The one that's ahead of this one is in the very next chapter, and we'll see that one when we get to it. But here why we see now what the famine is going to force them to do. You say to me, you can begin to see the hand of God now. You sure can.

But you must remember, when Joseph was way back in that dungeon, he didn't see all of this. But he believed God. Here is a man, because of his faith, he was enthusiastic. He was always optimistic. Frankly, I wish my faith got that far down in shoelather. Regardless of what happened, regardless of what the circumstances are, I could be optimistic. I tell you, it doesn't take much rain, but just a few dark clouds, to make me begin to become just a little less optimistic than I should be. I'm sure that's true of many of us today.

Now this man's in this unique position. Now what's going to happen? I think you can almost see what's going to happen. The famine's over all the earth, and all the earth is coming to Egypt to get grain. Guess who's coming for dinner, friends? Well, I can tell you. Let's get into the 42nd chapter and we'll find out.

We'll see here that the famine forces Jacob to send ten of his sons into Egypt to buy corn. Why did he send ten? Why didn't he send Benjamin? He didn't want to lose him, friends. It would have killed him to have lost Benjamin. Now we're going to have an audience. These boys are with Joseph, and Joseph recognizes them, but they do not recognize him.

Why? Several reasons. First of all, they thought he was dead. They were not looking for him at all, just didn't expect to see him. He did expect to see them. The second thing is, you remember, he shaved. How many years have gone by now? Well, let's put it like this. Joseph was 17 when he was sold into slavery, and it's now 37 years. So they haven't seen him in 20 years plus how many years they were in the famine. I don't know; let's say two years. So they hadn't seen him in 22 years. Last time they saw him, he was a 17-year-old boy. Now he's in his 40s. They don't know him at all. He's dressed like an Egyptian, called an Egyptian.

Now will you notice verse 1 again? "Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?" You see, they were looking at each other adoleful, not knowing where to turn or what to do. "And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die."

He heard something, he believed it that would bring life to them, and he acted on it. That's what saving faith is. Somebody says, "How can I believe in Jesus?" Can you imagine Jacob standing there before these ten sons and saying, "Well, I've heard that there is corn down in Egypt, but how in a world am I going to believe it?" Well, the way to believe it is to act upon it.

The Lord Jesus said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." You hear something, you believe it. That's what this man did. That's the way he got corn that brought life to them, and that's the way we get eternal life—it's through faith in Christ.

Now notice: "And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him." Well, suppose mischief befalls the other ten boys? Well, they're older, to begin with, and if you want to know the truth, wouldn't have hurt him as much to have lost one of them.

Now will you notice? He keeps Benjamin with him, but he doesn't keep the others. He sends all ten of the others. Notice verse 5 now: "And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan." Now we come to this dramatic moment. Will you notice it?

"And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth." Now Joseph has been watching for them. He knew they had to come. There have been delegations there from all over the inhabited earth of that day. The famine was worldwide. So he watches, then lo and behold, here come ten boys, ten young men, and they all bow down before him, got right down on their faces before Joseph.

Joseph looks at those boys. He knows them. You wonder what he thought of. By the way, what do you think of? Remember the dream he had when he said that your sheaves will bow to my sheaf? Well, here it's taking place. They're all down on their faces.

Now verse 7: "And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them." And the minute he did, believe me, he treated them rough. Why? Testing them. You will find out he's going to test them all the way through. "But he made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food."

Notice his penetrating questions. "And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies."

And he said unto them—believe me, Joseph is pouring it on—he says to them, "Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come." And they said, "Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not." But he happened to be the one who "is not" was right there before them.

May I say, this is quite a dramatic moment, is it not? Joseph's not letting up on them. He's getting all the information he can from them. Joseph said unto them, "That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies." Now he's going to give them a test, and he's going to find out as much as he can about his family without letting these brethren know who he is.

Friends, this is like a continued story, so we'll just have to wait till next time to see what happens. May God richly bless you, my beloved.

Steve Schwetz: Meet us back here for more of the story. Until then, you can find us on our app, at TTB.org, or call 1-800-65-BIBLE. I'm Steve Schwetz, and I'll be sure to save a seat for you next time as the Bible Bus rolls along. Our story on the Bible Bus today is just one step in a five-year journey through the entire Word of God. Come along for the ride, and you'll study both the Old Testament and New Testament, discovering God's great redemption story. Is this your story too?