By the late Rev. D. Macdonald, Shieldaig.
Preached at Wick, on Saturday, 28th April, 1898.
“Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? 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.” — Gen. 42: 1-2.
Famine is one of the chastisements with which God visits the people for their sins. Some years ago there was a famine in China, and it was computed that seven millions of the inhabitants died. It was confined to China. But we have a famine this day, not the want of bread and water, but the want of the real knowledge of God. This famine is general throughout the whole world. It is sad for those who are free from this famine to see so many perishing in it. There are millions perishing without the true knowledge of God, and had He not left us a small remnant we should be like Sodom and Gomorrah.
What would be the best remedy to remove this famine? Bread. What bread? The bread of life, Christ Jesus — “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” Though you should have dishes of gold and silver on your table, if you want bread you cannot live. So if you have not Christ set before you in the gospel, you are in a spiritual famine still; nothing will do but Christ.
Jacob had good news to tell; but he must first rebuke his sons for looking at each other instead of going where the bread was. It is so with the children of God; they look too much at each other instead of going to God by Christ to get their spiritual needs supplied. As if Jacob had said, “In looking upon one another you are following the way of the world in their extremities.” Why look ye upon one another to gratify the flesh? Why look at each other in your striving to accumulate wealth? Paul said, “I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung that I may win Christ.” Why are you looking at one another gratifying the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life? “Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world; if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him.” Why do you look upon one another striving who will be the greatest? “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.” Why do you look upon one another instead of working out your own salvation with fear and trembling? Jacob was touched on account of the famishing condition of his sons: so is God; for He says:— “As I live saith the Lord God I have no delight in the death of the wicked.” There is corn in Egypt. Why are you not bestirring yourselves? Corn in Egypt. This is glorious news to them who feel that they are perishing; to those who feel that they are far off from God and saying to one another, “O that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!” Those who are perishing without the knowledge of God are urgently in need of good news and this is good news, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, that He finished the work of redemption, and that He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance and remission of sins to Israel. There is plenty of corn in Egypt. The poor sons of Jacob were so needful of deliverance that the news gladdened their hearts. Immediately there was a great stir among them, some running for the asses, some for the harness, some for the sacks to go to Egypt. There was a commotion among the dry bones when the prophet spake as he was commanded, as there was here among Joseph’s brethren. The Holy Spirit plants desires and motions after Christ the bread of life in the souls of men, and directs them to the cross of Christ for deliverance.
Joseph spoke roughly to his brethren. Christ wounds before he heals. He speaks roughly to his brethren through the law — He speaks roughly to them through an interpreter — through the law He shows them their sins, their guilt, and His wrath against sin. Then they feel and confess that they are sinners, and they reflect upon their past conduct. This pulls down their pride. The treatment they gave Christ before will now be very grievous to them, as it was here to Joseph’s brethren. The sinner’s Sabbath profanation, lying, drunkenness, &c, stings his conscience, and he begins to cry out:— “What shall I do to be saved?” The interpreter will not give you what you need — the law cannot give life, peace with God, or peace of conscience — the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost alone can do this. The sinner will say:— “O that He would come and pour the oil of comfort into my wounds, for I am tired of being spoken to in the language of the Egyptians!” But Christ is the Father’s wisdom. Notwithstanding their sinful conduct in the past, the roughness with which they were spoken to now, and the guilt that lay heavily upon their conscience, they were not sent away empty. Joseph commanded the stores to be opened.
What are the keys that open the stores of heaven? Faith and poverty. “Without faith it is impossible to please God,” and “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their’s is the kingdom of heaven.” These keys — faith and poverty — will open all the stores of heaven and earth. They opened the Red Sea to Jacob’s sons, and drowned the Egyptians. They opened heaven, and manna fell down in showers; they opened the flinty rock, and waters gushed out; they brought fire from heaven to consume the enemies of God; and they brought rain from heaven after the doors were locked three years and six months. These are a few of the things which these keys did.
The stores are opened. The first store opened is mercy, the next, forgiveness. “Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner.” Oh, how precious forgiveness of sins is to them who feel their need of it! The next store opened is the blood of Christ. “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” The awakened conscience will say, “Oh that the blood were applied to me!” “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” I think I hear one say, “Oh that it were applied to my guilty soul!” The next store is the Holy Ghost — the blessed Comforter coming through the blood. Though you were as black as hell, He, by washing you in the blood, makes you whiter than one of the holy angels.
When Christ comes by His Spirit to the soul the doors fly open. What doors? Prayer, praise, and the Word of God. None can open them till He comes. He alone imparts consolation to the souls that are weary. “Oh”, says one, “that He would send the Holy Spirit to me, to let me see Jesus.” Another door (and you say, “Ah, how often it is shut against me!”) is the door of the promise. How often the poor soul is bewildered trying to get one promise upon which to place its feet. At other times the promises are renewed and come one after another, as stars appear in the sky on a clear, frosty night.
Another store is opened — the store of wisdom and knowledge. In Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The Spirit alone can open these precious treasures to your soul. If you get this it will spoil your own wisdom on you, and make you a fool in your own eyes. “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth liberally and upbraideth not.” Again — “To know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent, is life eternal.”
The next store opened is temporal mercies. A godly man observed once, “If ever I knew the Lord, I knew Him in providence, both in keeping my personal character and in keeping me from falling into debt.” If He has made Himself wonderful in His grace, He has made Himself wonderful also in His providence. He is all riches. Child of God, all things are yours. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” If He keep you from possessing much of the riches of this world, it is in order that He may wean you from the world and draw you to Himself.
Joseph’s brethren went away with their sacks full of what they got from Joseph. When they came to an inn, and opened their sacks, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack. Then they said:— “What is this that God hath done unto us?” They ought to have said, what have we done to ourselves? You are not to buy Christ and His benefits. He cannot be bought; you must come to Him as beggars. Joseph could not be a type of Christ, if they could say to their father, we got plenty of corn for our money. Christ is not to be bought, but faith brings balm and healing power from Him. When Christ reveals Himself to you in the fulness of His grace you will feel a stinking smell off all your own works, tears, or alms-giving; you will be stripped of every human merit. Oh! build on the grace and merit of Christ Jesus — the Rock of ages — and not on the sandy foundation of your own possessions. But they soon spent all and became as needful as ever. What you got from Jesus today will not do for tomorrow’s need. Christ’s people, like Joseph’s brethren, are a poor and needy people. They went back in their need to Joseph again, so do you to Jesus Christ. Go back and get a fresh supply for your famishing soul every day. It may be that, before you get consolation, you will be imprisoned and put to it very severely, like Joseph’s brethren, but the sighs of the prisoner come up before Him. The Lord’s people are often in darkness, but they are prisoners of hope. Are you in that prison? If so, you are tired of the darkness. You cannot say in it, what others say with boldness, “My Father.”
Christ saw all the sorrows and trials of His people, and, like Joseph, sought a place to weep in. He could not weep as God, but He sought and found a place to weep in. He found it in the womb of the virgin. He became a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. None ever saw Him laughing, but many saw Him weeping. They saw Him weeping over Jerusalem when He said:—”If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things belonging unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes.” They saw Him weep at the grave of Lazarus—”Jesus wept.” Christ wept in order that sinners might not weep in the depths of hell for ever. He found a place to weep when the load of the guilt of His people’s sin was laid upon Him—in the garden of Gethsemane He was bathed in a sweat of blood. There He prayed with strong crying and tears. “The cup that my Father hath given me shall I not drink it?” He drank it in order that Satan’s head should be bruised; and that death and hell might be robbed of their prey. Do you weep for your own sins? “You who have not wept tears of repentance on earth will yet bedew the floor of hell with your tears,” says Dr Love. You children of God should weep also for the sufferings of Christ. When the weeping is over, Christ, like Joseph, orders a feast for His brethren. When Christ brings you to enjoy a feast with Himself, He dislodges all strangers—the devils must be put out—the Egyptians were put out. The devil, the world, and unbelief must be put out. “Every natural man,” says Dr Love, “has a devil coiled in his breast.” Oh! when that light burst in upon their souls—”I am Joseph!” It was God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, that shined in our hearts, giving us the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Again:—”Believest thou on the Son of God? And he said, Lord who is he that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord I believe. And he worshipped him.”
When you are at the feast with Jesus, two things will be moving in your soul—first the glory of Christ, and second the bad treatment you gave Him. No doubt these two things were uppermost in the minds of Joseph’s brethren. The glory of Joseph burst upon their spirit. “I am Joseph, your brother.” The Apostle says—”We are members of his body, and of his flesh and of his bones.” Think of the relationship that exists between you and God through the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ; and who can separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus your Lord. Love is strong as death, and in the hottest persecution it increases more and more. The love that burst into your souls when Christ first revealed Himself to you will never fade away. What feeds love? Nothing but the glory of Christ revealed more and more to your souls. The soul will say — “If I am to boast at all it is in the glory of Christ as the Redeemer.” The child of God can never forget what he saw of the glory of Christ when He first revealed Himself to him. “When I saw,” says the believer, “a blink of the throne of grace, and the provision made in the covenant of grace, oh! how my soul was filled with holy joy!” For a guilty sinner to enjoy the favour of God, is more than any tongue can express. The relating of these things will be cold to you until He breathes by His Spirit through the word upon your soul; then your heart will burn again within you.
What is the table upon which the feast is set forth? The gospel. What is on the table? There is flesh there, there is milk there, there is honey there, and there is wine there. “My flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed” — that is most substantial food. The sweetness of Jesus to your soul is the honey, after the harassing terrors of the law whether at first or after backsliding. “His mouth is sweet, yea He is altogether lovely.” “Thy words are sweeter than honey to my mouth.” Oh! to be able to say — “He took me from an horrible pit, and from the miry clay.” He can do it in spite of your own unbelief and all the devils in hell. He can give you the grace of His Spirit so that you can make mention of His name both in public and in private. There is milk on this table for infants. “As new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” There is wine on the table also. “And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” This wine makes glad the heart of man. It is the best wine; that of the covenant of grace. It is as old as eternity. At this table He makes Himself known to His people, and He gives each his own portion. He gives them Himself, and that is all they need. Each could say — “He is my brother.” So can you, poor child of God, say — “Christ is my brother, husband, prophet, priest, and king.” Then cast thy burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. The burdens are heavy, but He has a strong back to carry both yourself and your burdens. Many a heavy one He carried before yours.
To conclude, we see that there was a sweet meeting between Joseph and his brethren. At the end of the meeting he said to them — “Go ye, and tell my father all my glory in the land of Egypt.” So go ye, and tell all the world the glory of Christ, and that He sitteth on the right hand of the Father. Go ye and tell that all power in heaven and on earth is put into His hand, and that, therefore, He is able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by Him. There was not a more glorious moment in heaven, than when Jesus Christ entered with His elect, blood bought people, engraven upon His breastplate. “Tell my father about my glory in Egypt.” Are you dumb yet about the glory of Christ? If you have seen His glory, be you telling others, and you will be getting crumbs yourself. The telling and the hearing of it will be like oil to your wheels. “I will,” said Jacob, “go down and see Joseph.” I will go down to the valley of humiliation to see Christ; for God resisteth the proud; they shall go down to the chambers of death; but He giveth grace to the humble. Jacob came to the conclusion that he would never see Joseph again. You may have come to the conclusion that you will never see Christ’s face in mercy; but if you have got but one spark of His love in your heart, you will certainly spend an endless eternity with Him. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”