Genesis 45:1-11

God is the God of all families. The actual origin of all families is God Himself (Jeremiah 31:1).
Jeremiah 24:7 'Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.
2 Corinthians 6:18 “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.”
Hence, I would like to preach today under the title, “A Filial Son Joseph Who Shines Eternally.” Joseph was always mindful of his father’s welfare. Since a man and his wife are one, a father in fact represents parents. Joseph never once forgot his father and mother throughout his lifetime.
Abraham was a man of faith; Isaac was a man of love and obedience; and Jacob was a man of hope and deed. Having inherited such character, heart and faith of these three patriarchal generations, Joseph became a representative of Abraham’s family.

Joseph was a filial son who obeyed his father’s words unconditionally.
Jacob loved his eleventh son Joseph the most among his twelve sons because Joseph always demonstrated the utmost filial piety. Whenever his father spoke, Joseph obeyed unconditionally with an “amen.” Other sons asked why, but Joseph obeyed without asking questions or seeking rewards. There was no ‘self’ in Joseph’s heart. He did not insist on his own thoughts or judgments.
Joseph’s mother Rachel, who had been unable to bear a child, fervently prayed to God. God listened to her prayer. He remembered her and gave her a son, and this son was Joseph (Genesis 30:22). The name “Joseph” means “he increases” (Genesis 30:24). Just as his name suggests, Joseph never trampled upon, neglected or degraded others. He always supported and helped others. The meaning of the name which God gave to Joseph, “he increases,” also indicates another son God would give to Rachel. In accordance with God’s words, He gave her another son, Benjamin, but Rachel suffered indescribably and eventually died. Indeed, giving birth and raising a child involves such a painstaking process.
Joseph always empathized with such hardships of his parents and cared for their wellbeing. Due to his brothers’ hatred against him, Joseph was sold to Egypt, where God brought him up as a ruler in Egypt. After 23 years, Joseph met his brothers again in Egypt. When the brothers came back to buy food the second time, Joseph asked them first how his father was. Then, as he could no longer hold back his tears, he sent away the servants and wept. His weeping was loud enough to be heard from the king’s palace.

Genesis 43:27 Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

Joseph’s fervent wish was to know whether his father was still alive and well. When Joseph finally disclosed himself to his brothers, his first question, once again, was about his father’s wellbeing.

Genesis 45:3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence.

This showed how fervently Joseph wished that His father was still alive.

Joseph informed Pharaoh about his family and brought his parents and brothers to Egypt. The Egyptian king even sent his own golden cart to transport them. When Joseph was sold to Egypt, he was 17 years old; his father Jacob was 107; his grandfather Isaac was 167 years old. Joseph lived in hardship for 13 years and became a ruler at the age of 30. After the seven years of abundance and three years of famine, Joseph met his father again, at the age of 40. His father Jacob was 130 years old (Genesis 47:9). During the past 23 years of his life in Egypt, Joseph never forgot about his father and mother.
Joseph was determined to take care of his father after bringing him to Egypt. When his father Jacob asked him on his deathbed to bury him in the land where his forefathers Abraham and Isaac are buried and not in Egypt, Joseph swore by putting his hand under Jacob’s thigh. To the final moment of his father’s death, Joseph, the ruler of Egypt, never left his side and closed Jacob’s eyes in the end. There was no other son as filial as Joseph.

Genesis 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors.

He received the most attention and love from his father.

Do you expect your child to honor you when you don’t honor your parents?
Dear saints,
All parents wish that their children would respect them. But, allow me to ask you this first. Are you being good to your parents? It is not right to expect respect from your children while you are not honoring your own parents. We must thoroughly and deeply repent. Some people reluctantly visit their parents on holidays just because others are visiting theirs. Some daughters-in-law dislike visiting their parents-in-law and therefore complain. Others set their hearts to fulfill their filial duties to their parents, but they are easily swayed when their wives complain. All such people must repent.

To Joseph, his father Jacob was the subject of his greatest concern, the very purpose in his life, and the ground of his hope. We are surrounded by frequent incidences of depravity that result in the parents’ deaths. So many children attack their parents with shouting, “what have you done for me,” “have you provided a good education for me,” or “have you been good parents to me?” Having no filialness to parents and respect to teachers are the real communism because communists believe that even the parents should be disregarded for the party and its leader.

We all think of someone only as much as we love that person. Parents constantly think of their children. While they own nothing to live freely for themselves, they would toil for the children all through their lives, wishing the best for them. Parents are those who can always embrace their child even after he or she has robbed, scammed or even murdered someone. Upon realizing such heart of parents, someone wrote this song:

No matter how much I call, how much I cry,
Mother cannot return, regretting in grief, I cry out her name.
No matter how much I weep or beat myself,
I cannot see Mother ever again.
Mother!
This wretched son asks for your forgiveness
For all that he’s done wrong while you were alive.
Mother!
You sacrificed yourself for me, with blistered hands and blood laden sweat,
Wishing for this untrustworthy son to return home in glory.
Alas, at last, you left this world in tears.
Oh how I miss you so.
- “This undutiful son can only cry”

God said that when we honor our parents and obey them, our days will be long (Deuteronomy 4:40, 5:16). According to Moses’ law, anyone who talked back at parents was stoned to death. Dear saints, may we repent ? before this day ends ? all the wrongs we have done to our parents from our childhood until now. Our mothers have always been anxious to provide more for us even through periods of hardship. Our mothers have always waited at the door for our return. The following song portrays their hearts:

Long wintry nights seem so short
to mother’s heart as she stays awake worried
Her silver hair and fine wrinkles yield
to the endless years of motherly love
Ah, as a mother with a large brood never has a peaceful day,
Waves mount up in mother’s heart.
Long summer days seem so short
to mother’s heart as she stays busy always
Even after all her children grow out of her affectionate care
Worries stain the endless years of motherly love.
Ah, as a mother with a large brood never has a peaceful day,
Waves mount up in mother’s heart.
- “Years of motherly love”

Honoring parents is the law proclaimed by God.
The filial son Joseph suffered heartaches that no one knew about. Before Jacob passed away, he prayed for Joseph’s two sons. But, Jacob actually laid his right hand, which should have been on the firstborn Manasseh, on the second born Ephraim and his left on Manasseh. When Joseph told him, “this child is the firstborn,” Jacob refused and replied, “I know, my son, I know.” Since then, just as Jacob blessed them, Ephraim became great and Manasseh declined. Joseph was hurt when he saw the firstborn blessing given to his second born, and yet he accepted his father’s will as God’s own will and obeyed (Genesis 48:17-20). Here, God’s profound redemptive providence is seen.

Dear saints, honoring one’s parents is the law which God proclaimed to mankind. A law must be observed. He who fails to observe the law becomes a transgressor. A child who does not perform one’s filial duty to one’s parents will perish; but those who do will succeed. Filial piety is obeying parents. It is good to honor and support one’s parents. Good works will never fail. Good deeds are the most valuable and the only worthy investment in our lives. Honoring parents is an act of piling up goodness in his or her home. It is the best investment of all. Compared to such goodness, several million shares of stocks will seem like specks of dust that are easily blown away.

Let us pray.
God, thank you so much for allowing us to learn from Your Word about Joseph, a filial son who shines eternally. Please bless us so that we too may be like Joseph and become true filial children in faith who always remember and think of our fathers and mothers. Help us to repent all our wrongdoings before the sun sets today, so that we can be forgiven as we pray before You. We ask all these things in the holy name of Jesus in thanksgiving. Amen.

A Sermon from Second Lord’s Day Service on May 15, 2011