Port City Faith Church
Sunday Morning - May 17th, 2026
  • Psalm 8 (Hallé)
  • Because He Lives
  • Gratitude
  • We are back to Our Series on the Life of Joseph And its been a few weeks since we covered joseph, so we are going to review a bit.
    We started by Looking at Joseph’s family, which had several problems,
    Joseph had 10 older brothers from 3 different step moms,
    And his Dad loved him best, and made no secret about it
    and then Joseph starts having visions from God about the future where his brothers all bow down to him
    And Joseph doesn't keep that secret either
    and in Jealousy his brothers plot to kill him
    But then Judah realizes they could sell him into slaver and get some cash instead.
    And so they sell him into slavery for the equivalent of $600 of silver.
    In Slaver Joseph works for Potiphar, the guy in charge with keeping Pharaoh alive,
    And God blesses everything that Joseph does, so that Joseph is elevated to the point where he is a slave in name only, and he is essentially running Potiphar's house.
    and Potiphar’s wife sees Joseph and wants to sleep with him,
    And Joseph has integrity, and says no, not because he is afraid of Potiphar, but because he is afraid of God.
    So Potiphar’s wife accuses Joseph of raping her, and he is thrown in prison,
    In Prison Joseph is blessed by God, so he basically has free reign of the prison, and after some time interprets the dreams of two of Pharaoh's servants, using wisdom from God, and not from Egypt
    this leads to when Pharaoh has dreams that no one could interpret that the find Joseph, who tells pharaoh the meaning of his dreams, that Egypt will have 7 years of abundance, followed by seven years of Famine,
    He then tells pharaoh what he would do to avoid complete destruction,
    By storing away extra food from the years of abundance so that when the famine hits the people will still have food to eat.
    So Pharaoh elevates Joseph to second in command of all egypt. And for once in Joseph’s life everything is looking good.
    And that’s where we left off a few weeks ago.
    This week we pick up after the seven years of abundance have come to an end, and the famine has started.
    But the famine stretches beyond just Egypt. many of the nearby nations are also affected.
    Genesis 42:1–5 ESV
    When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
    Jacob and his family are also affected by the famine, and they are hungry.
    Now i want to point something out here, all of Josephs brothers have families at this point,
    They have wives and kids that they need to take care of.
    And Jacob their father tells them to stop standing around helplessly and go to Egypt and buy Grain.
    Leave their wives and kids behind, and go get food and bring it back.
    Men in the church: When hard times come, it sometimes means making hard decisions, but a decision must be made. Be proactive about caring for your family.
    Now Joseph’s 10 older brothers go to egypt, but Benjamin stays behind.
    Perhaps Joseph doesn’t trust his other sons to look after Benjamin, because they did such a terrible job looking after Joseph.
    Maybe Benjamin is still a little too young to leave home for so long, maybe he’s only a teenager.
    More likely Benjamin is all that is left of Rachel, the Woman Jacob loved more than anyone else, and he doesn’t want to lose him.
    Genesis 42:6–17 ESV
    Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” They said to him, “No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies.” He said to them, “No, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see.” And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.” But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” And he put them all together in custody for three days.
    Joseph’s brothers arrive and he immediately recognizes them, but they don’t recognize him.
    Well its been at least 10 years, perhaps closer to 15, Joseph is also probably clean shaven like an egyptian, dressed like egyptian royalty, and speaking egyptian.
    And his brothers bow down to him,
    and Joseph remembers his dreams about them, the dreams that started this whole thing,
    When he dreamt his brothers would bow to him.
    And Joseph is not happy with them.
    understandably so.
    And so he falsely accuses them of being spies, and imprisons them.
    Now Joseph was in prison for about 3 years, his bothers are imprisoned for 3 days.
    He is giving his brothers a taste of what they put him through.
    And he then decides to test his brothers.
    Genesis 42:18–25 ESV
    On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them.
    He lets 9 of them return home, with grain and warns them not to come back without their youngest brother.
    He keeps Simeon in prison. the second oldest.
    He doesn’t imprison Reuben, because Reuben wanted to help Joseph all those years ago.
    He Doesn’t imprison Judah who decided that instead of killing Joseph they could sell him into slavey,
    He imprisons Simeon, who had killed men before, and was likely the one who stirred up the rest of his brothers to try and murder joseph all those years ago.
    And Joseph hears that they feel guilt about what they did to him.
    That was the first test, Are they sorry?
    And as Joseph sends his brother’s back, he secretly gives them back all the money they had spent on grain.
    But eventually they run out of food again, and will have to go back.
    Genesis 43:1–10 ESV
    Now the famine was severe in the land. And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’ ” Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?” They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”
    They run out of Food and Jacob tells them to go back and buy more.
    But they say “we can’t unless we have Benjamin with us.”
    Judah eventually steps up and tells Jacob, “I will take care of Benjamin, with my own life. if anything happens to him, you may take it out on me.”
    Judah is stepping up to the plate. he is becoming proactive.
    So Jacob lets them go.
    Through Judah they earned back their father’s trust.
    Genesis 43:26–34 ESV
    When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed down to him to the ground. And he inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!” Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there. Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.” They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement. Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him.
    When they return, Joseph sees they have benjamin with them, and he knows that His father still trusts them,
    Which was the second test - Has their father forgiven them, does he trust them with his youngest son
    because earlier it didn’t seem so
    Joseph throws a feast for his brothers they still do not know who he is, and during the feast he sits Benjamin in a place of honor, and gives him not just a double portion, but a quintuple portion of everything.
    He is clearly playing favorites with Benjamin, they youngest brother, the son of the favored wife.
    He is trying to see if his brother’s can still be provoked to jealousy they way they were with him.
    So he gives Benjamin five times as much food.
    And then presents an opportunity for his brothers to betray benjamin.
    Genesis 44:1–12 ESV
    Then he commanded the steward of his house, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.’ ” When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words. They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! Behold, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord’s servants.” He said, “Let it be as you say: he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent.” Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
    Joseph frames Benjamin of theft. puts his special goblet in Benjamin's sack
    then the next day he sends them off, then sends guards after them, accusing them of theft.
    and when the goblet is found in Benjamin's sack Joseph’s brothers have every opportunity to turn on Benjamin, the clearly favored son, who gets all the good things for nothing while they work so hard and get so little,
    and by all appearances Benjamin had stolen the goblet.
    They could return to Jacob and say “Benjamin got arrested because the foolish boy tried to steal from the Prince of Egypt.”
    But instead they return to Joseph, and Judah, who once sold his brother into slavery, comes up to Joesph and pleads for him to spare benjamin.
    Genesis 44:18–34 ESV
    Then Judah went up to him and said, “Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?’ And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’ Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’ We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’ “When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. And when our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food,’ we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. One left me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have never seen him since. If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.’ “Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy’s life, as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’ Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.”
    Judah explains the whole thing, How they lost Joseph, how benjamin is beloved by jacob, How Jacob initially refused to send benjamin with them, how judah had to convince him. and how if he fails to return Benjamin to Jacob, jacob will die of grief
    And judah asks to take Benjamin’s punishment upon himself.
    Judah who once sold his younger brother into slavery, now demands to take the place of his younger brother.
    He is a different person. that was the third test, had they repented and changed?
    Genesis 45:1–10 ESV
    Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry 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; do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.
    See In all this Joseph did not hate his brothers, but he wanted to see if they had changed.
    He saw that Jacob trusted them,
    He saw that they were no longer jealous of the younger brother,
    and he saw that instead of selling their brother into slavery they were willing to become slaves themselves in their brother’s place.
    And Joseph recognizes something in this moment,
    That even though his brother’s sold him into slavery, it was not their doing,
    It was God orchestrating salvation for many peoples.
    And So Joseph is reconciled with his brothers, and he gets to see his father again when he brings him and all his family to egypt to live out the rest of the famine.
    And later Joseph explains it this way:
    Genesis 50:20 ESV
    As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
    Now, Church I want us to notice something.
    Judah is the hero of this section of the story. And there are a few reasons why i think this.
    Judah is the one who takes action.
    Anytime something happens it is Judah who is initiating.
    He is the one who takes it to heart to Get up and do something, as hi father said.
    And Judah initiated the entire story, he was the one who said “lets sell joseph into Slavery.”
    But God took that which Judah meant for evil and used it for good.
    Romans 8:28 ESV
    And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
    Church when people hurt you, when times get hard, you have a choice,
    You can either be bitter about it,
    or you can see it as an opportunity to grow, and allow God to bring about good.
    Judah show the process of repentance.
    We are called to repent of our wrong doing, and repentance is not just feeling sorry
    It is turning away from that which you did wrong.
    Judah and the brothers feel guilt over Joseph, Judah has to earn back the trust of his father, and Judah changes completely into a different man.
    Church when you repent, it starts with feeling sorry, it requires going to whoever you sinned against and apologizing, and becoming someone new.
    And Christ helps bring that about.
    Finally, Judah here prefigures Christ,
    He goes to his father, and says that if it comes to it he will take the place of benjamin, who his father loves.
    Jesus comes from the Father, and takes our place,
    John 3:16 ESV
    “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
    And church, there is no way to confirm this, but I believe it was Judah’s action here in being willing to take benjamin’s place that allowed him to be the ancestor of Jesus.
    Church, when we repent of our sins, when we take steps to reconcile with each other, and when we are changed by the Holy Spirit, we become like Christ to those around us.
    We will get to the point where we think of others welfare before our own.
    And that is a calling worth living for.

      • Genesis 42:1–5ESV

      • Genesis 42:6–17ESV

      • Genesis 42:18–25ESV

      • Genesis 43:1–10ESV

      • Genesis 43:26–34ESV

      • Genesis 44:1–12ESV

      • Genesis 44:18–34ESV

      • Genesis 45:1–15ESV

      • Genesis 50:20ESV

      • Romans 8:28ESV

      • John 3:16ESV

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