YE SHALL NOT SEE MY FACE
Genesis 43:1 ¶ And the famine was sore in the land. 2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. 3 And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. 4 If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: 5 But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. 6 And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? 7 And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? 8 And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. 9 I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: 10 For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.
Genesis 43:11 ¶ And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: 12 And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: 13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: 14 And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
This was a world wide famine! Genesis 41:56 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. 57 And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands. But there was no provision for any nation given by God except here in the land of Egypt. And that was by only one man – the man Joseph. Psalm 105:16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread. 17 He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:
Sin is a world wide disease of souls. But there is only one man sent to provide the remedy – the man Christ Jesus! 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; For it was by one man – Adam – that sin came into the world. And it is by one man – the Lord Jesus – that righteousness was brought as a remedy. Romans 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Even as Adam, the first man, could not bring redemption to the human race, so we read that Reuben, the first born of Jacob, could not bring access to the face of the sovereign on the throne. Genesis 42:37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. 38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
And we also see in Reuben the same as we see in Adam. Neither have ability to furnish us bread. And as Reuben gives reference to the loss of his two sons, so Adam lost both Jew and Gentile into sin and death. Romans 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
And just as the natural bread could not be obtained without seeing the face of the sovereign on the throne of Egypt, so the spiritual bread for the redemptive life of the soul cannot be had except by seeing the face of the Lord Jesus! John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
But how does one see the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, beholding his glory in our day? John 11:40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. Beholding the glory of God is accomplished by a believing faith! For the gift of faith evidences things invisible to the natural eye.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
And make no mistake about it, dear Reader, there is no joy, or inner peace in this sin-cursed world without seeing the glory of God in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ! John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Hebrews 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
And we also read that the lord on the throne stated that if they met his requirement of coming to him with Benjamin, their words would then be proven to be true! And this is absolutely true with our Lord Jesus Christ! Genesis 42:16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. 20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
And we read that to see the face of the one sitting on the throne, a Benjamin is required! Genesis 43:3 And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. 5 But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
For in order to be allowed to view the face of the sovereign lord on the throne and receive all the benefits derived from this, we must have our Heavenly Benjamin gain us access! For our only hope of glory is Christ! Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
But in doing this our beautiful Rachel must die along with her concept of the new birth. Genesis 35:18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. 19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. For the church, before the time of the reigning Lord (represented by Joseph as ruler in Egypt), has, like Rachel, had an outward beauty, but has not been very fruitful, therefore must pass away along with her erroneous concept of the new birth. For now the Lord Jesus is reigning at the right hand of the majesty on high, and the Holy Ghost is sent!
Rachel, like the ‘works’ oriented church, has had her mind set on birthing children and not on devotedness to her husband. So it is her utter disaster to perish in child birth. Just like the religious gang once highly engrossed with ‘soul winning,’ but who know not how to worship our Heavenly Husband! Therefore she has a false concept of birth and names her second, and last child “Benoni,” which means, “the son of my sorrow.” But Jacob, his father, renames him “Benjamin,” which means “the son at the father’s right hand.”
And both these names reveal to us our Lord Jesus Christ! For he was a “man of sorrows,” and is now seated at the Father’s right hand. Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Therefore we shall never see the face of him who sits on the throne, except we come with our Heavenly Benjamin! For no entrance shall be allowed into a glorified state, except by the Lord Jesus Christ! John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. There is no other name given us from heaven whereby we can gain entrance into the Sovereign’s presence, and have access to the corn for our bread! Hebrews 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
And what must we bring in order to stand before the reigning Lord? First we must bring the best fruits of the land. See Genesis 43:11-13 above. And only the true believer can bring these to the king! For they are the spiritual fruits of the redeemed soul. John 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Included in this list was also balm. Jeremiah 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? For the true church not only has fruit in season, but has leaves for the healing of the nations! Revelation 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
The second thing we must bring with us is double money in your hand. See Genesis 43:12. Having found the price of the corn returned to them, (for redemption is free), they must go back with a double amount in their hands. For that which the Lord God has placed within our sacks of corn, must be discovered and taken in hand to the exchangers. Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 25:27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. For both the man who received five pieces of money and the one who received two, doubled it for their master. Those with ‘good ground’ hearts of devotion and worship bring forth more than double! Mark 4:20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
Then lastly, but most importantly, we must bring our brother Benjamin! Genesis 43:13 See John 14:6 and Hebrews 10:20 listed above. Not religion’s dead Jesus on a cross. Nor the Jesus of fanciful imagination with sandals, beard and gown. But God’s Jesus! For the Lamb of God is one and the same as the Lion of the tribe of Juda! He alone, presented to you by the Holy Spirit can gain you entrance into eternal glory! Revelation 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Pastor Gene Breed
September 1, 2016
