Perhaps you’ve heard the story about our national bird; the eagle.
Initially, Benjamin Franklin struggled with the idea of the eagle being our national bird. He wrote his daughter criticizing the selection of the eagle being the representative symbol of our national freedom; instead, he preferred the turkey.
In a letter to his daughter he wrote: The “Bald Eagle...is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly…[he] is too lazy to fish for himself...”the turkey is “a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America...He is besides, though a little vain and silly, (He is) a Bird of Courage.”
Today, I must admit, I am glad that Franklin did not select our national bird, otherwise, as Americans we might be referred to as a bunch of turkeys.
Yet, the reason why the eagle was selected was because the eagle is a perfect symbol of freedom. We boast of how the eagle soars, flies to new heights, seems limitless, and seems boundless.
Transition:
As we venture into the Book of Genesis again today and take a look at Joseph’s life, instead of reading a story about “freedom” we read a story about one of his brothers being bound. We read a story about Simeon being bound before his brothers eyes (vs. 24)
It is often said that people don’t appreciate their blessings until those blessings are absent and no longer present in their lives. This seems to be the case with Joseph’s brothers.
As they return home to their father they bring the bad report of concern for the welfare of not only their brother but their family as a whole. Simeon had lost his freedom.
Freedom is not a political word; it is a personal word. It’s not just a national word; it is a Biblical word. God loves, created, and perpetuates freedom.
It is a word that should bring us together into one cohesive unit as it is reflected in our identity as the “United” States of America. It should cause us to pursue it and fight for it as one, because of the depth of its value.
Freedom reminds us of the God who gave it, and the importance of preserving it. Freedom is one of the greatest blessings a person can hold dear on earth.
From Joseph’s binding of Simeon and his brothers reaction; what do we learn about freedom?
Transitional Sentence: What are the essential ingredients for freedom as defined by God? These ingredients are put on display through Joseph and his brothers. Let’s take a look:
I. Ingredient #1- Lordship
vs. 29-30- “When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that happened to them, saying, The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us, and took us for spies of the country.”
Explanation:
As we are introduced to Joseph today, his brothers call him by a title that have not seen before. Twice the brothers refer to Joseph as “the lord of the land.”
The word “lord” is an interesting word. The Hebrew word is the word “adone” from which we get God’s title; Adonai from. The word means: “master.” The idea is that Joseph was their master. He was the “lord” little “L” over his brothers.
Interesting enough, whoever was “lord” over them was the master of them. Because Joseph was “lord” little “l” their brother was bound. Joseph’s demeanor directly impacted their brothers condition. Therefore, they communicated that demeanor by saying: “the lord of the land spoke harshly to us.”
Have you ever thought about God’s demeanor toward us? Have you ever considered how blessed we are to have a demeanor of grace? His grace is the foundation of freedom.
Because God is a God of grace; he loves freedom. God is a freedom loving God.
God’s grace is seen immediately in the way he governs the world that He created. In Genesis we learn that when He created the world that God created freedom.
We read this in Genesis 2:15-17: “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. The Lord (Captial L) God commanded the man saying, From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
There was no human government set up yet. Therefore, God gives us the model of what he wanted for human government. He wanted freedom.
God wanted us to have the liberty to make choices on how we live our lives. He wanted us to have choices on who we would serve. Because He loves freedom he gave us options: 1) We can live under his governmental Lordship 2) We can live life our own way.
You see, a Lord of grace gives choices. He is not a tyrant or a dictator. He is a Lord of choices.
Because he loves freedom, he wanted to give us the choice of who our lord is.
This is why the Bible says: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 33:12
Often we look at Joseph in this chapter and are surprised by his response. We wonder; “Why would Joseph, who had been put in the position he is bind his brother and imprison him like this? Why would he take away Simeon’s freedom?”
The answer is simple: God was using him to reflect what happens when we are left to our own choices.
You see, the brothers made the choice to sin against Joseph and the result was the binding of Joseph, he was cast in a well, left pleading, only to be sold as a slave. The brothers had made choices. They made choice to ignore the “Lord God” and make their own choices (little l) which resulted in the slavery of Joseph.
Yet, now, they became recipients of the own governmental choices.
Luke 6:38 says: “For the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Galatians 6:7 says: “A man reaps what he sows.”
Here, the brothers discovered what happens when we play “lord” (Little L) in the way a person governs their own life, as well as, the way a nation governs itself; whoever our lord is directly impacts our lives; if not right now, it will play itself out later.
The “lordship” of Joseph was a direct mirrored reflection of the lordship of the brothers lives and God used it to reset their thinking about Lordship.
You see: From Genesis 2 to Genesis 42 the principle stands; Freedom hinges on Lordship.
Illustration: Lincoln on Lordship
In the last days of the Civil War, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia, fell to the Union army. Abraham Lincoln insisted on visiting the city. Even though no one knew he was coming, slaves recognized him immediately and thronged around him. He had liberated them by the Emancipation Proclamation, and now Lincoln's army had set them free. According to Admiral David Porter, an eyewitness, Lincoln spoke to the throng around him:
"My poor friends, you are free—free as air. You can cast off the name of slave and trample upon it …. Liberty is your birthright."
But Lincoln also warned them not to abuse their freedom. "Let the world see that you merit [your freedom]," Lincoln said, "Don't let your joy carry you into excesses. Learn the laws and obey them."
Do you know what Lincoln was saying? He was saying, don’t forget the Lord. Don’t be your own lord.
One of my favorite quotes of Lincoln was his personal testimony about Lordship saying: “ I know that the Lord is always on the side of right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord’s side.”
Do you know why he said this? Because He knew that freedom hinges on Lordship.
As we stand on the brink of our nations birthday again, God wants us to interconnect these two thoughts of freedom and lordship because by God’s design; neither exist. As the Lord God, he is a God of grace who has created the freedom that we enjoy—based upon the governance of His Lordship.
Transitional Sentence: What are the essential ingredients for freedom that we learn from Joseph and his brothers?
II. Ingredient #2- Truth
vs. 31- “But we said to him, We are honest men; we are not spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan. The man, the lord of the land said to us, By this I will know that you are honest men; leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of our households, and go. But bring your youngest brother to me that that I may know that you are not spies, but honest men.”
Explanation:
Liberty and lies can not coexist.
One of the greatest enemies of freedom is lies. As a matter of fact, the Bible tells us how to handle lies; it says to “take them captive.”
II Corinthians 10:5- “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Isn’t that what we do with our enemies? We capture them. We arrest them. We interrogate them. We use force to get down to the truth.
Do you know why? Liberty and lies don’t coexist.
Have you noticed how many times the issue of honesty is mentioned in the exchange between Joseph and his brothers?
Joseph is almost incessive on addressing the honestly issue. Over and over we read the exchange.
a) Verse 11- “We are all sons of one man, we are honest men...”
b) Verse 19- “If you are honest men...”
c) Verse 31- “We said to him, we are honest men...
d) Verse 33- “By this I will know you are honest men...
e) Verse 34- “Bring me your youngest brother to me that I may know that you are not spies, but
honest men...”
Do you see what Joseph is looking for here? He is looking for honesty. He wants the brothers to stop perpetuating the family lie that had been told to their father from age 17 to 44 for Joseph. They had a 27-year-old lie that they kept telling.
Interesting enough, when they return to Canaan they rehearse their conversation again with their Father Jacob and they keep on telling the same lie. They say in verse 32: “We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.”
This lie was launched in Genesis 37: 31-32 when they said: “‘Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.”’ (Genesis 37:31-32)
Talking among themselves in verse 21 they finally admit the lie saying: “ Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us yet we would not listen...”
The fact is: These brothers who would make up the tribes of the nation of Israel were perpetuating a lie and a nation built on lies will not stand nor prosper.
Do you know how nations are built? One neighborhood at a time.
This is why Ephesians 4:25 says: “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one you speak truth to your neighbor...”
God would ultimately build and establish the nation of Israel through these 12 boys, yet, God would not even begin to build this nation on a 27-year-old lie. Simeon would continue to bound physically in Egypt and the brothers would spiritually be bound until the truth set them free.
Illustration: Crossing your fingers
Years ago, when people would lie often they would put their hand behind their back and cross their fingers. Do you know why? It is the symbol of the cross.
People would do this as if to say: “I’m telling a lie but the cross is covering me.” It was a type of response as if to say: “God will forgive me.” It was a type of perversion of grace. It was a cheap way to respond to lying. It’s a way to excuse telling a lie.
Application:
Nations are built on truth. Yet, in an article recently from the New York Times speaks about “de-moralizing of America said this: “Alan Wolfe, the Boston University sociologist, who is researching a book on moral freedom, contends that Americans are simply learning to write their own moral rules, now that institutions like the church no longer manage to do it for them.”
''Americans are pretty savvy about this,'' said Amy Gutmann, director of the Center for Human Values at Princeton University. ''They think that some kinds of lies are far less bad than others. But they think that someone who can lie very well does not have good character.''
Application:
God was using this exchange with Joseph, not just to deal with the lies of the brothers; but to prepare for the establishment of a nation and truth is an essential ingredient for the blessing of nations.
There is a reason why our church vision statement begins with: “Life built on truth.” The reason why is that without the foundation of truth, your life has nothing to build upon.
The same is true for nations. Listen to what our forefathers and the famous leaders of our past have said:
Theodore Roosevelt said in 1901: “ Every thinking man, when he thinks, realizes what a very large number of people tend to forget, that the teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally — I do not mean figuratively, I mean literally — impossible for us to figure to ourselves what that life would be if these teachings were removed. We would lose almost all the standards by which we now judge both public and private morals; all the standards toward which we, with more or less of resolution, strive to raise ourselves. Almost every man who has by his lifework added to the sum of human achievement of which the race [human race] is proud, has based his lifework largely upon the teachings of the Bible … Among the greatest men a disproportionately large number have been diligent and close students of the Bible at first hand.”
Ronald Reagan said, “Without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
John F. Kennedy said, “I am proud of the revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought… the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but the hands of God.”
George Washington said, “it is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible” and referred to Jesus as the “The Divine Author of our blessed religion”.
Truth is essential for liberty because God establishes all things upon the foundation of truth.
Transitional Sentence: What are the essential ingredients for freedom that we learn from Joseph and his brothers?
III. Ingredient #3- Sacrificial Leadership
vs. 37-38- “Then Reuben spoke to his father saying, You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you. But Jacob said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should befall him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”
Explanation:
As Simeon remained bound absent from freedom, following the report of the brothers, Reuben spoke up and took hold the mantle of leadership which would ultimately result in a return to Egypt, the brothers set free, and ultimately a nation established.
It is interesting that when Jacob strongly refused for Benjamin to return to Egypt that it was Reuben who stood up and spoke up as a leader as we read: “Then Reuben spoke to his father saying, You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you.” Vs. 37
I find this intriguing because it was Rueben always seemed to want be the one who stands up and stands out as a leader, yet he faltered and fell short many times.
Reuben, as the first-born son, had a name that meant: “might and strength.” (Genesis 49:3) Yet, Reuben waffled when it came to living up to his name.
When the other brothers wanted to kill Joseph, it was Reuben who stood up and suggested that he be sold as a slave instead. While Reuben should have taken further steps to stop the brothers from seeking to harm Joseph, at least he stopped a murder and saved Joseph’s life.
In a strange way, Reuben preserved the entire family by preserving Joseph’s life.
Yet, on Genesis 35:22 we find that Jacob declares that “Reuben no longer would excel” as he committed incest with Bilhah, his father’s wife.”
Reuben, in many ways, symbolizes a person who desires to lead but is unstable and undependable as a leader.
Jacob later would prophecy of Rueben and says is like “turbulent waters.” Basically saying that Reuben could not control his appetites, and was unstable. At one moment he would be orderly, yet in the next, he was wild and undisciplined.
Ultimately, he would settle on the “other side of Jordan” indicating that he was a bad influence and although he was the first-born child; he was not worth to be followed or imitated.
I Timothy 2:1-2 tells us to pray for leaders that are godly, stable leaders saying:
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (I Timothy 2: 1-2)
Without sacrificial leaders freedom falls away.
Conclusion:
Among the most memorable quotes in history are these quotes:
a)“Ask not your country what it can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” JFK
Do you know what he was calling for? Sacrificial leaders
b) “We have nothing to fear but fear itself. “ Do you know what FDR he was calling for?
Sacrificial leaders
c) When Jesus Christ was asked about freedom he called us to come to him saying: “If the Son
sets you free; you are free indeed.” Do you know what was committing Himself to be?
A sacrificial leader
We often say, "Freedom began on July 4th, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed." We see the first signature, that beautiful penmanship, John Hancock. Right? We say that is the beginning of freedom.
On one hand for our nation, it is, but real freedom occurred 2000 years ago on a hill outside of Jerusalem. The reason we can experience freedom today is because of Jesus and His sacrifice as He spilled his blood for the sins of the world and gave us the greatest freedom of all.
God is all about freedom. Therefore, He sent Jesus who is the freedom giver. In Him is all we need to be set free because:
a) He is Lord
b) He is Truth
c) He is the ultimate sacrificial leader.
Jesus embodies what real freedom is. So as it has been said to eloquently-- Let freedom ring.
