Jude “Defending The Truth”

"For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (v.4)

Jude’s purpose in his letter was twofold: 1) he wanted to expose the fase teachers that had infiltrated the Christian community, and 2) he wanted to encourage Christians to stand firm in the faith and fight for the truth. Jude recognized that false teachers often peddled their wares unnoticed by the faithful, so he worked to heighten the awareness of the believers by describing in vivid detail how terrible dissenters actually were.

But, more than simply raising awareness, Jude thought it important that believers stand against those working against Jesus Christ. Believers were to do this by; remembering the teaching of the apostles (v.17-19), building each other up in the faith (v.20a), praying in the Holy Spirit (v.20b), and keeping themselves in the love of God (v.21).

What a great example for us to follow today on how to “defend the truth.” Yes there will always be those who will look to distort the truth, but we need follow Jude’s exhortation of; keeping ourselves in the love of God, in prayer, in fellowship, and in His Word - Ready to defend the truth. 

The Truth: “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15)

Genesis 50 “Joseph Died”

“So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put into a coffin in Egypt.” (v.26)

Joseph, the most Christ-like man in the Bible, died and was placed in a coffin. Although Satan said otherwise (Genesis 3:4), God said, “In the day you eat of the forbidden fruit, you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17).

Joseph, just like all men, sinned (Romans 3:23) and if the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), is there a way out? Is there any hope? Yes! No matter what you’ve done, what pit you have dug, or what brother you’ve sold out, Jesus has washed away your sin with His blood. Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)

The Truth

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Genesis 49 "Judah, The Deliverer of Israel's Enemies"

 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s sons shall bow down to you. “Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up? “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” (vv.8-10)

Here in our text Jacob is prophetically testifying that Judah would be the tribe to deliver Israel from its enemies - and his blessing supersedes even that of Joseph, for he says that, 'his father’s sons shall bow down to you,’ and then he goes on to say that ‘the scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes.' That future generations would be governed by Judah, and from his tribe (Judah) would come the Messiah, the Prince, the Deliverer, who would become Israel’s invincible Leader. 

Why Judah? He had made some serious mistakes when he was younger, yet Judah’s excellence gradually began to come to light after Jacob had initially sent his sons to Egypt to buy grain. Judah, from then on, was the leader of all of his brothers. But, when Judah offered to give his life for the life of his brother Benjamin, his worth and excellence even exceeded anything that Joseph had done. This selfless act revealed why he would be the one through whom the Messiah would descend.

The word ‘Shiloh’ in our text means “the peaceful one.’ The name ‘Shiloh´ speaks of a man and is a Messianic reference. Due to the word’s primary inference being “peace,” the prophet Isaiah is believed by many to have been inspired to write of the coming Messiah, the prince whose Name would be “Prince of Peace” -"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Jesus, the Messiah, from the tribe of Judah, from the root of David, spoken of prophetically here by Jacob and later by Isaiah has become the deliverer of "whosoever believes on His name," through His sacrificial death on the cross, and resurrection to new life. He has become the deliverer of our enemies, and the Savior of our souls. Hallelujah!  

The Truth: “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:5)

Genesis 48 "Ephraim Chosen Over Manasseh"

And Joseph said to his father, ‘Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.’ But his father refused and said, ‘I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.'” (vv.18-19)

Here in our text, Jacob was old and about to die, so Joseph brought his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim to him to be blessed. But Joseph thought his father was getting confused and making a mistake when he crossed his hands and placed his right hand on the younger instead of the older during the blessing. After all, the firstborn would normally be the blessed and favored son. 

But the old patriarch, Jacob, was very aware that this reverse blessing was exactly what God intended for Jacob to do. Once again the younger was to be greater. Manasseh’s offspring would be great too, but this passing over of the firstborn for the second-born is one of the striking reoccurring features of the Book of Genesis: Seth instead of Cain, Shem instead of Japheth, Abraham instead of Haran, Isaac instead of Ishmael, Jacob instead of Esau, and here Ephraim instead of Manasseh. It continued on as the human author of Genesis, Moses, was chosen instead of Aaron.

God again and again chooses the weak. God is sovereign and seems often to choose against man’s preference. Could it be that God wants to prevent anyone from thinking that His blessings automatically follow the line of natural privilege? 

The Truth: "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence." (1 Cor. 1:27–29)

Genesis 47 "The Days of Joseph's Pilgrimage"

“Pharaoh said to Jacob, ‘How old are you?’ And Jacob said to Pharaoh, ‘The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.'” (vv.8-9)

Jacob was probably the oldest man in Egypt (130 yrs) and much older than anyone the king had met before. His answer to the Pharaoh's question concerning his age is a fascinating one. He started by directly answering Pharaoh’s question, but then quickly followed up with a witness. He said that his age was great and that his life, like his forefathers, was a “pilgrimage.” He used the word for “a stranger” twice in the sentence, to emphasize the idea. 

 Jacob is telling this young pharaoh here that he was a pilgrim and a sojourner, and that both he and his fathers had lived lives on earth that were touched with the sense of eternity. Sound familiar? As God’s children, we are told to regard ourselves the same way and to recognize that this world is only a temporary home, as Hebrews 11:16 tells us: “they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country.”

When you stop and think about it, life really is a pilgrimage and a journey. As Peter said, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles” (1 Peter 2:11–12). When this life is mistakenly seen as permanent, then all that seems to matter is the here and now. But when we get a clear picture of ourselves standing before God one day, then in the light of eternity, the here and now becomes relatively unimportant. 

The Truth: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." (Matt 6:19) 

Genesis 46 "Jacob Sought The LORD"

"So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac." (v.1)

Here Jacob checks in with God before taking all he had across the border into Egypt. With all his anxiety about seeing Joseph, he would rather have died in Canaan without seeing him, than to enter Egypt without the divine blessing of God with him.

A good habit for all of us to check in with God on the decisions in life - even on the slam dunks!

The Truth:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5)

Genesis 45 "Joseph Reveals Himself and Forgives His Brothers"

 Then 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. (v.3)

Back in chapter 44 Joseph had set a trap for his bothers to see how they would respond to the youngest, Benjamin, being the victim of a set-up. Joseph planted a silver cup in his brother Benjamin's grain sack, then made a false accusation to see what his other brothers would do. Had they changed? Would they sell the youngest down the river as they had done with Joseph many years before, or had they acquired some integrity through the Spirit working in their lives and change their ways?

Joseph’s brothers again passed the test that he had put before them by Judah offering his life in exchange for Benjamin's. Right then Joseph knew that they were fit to fulfill their roles as the patriarchs God had called them to be.  So Joseph, being overcome with emotion, revealed himself to his brothers (v.3) and asked them to come close to him (v.4). Then he tells them not to be grieved or angry with themselves about what they had done to him twenty years earlier when they had sold him into slavery (v.5), that it all came about because of the Lord’s desire to spare them when the famine struck. In fact, it was to spare life in general that he had been sold into slavery (vv.6-7).

Joseph acts here as a type of Christ in that He forgives the sins of those who had sinned against him, and he does not hold any of their transgressions against them.  Furthermore, he tells them not to grieve or be angry with themselves, which is similar to the work of justification that occurs in the life of a believer when he has received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.   

Oh help us LORD, to learn to forgive others as Joseph forgave his brothers and did not hold their wrong against them. And help us LORD to forgive ourselves once we have been cleansed by Your blood. 

The Truth: "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matthew 6:14-15)

Genesis 44 "Let Me Remain"

“Now therefore, I pray you, let your servant abide instead of the lad a slave to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brothers.” (v.33)

Here in chapter 44 we see that Joseph had one more test for his brothers to pass before he would reveal his true identity to them. He wanted to see how they would handle a threat to their younger brother Benjamin. So Joseph set the trap, asking his servant to set his silver cup (the cup of divination) into Benjamin's grain sack, then over take them on the road and accuse them of stealing. Joseph would then watch to see how they responded to the pressure once they were brought back before him. Would they simply sell their youngest brother down the river a second time (as they had done with him many years before), or had God worked some integrity into their lives? 

Judah passed the test. He easily could have done the same thing they did last time and simply said, “Take our little brother. After all he’s only a half brother anyway, a stepbrother. He’s Rachel’s kid, so it’s no big deal.” However this time Judah is saying, "let me bear the blame (and) ... let (me) remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers." No wonder it would be prophesied of him, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah..." (Genesis 49:10). 

Perhaps 13 years of guilt had made Judah more compassionate. Truly God had softened this man (and his brothers), into a man willing to give up his own life for someone else's – sound familiar? 

The Truth: "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)