THE SILVER CUP OF
SALVATION
April 7, 2002 am
MFBlume
Psalms 116:12-13 What shall
I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
(13) I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the
name of the LORD.
In order to understand what the cup of salvation is, let us turn
to the famous Old Testament story of Joseph.
The story of Joseph began when his dreams of his brothers and
parents falling down to honour him caused his brothers to become
envious enough to see him sold as a slave to passing nomads.
- They sold him into Egypt.
- Events transpired in which he was honoured to serve in
Potiphar's house, where the unfortunate event occured that the
master's wife attempted to seduce him.
- When he refused her seduction, he ran, and to save face, she
screamed rape.
- Thrown in prison, all seemed completely lost, until he
interpreted the dreams of two other prisoners, which eventually
led him to be called by Pharaoh to interpret his own dreams of
impending famine.
- This led him to be put in charge of the provisions that were
to be made for this famine.
The famine became so severe
that Jacob sent his ten oldest sons, who originally sold Joseph as a
slave, to Egypt for grain.
- Joseph sees these men come and bow to him requesting grain,
and he recognizes them and recalls the dreams he had of them
bowing down before him.
- All in a plan to once again see Benjamin, his youngest full
brother of his mother Rachel, whom Jacob his father loved most,
and to see his father Jacob, ... and also save them from Famine...
Joseph keeps his identity hidden from the brothers.
- And he holds Simeon in prison, letting on that he felt they
were spies.
- In order to prove their innocence, he demands them bring the
youngest son back again, to see Simeon released.
Then he
has the money they paid for the grain put into their sacks along
with the grain they bought.
- They return home and discover the money there, and become
afraid that this man from Egypt will surely never release Simeon,
seeing they still had the money they used to pay for the grain
they had.
- Jacob is so afraid of the mess, that he demands they not
return with Benjamin, for surely the governor would seize him as
well as already having Simeon.
- He could not survive to see Benjamin also made prisoner, after
already having lost Joseph and now Simeon.
However, famine
continues and worsens.
- Judah speaks up and promises to protect Benjamin so they can
get the grain.
- Jacob relents and sends them away with double money to cover
the previous grain and some more.
Joseph sees them return.
Then Joseph pulls one more stunt.
Genesis 44:1-13 And he
commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks
with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in
his sack's mouth. (2) And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of
the youngest, and his corn money. And
he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.
(3) As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent
away, they and their asses. (4) And when they were
gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his
steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake
them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for
good? (5) Is not this it in which my lord drinketh,
and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so
doing. (6) And he overtook them, and he spake unto
them these same words. (7) And they said unto him,
Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants
should do according to this thing: (8) Behold, the
money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto
thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of
thy lord's house silver or gold? (9) With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both
let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen. (10) And he said, Now also let it be
according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my
servant; and ye shall be blameless. (11) Then they
speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened
every man his sack. (12) And he searched, and began at
the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. (13) Then they rent their clothes, and
laded every man his ass, and returned to the
city.
He told them the money they had in their
sacks was a blessing from God, because he claimed he did receive
their payment.
- But he puts all the money in their sacks with grain again...
both the earlier payment and this second payment...
- Plus his silver cup in Benjamin's sack.
- And he tells the servant to let them leave the city, and let
them get a little ways out, and then catch up to them and stop
them.
- Then accuse them of theft, after having been treated by Joseph
so favourably, in stealing his silver cup.
This occurs,
and the brothers are shocked at such an accusation.
- They are so sure that they are innocent, and to prove their
sincerity, declare that if the cup is indeed found, then the
person whose sack contains it will be the governor's slave.
They are absolutely devastated to discover that upon a
search of their sacks, the silver cup is indeed found in Benjamin's
sack.
Once back in Egypt, Joseph feigns anger and accusation.
- Judah speaks up and explains that they did not understand how
the cup was found.
- In fact they brought twice as much money to pay for the
previous grain as well as the present purchase to show good
sincerity.
- And when Joseph demands that Benjamin stay as his servant,
Judah explains how their father would die of sorrow, since he
already lost Joseph so long ago.
- Benjamin's loss would be too much for him.
- So Judah offers himself to stay instead of Benjamin.
This so touches Joseph, that Genesis 45 tells us that he
sent his servants away, to leave him and his brothers alone, and he
howls in roaring weeping, so that all the palace heard him.
- He asks how his father is.
- Shocked and perplexed, the brothers stare at him.
- He then explains HE IS JOSEPH!
Reconciliation is made,
and as they fear for their lives, knowing the one they sold for
slavery now has power to avenge himself, Joseph reassures them
saying GOD ALLOWED ALL OF This.
- God promised Abraham to have many nations.
- Jesus would come through the descendants.
- And this famine would have likely wiped the family out, had
not something like this occurred.
The story came to a
crisis with the silver cup found in Benjamin's sack.
Notice that they each carried sacks of corn, or grain in
modern-day terms.
- The sacks were filled with all they had need of.
Genesis 44:1 And he commanded the
steward of his house, saying, Fill the
men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's
mouth.
As much as they could possibly carry.
The BIBLE is God's Word written by men who were inspired by the
Holy Ghost to teach us God's will.
- It is called the bread of LIFE.
- Their sacks of grain from which bread was to be made speak of
the WORD OF GOD -- the Bible.
- In our Bibles is all we will ever need.
- The truths your soul needs to feed upon that you might have
eternal life and reign with Christ forever are in your Bibles.
Jesus is our Heavenly Joseph.
- He's given us as much as we can carry in that Bible.
- And the Bible mentions the MOUTH of the sack.
- You Bible can SPEAK TO YOU.
- No, not with a voice coming out from between the covers, but
its message can really speak to your heart if you will read it in
anticipation and faith that God wants to teach you something.
- Pray that God will show you truths that will come alive and
give you answers when you proceed to read your Bible.
- Don't just open it up and read it at any old page.
- Pray and ask God to direct you as you read.
- Ask Him to put thoughts in your mind about where to read.
And in the MOUTH of the sack, Joseph had the empty silver
cup placed.
Silver:
Jesus' death on the cross was the most important event in all the
Bible.
- The entire Old Testament, such as this story, was pointing
towards it in symbolism and foreshadowing.
- His death would be the only thing that could save us from sin.
- Every person is doomed to pay the penalty of death because of
sins, and Jesus would give His life as a ransom for us all.
- This is called redemption.
- He would redeem us.
REDEE'M, v.
1. To purchase
back; to ransom; to liberate or rescue from captivity or bondage, or
from any obligation or liability to suffer or to be forfeited, by
paying an equivalent; as, to redeem prisoners or captured goods; to
redeem a pledge.
2. To repurchase what has been sold; to regain possession of a
thing alienated, by repaying the value of it to the possessor.
3. To rescue; to recover; to deliver from.
5. To free by making atonement.
6. To pay the penalty of.
7. To save.
And when He made His decision to obey the Father and die this
death to save us, we read these words:
Matthew 26:39-42 And he went
a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my
Father, if it be possible, let this cup
pass from me: nevertheless not as I
will, but as thou wilt. (40) And he cometh unto the
disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What,
could ye not watch with me one hour? (41) Watch and
pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak. (42) He went away
again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father,
if this cup may not pass away from me,
except I drink it, thy will be done.
John 18:11 Then said Jesus unto
Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not
drink it?
Matthew 20:22-23 But Jesus answered
and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are
ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be
baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto
them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the
baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and
on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for
whom it is prepared of my Father.
They would
be baptized with his baptism!
- He associated the CUP he would drink with His baptism.
- That baptism was an immersion.
- His death.
- He would be engulfed by the death on the cross.
- And He said His disciples would experience His death, too.
His death is something we can share so that the judgment
of death that all of us owe, due to sin, can be said to have already
been experienced by us!
- We point to His death and claim it as our deaths, and declare,
"My debt is paid in full by the death of Jesus!"
Drinking
that cup was taking our sins.
A cup was being filled with all the sins of the world.
Jesus spoke of this to Jerusalem one day after they rejected Him.
Matthew 23:32 Fill ye up
then the measure of your fathers.
Job 20:22-23 In the fulness of his
sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall
come upon him. (23) When he is about to fill his
belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall
rain it upon him while he is
eating.
Committing sins is compared to
filling up a cup.
- Jesus drank the cup of our sins.
- He emptied it.
The silver points back to the biblical
symbol for redemption.
- Silver shekels were always used to redeem.
- And Judas sold Jesus, so His death could occur to redeem us,
for 30 pieces of silver.
Put the idea of the cup full of
sins, and the silver redemption symbol into this story of an empty
cup in the mouth of Benjamin's sack, and you see the story of the
cross of Jesus.
The brothers said that the one who grabs the cup in his sack will
be a servant of Joseph.
What can we do in response to
knowing all that God has blessed us with?
- When you really see the empty silver cup in the grain of the
Bible, where the bread of life is, you will understand what the
cross is all about.
- The work of the cross is concentrated blessings of God for the
sinful human race.
- All his benefits are concentrated in that work of His death
for us.
The cup of salvation is the empty silver cup.
What is our response?
- Take the cup.
- Grasp it and become His servant.
- Take the cup and call upon the name of the Lord.
We
already said that baptism is the means by which we take advantage of
His death to save souls from sin.
Acts 22:16 And now why
tarriest thou? arise, and be
baptized, and wash away thy sins,
calling on the name of the
Lord.
Baptism involves calling on the name of the
Lord.
- "I baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the
remission of your sins."
- Its invoking the Name of Jesus when you are baptized.
- Jesus is the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
- And since baptism puts us into His death, that He experienced
after drinking all our sins from the cup of our transgressions...
- And since baptism involves calling on the name of the Lord...
- Its no wonder Psalm 116 says that our
response to all the benefits of God through the work of the Cross
is to take the cup and call on the name of the Lord!
In other words, when you learn of the work of the cross
and how all God's benefits to man are provided through that death of
Jesus in our places, to free us from death, in order to get involved
in that work and to benefit from that work, you must TAKE THIS
MESSAGE AND GET BAPTIZED INTO THIS DEATH.
- Take the cup and call on the name of the Lord.
It was
in Benjamin's sack.
Benjamin was special to Joseph.
- He was Joseph's only real full brother.
- The other brothers were half brothers.
- Only Joseph and Benjamin were children of Jacob and Rachel.
When Benjamin was born, his mother, Jacob's true love who
was cheated from him by her father when he gave Jacob Leah, as Jacob
thought he married Rachel, was dying.
- Jacob's love of his life was leaving him in death.
- When the baby was born, she called him BENONI, or SON OF MY
SORROW, since he was born in her death.
- But Jacob said he will be called BENJAMIN, SON OF MY RIGHT
HAND, instead.
- Since he dearest love, Rachel, would ever be remembered by
little Benjamin, a memory as dear to oneself as one's own
right hand, he would name the boy "son of my right hand."
We are so dear to God, as Benjamin was to Jacob, that the
Father considers us "son of the right hand."
Since we are so close the Christ -- which is how He identified
Himself as us and died our deaths -- Jesus' cup is in our sack.
Jesus was conceived as the Holy Ghost overshadowed Mary, and we
are born of the Holy Ghost.
Joseph said these words after the event.
Genesis 45:5 Now therefore
be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither:
for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Genesis 45:7 And God sent me before
you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your
lives by a great deliverance.
Jesus saved our
lives by a great deliverance.
However, many of God's people do not truly appreciate this work,
and still feel guilty for their sins.
Genesis 50:15-21 And when
Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said,
Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us
all the evil which we did unto him. (16) And they sent
a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he
died, saying, (17) So shall ye say unto Joseph,
Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their
sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive
the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph
wept when they spake unto him. (18) And his brethren
also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we
be thy servants. (19) And Joseph said unto them, Fear
not: for am I in the place of God? (20) But as for
you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to
bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
(21) Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your
little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto
them.
Its alright.
- He drank the cup.
- He emptied it.
- There's nothing left of all the sins you used to have.
Take the cup and call on His name being baptized into His
death!
