As Joseph was disciplining his brothers, he loved them in a secret way (42:25). This secret love frightened them. According to the prophecies in the Bible, the Lord will also exercise His sovereign authority to provide for all the needs of the nation of Israel. There is no need to worry about Israel, for we have the assurance that the sovereign Lord will provide whatever Israel needs for its existence. For example, if the little nation of Israel needs certain territory, the Lord will give it to them. He has a way to do this, because He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is higher than all the presidents on the earth. Whether or not Israel will retain the Golan Heights or the Sinai does not depend upon the decisions of presidents and diplomats. It depends upon the Lord's sovereignty. If I were a Jew living in the nation of Israel, I would rest in the Lord. I have no doubt that even today the Lord is extending His sovereign love to Israel in a secret way. The Lord will continue to do this on Israel's behalf in the future. If you read the newspapers, you will see this happening again and again.
The Lord will test and discipline Israel and at the same time extend His secret and sovereign love to them because He needs them. The record of Joseph's life in the book of Genesis reveals that Joseph needed his brothers. Whose need was greater? Did Joseph's brothers need him more, or did Joseph need them more? I would say that Joseph needed his brothers more than they needed him. Yes, Joseph had become the ruler in Egypt. However, Joseph was not yet satisfied, for he was still expecting to see the fulfillment of his dreams. In Egypt Joseph was very lonely and he longed to see his father and his brothers. He needed the fulfillment of his dreams, and he needed his father and his brothers. Thus, his need for them was greater than their need for him.
The principle is the same today with respect to the Lord Jesus. Whose need is greater—does the nation of Israel need the Lord Jesus more than the Lord Jesus needs the nation of Israel? I would say that the Lord's need of Israel is greater than Israel's need of the Lord. Likewise, we need the Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus needs us. Again I would ask: Whose need is greater—do we need the Lord more than the Lord needs us? The Lord needs us more than we need Him. If you know this, you can tell the Lord, "Lord Jesus, how I thank You for taking care of my need. But, Lord, Your need of me is greater than my need of You. I may not care whether or not I go to hell, but You care about it very much." Do you dare to say this to the Lord? At least a few times I have said, "Lord, I thank You for Your care. But, Lord, I realize that You need me more than I need You. Lord, I know that You care about losing me." Whenever I have said this to the Lord, I have had the deep sense within that the Lord was smiling and very happy. He seemed to be saying to me, "O my little child, you know Me so well." We should not pray to the Lord out of the fear of being sent to hell. We should not say, "O Lord, I'm afraid I might be lost and sent to hell. Lord, have mercy on me and rescue me from hell. Oh, don't let me go to hell!" If you pray like this, the Lord may say, "What are you talking about? You are not so pitiful, and I don't need to have that much mercy upon you. I have already shown great grace to you. Don't you realize that I need you more than you need Me?"
Because the Lord needs the nation of Israel more than Israel needs Him, He loves them in a secret way. However, just as Joseph's brothers were ignorant of his love (42:27-28, 35), so the nation of Israel today is ignorant of Christ's love for them. We also have been ignorant of His love for us. I am somewhat concerned that many among us are still ignorant of the Lord's love. Are you clear about His love? Do you realize that you are not in the church because of your determination, but because of His love for you? The fact that you are in the church is the strongest proof that the Lord loves you. This does not mean, however, that the Lord Jesus does not love those outside the church. He certainly loves them, but they are missing His love. Although we may not be missing His love, we may be ignorant of it. I hope that from now on none of us will be ignorant of Christ's love. Rather, we should say to Him, "Lord, thank You for Your love. The fact that I am in Your presence is proof that You love me. Lord, how I thank You that I am here enjoying Your presence! Hallelujah for this sign of Your love!"
In this message we have covered eight aspects of the recognition of Christ by the children of Israel. If you consider the prophecies in the Old Testament and the New Testament, you will see that all these aspects are in the prophecies concerning Israel's relationship with Christ, their Messiah.