When Joseph did send for his father, he himself did not go to get him. What was the reason for this? We cannot say that he did not have the time, for when his father died he had the time to bury him. In order to answer this question we need to discover what the Bible does not say. (This is one of the ways to study the Bible.) The reason Joseph did not go was that he was restricted. He did not want to do anything according to his emotion. Rather, his emotion was restricted. Joseph did not leave Egypt to see his father; neither did he send someone to find out whether or not a caravan was coming. In fact, Jacob "sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen" (46:28). Jacob seemed to be saying to Judah, "Judah, go to Joseph and tell him that I'm coming and ask him to direct us to him."

Do not think that Joseph was not eager to see his father. He certainly longed to see him. But even on the day of his father's arrival, Joseph was still at home. He did not make a special trip to meet his father on the way. Again I say that Joseph was a person fully under God's restriction. However, when he heard that his father had arrived in Goshen, he "presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while" (46:29). This proves that Joseph was very emotional and that he had a heart for his father. But he did not act according to his emotion; rather, he always acted under God's restriction. Because of this, he was able to be the ruler.

If you cannot rule yourself, you cannot be a good ruler. Suppose you lose your temper whenever you feel like it. If so, then you are through with the rulership of the Holy Spirit. But if we are under the rulership of the Spirit, we shall ask the Lord to have mercy on us when we sense that we are about to lose our temper. Only by being under God's restriction can we rule others. To be under God's restriction is the best discipline to prepare us for kingship in the coming age. No childish person, no one who has not been restricted, will be a king in the coming kingdom. In this matter of living under restriction, we see the maturity of life. May this word be a help to all who love the Lord, the recovery, and the church life.

In the Lord's recovery we have people from different backgrounds with different dispositions and concepts. Because of all these differences, we need to be restricted. If we are not restricted but express our emotion freely, we shall cause damage. We may regret later what we have done, but it may be too late. You may say, "I have the right to express my feelings like this." Yes, you have the right to do so, but you damage others. Do you want a proper church life? If you do, then you need to be under God's restriction. Consider again the picture of Joseph. He could bring in the kingdom only by being a person who denied himself. If he had acted according to his feelings and not according to God's guidance, everything would have been spoiled. But Joseph was a person wholly under God's restriction. Therefore, the kingdom of God could be brought in through him. In order for the kingdom to be realized in a practical way, there had to be a person who lived under restriction and who denied himself.

It is the same with us today. Do you want to have a pleasant church life? Then you must be under restriction and deny yourself. We all need to learn this. Suppose Joseph had not been a self-denying person. In such a case it would have been impossible for the kingdom of God to be brought in and realized in a practical way. Joseph's self-denial, his restriction under God's sovereign hand, was the key to the practice of the kingdom life. Thank God for Joseph's self-denying life. Through such a life God's purpose was fulfilled, and the kingdom was brought in, realized, and practiced. Through this fulfillment, the children of Israel shared in the enjoyment of the kingdom.