Joseph Prince - Why the Law Can Never Make You Right
When we look at the Old Testament, it’s always to uncover Jesus and bring him out from the shadows. Amen? Now, we are no more under the shadows, we are under the New Covenant, but the Old Testament are shadows and types, and the New Testament is substance and reality. But we look at the details of the substance by looking at the Old Testament because hidden in it, you know, the Bible says, «It’s the glory of God to conceal a matter», amen, «but it’s the glory of kings», that’s you and I, «to search it out», amen, «for we have been made kings and priests unto God».
So to bring out Christ from the Old Testament is what I endeavored to do in all my ministry, and I think that the riches of the Old Testament can only be seen when we unveil Christ, amen? It is not to bring out the do’s and don’ts, bring back the law, and bring back all the rituals and the ceremonies. No, no, no, no, it is to see Christ in them all, praise God. And that is when the two disciples at the end of their journey, they said that, «Were not our hearts warmed»? In fact, the Lord restrained their eyes from seeing himself in person. I asked the Lord one time, «Why didn’t you just reveal yourself, show your nail pierced hands to them and reveal yourself to them»? But he says that, «It was more important for them to see me in the Scriptures than to see me in person».
This is the answer the Lord gave me, because that will give you all, referring to us today who are not there with them on the Emmaus road, equal opportunity, amen, because as they saw the Lord in the Scriptures, we have the same privilege to see him in the Scriptures. Praise God! Okay, praise the Lord. Let’s go to Galatians 4:21, it says, «Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman…» Now who is that son? The son of Hagar, Ishmael, right? Remember Hagar is not the legal wife, she’s actually a slave that was given to Abraham when he, during his sojourn in Egypt, and she was there, she was given. And she bore Abraham Ishmael, but the Abraham’s other son, the promised one, the one who came later, was Isaac, and that’s by a free woman, Sarah.
«But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh», that means human effort, «and he of the freewoman, through promise». That’s Isaac, through Sarah. Okay, so one was according to flesh, human effort, the other is through God’s promise when human effort cannot avail. «Which things are symbolic»? Whoa! Now here we have a lesson from the Lord himself, from the Holy Spirit teaching us that even characters, even people in the Bible, in the Old Testament, are actually symbolic. They are types. They are shadows of something that God wants to convey to us, amen.
So may we have the humility, amen, to ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to see Jesus in it all. Praise the Lord, amen. Amen, and instead of like trusting ourselves that I can interpret the Old Testament, just bring out what you see, amen. No, no, it’s more than just superficial. There is hidden in it, amen, all these wonderful antitypes, amen, of the types, amen. This substance of the shadow, praise God. And these things are symbolic, the two sons are symbolic, the two women are symbolic. «For these are the two covenants», Old Covenant and New Covenant, «the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar…» Don’t forget, the law came from Mount Sinai. We are not on Mount Sinai.
In fact, in Hebrews 12, it says, «You are not come unto the mountain that burns with fire, that shakes, that there was trumpets, and there was thundering and all that». «That even Moses,» the Bible says, «he said, 'I exceedingly fear and quake.'» So the best of them said, «I was so frightened, I was so afraid». No, you’re not come to the mountain. That’s Mount Sinai. But child of God, you are come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, amen. To an innumerable company of angels. Notice angels are not mentioned in Mount Sinai, in Hebrews 12, they have moved mountains. Even God is not mentioned there. God has moved mountains, amen. And God has moved mountains and we are still camped at Mount Sinai. May we all, and preachers, amen, move our pulpit from Mount Sinai to Mount Zion, amen. From preaching, «Doing, doing, doing.» to preaching, «It is done. Praise the Lord».
And when you rest on it, even the things you need to do now, will be accomplished in and through you, praise God, thank you Jesus. So these two «things are symbolic, for these are the two covenants. The one from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to bondage which is Hagar», that slave girl, for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free which is the mother of us all. For it is written, «'Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate», Sarah, who for many years had not even had one child, even in her younger years, she was barren.
Well, she will «have many more children than she who has a husband». All right? «Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise,» amen? You and I, we are born again. Are we born again by our own efforts? No, we are born again supernaturally, amen? We are born again by the Spirit, amen? It was God’s promise and now all of us are the fulfillment of that promise. He promised Abraham, «In your seed, all the nations will be blessed». «But as he,» now watch this. «But as he who was born according to the flesh», now that’s Ishmael. Ishmael was born according to the flesh, and he’s 13 years older than Isaac, he persecuted him as he was born according to the flesh then, Persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit. Even so, it is now.
So right now, we are seeing that happened. That the people of the… according to the flesh, because to keep the law denotes that you are under the flesh, because only by human effort can you keep the law. But can you keep the law? No, all right? It denotes the idea of, you shall not, you shall not, you shall not means your efforts, amen. So when men try to keep the law, they do the very opposite. Remember with Israel, the foot of Mount Sinai, they said that, «All that God says, we will do it, we can do it actually».
They boasted, and in Exodus 19, when they said that, God had not yet even given them the Ten Commandments. So they boasted that they are able to keep all the Ten Commandments, what happened? They broke the very first one, «Thou shalt have no other gods before me». Next thing you see, you see a golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai. So the attempt to want to keep it, even the good intention, it actually belies the fact that man doesn’t know he cannot, amen. That whatever he does will be born out of the flesh, and the flesh profiteth nothing, amen. The flesh cannot accomplish only what God can do in and through us, praise God, amen. So notice that it says that Ishmael was born after human effort, persecuted Isaac. Okay, when did this happen? When did this happen?
This happened during the time when Isaac was weaned from milk. He’s able now to take solid food. Do you remember that verse in Hebrews that says, «He that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness». So when they hear righteousness, what do they think of? Action. I must do righteous, to be righteous, amen. But the one who is mature, when he hears it, the one who is born again, the one who has come to maturity and Sonship. When he hears the word «righteousness,» he knows it’s a gift, amen. It’s a gift to be received. And that gift, when received, will transform you, amen. It will transform your life, and cause you to reign in life, praise God.
So, the Bible says that, someone who thinks of the word «righteousness» as something that you do, he’s an infant, amen. He’s still on milk, he’s not ready for solid food. Okay. So when was this persecution? When did Sarah see this Ishmael persecuting Isaac? Let’s look at Genesis 21, «So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, Ishmael, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing», making fun of «Isaac,» «Therefore she said to Abraham, 'cast out this bondwoman and her son. For the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.'»
This is serious because it’s talking about inheritance. It’s talking about heirship. Can you receive under the law? Can you receive under human effort? Or we can only receive by grace through faith, amen? Which is the one? Notice what Sarah said. «'Cast out the bondwoman and her son, ' She told Abraham». What she said in Genesis became Scripture. And it’s God’s counsel and God’s command to all of us. Let’s go back to Galatians and see this. «Nevertheless, what does the», not Sarah, say, «what does the Scripture say? Cast out the bondwoman and her son». God is saying, cast out the entire system that comes from Mount Sinai and her son. «For the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the Son of the free woman».
So every time we are trying to receive, for example, we try to receive healing, we try to receive this breakthrough in the area of our addictions, we try to receive something from God that we want to receive, but we still feel we must qualify for it. We don’t trust His love, we still feel that there’s a part for me to play there’s a part for me to do. And then that causes you to be doubting yourself. Yet the more you doubt yourself, the more you want to do to eradicate that guilt that you feel, that sense of being far from God. All this is opposite of the Spirit of Sonship. The Bible says, «Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for that bondwoman, that son of the bondwoman will not be heir with the son of the free woman».
Only by grace can you inherit, amen. It’s serious when God says, «Cast out the bondwoman and her son,» amen. So, you know, think about it, «when did this happen»? When Isaac was weaned from milk for solid food. Remember this, Ishmael and Isaac share the same father. Their father is Abraham, right. So again, the typology is this, you know, people who come against grace, because our mother is Sarah, grace, and Ishmael, the group, the Ishmael company, their people, is actually our brother in Christ. They share the same heavenly Father as us, but not the same mother. Their mother is law, Hagar, from Mount Sinai, and they will fight for her. Amen? Whereas they will say, right? We are people that betrayed the truth and we are preaching heresy, when actually this is the truth that will set you free, amen. We are, our mother is, grace, Sarah, amen. The one that God has chosen, amen.
And we are spiritual Isaacs, so to speak. But notice that these brothers of ours, they are still our brothers. We share the same heavenly Father, but not the same mother. Amen. So you can say that, you know, are you my brother or are you a brother from another mother? Amen. Same father, but not the same mama, right? Our mama is grace. Their mama is Hagar, law. Okay, but the Bible says what? «Cast out the bondwoman and her son,» and the Bible is very serious. As long as you are in that state, you cannot receive from God, amen. So a lot of us, we are trying to receive by being in a spirit of slavery. And the Bible says, «Even in the Promised Land, you cannot inherit the Promised Land», this beautiful inheritance until you say, «My Father».
Okay, praise the Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Remember this, all this happened when Isaac was weaned. So I see prophetically, the whole church of Jesus Christ now coming into grace, they realized that to have part grace, part law is mixture, amen. It’s trying to put the new wine into the old wine skin. You will lose both. Amen. You will lose the severity of the law and the freeness of grace. You will lose both, you cannot mix the two. It’s not balance. What man calls balance, God himself calls mixture. Jesus says it’s mixture, amen. You cannot put a new patch of cloth on an old garment. It will tear. It will not work. Okay? You must cast out the old system. You must be completely under grace, amen, to inherit. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord.
When did all this happen? When Isaac was weaned. I believe the church right now is being weaned. And the church, this way, God is throwing a great feast. Can you hear the sound of music and dancing? Praise the Lord. God is throwing a great feast, and all over the world, the body of Christ is realizing grace, amen. It’s a grace generation, amen. It’s what I call the Benjamin generation. And for that, I just want to call your attention to the fact that the Bible, of all the characters in the Bible, the one that typified Christ the most, amen, in its details is actually the person of Joseph in the book of Genesis, amen. Of course, we will see Christ in the life of David. We see Christ in the life of Moses.
We see Christ in the life of Isaiah, even Elijah and Elisha. But Joseph typifies Christ more than any of them, okay. Now you look at Joseph, he was loved by the father. So is our heavenly Father. He loved Jesus, amen. Joseph was loved by the father but rejected by his brothers. Now who were Jesus’s earthly brothers? The people of Israel, amen. And the birth of our Lord Jesus, he came into Israel. When the fullness of time came, God brought forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive sonship. So God sent his Son, amen. So the Son always existed with the Father, amen? And they are one, but at the right time, the fullness of time, the Bible says, God sent his Son, okay. So, his Son came. And the Bible says that «Jesus came to his own and his own received him not». Amen.
So collectively, Israel did not receive him. Yes, there are those who receive him. It goes on to say, «But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God». Amen. That’s you and I as well. Praise God. But collectively as a nation, they rejected him, all right, in their leadership, they rejected him. And Jesus with tears said, «Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I wish I would have gathered you». And that reminds me of the tears of Joseph over his brothers as well. And let’s go back to the story of Joseph once again. So he’s loved by the father but rejected by his brothers, and he was sold for 20 pieces of silver. Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. Think of it.
See, the story is so similar, amen, because God, you know, God hides his Son’s story. The story of his Son, it’s all about his Son, amen? You know, if I come to your house, and you start showing me all your photo albums, okay, of all your son when he was young, and your children, your daughter, and, you know, all your life and your holidays and all that. And I sort of like look far away. I’m not interested in all that. Very soon, you will know to close the book, amen, why? Because I’m not interested. So the Bible is nothing more than God’s photo album of his Son, amen. As we look at it with great interest, and delight, and asking God, «Holy Spirit, open my eyes to behold Jesus in your Word».
You know, God will open more and more. God will open more and more to you, amen. Praise the Lord. So Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver, Jesus was betrayed, or sold for 30 pieces of silver, and even though his brothers rejected him, Joseph became the bread of life to the Egyptian world, to the Gentiles, so to speak, amen, ready to feed the world. Do you remember that the brothers of Joseph, they were born of slave girls, bondwomen, all right? Like Bilhah, Zilpah, and all the rest, except that Jacob had two legal wives. Leah, the first one, and Rachel.
Now Rachel’s name means lamb. So she’s a picture of Sarah, the New Covenant, grace, amen. Leah came first, like the law came first before grace, because man needs to know that he cannot to see his need for the Savior. God didn’t bring grace first, God brought the law first. The law came by a servant, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, the Son. Okay, so Leah came first, Jacob married her first, and, for Leah, a picture of the law, the rest of the children actually came from slave women, bondwomen, okay? And all of them, that makes up the ten tribes of Israel. The two tribes, there are 12 tribes of Israel, I know, but the two are actually Joseph as well as Benjamin, okay? So who is Joseph again? Our Lord Jesus, amen. And he shares the same mother as Benjamin.
Who is Benjamin? That’s the question. Who is Benjamin? Because whoever Benjamin is, he shares the same mother, not just the same father. In fact, all those born that make up the 12 tribes of Israel, they were all born of the same father, Jacob. In other words, they have the same father, just like Isaac and Ishmael’s story all over again. Okay, they share the same father but not the same mother. Their mother is a bondwoman. Okay, their mother is a picture of the law. Leah, or the bondwomen, that brought forth all the other sons, the ten sons.
Notice ten, the number below. The other two sons are Joseph and Benjamin, amen. So only Joseph and Benjamin was born from the lamb, because Rachel’s name means lamb, amen. And we need to establish who is Benjamin, all right, because in the Scriptures, the Bible says he’s the most favored of them all. He’s the most loved by the Father, and the most loved by Joseph, by the heavenly Joseph, our Lord Jesus as well. And when did Benjamin make his appearance? During the time of famine. Look at Genesis 41, «So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, 'Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.'»
Whatever he says to you, do. Just like Mary said at the wedding of Cana, when they ran out of wine, she said to all the servants, «Whatever Jesus says to you, do it»! And friend, the water will turn to wine. Sight will come to the blind. Amen. You know friend, it was when Benjamin came before him, Benjamin was already in existence when Joseph was in the palace in Egypt serving, right, as a viceroy, the second most powerful man in all Egypt. Benjamin was growing up, but yet, nothing happened until Benjamin came before Joseph.
So I just want to close by saying this, Benjamin generation, he wants you to come close to him, he wants you to be in his presence. I know you want this blessing, you want this breakthrough, and sometimes you come to him to get a breakthrough, but you know something? He just wants you to come and see him, and to know that he has only grace for you, five times more for you. He only has gracious words for you. He wants to love on you. Will you allow him to love on you? Will you enjoy that love in his presence? It was when Benjamin came to Joseph that things began to turn around, even for Israel, amen. Even for the nation of Israel represented by the brothers, as well as today, those brothers that don’t believe in grace, amen, having the same father but not the same mother.
Well, they are turning around. Everything starts turning around when Benjamin comes before Joseph. I pray that has been your delight when I open up the story of Joseph, because Joseph reminds me of Jesus. And when you open up the story of Joseph, the more you look at Joseph, you know, the more you see Jesus. How he interpreted the dreams of the two men: one of them is a butler in the palace and also the other one is a baker, and two men, two thieves that probably stole from Pharaoh, and he threw them into the dungeon.
And Joseph interpreted their dream, right? One of them was a message of life, the other one is death. When Jesus was crucified, there were two thieves on either side, and he gave a message of life to one of them, amen. Praise the Lord. So it’s a picture of Jesus all across the story of Joseph. Amen, amen, amen.