Joseph (part 10) - The Power of Integrity

In Genesis 46 we see a great example of integrity in the person of Joseph.  Here's Joseph.  He's not just the second most powerful man in Egypt, he's really the second most powerful man in the world because Egypt at that time was the dynasty.  Even in an incredible position of power, Joseph understood the need for integrity.  As we look at Joseph we see his integrity in three different actions.  First of all, we see his integrity in his settling his family.  Joseph had sent his brothers back to the land of Canaan to get their families and father and bring them back to Egypt where they were going to live in the land of Goshen and Joseph was going to take care of them.  The brothers go back and they tell Jacob the whole story about Joseph, that he's still alive, and they pack up and they begin the move to Egypt. 

JACOB IS REASSURED

This was a serious change of life.  Very few changes in life are more serious than those of geographical location moves.  They're going from the land of Canaan to the land of Egypt.  They're going to a strange culture.  They will be around people they don't know who speak a language they don't understand.  As they prepare to move and get to the edge of the land of Canaan, Jacob is a little bit bothered. 

Jacob is 130 years old and the thought of change doesn't really do anything for him.  Human nature hasn't changed over the centuries.  The truth of the matter still remains that the older we get, the harder it us for us to get excited about change.  This was a huge change for Jacob and he’s getting nervous so he stops the caravan and he offers a sacrifice to God. 

There's no doubt that part of the reason for this sacrifice is his saying “thank you” for Joseph being alive.  But part of it is Jacob saying, “God, before I go one step further, before I make this humongous change and move my family 300 miles to a strange culture, I need to make sure You're in it.  I need to make sure this is what You really want us to do.”  I love this about Jacob because he’s finally becoming the spiritual leader of his home.  It only took 130 years but he's finally there.  He's not just moving to Egypt on impulse because Joseph is there.  He wants to know for sure that God is in it.  And God reassures Jacob that he does not have to be afraid as He gives Jacob several promises. 

“I am God, the God of your father.  Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt.” (Genesis 46:3-4)

It’s as if God is saying, “Jacob, I know change is hard for you, especially at 130 years old, but you don't need to be afraid because I'm in the change.  I got it covered.  I'm in control.  Trust Me.”  It then goes on and it says,

“For I will make you a great nation while you're in Egypt.  I'll go down with you to Egypt.  I'll surely bring your people up again out of Egypt.  And Joseph will close your eyes.”

Let's break down those promises.  First, He says, “Let Me remind you, Jacob, I'm going to make a great nation of you while you're in Egypt.”  That promise wasn't originally given to Jacob.  It was originally given to Abraham, his grandfather.  God told Abraham that He was going to make a great nation out of his seed.  It hadn’t happened yet and Abraham has long since been dead.  God made the promise to Abraham but Abraham didn't see the promise fulfilled.  Yet, God would still fulfill the promise.  Never forget a principle we see all through the story of Joseph - God's timing may not always be our timing but it's always the best timing.  He reminds Jacob of that promise He made to Abraham which is now a promise to Jacob. 

He then says, “I'll go down with you to Egypt.”  I love this about God.  God doesn't just say, “Hey, here's a change.  Go do it.”  God says, “I'm going to go with you through the change.  I know you're feeling uncomfortable, Jacob.  I know you're anxious.  I know I you're not thrilled about this change but I'm in it.  I'm going to go with you.  You don't have to be afraid.” 

Then He says, “I'm going to bring you out of Egypt.”  You're not going to be there forever.  Your people won't be there forever.  I'm going to bring you out. What God doesn't tell him is that it would be more than 400 years before this happens.  This is like the promise made to Abraham.  Jacob won't see this one fulfilled but God will still fulfill it.  430 years after they arrive in Egypt, God will bring them out of Egypt with a new leader by the name of Moses. 

Then God says something very personal to Jacob.  He says, “Jacob, I promise you this.  Your son Joseph will close your eyes.  He will be the one who buries you.  Jacob, I know you were away from your son for 22 years.  I know you thought he was dead for 22 years.  But I want you to know, from the time you get to Egypt until the time you die, you will have Joseph again.  And Joseph will be the one who will be there when you breathe your last breath.”  That must have brought a huge smile to Jacob's face. 

JACOB IS REUNITED

All of Jacob's family now moves from Canaan and starts the 300-mile trip to Egypt.  In verses 5 through 27 God lists the names of all Jacob's sons and their sons that made this move.  This is the nation of Israel at the time.  He lists for us all the men – Jacob’s sons and grandsons.  We can add to that number all of the wives and daughters.  According Genesis 46:26-27, all the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt (that's his sons and his grandsons that are listed in that passage, not including the wives and daughters) were 66 persons in all.  Jacob would make 67.  Joseph, who is back in Egypt, would make 68 and his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, would make an even 70 men.  When you add in the women, there is anywhere between about 150 to 200 people who enter Egypt.  That's the size of Israel when they enter Egypt.  What happens to them while they're in Egypt?  Exodus 1:7 says this,

“But the sons of Israel were fruitful in Egypt and increased greatly and multiplied and became exceedingly mighty so that the land of Egypt was filled with them.”

If you remember the story that sets up Exodus 1, there are so many Jewish people Pharaoh, who doesn't remember Joseph at all as this is many years in the future, becomes nervous that they'll take over the country.  As a result, he puts them in severe bondage so that they won't take over the country.  430 years after they arrive in Egypt, after the 10 plagues, Moses will then lead them out of Egypt. 

How many are there of them when they leave Egypt?  There were 70 men plus wives and daughters when they entered Egypt.  How many are there when they leave Egypt?  In Numbers 1 we get the exact number.  According to Numbers 1:46, all the numbered men (again, not wives, not daughters, just the men) who leave Egypt are 603,550 men.  There were 70 men when they entered Egypt.  430 years later there are over 600,000 men when they leave Egypt.  If you add in wives and daughters, we're talking roughly 2 million people that left Egypt at the exodus under the leadership of Moses.  God was going to do exactly what he promised Jacob.  While they were in Egypt He made them a great nation and 430 years later He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

Let's go back to Jacob being reunited with Joseph because it's amazing.  After all those years, 22-plus years of thinking that Joseph was dead, Jacob finally gets to see his son again.  When they get close to the land of Egypt, Jacob sends Judah ahead to go tell Joseph that they are almost there.  Joseph, who is so anxious to see his dad, already has his scouts looking out for them and sees that they're coming.  Joseph puts on his royal garb, he hops in his chariot, and he goes out to meet them.  For the first time in over 22 years he's going to see his dad who he thought he would never see again. 

“Joseph prepared his chariot and he went up to Goshen to meet his father.  And as soon as he appeared before him, he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time.”

We could put a pause there.  We don't know how long of a pause but I bet it was a long time.  They couldn't say a word.  They just hugged and cried and hugged and cried.  Put yourself in Judah's shoes and Reuben's shoes and Simeon's shoes.  You're standing there watching your father and your little brother embracing and weeping and embracing and weeping for what seems like an eternity.  You realize you were the one that caused the pain.  What an emotional moment this must have been.  I have a feeling, even though the Bible doesn't say it, that brothers were weeping, as well. 

After what probably seemed like an eternity of hugging and weeping, Jacob looks into Joseph's eyes, the son who he thought was dead for 22-plus years, and he says, “Now I can die.”  It doesn't get any better than this.  His life is now fulfilled.  That tells me that the whole 300-mile trip Jacob had doubts.  Was Joseph really still alive or was this a cruel hoax?  When he sees his face, he knows.  He is alive.

JACOB RELOCATED

Here's where we see the integrity of Joseph.  Joseph has a plan.  They're on the outskirts of Egypt.  He looks at his brothers and says, “Guys, here's what's going to happen.  I'm going to take you before Pharaoh.  You've stood before me several times.  Now I'm taking you in front of the big cheese.  You're going in front of Pharaoh, the most powerful man not only in Egypt but in the world.  Let me give you a piece of advice.  When you go before him, tell him that you are “skilled in being a keeper of livestock.” 

In simple terms, what were Joseph's brothers?  They were shepherds.  Joseph says, “Don't use that term.  Don't say shepherd.  Say you're skilled in being a keeper of livestock.  It means the same thing.  I'm not asking you to lie.”  There's no deception here but you have to understand that shepherds are loathsome to Egyptians.  You see it in the text.  Egyptians really looked down on shepherds. 

Joseph says, “Listen, if you go before Pharaoh and you use the term shepherd, you're going to offend him.  We want to be sensitive here.  That's an offensive term in Egypt.  So instead, use a more sensitive term.  It means the same thing but it shows sensitivity.”  Here's what it says about Joseph's integrity.  Joseph understood a principle that I don't think we really get today.  Joseph understood that the choice of our words matter.  It did in Egypt all those years ago and it still matters today. 

I think it's harder for us to grasp that today than it ever has been in the history of the world because today a huge percentage of our words aren't verbal, they are written.  This means that we have to be more careful today than ever about the choice of our words.  Speech experts will tell you that communication is broken down into three parts.  First, there are your words which are only 7% of your communication.  93% of your communication has nothing to do with your words.  28% of your communication is your tone.  Your tone speaks four times louder than your words.  I can go home at the end of a day and I can say to my wife, “How was your day?”  And she can give a deep sigh and say, “Fine.”  Her words said, “Fine,” but is that what she communicated?  If I just heard her words it's going to be a long night.  Her tone spoke much louder than her words. 

55% of communication is nonverbal.  Over half of the way that you communicate is nonverbal?  When my kids were little and my son hit my daughter and I said to him, Jonathan, “Apologize to your sister.”  He would fold his arms, hunch his shoulders and grit his teeth and say, “I'm sorry!”  His words said, “I'm sorry,” but what he really communicated was, “Dad, please spank me.”  Your nonverbal speaks much louder than everything else. 

E-mail, Facebook, texting, it's all wonderful.  But you have to understand that when you send an e-mail to someone, or send a text message to someone, or post something on Facebook, all they can see and read are your words.  That means there's a 93% chance they're going to take it wrong.  Today, more than ever, we need to understand that the choice of our words matter.  Joseph understood that. 

“Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh and said, my father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan.  Behold, they're in the land of Goshen.” (Genesis 47:1)

I love what Joseph does here.  Even though he's the second most powerful man in Egypt, he doesn't just presume anything.  He goes in to Pharaoh to make sure Pharaoh is okay with the decision.  I love that about Joseph.  Sometimes I think we make big mistakes when we just presume because we have a title or because we have a position that we can just do something.  Joseph gets permission first.  Joseph understands that integrity means I have to be accountable to somebody.  Integrity means I have to answer to somebody. 

That's why I'm so thankful for our elder board here at the church because that's a group of men who I highly respect and who I make myself accountable to.  Every Thursday I write them a written report of my week so they know how I spent my time because I want to be accountable to them.  If an opportunity comes up, I don't want to just presume because I'm the lead pastor I can do it.  Integrity means I understand the need to be accountable to somebody else.  Joseph, even as the second most powerful man in Egypt, understood that need. 

Next, notice the presentation of Joseph.  He brings his brothers in before Pharaoh.  It is very interesting because when the brothers come in before Pharaoh and he asks, “What do you guys do?”  They say, “We're shepherds.”  They didn't listen to Joseph’s counsel.  Yet, Pharaoh gives them permission to settle. 

The next thing Joseph does is to bring his father in to see Pharaoh.  Think about this.  Who's Pharaoh?  He is the king of Egypt.  Not only is he the most powerful man in Egypt, he's the most powerful man in the world at that time.  He lives in a palace and leads millions of people.  Not only that, in the Egyptian culture, they considered Pharaoh a god.  Who's Jacob?  He's 130-year-old hunched over Hebrew with gray hair and a long beard.  He had just came on a 300-mile trip with all of his family.  It's like the "Beverly Hillbillies" coming to Beverly Hills.  He is like Jed Clampett coming in to see Mr. Drysdale at the bank.  He had never seen a palace before in his life.  He lived in a tent his whole life.  Don't you think he'd be intimidated by Pharaoh, intimidated by the palace? 

“Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.”

What does Jacob do?  Jacob blessed Pharaoh.  In our culture today, when we used the word “blessed,” we mean that somebody did something nice for us.  Somebody gave you something, they blessed you.  In the Bible, the word blessed is always verbal.  Jacob verbally blesses Pharaoh - he offers a prayer of blessing for him.  He comes walking in and looks at him and says, “May the God of Abraham and Isaac, my grandpa and my daddy, may that God bless you.  May that God give you grace.  May that God give you wisdom.  May that God cause you to prosper.”  He comes before Pharaoh and prays a blessing for him.  Was Pharaoh a follower of the God of Israel?  No.  He was a heathen, a pagan who set himself up as God.  And Jacob prays for him. 

Integrity understands how to respond to authorities even if they don't believe like you.  We're missing that in our culture.  Today in our culture if you disagree with authorities it's okay to bash them.  In our culture, if you disagree with an authority, it's okay to hate them.  In our culture, if you disagree with an authority, it's okay to judge their motive and attack their character.  I think we can all learn something from Jacob who blesses Pharaoh. 

Pharaoh says to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?”  Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are 130.”  Then he describes those 130 years in two ways.  He says, number one, they were few.  “I'm 130.  It's just a few.”  Today we would be thinking, WOAH!  130 years old?  That's older than dirt!  Jacob is saying, “I’m 130 and those years have sure flown by.”  The older I get the more I understand how true that concept is.  He then says, “Not only have I learned that life is brief, I'm going to be honest.  My years have also been somewhat unpleasant.”    Number one, life is short.  Number two, life is hard.  I think we can agree with him, can't we?  Life is short and life can be very hard.  Before Jacob leaves, he blesses Pharaoh one more time and the family settles in Egypt. 

We also see Joseph's integrity in saving the people.  When you first read what follows, it looks like Joseph is a very evil man.  You're going, “Wow, that's harsh!”  It is important that you take yourself out of our modern American mind-set.  We live in a culture today where there are lots of entitlements and handouts.  I’m not debating here if that is good or bad.  That's for other people much smarter than me to debate, but that is the culture we live in today.  Joseph did it differently.

During the seven years of plenty he stores up all kinds of grain.  The seven years of famine then come and the land is devastated and you can't even grow a weed in all of Egypt.  The people need food so Joseph sells them the excess food that he has stored up.  But the famine is so severe that after a while they run out of money.  The people don't have money because they can't grow crops.  The famine is devastating the economy.  They come back to Joseph and say, “We're out of food again.  We need more food but we don't have any money.”  So what does Joseph do?  He says, “I'll sell you more food for your animals.”  He didn't give them a handout.  If you think about it, it was actually a blessing because if there's no food, they can’t feed their livestock. 

But the famine continues.  They're out of money.  They're out of animals and they're out of food again.  So Joseph sells them more food in exchange for their land.  Again, no handout is given.  By the way, if you read the text, this was the people's suggestion.  They came and said, “We'll give you our land for more food.”  If you're in the middle of a famine and you can't grow a weed on your property, than your land is not very valuable.  No one else is going to buy it from you.  So now Pharaoh owns all the money, all the livestock, and all the land. 

Finally, the famine ends.  Joseph is a very wise individual.  He understands there's more at stake than just the people having food.  When the famine ends, the country has to somehow be able to respond and rebound from this horrible famine.  All the people lived in pockets of big population so Joseph is going to spread the people out throughout the whole land of Egypt. 

He gives them seed and, obviously, he also gives them animals to plow with and says, “Here's what I want you to do.  I'm going to give you this land.  I'm going to give you this seed.  I want you to plant.  I want you to grow crops.  20% of what you grow comes back to Pharaoh.  You keep the rest for your livelihood.”  Not only do all the people survive this horrible famine because they had food, but Joseph's plan allows Egypt to rebound quickly from this horrible famine by using all of the land to its redemptive potential when it comes to bearing crops.  It was an outstanding plan. We as Americans look at the plan and go, “How harsh.”  But notice how the people of Egypt responded. 

“So the people said to Joseph, ‘You have saved our lives.  Let us find favor in your sight.  We will be Pharaoh's slaves forever.’”

The people understood that Joseph had their best interest in mind.  That's what integrity is all about.  Integrity says, “Even when you are the most powerful person, you still have the betterment of others in mind.”  When you have to choose between something that would be best for you versus something that would be best for your family, what do you choose?  When you have to choose between something that would be best for you personally or would be best for the organization you work for, what do you choose?  When you have to choose between what would be best for your area of ministry or what would be best for the entire church as a whole, what do you choose?  Integrity says “It's not about me.  It's about the betterment of the whole.”  That's what made Joseph an incredible man of integrity. 

We've seen Joseph settling his family and Joseph saving his people.  The last thing I want to share with you is how Joseph now swears to Jacob.  In other words, he makes him an oath.  Jacob lives in Egypt for 17 more years.  He was 130 when he arrived so now he's 147 and it's time for him to die.  Realizing his death is near, he brings Joseph in and says, “I want you to swear to me, make me an oath, that you will bury me back in the land of Canaan.  I don't want to be buried in Egypt.”  To the Jewish people, the land matters.  It mattered to Jacob way back then.  It matters to them today.  Has asks Joseph to place his hand under his thigh and swear to him.  You read that today going, “He wants him to do what?”  In the culture of that day, that's how you made an oath to somebody who was close to you.  I am so thankful in our culture we just shake hands, but in that culture that's what they did.

“He (Jacob) said to Joseph, ‘Swear to me,’ and Joseph swore to him.  Then Jacob bowed in worship at the head of his bed.” (v31)

In spite of all his failures and shortcomings, in spite of all the trials and hurts, Jacob finished well.  Jacob the deceiver now becomes Jacob the worshipper.  At the end, the important thing about life is your relationship with God.  Jacob went through a lot.  He failed a lot.  But after it was all over, he learned that God is good.  Many of you have had a hard life and there are still some hard roads ahead of you.  Many of you, myself included, have had times of failure.  But here's the beauty of the story.  No matter what our past has been like, we can still finish well.  Like Jacob, we can fall down and we can worship.

Joseph (part 9) - The Power of Reconciliation

Today we have reached the climatic part of the story of Joseph.  Today is the day when Joseph, 22 years after his brothers threw him into that pit, reveals his identity to those same men.  Joseph's brothers had come to Egypt to get food because of the famine.  When they arrived, Joseph recognized them but they didn't recognize him.  He tested them because he wanted to see if they'd really changed.  He accused them all of being spies and kept one of them as a prisoner.  He sent the others back with instructions to return with their youngest brother, Benjamin, in order to prove their story and their innocence.

Over a course of time they were able to convince their father, Jacob, to let their little brother Benjamin return to Egypt with them.  When they got to Egypt, Joseph saw Benjamin.  He allowed them to buy more food.  He released Simeon but he then instigated one more test.  He took his silver cup, the one he personally drank out of, and had it placed in the sack of Benjamin.  He then sent his men after them and they found the cup in Benjamin's sack.  They brought them all back to Egypt.  The brothers began to talk about the evil they did to one of their other brothers.  They begin to come clean and were even willing to take Benjamin’s place as a prisoner if the Prime Minister would just allow their youngest brother to return home to their father.  Joseph continues the test saying that the cup was only found in one person's bag and that it would be that person that would be his slave forever.  That person, of course, was Benjamin. 

The brothers had the opportunity to do what they had done to Joseph 22 years earlier.  If they hadn’t changed, they could have thrown Benjamin under the bus and went back home and said, “Dad, we’re sorry but Benjamin stole from the guy.  There was nothing we could do.”  But Judah, the same guy who 22 years earlier instigated selling Joseph into slavery, stepped up to the plate.  He took responsibility and gave a passionate speech in which he says, “You don't understand.  If Benjamin doesn't go back home, my dad will die of sorrow.  Take me.  I'll take Benjamin's spot.  I'll be your slave forever.”  And at that moment Joseph knows his brothers have really changed.

This is crucial because for reconciliation to take place, two things have to happen.  Number one, there needs to be forgiveness.  Joseph has already forgiven these brothers.  Number two, there has to be repentance which we now see on the part of these ten older brothers.  As we pick up the story in Genesis 45, we now see the power of this reconciliation in the first three verses.  These are the climatic verses.  These are the ones where Joseph reveals his identity.    

“Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him and he cried out saying, have everyone go out from me.  So there was no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.  He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it through the walls.  The household of Pharaoh heard of it.  And here's verse 3.  This is the big one.  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.”

Joseph now knows that his brothers have really changed.  Judah has proven that.  That change is paramount because it's going to be through the line of Judah that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, would eventually be born.  Joseph has everyone leave the room so that he can be alone with his brothers.  This is a private matter between him and them.  He is so overtaken with emotion at their repentance that his weeping is heard all the way through the palace walls.  Finally, Joseph utters words and for the very first time these brothers hear him speak in Hebrew.  Up until now he's been speaking in Egyptian through an interpreter.  They had no clue it was Joseph.  Now, in their own native tongue, he says those unbelievable words that I'm sure these guys never thought they would ever hear.   

“I am Joseph.”

Put yourself in these guys' shoes.  22 years ago you hated your younger brother so much that you wanted to kill him.  You opted to throw him in a pit and sell him into slavery.  For 22 years you have convinced your dad that he was dead.  For 22 years you've tried to keep it behind you, to put it out of your mind.  Never thinking you'd see him again.  They were most likely convinced Joseph was dead.  It had been 22 years.  You don't make it 22 years as an Egyptian slave.  They never thought they would see him again and now, they're not only seeing him, but he's Egypt’s prime minister.  He's the guy who's been testing them. 

Can you imagine what's going through their minds? On one hand, they're shocked.  Can you also imagine the fear?  22 years ago, they wanted to kill him.  22 years ago, they mistreated him horribly.  Now he has the power of revenge.  Not only is there shock, not only is there fear, there's also guilt and shame.  What Joseph does next is amazing because Joseph now initiates the reconciliation.  He’s already forgiven them but now he's going to initiate entering back into a relationship with them.  From this we see four powerful benefits of reconciliation. 

RECONCILIATION RESTORES INTIMACY

“Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Please come closer to me.’ and they came closer and he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt.’” (Genesis 45:4)

The first thing Joseph says to these guys is, “Come closer to me.”  When he uttered those words, “I am Joseph,” these guys were fearful.  They backed off.  Now he says, “Come closer,” which is a word that's powerful.  It doesn't just mean come closer in proximity.  There's another Hebrew word for that.  This is a word that literally says come closer in intimacy.  I don't just want you to come closer in distance.  I want us to be intimate again.  I want to enter back into a relationship.  I want you to be able to see me up close, to know I'm really Joseph.  I want you to be able to look into my eyes and know that I have forgiven you.  I love you and I want to once again be your brother.  I want to enter back into this relationship. 

Joseph reminds them of the wrong they did.  He said, “I'm your brother who you sold into Egypt.”  He doesn't remind them of it to use it as a weapon.  He is saying, “Guys, you hurt me deeply but that's behind us now.  That's not what I'm interested in.  This isn't about vengeance.  This isn't about retaliation.  This is about us being a family once again.”  Intimacy is restored when there's reconciliation. 

RECONCILIATION REMOVES GUILT

Not only does reconciliation restore intimacy, In verse 5 Joseph goes on and says to them, “Do not be grieved or angry with yourselves.”  Isn't that an amazing statement?  Don't be grieved.  Don't be angry with yourselves because of what you did to me because God sent me before you to preserve life.  Reconciliation doesn't just restore intimacy, it removes guilt.  That's the power of reconciliation.  Joseph lets his brothers off the hook.  He says, “I've forgiven you. I want you to forgive yourselves.  I don't want you to live in guilt.  I don't want you to live in pain.  That's not why I'm revealing myself to you.”  The truth is that sometimes it's easier for us to forgive others than it is for us to forgive ourselves.  Joseph wants his brothers to understand that God was in this situation the entire time. 

In 1 Corinthians 13:4 we learn that, “Love is patient.”  The word “patient” describes someone who's been wronged, has the power to retaliate, but chooses not to.  Had these brothers wronged Joseph?  Without question they had.  Did Joseph have the power to retaliate?  Yes.  He was the second most powerful man in Egypt.  Did Joseph retaliate?  No.  Why not?  He didn’t because forgiveness never seeks retaliation.  Joseph wants them to remove the guilt.  He doesn't want them to live with that burden any longer.  He lets them off the hook.  Tell me, my friend, who today do you need to let off the hook? 

RECONCILIATION REVEALS PURPOSE

“Joseph says, ‘God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.  Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God.  And He has made me a father (advisor) to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.’” (Genesis 45:7-8)

Joseph wants his brothers to understand that though their actions threw him into a pit, it was God that was working through the whole thing.  God was doing something even in the midst of the horror.  God was doing something even in the midst of their evil.  That's the amazing thing about God.  Our God is so incredible, so powerful, and so awesome that there is nothing He can't use.  He can even use our mistakes.  He can even use Satan to accomplish His own purposes.  That's how amazing our God is. 

That doesn't take away the fact that these guys were wrong.  What they did 22 years earlier was horrible.  But our omniscient God, knowing these brothers were going to do this, still used it to accomplish His purpose.  Think about the story.  They take Joseph and they throw him in the pit.  Have you ever thought about the timing of the Ishmaelites who were traveling by on their way to Egypt?  Who do you think planned that?  God did!  Isn't it amazing that of all the people in Egypt that could have bought him as a slave, it was Potiphar that bought him, somebody so high up in the government?  Who do you think caused that to happen?  It was God.  Isn't it amazing that he gets thrown in the same prison at the same time that the cupbearer gets in there?  Who do you think made that happen?  It was God. 

Joseph has a vertical perspective on life.  Most of us only have a horizontal perspective.  When things come into our life that are bad, that are ugly, that are hurtful, when we get betrayed, mistreated and bruised, we can only look horizontally.  We look at how it affects us and how it messed up our life and how it's making our life difficult.  Joseph was able to look beyond that.  He was able to see that there was a vertical perspective.  He was able to see that God was at work and that He had allowed it to happen and used it so that tens of thousands of people were saved from starvation, including Joseph’s own family who would have died of starvation had Joseph not been prime minister.  What a God! 

When Paul wrote Romans 8:28 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I wonder if he had Joseph in mind when he said, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God.”  He did it for Joseph and He will do the same in your life as well.  No matter what you're facing, no matter how much hurt, no matter how much despair and dismay, I need you to know that behind the scenes God is at work and often it's not until reconciliation takes place that we're able to begin to see the purpose of what God was doing all along. 

RECONCILIATION RENEWS HOPE

“You shall live in the land of Goshen.  And you shall be near me.  You and your children and your children's children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have and there I will provide for you for there are still five years of famine to come and you and your house old and all that you have would be impoverished if it weren't for me.” (Genesis 45:10-11)

Joseph says to his brothers, “I'm going to take care of you.  I'm going to make sure your needs are met.  I want you to move the whole family here.  I want you to go home.  I want you to get your kids, your grand kids, and I want you to bring them here.  I want to do good to you.”

That's what forgiveness is all about.  In Ephesians 4:32 it doesn't just say we're to forgive.  It says we are to be kind and tender hearted as well.  The word kind means to be useful.  Don't just forgive, be useful.  And don't just be useful, be tender-loving.  What's the difference between kindness and tender-loving kindness?  A Sunday School teacher asked her class that question one day and a Iittle girl responded saying, “If I were hungry, and you gave me a piece of bread that would be kindness; but if you spread some jelly on that bread, that would be tender-loving kindness.  You know what Joseph's doing?  He's spreading some jelly on the bread.  He's saying, “Guys, I don't just forgive you.  I'm not just going to give you a piece of bread.  I'm going to spread some jelly on it.”  And hope is renewed. 

When reconciliation takes place, comfort happens.  First, comfort was brought to Joseph’s brothers.  The next verse says that,

“Joseph fell on his brother, Benjamin's neck and wept and Benjamin wept on his neck.  He kissed all his brothers.  He wept on them and afterward his brothers talked with him.”

There was comfort given to his brothers.  As they have this reunion they talk about those 22 years.  They most likely shared about their kids and their grandkids.  Joseph told them about his two boys, Manasseh and Ephraim.  Comfort was given to his brothers. 

But this comfort when beyond that.  In verse number 16 there's a different type of comfort. 

“Now, when the news was heard in Pharaoh's house that Joseph's brothers had come, it pleased Pharaoh and his servants.”

It not only brought comfort to his brothers, this reconciliation also brought comfort to Pharaoh and to his household.  They all heard the commotion.  They all heard the crying.  Now, comfort comes to Pharaoh’s household.  Everybody wins when reconciliation takes place.  When reconciliation takes place, everyone's refreshed.  When you choose to forgive, when you reconcile, it refreshes your marriage.  It refreshes your family.  It refreshes your church.  That's what Paul said to Philemon in chapter 1:20.  He had written to Philemon saying, “Philemon, you need to forgive a runaway slave named Onesimus and if you'll forgive him, you'll refresh my heart because reconciliation brings refreshment to everyone.” 

It also brings refreshment and comfort to Jacob.  Joseph sends those brothers home with gifts and all kinds of wagons saying, “I want you to bring the whole family here.”  In fact, he tells them to leave all of their stuff behind.  He just wants them to come – to bring the family and the animals and he will take care of all of their other needs. 

In verse 24, before they leave, he tells them not to quarrel on the way home.  What would they quarrel about?  When those guys got home, what did they have to do?  They had to tell Dad that they just met Joseph.  Isn't there a problem there?  The last time they told Jacob about Joseph they convinced him that he had been killed by a wild animal.  Now they have to come clean with Jacob.  Reconciliation can never take place until you're willing to come clean with everyone you've hurt.  On the way home there would be the temptation to quarrel about the whole thing.  Joseph says, “Don't quarrel.  Don't mess up a good thing.  This is all about grace.  This is all about forgiveness.  This isn't about casting blame.  This is about our family being reunited.” 

According to the Bible Jacob's spirit is revived.  Look at the next verse.  This is powerful.  Men, this is like watching "Old Yeller."  Even you will want to cry.  Look what happens when they told Jacob all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them and when Jacob saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the Bible says,

“The spirit of their father revived.  Then Jacob said, “It's enough.  My son Joseph is still alive.  And I am going to get to see him before I die.”

For 22 years, he thought Joseph was dead.  Now he realizes that he's going to get to see him again.  What a powerful story of the benefits or reconciliation.  Reconciliation restores intimacy.  Reconciliation removes guilt.  Reconciliation reveals purpose.  Reconciliation renews hope. 

Do you realize what makes this story even more powerful?  It’s because in the Bible, Joseph is a picture of Jesus Christ.  Think about it. 

Joseph was Jacob's beloved son.  Who was Jesus?  He was God's beloved son. 

What happened to Joseph?  Those who were his very family turned on him.  They mistreated him in a horrible way.  What happened to Jesus?  He came into his own and his own knew him not.  And not only did they not receive him, not only did they not believe him, they mistreated him.  They nailed him to a cross.  It wasn't just the Jewish people of that day that nailed Jesus to the cross.  It wasn't just the Roman soldiers that drove those nails deep into his flesh.  The truth is that we nailed Him to the cross.  It was my sin that put Him there.  It was your sin that put Him there.  You and I are as guilty of hurting Jesus.

But here's the amazing truth.  The Bible teaches that if we are willing to admit that we are sinners; if we're willing to confess that our sins separates us from God; if we're willing to understand that our sin must be punished and there's nothing we can do to change it in and of ourselves; if we will come to God in faith and say, “Jesus, I believe you are exactly who You claim to be, God in the flesh.  I believe that You died on the cross for me to pay the penalty for my sin, I believe You rose from the dead, I believe that You are the only way to heaven,” The bible says that Jesus will say to us what Joseph said to his brothers.  He looks at us and He says, “Come closer! I want to reconcile with you.  I want to forgive you.  I want us to be family.”

The Bible says, “To as many as received Him, to them God gave the power to become His children.”  Through faith in Jesus our intimacy can be restored with God.  Through faith in Jesus our sins can be forgiven.  Through faith in Jesus, our guilt can be removed.  Through faith in Jesus we can find our purpose which is to bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ every moment of every day.  Through faith in Jesus our hope is renewed and you and I can know for sure that we're going to heaven.  No matter what we're facing today, through faith in Jesus we can honestly say, “The best is yet to come!”    

Joseph (part 8) - When Your Faith Is Tested

What do we do when our faith is tested today?  As we continue to look at the story of Joseph, we are going to see what happens to Jacob, his father, when his faith is tested.  First, let me very quickly catch you up to speed with where we are in this story.  Joseph's brothers travelled down to Egypt to get food because of the famine.  When they got there, they were brought before the prime minister, who was Joseph, but they have no idea that this was their younger brother who 20 years earlier they had thrown in a pit and sold into Egyptian slavery. 

Joseph put his brothers through a series of tests.  Why does he test them?  He does so because you can forgive somebody without their changing but you can't reconcile with somebody who hasn't changed.  You can't enter back into a relationship with them unless they've changed.  He needs to discern, “Have my brothers changed?”  So he accuses them all of being spies and throws them in prison for three days. 

They had told him that they were men from the land of Canaan and that they had a younger brother who was at home with his father.  Joseph ultimately says, “Here's what I'll do.  I'll give you a chance to prove your story.  I'll just keep one of you here as a prisoner.  I'll send the rest of you back.  Bring me back your younger brother to prove to me your story is true and I'll let you all go home.” 

So his brothers, minus Simeon who's thrown in jail, go back to their father in the land of Canaan.  They tell him what happened and Jacob responds in two ways.  Number one, he responds with fear – a fear that he might lose his precious youngest son, Benjamin.  He responds, number two, with continued favoritism - showing that he still loves the two sons of Rachel more than his other sons. 

Jacob has the opportunity at this point to be the spiritual leader of his home and say, “Listen, guys, it's a tough situation we're in and it's a dangerous situation, but we have a powerful God.  We can trust this God.  Let's go ahead back to Egypt.  Let's prove our innocence.  Let's get back Simeon.”  But that's not how Jacob responds. 

“Now the famine was severe in the land so it came about when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt that their father said, go back, buy us a little food.” (Genesis 43:2)

Notice the time that has elapsed since the brothers got back to the land of Canaan to this moment.  It has been enough time that all of the grain that they brought back with them has been eaten so we can conclude that several months have passed.  How does Jacob respond to his testing of faith?  The first thing he does is to delay.  He doesn't immediately send Benjamin to Egypt.  Even though Simeon's life hangs in the balance, Jacob refuses at first to send Benjamin. 

The famine continues and the family eats all of the food they had originally brought back from Egypt and now they're in the same predicament they were in months earlier.  They are dangerously low on food and the only place they can get food is back in Egypt.  So not only do we see that Jacob delays, you could also add to this the fact that he was in denial because he simply tells his sons to go back to Egypt and get more food. 

Judah says, “Dad, we can't do that.  We told you that the prime minister said to us that if we return we have to bring Benjamin with us.  If we don't bring Benjamin with us, he will say we are all spies.  He will throw all of us in jail.  The only way we can go back is if Benjamin goes with us.”  Then Judah adds this, “I will take the responsibility for Benjamin.  Let me take him back.”  Notice what Jacob does in verse 6. 

“Then Israel said to his sons, ‘Why did you treat me so badly?’”

Jacob is now saying, “Why have you put me in this situation?”  I look at this and I want to say, “Jacob, what do you mean treat you badly?  How about Simeon?  He's back in an Egyptian prison.”  But Jacob is consumed with himself.  He's consumed with his trial.  He's consumed with his feelings.  You see, one of the worst ways that you can respond when your faith is tested is to make it all about you.  When you make it all about you and get that “woe is me” syndrome.

Jacob says, “Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man that you still had another brother?”  He's saying, “Guys, why didn't you lie?  If you would have lied, we wouldn't be in this mess!”  What a great dad he is.  We saw this earlier.  Jacob's name literally meant “deceiver.”  Lying was second nature to him.  So not only does Jacob respond to his testing of faith with delay, he also responds with blame.  He blames his sons for the situation he's in.  He shifts the blame for his problem on to his sons. 

Often, that's what we do when our faith is tested.  We run into a time in our life when it's uncomfortable, when it's dangerous, when it's disappointing, when it hurts, when we have been treated unfairly, and what we tend to do in that situation is just blame our misfortune on everybody else around us.  That's what Jacob does. 

I love what happens next because it is Judah that finally steps up.  Judah does what this family has needed for over 20 years.  He steps up and does what his dad won't do.  He takes responsibility.  He says, “Dad, listen, if you need to blame somebody, blame me.  I'll take the blame.  If that will make you feel better, blame me.  Put it on me.  But this doesn't change the facts.  Here are the facts.  Simeon's in prison.  The only way to get Simeon out is to take Benjamin to Egypt.  We're dying because we're starving.  We are about out of food.  The only place to get food is Egypt.  If we don't take Benjamin with us, we'll never get food.  He'll throw us all in jail.  So Dad, if you need to put the blame on someone, put the blame on me.  That's fine.  But we've got to take control of the situation.  We've got to do something so I'll tell you what.  You put Benjamin in my care and I'll be surety for Benjamin.  If anything happens to Benjamin, if I don't bring him back to you safe and unharmed, you can kill me.” 

That's what Judah does.  He steps up.  To put it in modern vernacular, he “man’s up.”  He finally says, “Somebody needs to take responsibility.  Somebody needs to take the helm.  Somebody needs to take the bull by the horns and since dad won't do it and none of my other brothers will do it, I'll do it.  I will take responsibility.” 

And this appears to be the turning point in Judah's life.  Up until this moment, Judah has been a spiritual and moral failure.  We haven't talked a lot about Judah in the story because our emphasis has been on Joseph but let me quickly tell you a little bit about Judah.  Judah was the one who instigated throwing Joseph into the pit and selling him into slavery into Egypt.  Judah was so wicked that his sons picked up on his wickedness to the point that God killed his sons.  He was such a moral failure that one day Judah went out to find a prostitute.  What he didn't realize is that she was disguised and it was really his daughter-in-law and he impregnated his daughter-in-law thinking she was a prostitute.  This guy did not win the Sunday school awards when he was a kid.  He was a moral failure. 

At this point, however, we see a turning.  This guy, who's been a spiritual wreck his whole life, now takes responsibility.  That's what men do.  Men take responsibility.  Men take the lead.  And that's what Judah finally does.  For all of his life he's been a little boy running around in a man's body.  But finally he changes.  Notice what happens as we continue in verses 11 to 14. 

“Then their father Israel said, ‘If this must be, then do it.’”

How's that for obedience?  How's that for courage?  How's that for leadership?  Jacob basically responds saying, “Well, if it must be, then do it.”  He responds with total reluctance.  He is not courageous at all.  He feels his back is against the wall.  Don't you love it, parents when your children obey you like that?  Don't you just love it when they finally do what you say but they do it reluctantly?  You can tell by the look on their face, by their body posture, by their groans and their grunts.  Don't you just love it? 

I remember when my daughter was younger.  She learned sign language and became pretty good at it which was really cool until the first time I scolded her and she looked at me and she just waved her hands and walked away in disgust.  I don’t know sign language so I had no idea what she said but I could tell it wasn’t positive.  That's what Jacob does.  Reluctantly, he says,

“Take your brother, arise, return to the man and may God Almighty grant you compassion in the sight of the man.”

In the next phrase we continue to see his ongoing favoritism.  He again shows his disregard for all of his sons except Benjamin.  He says that “He (that mighty man in Egypt – the prime minister) may release to you two people, your other brother and Benjamin.”  He doesn't even use Simeon's name.  And then look at the last line. 

“And as for me, well, if I'm bereaved of my children, I'm bereaved.”

He reluctantly agrees, not because he's a man of courage, not because it's the right thing to do, not because he cares about Simeon who's in prison, not because his family is starving.  He reluctantly agrees because his back is against the wall.  He has no other alternative.  And as a result, he wallows in the mire of self-pity.  “And if I'm bereaved of my children, I'm bereaved.”  Woe is me.  No one likes me.  Everyone hates me.  I think I'll go eat worms.  That's Jacob. 

To be honest, that's what an awful lot of us do when our faith is tested.  When we get in those situations in our life that hurt and that are difficult, all too often we respond the same way.  We delay in doing what we know we should do.  We blame others for the predicament that we are in.  And finally, we reluctantly obey, but as we do we wallow in our own self-pity.   

We're going to move now from the response of Jacob to the repentance of his brothers and the story really gets good.  Here's what happens.  They're now going to go back to Egypt.  What I want to do is to give you a synopsis of the story that we find in chapters 43 and 44 of Genesis.   

First, we see the aim of the brothers.  All 11 of them now will go back to Egypt.  As they do, they have four purposes.  Number one, they want to return the money they found in their sacks when they left Egypt on the previous trip. Remember, on their last trip they bought food in Egypt but when they get home they discovered that the money they used to buy the food was back in their sacks.  They freaked out at this because they believed they were going to get accused of stealing the money.  So one of the reasons they're going back is to return the money.  In fact, if you read verse 15, you will discover they're not just going to return the money, they're going to double it.  They're going to return the money times two to show they're men of integrity. 

Their second purpose is that they want to prove they're not spies.  That's what the prime minister accused them of four times on their earlier trip.  The only way to prove different was to bring Benjamin back with them. 

Number three, they want to attain the release of Simeon.  Simeon has been in jail for months.  He was put in jail while they were all still in Egypt.  Then the brothers had to travel from Egypt back to the land of Canaan on foot which was 300 miles and would have taken several weeks, maybe even a couple months.  When they got back to the land of Canaan, their dad didn’t act right away.  He delayed for several months until the food they had brought back was down to just about nothing.  He then sent them back on the 300-mile trip to Egypt, another couple of months.  So Simeon has been in the prison for quite some time and they want to secure his release.

And then, number four, they need to buy more grain because if they don't bring back more food, the whole family dies.  Do you see the importance of this trip?  There's a lot riding in the balance and they need to accomplish these four very big things. 

Upon their arrival, Joseph sees from a distance that they brought Benjamin.  He orders that a feast be prepared and that they be summoned to come before him.  So he sends his steward to go to them and say, “The prime minister would like you to appear before him.”  The brothers are very scared because they think the reason the prime minister wants them to come before him is because he thinks they stole the money on their last trip.  They think he's going to bring them in, accuse them all of stealing the money and throw them all in prison, or worse, kill them all.  So they are very, very, very scared. 

They say to Joseph's steward, “We need to tell you something.  When we were going back to Israel last time, we found the money in our sacks that we had used to buy the food.  We have no idea how it got there.  You've got to believe us.  We need you to go back and tell the prime minister we're innocent.  We're even prepared to pay it back times two.  We're ready to make amends.”  I love what the steward does in verse 23.  He says, “Be at ease.”  The modern vernacular would be, “Chill out.”  Actually, in the Hebrew text, it's the word “shalom.”  It's the Jewish greeting even to this day.  It means “be at peace.”  It's a wish and a greeting – “God's peace be on your life.”  Then the steward says,

“Your God and the God of your father has given you treasures in your sack.”

The steward is saying, “Chill out.  Be at peace.  You're not in trouble.  Why are you reading so much into this?  Don't you know what happened?  Your God, the God of your great grandpa Abraham, the God of your grandpa Isaac, the God of your father Jacob has blessed you.  That's why the money was in your sacks.”  When your life is consumed with guilt because you haven't dealt with your past, it changes your perspective on everything - even the blessings of God. 

As I read this I can’t help but to ask myself this question, “Where do you think this Egyptian steward learned so much about the God of Israel?  Where do you think he learned about ‘shalom’?  Where do you think he learned about the patriarchs, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?  Where do you think this Egyptian steward learned all that?”  Well, it's pretty obvious, isn't it?  He learned it from Joseph. 

Joseph didn't just have an impact in saving multiple thousands of people from physical starvation.  Joseph had an impact in individual lives spiritually.  Contrast him with his father.  Jacob couldn't even have a spiritual impact in his own sons' lives in the way he responded to his test of faith.  But here's Joseph, and the way he responds doesn’t just result in him saving thousands from physical starvation, he is bringing the truth of the one true God to the land of Egypt one person at a time. 

When you go through the testing of your faith, when you go through those times of trials and disappointments, and you put the focus back on yourself, like Jacob did, and wallow in your own self-pity, you will miss some of the best opportunities God will ever set up for you to spiritually impact the lives of others.  You will impact people more during times of your affliction than you will ever be able to impact them during the times of your blessings. 

The steward reassures them.  He brings them water to wash their feet.  He brings them food for their donkeys and then he brings them all before Joseph and they lay out their gifts before the prime minister.  At that moment Joseph sees Benjamin up close.  Before he talks about Benjamin, he asks about his father.  He says, “How is your father doing, the aged father you told me about, is he still alive?”  Joseph is showing his heart.  For over 20 years he's been separated from his father whom he loved.  I imagine that for the better part of those 20 years he thought he would never see his father again but his heart is still connected to Dad.   

In verse 29, as he lifted his eyes he saw his brother Benjamin who he hadn’t seen in over 20 years.  The text says that he saw his brother Benjamin, “his mother’s son.”  Don't miss that phrase.  Keep in mind that the other ten brothers were only half-brothers of Joseph.  They shared the same father but Joseph has a different mother than the other ten brothers.  Benjamin is the only one that's different.  Joseph and Benjamin are full brothers.  Not only does the blood and DNA of their father flow through their veins but the blood and DNA of Rachel, their mother flow through their veins as well. 

I really do believe that Joseph is caught up, not in just seeing his little brother again, but when he looks in his little brother's face, he sees his mom.  Benjamin didn't know his mom.  She died giving birth to Benjamin but Joseph would have had much recollection of Rachel.  When he looks in Benjamin's eyes, he sees the eyes of his mother and his heart begins to break.  He says, “May God be gracious to you.”  Then notice what he does next. 

“And Joseph hurried out for he was deeply stirred over his brother.  And he sought a place to weep and he entered his chamber where he could be all by himself.  And he wept there.  Then he washed his face and came out.  He controlled himself and said, let's eat.”

Make no mistake about it.  Joseph's a real man and real men cry.  But notice, he does it where no one can see him.  Now that's a real man.  He goes where no one can see him and he bawls his eyes out.  Then he says, “Let's eat.”  That's a man's answer to every problem, right?  I just cried.  I just wept.  Now let's eat.  So he says, “Serve the meal.  It is time to eat.”

At this feast there would have been three different seating areas.  Joseph eats at one table by himself because he's the prime minister.  His Egyptian staff eat at another table.  And the 11 Hebrew men are at a third table.  Now, isn't that kind of strange?  Can you imagine being invited to someone's home for dinner and having them welcome you into their home and say, “It's time to eat.  Now, my husband and I are eating here at the dining room table but we set up a place for you two at the kitchen counter.  If you want to go in there and eat, please do.”  That would be strange today but not in that culture.  In that culture, Egyptians would never eat at the same table with Jews.  Their eating habits were different.  What they ate was different.  They just wouldn't do it.  It's kind of a weird scenario but it gets weirder. 

The brothers have assigned seats.  They're seated the firstborn according to his birthright all the way down to the youngest according to his youth.  In other words, Joseph seats them in chronological birth order from the oldest to the youngest.  They notice this.  It can’t be a coincidence.   They are now realizing that this prime minister knows more about them than they thought he did.  And the Bible says, “They were astonished.”  I think Joseph's dropping the big hint here.  He’s saying, “I know more about you than you think.  You just can't figure out why I do.” 

Joseph has the food served to them but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as the other brothers.  That's called “over the top.”  I don't know what they would have eaten in that Egyptian dinner but let's just say that this is the menu.  They start with salad.  So they bring out a nice, fresh, crisp salad and every brother gets a salad. But Benjamin gets five salads.  Now, that probably didn't excite Benjamin.  This kid brother's probably going, “You’ve got to be kidding me, five salads?”

Next, they bring out corn on the cob, dripping with butter and salt.  Every brother gets an ear of corn but Benjamin gets five ears of corn.  And he's thinking, “Things are looking up.”  Then they bring out baked potatoes, smothered with butter, sour cream and bacon bits, which those guys would have had to pick off because they're Jewish, but nonetheless, they’re smothered with all that good stuff.  And each of the brothers get a baked potato but Benjamin gets five baked potatoes. 

Then they bring out the main course - T-bone steaks.  Nice, thick, juicy T-bone steaks cooked medium, still pink, the way God intended it, and they bring every single man a steak but Benjamin, who must be on the Atkins diet, because he gets five steaks.  Can you imagine what the other brothers are doing? 

Then dessert - pineapple upside down cake - and every single man got one piece but Benjamin gets a piece five times the size of all the others.  Folks, that's called “over the top.”  But that's how it happened. 

So here's the question.  What in the world was Joseph doing?  Why would he do that?  Some commentators say he was communicating to his brothers, “I know who the only innocent one is.”  I don't think that's the case because throughout the whole story we don't see one iota of vengeance or bitterness in Joseph's life.  Some say this was Joseph's way of showing that he loved Benjamin more because he was his full brother.  I don't think that’s the case either because if there's anyone who understands the consequences that come with showing favoritism, it's Joseph. 

I believe that Joseph is setting up the final test to see if his brothers have really changed.  What he just did at dinner is going to set up the final test which will involve the prime minister's own silver cup.  Joseph is trying to discern if his brothers have changed.  Joseph knows that 20 years earlier, when his father Jacob went over the top in showing favoritism to Joseph by giving him that coat of many colors, that his brothers responded to that favoritism with hatred.  They hated Joseph and wanted to kill him.  Joseph needs to know if they have changed so he stirs the pot a little bit.  He's going to show over the top favoritism on Benjamin to see if his brothers still have the same animosity. 

Here's what he does to finish the test.  At the end of the dinner he says, “We're going to send you back to the land of Canaan.  I'll let you purchase more food.  We'll fill the sacks of your donkeys with food.”  He then privately says to his steward, “I want you to take my silver cup, the one I drink out of, and put it in the sack of the youngest brother.” 

The brothers have no idea this has happened.  They head back to Canaan, Simeon included, and just a couple hours after they leave, Joseph orders his men to go get them and search their stuff, find his golden cup, and bring them all back.  He's setting them up.  He wants to see how they'll respond when Benjamin, who just received “over the top” favoritism, looks guilty.  He wants to know if they hate Benjamin because of the favoritism and if they are willing “throw Benjamin under the bus” like they did him 20 years earlier. 

Joseph’s men catch up with them and say, “One of you stole the prime minister's cup.”  They deny it saying, “None of us stole the cup.  If you find that cup in any of our sacks, we will all become the prime minister's slaves.”  They searched the sacks and find the cup in Benjamin's.  They bring them back to the prime minister and Joseph says, “What in the world are you doing?  I was good to you.  I blessed you.  I gave you food.  And now you treat me like this?  You steal my cup?” 

In verses 18 through 34, Judah now gives a speech to the prime minister.  It’s the longest speech in the book of Genesis and it just might be the most passionate speech in the entire Bible.  He says, “Prime Minister, you need to know how much my youngest brother means to my dad.  If you take my youngest brother away from my dad, it will kill him and I can't bear to see that happen.”

Isn't that interesting?  A little over 20 years ago, Judah didn’t care about his dad's feelings at all.  Remember, they took Joseph's coat, made it look like he got killed by a wild animal, and for over 20 years Jacob has believed that lie and Judah has watched his dad suffer in agony because he thought Joseph was dead.  Judah now says, “I can't do it again.  I can't bear to see my dad hurt even more.”

He has the chance to throw Benjamin under the bus.  If he hasn’t changed he could say, “I can't believe Benjamin did that.  I guess he goes to jail.”  And they could have went back home and said, “Dad, it wasn't our fault.  Your favorite son made a big boo-boo.  He stole the prime minister's cup.  He was guilty.  They caught him red handed.  There was nothing we could do.  But instead here's what he says to the prime minister. 

“Therefore, please let me your servant remain instead of the lad.  Let me be a slave to my lord and let the lad go home with his brothers for how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, for fear that I see the evil that would overtake my dad?”

Basically Judah is saying, “Sir, I know it looks like Benjamin's guilty.  But would you do me a big favor?  Would you let me take his place?  I'll be your slave for the rest of my life.  But please, please let Benjamin go home because if you don't it's going to kill my dad.  And I can't bear to see my dad hurting in the agony I've seen him hurting with for the last 20 years.”  And at this moment, Joseph realizes something.  He realizes that his brother has changed.  Judah's not the same scoundrel he used to be.  Judah's heart is now different.  And that sets up the most amazing part of the story as Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers.  

Joseph (part 7) - When Your Past Catches Up With You

The truth of the matter is that everyone has skeletons in their closet.  We all have things in our past that we wish were not there.  We have all made mistakes.  We have all hurt people.  The problem is that many of us are responding to our past by simply ignoring it and hoping that if we ignore it long enough it will go away.  But there's something you need to understand about your past.  Your past will always catch up with you. 

As we continue our journey in the life of Joseph, we now move the camera from Egypt back to the land of Canaan.  We now move the focus away from Joseph and back on to his ten brothers who ultimately put him in that pit that started the whole ordeal.  And as we do we are going to see that his brothers' past will catch up with them. 

I want to remind you about the timeline taking place because you need to understand that when Genesis 42 begins it has now been over 20 years since Joseph was thrown in the pit.  Remember the scenario.  Joseph was 17 years old when his brothers abducted him and threw him in the pit and then sold him into slavery into Egypt and convinced their father he had been killed by a wild animal.

At the age of 30, he eventually is brought before Pharaoh and he's promoted to prime minister of Egypt.  For the first seven years of his tenure as prime minister, Egypt lives through years of plenty but now the seven years of famine have begun.  It's been over two decades since this whole nightmare began on that day when his brothers threw him in the pit.

THE BROTHERS SENT

The first thing we see in the text is Joseph’s brothers being sent to Egypt in the first three verses of Genesis 42.  Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt and asks his sons a question that many parents still ask of their kids today.  He says, “Why are you staring at one another?”  Remember, they're out of food but there's food in Egypt.  So Jacob asks. “Why are you staring at one another?  I've heard there's grain in Egypt.  Go down there and buy some for us from that place so that we may live and not die.” 

The famine is not just in the land of Egypt but all the surrounding lands as well.  It's now affecting Joseph's family back in the land of Canaan.  Everyone has heard.  The news is out there.  It's no secret that even though there's no food anywhere else there's plenty of food in Egypt.  Isn't it ironic that while Jacob realizes that there's plenty of food in Egypt, what he doesn't realize is that the reason there's plenty of food is because his beloved son Joseph has been the one in charge of handling it. 

Joseph’s brothers are now middle aged men, yet Jacob has to say to them, “Why are you sitting here staring at one another?  Why are you twiddling your thumbs?  Has it not crossed your mind that it might be a good idea for you to go down to Egypt and get us some food?”  What I see here is some sort of reluctance on the part of the ten sons.  They're not eager to go to Egypt.  Why?  My guess is that they're still living with the guilt of what they did 20 years earlier.  Most likely, over those 20 years those brothers didn't talk much about what they did.  It was out of sight, out of mind.  Their hope was that if they just ignored their past it would go away.  The problem is that guilt never goes away until it is dealt with and their guilt has been brewing for 20 years. 

Whenever those brothers think of Egypt, who do they immediately think of?  Joseph.  The last thing that happened in their relationship with Joseph was that they sold him as a slave into Egypt.  I don’t think they were reluctant to go because they were afraid they might run into Joseph.  Egypt's a big place.  Besides that, I think they pretty much were convinced he was dead by now.  You don't last as a slave in Egypt long and it's been over 20 years.  I think they're reluctant to go because Egypt reminds them of their past.  It reminds them of mistakes they made that they haven't dealt with yet because they are hoping that by ignoring them they will go away.  So Jacob has to order his sons to go down to Egypt and to get some food. 

Keep in mind from a geographical point of view that it's approximately 300 miles from Hebron, where Jacob and his family lived in the land of Canaan, to Egypt.  This is a journey they would take on foot or with donkeys.  It would be like your dad saying to you here in northern Michigan, there's food in Ohio.  Go get some.  And you would have to walk or ride a donkey from Gaylord, Michigan, to Ohio to get food and then come back.  We are not talking a simple day's journey.  We are not talking a week's journey.  We're not even talking a month's journey.  It would be several months round trip to go to Egypt, get the food and come back. 

THE BROTHERS SILENCED

Now let's fast forward the story a few months to the brothers' arrival in Egypt and the next thing that we are going to see are the brothers of Joseph being silenced.  This is an encounter for the ages seen in verses 6 and 7.

“Now, Joseph was the ruler over the land.  He was the one who sold to all the people of the land.  And Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.  And when Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them.  But he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly and he said to them, ‘Where have you come from?’  And they said, ‘We've come from the land of Canaan to buy food.’

Now, put yourself in Joseph's position.  You are the prime minister of Egypt.  It's been 20 years since you got thrown in the pit by your brothers and sold as a slave into Egypt.  I have to guess that over those 20 years Joseph daydreamed often about this day that he would be able to face his brothers again.  However, when Joseph woke up on this morning I doubt very seriously he said, ‘I bet today's the day I get to see my brothers.’  This was going to be a shock to him. 

Joseph is on his chair.  He's meeting with those who are coming to buy food and he notices these ten men who are obviously from the land of Canaan.  They're bearded.  They're not clean shaven like all the other Egyptians.  As he looks closely at them it becomes very obvious to him who they are.  These guys are his brothers that he hasn't seen in 20 years since they sold him into slavery. 

Joseph has the upper hand on them.  Though he recognizes them, according to the text, they have no clue as to who he was.  The last time they saw Joseph he was 17 years old.  He's now going on 40.  A lot changes happen in a man's appearance from age 17 to age 40.  Have you noticed that?  You don't think that's true?  Pull out your high school yearbook.  You have changed and it has not been for the good either.  Joseph changed. 

Not only that, the Bible says he disguised himself.  He would have had the Egyptian royal garb on, the Egyptian makeup, the Egyptian head dressing, and to make it even more of a disguise, he talks to his brothers through an interpreter.  So it seems to them like he only knows Egyptian even though he really does know Hebrew. 

Joseph is going to put his brothers through a series of tests.  Now, at first glance it almost looks like Joseph's trying to get revenge but I don't think that's the case.  We have already seen that Joseph has dealt with his past bitterness.  That is why he named his one son Manasseh (because God removed the sting from his pain) and the other Ephraim (because God has made him fruitful and blessed him in the land of his affliction).  I don't think he's being vengeful at all.  I think he's being wise.  He has forgiven his brothers already, but for there to be reconciliation, for him to enter back into a relationship with them, he has to know that they have changed. 

Remember that one of the big problems in their past relationship was that his brothers hated him because he was the favored son of their dad because he was the firstborn son of Rachel, his dad's favorite wife.  Who's the only other brother that has Rachel as a mother?  Benjamin.  Joseph wonders about the welfare of Benjamin.  He’s probably thinking, “If they did what they did to me, I wonder what they have done to Benjamin?”  So he puts them through a series of tests the try to determine if they have changed. 

Joseph immediately accuses these ten brothers of being foreign spies.  If you read through chapter 42 you will discover that he makes this accusation four different times.  Four times in one chapter he says, “You are spies.”  Notice what they say back to him in verse 11.  This blows my mind.  They respond to him saying, “We are not spies.  We are all sons of one man.”  Who's the one man?  Jacob.  Is that a true statement?  Yes.  They're all sons of Jacob.  There are four different mothers involved but they all have the same father. 

They then say, “We are honest men.”  I wonder if Joseph had to bite his tongue at that point.  They're standing there not knowing that they are talking to Joseph going, “No, we're not spies.  We are men of integrity!”  20 years ago they threw their brother in a pit and sold him into slavery and for the last 20 years have lived a lie, convincing their father that his son was dead.  Now they are standing before the prime minister of Egypt claiming to be honest men.  No wonder Joseph puts these guys through a test to see if they have changed.  Notice what else they say in verse 13. 

“Your servants are 12 brothers in all.”

There are ten of them standing before Joseph.  They said there we're 12 of them.  What about the other 2 brothers?  Here's what they say. 

“Behold, the youngest (that would be Benjamin) is with our father today back in the land of Canaan.’

That gives Joseph some crucial information.  He now knows Benjamin is alive and his father is still alive.  But now notice what they say about the 12th brother. 

“The youngest is with our father today and one is no more.

Who are they talking about?  Joseph.  Our youngest brother is back with our dad and one, well, he is no more.  He kind of disappeared.  We're not really sure what happened to him.  This is how these guys are dealing with their past.  They're dealing with their past by ignoring it.  They're dealing with their past by hoping it will go away.  My friend, your past doesn't go away.  Your past always catches up with you.  And it will with these brothers. 

Joseph responds by saying, “No, you're spies.  I'm going to put nine of you in jail and I'm going to send one of you back to the land of Canaan to fetch your younger brother.  You bring your younger brother here as proof that you're telling the truth and I'll let the other nine go.  If you don't bring the younger brother back, I'm going to kill all nine of them as spies.”  Then, instead of just putting one in jail, he throws all ten of them in prison and he lets them sit there for three days. 

Why does Joseph throw all ten of them in prison?  Wouldn't it be cool if each of us had our own prison and any time somebody annoyed us we could just throw them in prison?  Would that not be cool?  Someone cuts you off in traffic, you throw them in jail.  Someone says a mean word to you, you throw them in jail.  I don't think that's what Joseph did.  I believe that the reason Joseph did this was that he personally needed time to think and pray.  He needed time to regain his thoughts.  Remember, when he woke up that morning, did he expect to meet his brothers that day?  No.  He needs time to think this situation through.  He needs time to pray this through.  He needs time to make sure he's being wise in his decision making.  So he throws all ten of them in jail.  Ironically, it was most likely the same jail that he would have spent years in because of them. 

At the end of the three days Joseph gives them a chance to prove they are indeed honest men.  He does, however, change tactics a little bit.  Instead of keeping nine and sending one, he says “Let one of your brothers be confined in prison and then the rest of you carry grain back to your households.  Then bring your youngest brother back to me so your words may be verified and you will not die.” 

When Joseph tells them this, something amazing takes place.  The next thing we see is the brother's sorrow and their guilt comes pouring out.  Remember, for 20 years they've been ignoring their past.  But the guilt's been there.  You can see the guilt because they're very reluctant to even go to Egypt and the guilt keeps building and finally, 20 years later, it all catches up with them and the guilt comes pouring out.  They're now going to admit guilt.  They're going to express sorrow.  They're now going to accept punishment. 

This is very important because this is the turning point.  It’s going to be a slow turn.  It's going to take several chapters before it's completed but this is the turning point. This is the point that turns that past of theirs into what eventually will become forgiveness and reconciliation.  The very first step in dealing with your past is to quit ignoring it and finally admit it.  That's the first step.  For 20 years they've tried to ignore it hoping it would go away.  But your past never goes away.  It will catch up with you.  Finally, they admit guilt.  Look at verse 21.  “

Then they said to one another, truly we are guilty concerning our brother.”

Keep something in mind.  They are talking to each other while standing in front of Joseph.  They're in front of Joseph but they're clueless about two things.  Number one, they have no clue it's Joseph.  They just think it's the Egyptian prime minister.  They don't realize the very brother they're talking about is the one standing right there.  Number two, they're clueless to the fact that Joseph can understand every word they're saying.  They think he only speaks Egyptian.   

Put yourself in Joseph's shoes.  For 20 years you have had to deal with the mistreatment and pain that has come into your life because of your brothers.  For 13 of those 20 years you lived as a slave and a prisoner.  And now, after 20 years, you get to hear those words as the brothers admit, “We are guilty.”  The problem is that at this point, they're only going to admit it to each other.  They're not going to admit it to anyone else.  I'm telling you, it's a slow turn that they make but this is the starting point. 

Secondly, they express sorrow.  Look what else they say. 

“We are guilty because we saw the distress of Joseph's soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen.”

As they talk to each other they remind each other of the look on Joseph's face when they pulled him out of that pit and sold him as a slave into Egypt.  They remind each other of his words begging them, “Please don't!  Please don't!”  For 20 years, even though they haven't talked about it, they have lived with that memory in their minds.  Every time they close their eyes at night they see Joseph's face with the fear on it.  Every time they dream, they dream of Joseph's words begging them not to do this.  Now, for the first time in 20 years, they're expressing sorrow over the fact that they caused distress in Joseph's life. 

And then, thirdly, they're willing to accept punishment. 

“Therefore, this distress has now come upon us.”

It's an amazing verse.  They are saying, “We caused distress on Joseph and now this distress (same word) is coming upon us.”  There's a principle there we really need to learn.  It comes from Galatians 6 and it says, “Whatever you sow you will reap.”  These guys sowed all kinds of distress into Joseph's life and now they're experiencing distress in their own lives.

Reuben now steps up to the plate.  Remember, Reuben's the firstborn son.  At this point, Reuben marches right in to one of those “I told you so” speeches.  Remember, when Joseph was coming towards the brothers in his coat of many colors, the brothers said. “Here comes that dreamer.  Let's kill him.”  Reuben's the one who spoke up and said, “No, don't kill him.  Instead, let's throw him in a pit.”  Reuben's intention was to come back later and rescue him but Reuben then had to leave for some reason and while he was gone the other brothers sold him into slavery.  Reuben now pipes up and basically says, “I told you so.”  He says, “Did I not tell you don't sin against the boy?  But you wouldn't listen to me.”  Keep in mind that though Reuben may have actually saved Joseph's life, he’s just as guilty.  For 20 years he's gone along with the lie.  He's an accomplice to the crime. 

Joseph is listening to this whole conversation and look how he responds in verse 23.  Joseph turned away from them and wept.  Joseph is not in this for vengeance.  Joseph is not carrying resentment.  Joseph's heart is breaking.  For the first time in 20 years he finally hears these brothers say, “We were wrong!”  Joseph leaves the room weeping.  His heart hurts for his brothers. 

He then comes back but he's still going to test them.  His heart hurts but he's still going to be wise.  He's not just going to come in and say, “Hey guys, surprise!  It's me.”  He's not ready to do that yet.  He's going to test them first.  He took Simeon from them and bound Simeon before their eyes.  He had already told them that he was going to keep one of them in prison while the others went back and got their younger brother.  Keep in mind that that would probably be at least six months for them to make the round trip back to the land of Canaan, get their brother and bring him back to Egypt.  So whoever Joseph picks to stay is going to stay in that jail cell for quite some time.  And who does he pick?  He picks Simeon. 

I've read that many times but for the first time as I did I asked myself this question.  Why Simeon?  There were ten of them, right?  Why didn't he pick Gad or Issachar or Zebulon?  Why did he pick Simeon?  Was Simeon the firstborn?  No.  Who was the firstborn?  Reuben.  Back in that day birth order was very important.  You would think if one brother was going to stay, they would pick the firstborn.  Instead Joseph picks Simeon who's the second oldest.  Why does he pick the second oldest instead of the first oldest?  This is just a guess.  My opinion is that this was Joseph's way of saying thank you to Reuben for saving his life 20 years earlier.  Instead of keeping Reuben, the firstborn, in the jail for months, he takes the second born.  He takes Simeon. 

Honestly, if I were Joseph, I would have picked Judah.  If you go back to Genesis 37, when Joseph's in the pit while Reuben is gone somewhere, it was Judah who instigated the whole idea about selling him into slavery.  He's the one who said, “Hey, let's make some money off the kid.  Let's sell him into slavery so we never have to worry about him again.”  Judah instigated it, and had I been Joseph, Judah's backside would have been in that jail for several months because I would have been in it for vengeance.  The very fact that he picks Simeon tells me he wasn't in it for the vengeance.  He was testing these brothers.  He wanted to find out had if they really changed. 

Notice now the gift that's involved.  Joseph has the food that they buy put on their donkeys but he does something else.  He puts in their sacks of food the money they used to buy it.  Now, why does Joseph do this?  I think it was a good thing.  I think Joseph was simply showing grace.  He was simply showing mercy.  He wasn't going to have his family buying the food.  He was going to give it to his family as a gift.  But notice what happens when they discover the money in verse 27 and 28.

“As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey some fodder he saw the money.  Behold, it was in the mouth of his sack and he said to his brothers, my money's been returned.  It's in my sack.”

Now, at this point, you would think they go, “Wow!  How about that?  We got free food!”  But no, their hearts sank and they turned trembling and the word trembling is the same word used in other places in the Old Testament to describe an earthquake.  They were fearful, trembling.  They said,

“What is this that God has done to us?”

In their minds they are now going to get accused of stealing.  This bad situation's become even worse.  That's what guilt will do to you.  When you live with guilt for all those years and the guilt builds and catches up with you, you begin to see all of life through the lens of your guilt.  It makes life miserable.  Even the good things that happen in your life are tainted because you can only view life through the horror of your guilt.  And that's where these brothers are. 

The brothers finally get back to the land of Canaan and we see the grief that's involved.  They tell their dad what happened.  They say, “Dad, when we were in Egypt we went before the prime minister.  He accused us of being spies.  We told him we were honest men.  He wouldn't believe us.  He threw us in jail for three days.  Then he kept Simeon.  He sent the rest of us back.  He said if we don't bring Benjamin back, he's going to kill Simeon.” 

But more importantly, notice what they didn't tell their dad.  They did not tell their dad anything about their guilt.  They did not say, “Dad, there's something you need to know.  We really think all these bad things are a result of something we did 20 years earlier and we think we need to tell you about it.”  You see, they're willing to admit guilt to each other but they're not yet willing to take responsibility for it. 

How does Jacob respond?  First, he responds with fear.  In fact, look what he says in verse 36. 

“Their father Jacob said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children.  Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more.”

He's written off Simeon.  The brothers tell him, “Simeon is still alive.  He's in jail.  We can rescue him.”  But Jacob has written him off. 

“And now you want to take Benjamin?  All these things are against me.”

How's that for the spiritual leader of the home?  At the very time of crisis, where the family needed a spiritual leader to rise up and say, “Guys, we need to seek God.  We need to fall on our faces before God.  We need to get direction from God.  We need to trust God.”  Instead, he's filled with fear.  And not only does he respond with fear, he also responds with favoritism. 

This is amazing.  How did Joseph's brothers deal with their past?  They tried to ignore it hoping it would go away.  How did Jacob deal with the mistakes of his past?  He just kept on repeating his mistakes over and over again.  What was one of the major causes for this whole debacle to begin with?  It was Jacob's favoritism of Joseph.  Has Jacob changed? No!  Look at verse 38. 

“But Jacob said, ‘My son, Benjamin, shall not go down with the ten of you to Egypt, for his brother is dead and he alone is left.”

Do you see a problem with that statement?  Weren't there nine other brothers sitting there?  Jacob says, ‘My one son (Joseph) is dead.  You're not taking my other son because if he dies he's all I have left.’  The brothers have to be thinking, “What are we, Dad, chopped liver?”  Do you see how Jacob's repeating the same mistakes all over again?  Look what else he says. 

“If harm should befall Benjamin on the journey with you, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol.”

In other words, I will die of grief.  Wait!  What about Simeon?  If they don't bring Benjamin back, he's going to die a prisoner in Egypt.  I think there's a lot of Christians today who are really struggling in life because they are responding to their past like Jacob or like Joseph's brothers.  They are either ignoring it, hoping it will go away, or they just keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. 

But there's hope.  There is good news because if you're willing to quit running from your past, if you're willing to quit ignoring it, if you're willing to quit repeating the same mistakes and you're willing to get honest with God, honest with yourself, and honest with those you have hurt, God can remove the guilt that is ruining your life and God can restore broken hearts.