From the Pastor's Study
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Do you feel unsettled where you are? That’s normal. There is a feeling of something missing here in this world. We aren’t settled here. We shouldn’t be. The world actually isn’t our home, and we are wanderers within it, journeying towards our final destination. Sometimes it can feel aimless, inefficient, and looping. A lot of “Why did we spend so much time there?” But we aren’t charting our own course. The Christian life isn’t a choose your own adventure. It is being led, no matter how much it doesn’t feel that way sometimes, by the Good Shepherd Himself. God is a journeying God, a God of the wilderness, the desert, the strange land far off, but not because He’s a gypsy. Not because He has commitment issues. It is because He is seeking the lost sheep, the wanderers, to bring them home. And He will wander with them all the way. Indeed, not all who wander are lost. In fact, only the wanderers after Jesus are saved. In this passage we will see that God leads His people on a journey home. God leads His people on a journey home Genesis 46:1The fun begins right in our first verse with the word translated “journey.” This word shows up 12 times in Genesis recording the movements of Abraham and Jacob. This is the last time it shows up in this book, and appropriately as this is wrapping up the final chapters. This family has a legacy of the lengthy journey and now Jacob begins the last journey of this book. It has been a long trip, but it is ending with a beautiful reunion of his family. However, we are going to make a quick stop along the way in Beersheba. If you don’t have your Bible atlas handy, I’ll just tell you that this is near the far southern border of Israel just before he leaves the country. It would be like saying that a person was on their way out of Alabama, God’s state, into Florida but they stopped in Brewton first. That’s right on the border. But this stop isn’t a mark of hesitation. This is the place that his father, Isaac, settled back in chapter 26, specifically in verses 23-25: “From there he went up to Beersheba. And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.” Genesis 46:2-4This is a stop for worship and reaffirmation from God Himself. Isaac was told not to go to Egypt in Genesis 26:1-5. In fact, he is the only patriarch not to have the word “journey” describe his life. How can Jacob be sure this is the right path? God Himself affirms the plan to go to Egypt. It’s been the plan since Genesis 15. Can you hear the fatherly tone? I am the same God of your father. Don’t be afraid. Why? I will make you a great nation there. I have a purpose in this. I know you are going away from home, the very home I promised to give you. I’m going to build you into a nation just as I promised. Also, and this is the best part, I, God, will be with you. The language here is emphatic. God is wanting to punch the point home that He, God Himself, is going to go down with Jacob. He isn’t doing this alone. Further, He isn’t going to leave him there in Egypt. He promises, with the same punch of emphasis, I will bring you back up home. What a condescension! The God of the universe is going to move to Egypt with them? Following around 70 people?! But imagine the comfort of that. When you were a kid, having a trusted adult be with you in the dark is so comforting. I remember when Granger was young and moving into his own bed on the other side of the house wanted me to sit in his room while he would go to sleep. The call was always “sit ina chair.” Here God promises to sit ina chair, as it were, to lead them to Egypt and back home again. Do you know God promises to do the same for you? Psalm 23 calling the Lord “my” Shepherd doesn’t stop with David who wrote it. We all call the Lord our Shepherd who leads us through the scary places of cancer treatment, troubled marriages, painful bodies, and even the good, yet still hard journey of raising children. He is with you in all of it. He, Himself. Genesis 46:5-27And look at all who come with Jacob! This huge list of people are all the descendants so far! We could be forgiven thinking that it was still Jacob and his twelve sons because that is really all that have been mentioned so far, aside from Judah’s three and Reuben’s at least two. But now we find out that the family has grown! And depending on how you work the math, at least 70, and many more if you thrown in the wives are coming down to Egypt. Why the odd math? Well, we aren’t sure! It depends on whether you want to count the sons of Joseph or not, the dead sons of Judah or not, whether you include Dinah or not or whether you include God Himself in that count or not (Matthews)! There is a way in which that number makes sense, but there are a number of ways to approach it. The main point is that a decent sized family is coming into Egypt. But as we round the corner of the end of this chapter, we come to a most emotional conclusion to Jacob and Joseph’s story. Genesis 46:28-30There is a wonderful detail in Jacob sending Judah ahead to prepare Joseph for their immediate arrival. The one who originally sold Joseph from his father is going to be the one to lead him back to his father. There is such redeeming grace here, that I just wanted us to sit with that for a second. You just never know how God is going to conclude a story, and that has been the theme of Joseph’s life. Joseph, riding his chariot, comes out to meet his father and the grand reunion takes place. It is almost impossible to imagine the power of such a reunion after being separated for twenty years each unsure if the other was even still alive (Matthews). Jacob feels that he is able to die in peace knowing that his son is alive and is able to see his face. He’ll actually live for another 17 years, so there is plenty of time to catch up. This incredible story would have been amazing for the Exodus generation of Israel to hear. The next time we read the word “journey” that we saw in verse one is when they are on their “journey” out of Egypt as not only a family but a nation, exactly as God said. They would be reminded that the God who promised to bring them out has done so, and this journey into Egypt has not been a mistake or bad decision. Imagine those who had grown bitter in slavery thinking that God had forgotten them are reminded in this story that they were right where God designed for them to be. It is only by keeping their entire story in mind does this seeming Egyptian detour make sense. God has indeed been faithful to them, and He has been such for us. While God had come down with the Israelites to their journey in Egypt, God has come down to us in the person of Jesus Christ. It was a condescension that is infinitely more impressive that what we see in this chapter. It is one thing to bring your blessing presence to Egypt, which I know Jacob and family appreciated. But when Jesus came down to live with His people, He got sand in His feet. He felt hunger, fatigue, and pain, dwelling among us as one of us (John 1:1-14). He moved into the neighborhood, as Eugene Peterson put it. But Jesus didn’t come down just to be here. He didn’t dine with sinners so that they would stay right where they are. Like God promised Jacob, He is promising to bring these sinners home, to bring them up. He is the Good Shepherd leading them as He does so. He leads us to still waters and grassy areas along the way, but it isn’t the final destination. He ascended up to heaven to prepare a place for us, a home, where we will have to wander no more. The journey will finally conclude. He has gone on ahead to prepare and welcome us when we arrive. What will that welcome be like? There are a couple places in the Bible that hint to what it will be like. In Acts 7, we see one of the first Christian martyrs, Stephen, being stoned to death for his belief in Christ. As He is dying, he says that he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father. Now that should strike us. Why is Jesus standing? According to Hebrews Jesus sat down because the work was complete? So why is He standing here? Spurgeon I think has given the best answer in that Christ is standing to welcome one of His own home. I can only imagine that the standing doesn’t last long. The picture of the joy of God to welcome a sinner home is in Luke 15 when the father of the prodigal son runs which wealthy noble Jews never do (MacArthur) to embrace his son. I can imagine that the same anticipation of Joseph riding that chariot hard to meet his father paints a picture of the anticipation of Christ welcoming His own home. It isn’t death to die, but a welcome home. So where do we go from here? Well, we remember that we are in fact going somewhere, and it isn’t here as the world presently stands. You are on your way to a glorious place where God’s presence dwells with beauty and fullness. Along the way, we rest in the comfort of knowing that God is with us, that we make our home with Him now. The world is a hard place, a place of pain but not permanence. This, too, shall pass, all of it. And He is determined to pass through it with us. He has already endured the worst the world can throw, conquering even death itself. Now, we simply trust.“Keep close to God, and then you need fear nothing” (Joseph Eliot). Evil can’t ultimately beat someone on their way to heaven. Whatever you are being called to endure, whatever your Egypt is, God has raced out to meet you there. So stay close. He’s leading you home. And as we will be reminded in the Supper, He is with us all the way.
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Some circumstances can seem impossible for God to work with much less bless through. The people of Israel needed to be reminded of this. Genesis was originally written to recently freed slaves, slaves who have known nothing but forced service for 400 years. They have just been let go, and are now wandering through the desert looking to one day enter the promised land. Now it is hard to have hope in a desert. There’s not much food or water. Everything is hard in a desert, and some might be tempted to believe that even God has a hard time working in the desert. Is He able to provide in hard circumstances? Joseph’s brothers are likely wondering this as well in this moment. They have been shocked to hear that Joseph has forgiven them, but as we will see from this text, the reason that they are about to be blessed is because God has been the one watching over them. We will look at some of these things as we look at our main point: God promises to provide for His people more than they could deserve to point to Himself. God promises to provide for His people more than they could deserve to point to Himself. Genesis 45:9-15Here we see Joseph, having just given us a masterclass in forgiveness, now shows us a great deal of generosity. Behind all the rest of this chapter is a smiling God, but you won’t see His name mentioned beyond verse 9 here. But when you hear what is being described you can see His fingerprints all over the chapter. Does anything sound familiar in verses 9-11? I think there are subtle notes of God’s promise to Abraham of a land, seed, and blessing. Even though they are going to have to leave Canaan, they are going to be provided the land of Goshen, apparently, a very nice place, as we will see in a minute. Further, there is the mention of children and grandchildren. The fact that there is land, that means that there will be space for descendants. They won’t be displaced to simply wander. They are going from one home to another home. Finally, there is the promise of provision, of blessing from Joseph’s own hand. Joseph is instrumental in providing food for the rest of the world, so they have been a blessing to the entire world. Now, they are getting some in return. All of this from a brother sold into slavery. All of this taking place in a foreign country. God is showing that He is able to provide for His people regardless of where they are. This doesn’t mean that this is the fulfillment of God’s promise. He hasn’t settled on plan B. It was always the plan to go to Egypt, but even there is a preview of what is yet to come. Canaan will still be the land of promise, but God can provide even outside its borders. It points to the fact that God is an international God and has something grand for His people yet. This is something that you can really see in our next section. Genesis 45:16-24One might say that all is well and good with Joseph providing for things, but what a wonder that Pharaoh himself provides in such an obvious way. He is pleased that Joseph’s family is moving in and he provides for all their needs along the way. He is sending them with twenty donkeys carrying treasures of Egypt as well as everything they would need in order to move down. He is basically telling them to just get in the car, don’t even bother packing. There will be better versions of everything when you get there. Notice this little word here in verse 18. “you shall eat the fat of the land.” Does that remind you of any other time that came up in Jacob’s life? It was when Isaac, his father, was blessing him back in Genesis 27:28 “May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.” Notice the last line of that verse: plenty of grain. There are ten female donkeys loaded up with it! And those are meant to just be some snacks along the way to Egypt the only place on earth that has five more years of grain enough to feed the world! You want to talk about plenty of grain—this is almost ridiculous! And let’s not even get started on verse 29 that talks about ruling over brothers. Joseph, Jacob’s son, is second in command of Egypt and in charge of everyone’s food for the next five years. That’s a lot of power. All of this from God, far more than could be imagined. It’s the same God we worship. Now, we get to see the big moments like this and don’t get to appreciate the day by day struggles that they went through, but this blessing is the way that God loves to operate (Matthew 7:11). And He can use even foreign kings to accomplish it. After all, Proverbs 21:1“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” Never think that God needs something or someone in order to get provision to you. You never have to do something sinful in order to ensure God’s blessings come your way. God doesn’t need the supposed “right people” on your team in order to bless through it. He doesn’t even need you to be the best in order to be a blessing to others. You and those around you don’t have to be stars for God to bless through you. You just need to be surrendered to God. Be obedient to Him, and let Him work through you. God already has all your crazy all factored in. Genesis 45:21-24Incredibly, all of this blessing is coming onto this family that up until five minutes ago we didn’t even trust to not sell another brother. Even after all this, they have to be reminded not to quarrel along the way. Note the generosity of Joseph. Yes, he gives his full brother more, but he gives a lot to people who the last time they were all together he was sold. These seem like very undeserving people. I can imagine in their position, I wouldn’t want to accept this gift. I couldn’t possibly deserve that level of kindness after what I would have done. But I don’t have to imagine their position. I don’t deserve anything that I have here, much less anything that I will inherit in heaven. If I wait to feel worthy to accept these things, then all I will have done is grown in my pride. I was talking with a friend of mine over the weekend who’s dad did a lot of ministry in prisons. He would talk about every time his dad finished ministry for the day in the prisons, he would be so excited to see grace in action. He would do Bible studies with men who were murderers and the worst kind of criminals who know beyond all doubt that they are sinners and starving for grace. They know they need it and are so grateful for it. Watching it play out was so encouraging for him. A couple of his students, themselves prisoners, would turn around and lead Bible classes themselves in the prison. One class is led by two inmates, one white, one black, each one a former leader of a race-based gang. Now they teach together when in years past they would have tried killing each other. That’s happening right now in Bibb county. That’s our God! That’s your Father. No, you don’t deserve that kind of grace either, but that is what is on offer! Will you take it? Will you humble yourself and say, “I don’t deserve it, but I need it?” Let these examples of God’s grace walk past you to point you to God. That is what we see in this last section. Genesis 45:25-28Jacob hardly knows how to react to this kind of news. It is only when he has seen and heard the words and actions of Joseph does he believe and resolves to go see Joseph. The blessings have pointed beyond themselves to a son seemingly risen from the dead. That’s what your blessings are meant to do for you. All of them. From air conditioning to laughter around your dinner table, they are all meant to point you to Jesus. Jacob doesn’t stop at the donkeys and say, “Well, I think that we’ve got enough to carve out a spot for us right here, don’t you think? No! He says, “All of this proves my son is alive, let’s go!” His real treasure isn’t on the back of a donkey, its the one who sent them! If your possessions aren’t doing that for you, then you’ve missed the point. So it is no wonder that you aren’t satisfied yet with what you have. That was never the object’s purpose. It was always meant to get you to look up. 1 Timothy 6:17–19has some practical guidance for us: “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” All of us in this room on the scale of most of the rest of the world are in the rich category. We all should be nearly delirious with joy that we have been born in the age not only of clean water and plentiful food but of air conditioning and ibuprofen. And we are told in what I just read how to react. We don’t become boastful of what we have, neither do we set our hope in it. What does it mean to set our hope on riches? I read a quote this week that said something to the effect of, “If you can end your day relatively happy having despite not praying at all that day, you are probably living a more secular life than you realize.” If I don’t feel the need to pray throughout my day, I’m probably too hopeful in how much money I have, how healthy my children are, and how competent I imagine myself to be. No, my hope should come from the Lord who has provided all of these things to me. Now the verse doesn’t stop there. It doesn’t say, “don’t set your hope on riches, and in order to do that, you need to get rid of it all.” That’s not what it says. It says to hope in God who gives you these things to enjoy. Enjoy—don’t trust in—but enjoy it. Treat your blessings like a delicious and healthy dinner made by someone you love. Savor the taste, sus out each note of flavor, knowing that you won’t be full forever afterward. Knowing that this experience doesn’t last forever. But neither of those realities ruin the dining experience. It’s just there to be enjoyed and to point to the one who made it. Of course, a good meal, a good blessing, is multiplied when it is shared. God gives us these things, as it says in verse 18, to do good works with them. Don’t let social media be the only way a blessing is broadcast. Let people find out how God has blessed you by the way you serve them with that blessing. And when you do those things, God is so good as to reward you anew in heaven. You make a blessing multiplier. All of it made possible by Christ’s work on the cross. This chapter of Genesis was paving the way for the ultimate blessing in Christ. His death on the cross paid for your salvation to go to heaven one day. This is a gift so great, that no circumstance could ever dull it. No matter what rolls past you, good or bad, you can look at the empty tomb and say, “Jesus is still alive, and I will see Him when I truly come alive in heaven.” So what should this change this week? Be grateful for what you have. Spend some time either literally writing it down or just sitting in a quiet place picturing in your mind all the blessings you have this afternoon. You don’t have to be ashamed of them. Enjoy them like a good meal. Then pass the plate around, let others enjoy your blessings on earth so as to make them treasures in heaven. 
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In the wake of the very public murders of Charlie Kirk, Iryna Zarutska, and Julie Gard Schnuelle, we took a break from Genesis to remind ourselves of the Kingship of Jesus out of Psalm 2. 
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Do you know how forgiveness works when there is some real offense committed against you? It’s one thing to forgive a misunderstanding or a hurtful action that was well-intended. What I want us to know today is how do we forgive someone when the offender did what they did in order to hurt you. There is hate in their heart towards you. What if they, I don’t know, sold you into slavery, on purpose? How do you find it in your heart to forgive things that actually changed the course of your life? That is what this chapter is going to be revealing to us today. What we are going to encounter is some deep theology about God’s control of all things, including His ability to work through human sin. This is where an understanding of these fine points will actually make a real difference in your life. Because unless you understand what God is revealing to us here, you are going to find it nearly impossible to forgive much less reconcile with your offender. Today we are going to see that you are able to forgive because God works through your hurts. God works through your hurts We pick up our narrative at the absolute climax of the Joseph/Judah arch. Judah has just completed one of the greatest story arcs so far in Genesis by being willing to sacrifice his life for his brother Benjamin. Genesis 45:1-3Joseph responds by telling everyone, except his brothers, to leave the room so that he can dramatically reveal who he is. His brothers are dismayed, or according to scholars, gripped with fear at this revelation. Just imagine the shock of everything you’ve gone through so far suddenly making sense, and then the horrible realization that the person you have sold into slavery now has the opportunity to do whatever he wants to in that moment. Few things can hardly compare. Staring into the face of someone who’s life you ruined—on purpose—now has the unquestioned authority to bring down the hammer must be terrifying. But imagine it the other way around. That’s what our movies do, right? The bad guy ultimately finds himself in the power of our hero who has all the power to exact his seemingly just revenge. We cheer those things. It happens even in our video feeds. We love scrolling through videos of people getting their just desserts: Rude people tripping after insulting someone, robbers banging their heads on closed doors. Some of us will nurse our own private grudges by imagining one day being able to get someone back to make them understand what it was like to be them. We are not a forgiving people. We want to be forgiven, of course. But we don’t like to forgive for a few different reasons. One could be because for some this means weakness. To forgive just means that you’re not strong enough to stand up for yourself. Another could be to forgiven means that person is no longer in your debt. You lose power over your offender by holding back forgiveness. For some, they’ve been so identified with their hurt that to forgive and let it go would be to let go their very identity. For so long they’ve held their status as “the person who was hurt” that to give that up would have them wondering what they would think about. We call that state of mind “bitterness,” by the way. But maybe we just don’t know how to get our hearts in the state necessary to forgive. We think that you have to be “forgiving person” like its a personality trait. Or we think that our situation is indeed so unique that forgiveness and freedom from that hurt is just impossible. How did Joseph get to this point? Twenty years of slavery caused by his brothers. He tells us exactly how he got to this point, and before you guess, no it wasn’t just that he got to control Egypt because of it. Joseph is able to forgive and reconcile with his brothers because of what he believes about God. Genesis 45:4-8Here it is, first Joseph calls his brothers close to him. A precious olive branch to help his brothers hear what he is going to say without the distraction of feeling threatened by this moment. We are also given the moment to sit up, come closer, listen to a man who hears from God and has, by any standard, experienced the pain of others actions. First, Joseph doesn’t deny what happened. He doesn’t lead with “Hey, what happened in the past doesn’t matter. We are going to forget all about it.” He doesn’t do that. I just want to highlight that, but we are going to get to the meat of his speech here first. Second, he tells them how to emotionally react to what he is about to say. He says, “Don’t be angry with yourselves.” Don’t be angry?? How is he able to say that? He has already acknowledged what they did. He isn’t trying to minimize what has been done to him. Instead, he is going to look behind their actions to see God. In the next phrase he says that God sent Joseph. This isn’t something that Joseph said thoughtlessly. He said it three times that God was the one who sent him to Egypt. He isn’t saying that the brothers were uninvolved, but he is saying that their actions weren’t ultimate. Their actions didn’t thwart God’s plan, but instead their actions advanced God’s plan. Notice how much agency is given to God in this moment. Joseph doesn’t say, “Yeah, you guys sent me to Egypt, but God was able to rescue that disaster and creatively come up with a counter plan to yours.” He doesn’t say that. He says that God sent him to Egypt, and it was the brothers sinful choice that was the very means of accomplishing that plan. This isn’t God just playing the hand He’s dealt. God’s holding all the cards. He’s dealt them exactly the way He wants. Now we have to be careful as we reason through this. The Bible is crystal clear that God does not sin: James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” 1 John 1:5 “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” Psalm 5:4 “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.” Psalm 145:17 “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.” Yet, as we will see, God is using the sinful actions of his brothers to advance His will. Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” God meant it. John Piper comments on this section of Scripture and calls it the point where human will and divine will intersect. He says, “Their decisions were intended by them according to their sinful designs. But their decisions were intended by God according to his saving designs (cf. Isa. 10:5-7; Mic. 4:11-12).” (Providence, 427, emphasis original). He said in another place “…God’s intention in this sinful selling was very different. It was not sinful; it was saving. Their selling was driven by lust for ‘twenty shekels of silver’ (37:28). God’s sending was driven by love for his chosen people (39:21).” (425). That is our theology lesson, but what does it have to do with forgiveness? If you are hurting this morning from an offense committed against you, you are in the same boat as Joseph right here. That person in your mind right now meant it for evil. That person sent you into this painful part of your life to sell you out, but God behind that very person means that very same action for your ultimate good. “Well, pastor, I don’t see and can’t see how God is using this pain for my good.” Of course you don’t! You aren’t in chapter 45 of your life yet. It didn’t make sense to Joseph when he was sitting in prison falsely accused. Even if he did, it didn’t make the chains any more comfortable. But it makes forgiveness possible. He can look at their sinful actions in all their horror, not trying to minimize them, and yet see that they don’t have the final word. They can rage against him all they want, but they can only advance God’s will, which in this situation has lead to the saving of many lives, and keeping the Abrahamic promise alive. Now, you may say, “I still don’t see how this helps me forgive in my situation.” Some of your have gone through some unbelievably painful things. Things that I couldn’t repeat from here. Hearing this may have you shrinking back from God. “How could God possibly mean that for me?” If that’s where you are this morning, it is likely because you haven’t seen what God has done through it yet. It may be many more years yet. God’s purpose was just as sure for Joseph in chapter 37 when he was thrown into the pit as it is now in chapter 45 with all of Egypt under his thumb. Can you trust that God will do the same in your life? Can you trust God enough to say, “I know what that person did to me was awful. But because I know that God means that very action for my good (Romans 8:28), I can forgive them, even though I don’t know what that good is yet.” Let’s get practical for a minute as we wind down. What does it even mean to forgive? It doesn’t mean forgetting what has happened. Joseph clearly doesn’t forget that. Who could? It means that despite remembering what happened, you choose not to hold that against them anymore. You don’t define them by solely that hurt. That guy is no longer just “the one who hurt me.” He has done that, but behind him was a God who means what is best for me. That’s what we see here in this passage. The brothers did indeed sell Joseph. That is still historical reality, but they are still his brothers. They were the vehicles to send Joseph into this position. It’s hard to be bitter against someone for an action that God ultimately intends for good. It would be like being bitter against a surgeon for performing a painful but life saving surgery. Yes it hurts, and yes he is the one who inflicted the pain, but the end result is one of goodness. So whatever hurt you are feeling from others actions this morning, trace the intention of those actions past the one who did them. We are not excusing what they did. They chose to sin against you, and that will exact a cost on you and them (Ross, 673). We don’t have to sin, so we don’t get to say, “Oh, God will work it out in the end.” He will do that, but He doesn’t let sin go. These brothers carried their sin with them for twenty years and went through no little trouble here in these last four chapters. It didn’t have to be that way. God didn’t hold a gun to their head saying, “Sell your brother.” Yet, they freely chose to do it, but God was just as free to send His good will through the rotten and twisted pipe of their sin. You are not here by accident. You are not ultimately a victim of someone else’s will. Their wills will serve God’s. We see that nowhere more clearly than on the cross. The people sinfully desired the death of Jesus Christ. Yet this crucifixion was a prearranged plan. The ultimate betrayal, the ultimate crime, brought about the greatest good there ever was. And if our God is able to do that in that situation, just imagine what He might one day do through yours. So Kids, when your friends hurt, when you siblings are mean, know that God hasn’t forgotten you. You can bring the hurt to your parents. You can and should tell an adult you trust to protect you when necessary. You can tell your parents anything. But know that God loves you, and will take whatever hurt you have, and make good come out of it. That doesn’t make it right to hurt people. It doesn’t mean you have to keep getting hurt by the same person. But it does mean that you don’t have to be sad about it forever. Adults, I think you can pick up what I’m saying there. This isn’t an easy thing to do. Every situation requires careful thinking and wise navigation, which I and the other elders are happy to help you sail through. I can’t anticipate every situation from here. But what I can tell you is God means that very evil thing for good, because He is just that powerful, and just that good. 
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In a day and age with GPS, I’ve grown so used to it that using verbal directions given by someone else spikes my anxiety. You know those directions: keep going until you see the hot dog place, turn right at the gas station, and it’ll be the big building on your right. Can’t miss it (yes, I can)! If you see the grocery store you’ve gone too far! The longer I drive without seeing the hot dog place, the unrest in my soul grows steadily. But then! The joy when I see the landmark, just as my guide said, comfort floods my soul; I’m on the right track. How do you know you are on the right track with your Christian life? What are the landmarks that indicate you are indeed on the road of salvation? How do you know the faith you have in Christ is a real faith that is having an impact on your life? While there will be peaks and valleys, good days and bad days, looking at the whole of your life, do you see evidence of repentance from sin? Are you turning from sin to Christ? We saw Joseph not sin but what if you’re more like Judah? The passage that is before us gives us a remarkable demonstration of what it looks like to have repented. We will look at the person of Judah and see the remarkable change that has occurred in his life, and what we can expect from our own. Today we will see that Repentance requires you to change what you love and how you live. Repentance requires you to change what you love and how you live. Chapter 43:31-34 We pick up briefly looking at the last chapter, as Joseph begins the final test the night before chapter 44. They have been seated by age, but not portioned food by age. Usually, the oldest gets the honor, but this time it is the youngest. Benjamin gets five times as much food as everyone else does. It isn’t because he is a growing boy, as you couldn’t expect him to actually eat that much (I mean, *I* could eat five burgers, but that’s probably an area I need repenting in!). It was to show, in a very public way, who the favorite is. And in chapter 43, we don’t see any evidence of jealousy at this point. Despite the wine flowing freely, no jealousy comes out. We know, as Paul Tripp’s mother said, nothing comes out of the mouth of a drunk that wasn’t already there to begin with, so things are looking good so far. Chapter 44:1-13The real test starts in chapter 44. Joseph sets things up to put the brothers in the same position as chapter 37 when they sold him into slavery. Favored son of Rachel? Check. Financial reward for selling him out? Check. It is even a more ramped up version on their end, for as Matthews points out, they can claim total innocence in this matter. They can’t control what the Egyptian prince does. If there is ANY desire to get rid of Ben, this is their moment. The steward arrives, the accusation is made, the brothers are so sure of their innocence, that they will call death on the thief, and slavery for the rest if that cup is found. This shows us a couple things. One, the brothers are so confident in each other that even a little tipsy, they wouldn’t steal a cup. A big change from when they would sell their own brother for twenty pieces of silver. They are so confident in the change, they will make a brash oath like that. One scholar points out, that even the rash punishment they call down on themselves shows that they view each other as a unified group. If one goes down, they all go down together (Matthews). He also points out how they react when the cup is discovered: they tear their clothes! Only Reuben and Jacob did that when Joseph was gone. Now, they all grieve deeply that Benjamin might be held back in slavery (Matthews). Change has taken place. Chapter 44:14-20The most dramatic change however shows in Judah. When they all return to face Joseph, he is the spokesman for the group. The brother that abandoned the family in chapter 38 is now its leader. When Joseph offers to keep just Ben, Judah steps forward to plead with Joseph to let Ben go. Note how he goes about this. He doesn’t try in any way to defend. There really isn’t any point in trying. The question is so clear: “How can we clear ourselves?” and says more than Judah thinks Joseph knows. For the situation at hand, the evidence is impossible to escape. But that isn’t what Judah is admitting to here. He knows his actual guilt is selling Joseph, and he has never had to face punishment for it. He knows he didn’t steal the cup, but he figures that God is the one who put it in there, so he can finally face justice for Joseph. The word used there “clear” is the word for righteousness. Last time Judah spoke that word was when Tamar, his pregnant daughter in law, showed him his cord and his staff. He said, “She is more righteous than I.” He admitted he was a sinner then, and now he throws up his hands again at the impossibility of coming out of this situation righteous. It doesn’t look like it with the cup, and he is certainly a guilty man when it comes to Joseph. Judah thinks the man in front of him is unaware of what he is referring to, but this Egyptian prince knows exactly what Judah is carrying on his heart (Matthews). Chapter 44:21-32 Judah gives the longest sustained speech in all of Genesis to review all that has lead to this moment (Matthews). Notice how everything is about his dad. He paints the picture of how much Jacob loves Ben, which sets us up for the final moment, what we have been waiting this whole series to hear. Is Judah going to live up to the pledge that he said back in Canaan. Did he have good intentions but at the last moment will fail when courage is needed most? When the chips are down, what will he do? Will he sell his brother again? Chapter 44:33-34 The camera zooms in on Judah’s face as the orchestra runs up the chromatic scale stopping at the critical moment: He offers himself up for Benjamin. He knows what this means. He has twins at home. He will not see his father’s face, a face he has obviously grown to love. He will be leaving the family again to live with foreigners, outside the promised covenant of God, again, but this time not to pursue a forbidden woman, but to save the life of Benjamin and by extension his father. He has done his father’s will. He has fulfilled his pledge. He has demonstrated full repentance, and, though he won’t find out until the next chapter, been forgiven. This story is a beautiful picture of repentance. His actions are fully changed. He is not the same person he was before. The human trafficker is now willing to sell himself into slavery. How does such a change happen? It happens at the heart level. Do you notice how much he has changed towards his father? He, along with everyone else, watched his father tear his clothes and refuse to be comforted. He didn’t fall to his knees saying, “What have I done,” and speed off to go track Joseph down. He simply went off and spent that money. Sure, after a number of years, things are obviously different, but Joseph would have been so far away by that point, the assumption of death is just as likely. Judah is a changed man to not make such a mistake again, because he loves his father. The father that didn’t love him, is still loved by Judah. That is what motivates such action. We see this change most deeply in the question, “How can I go back?” in that last verse. Is that not what Joseph himself said when faced with temptation? Joseph’s loyalties were already decided, and now we can clearly see where Judah’s loyalties are as well. So what does this have to do with our repentance? Repentance begins in the heart. It doesn’t stop there, but it must begin there. If you try to repent of your sin without having a love for Christ, you are fighting an uphill battle. If you are still saying, “Why would I do that sin?” it isn’t long before you will be saying, “Why not?” If you have to argue the various reasons why you shouldn’t commit that sin again, “I’ll feel guilty” “I’ll get caught,” your loyalty is still wavering. When the question is “How could I,” your heart is being changed. This isn’t an instant process or particularly systematic one. You can find total victory in one sin that will be at the level of, “How could I even consider that?” and there will be others at the same time, that you would say, “Why not?” The key to repentance is having your heart changed. The things that you love, your affections must be changed, and that is a work of God. Repentance and faith are two sides of the coin where a turning to Christ is a turning from sin and this is both an event and a process. There is that point at your conversion where you see your sin and the grace that is offered to you in Jesus. Jesus, even better than Judah, offers Himself for your freedom, not just to be enslaved but to die on your behalf. You respond to that beauty and come to Christ, leaning the whole weight of your hope on Him and abandoning your love for sin. There is that initial moment of repentance and faith. And then there is the ongoing process. While you don’t get saved or convert over and over again, you continue the process of trusting Jesus more and warring against your sin more throughout your life. It is like throwing a rock into a pond. When you throw the rock in, it is in the pond, but the ripples of that rock continue to expand more and more into the pond. You don’t have to throw the rock again and again in for each ripple, but as time goes on more and more of the pond is affected by that one time event. When it first goes in, the outer edges of the pond are still, but that doesn’t mean the rock isn’t in there. Repentance is the work that God does inside your heart, which is why our catechism calls it a saving grace. It isn’t a work you do. It is a gift you receive. Now, how quickly that gift changes you depends on how much you fight. If you take your battles against sin seriously, you will use all the weapons that God has given you for that fight. You will run to your prayers, you will dive into His Word, you will attend the worship with His people, you will take seriously the Lord’s supper we are about to receive. These are given to you for your growth, so you can’t be surprised when you ignore these things and don’t grow. You don’t lose salvation, but you can sure lose your joy. And if it persists long enough, you may prove that you never had salvation in the first place. But if you grab hold of what you have been given, making use, consistently of these means, you will see deeper change and will be rewarded with greater assurance that you are His. Maybe you are here today feeling deeply unworthy of that grace. Look to the example of Peter. He denies Christ three times, yet is given the chance to repent by confessing his love three times to Jesus. Now, that rather minimal display is not what restored him, but the grace that He found in Christ. Jesus says, “You follow me.” Those words are spoken to you today. Do you love Christ? Do you want to? Do you want to want to? Ask for His help. Pray, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief,” and follow after him. Repentance and faith is the rhythm of Christianity, a process that will only be completed in heaven, when we all sit at Christ’s table. This is a wonderful moment we have here. The brothers in our passage ate with Joseph but not at the same table. It was a picture of a full restoration yet to come. At this meal, we dine with Jesus by faith, looking forward to the day when we will see Him in glory. So where do we go from here? Find your change from the source: loving Jesus. Kids, do you want to get along better with your siblings? Adults, do you need to ramp up the fight with your sin? Spend more time in prayer and in God’s Word. Fall deeper in love with Jesus, and your actions will show. |
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