Joseph's Test

0:00Good morning. Again.

0:01Good morning, great man.

0:02Yeah. As you're turning to Genesis chapter 43, I have a correction that I need to make from a few weeks ago. If you remember when we covered the section on Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery, I made the connection to Isaiah 53 at that time. Specifically the verse, he was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. Because the text didn't mention Joseph speaking up in defense of himself, that of course led us to make the connection to Christ, the substance of Isaiah 53, of whom Joseph was a shadow. I will further note that such a connection was not original to me. At least one other commentator noted that and made that connection, and it certainly fits within the obvious framework of Joseph foreshadowing Christ. But after studying the passage leading up to this week's message, I don't think of that specific connection is appropriate, and I'm going to show you why very quickly. This is also applicable introduction to our story this morning, which is a second reason why I'm bringing it up. So as we pick up the story in Genesis 43 this morning, Joseph's brothers have already made one trip to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, okay? And of course, Joseph doesn't recognize him, and they don't recognize Joseph recognizes them, but they don't recognize Joseph. And why would they, right? It's been uh 22 years since they uh sold him away. Uh during that trip, Joseph puts all the brothers in a holding cell, right, for three days in an effort to shake them up a bit and to offer them a deal to hold back one of the brothers if the rest would go and bring Benjamin back, right? Benjamin didn't come the first time, um, so he makes this deal with them. And we're we didn't read that, so I'm that's why I'm kind of bringing some of that up. And Benjamin, right, is the only son Jacob has left with Rachel. Jacob is very protective of Benjamin, and Joseph desperately wants to see Benjamin as well, since he is the only full brother and connection uh that he has left to his mother. So that's kind of the reason why he wants to see Benjamin. So a deal is struck, right, that Simeon would be kept in custody while the rest went back to fetch Benjamin. And as a result of this, really a predicament they've found themselves in here, the brothers say this in verse 21 of chapter 42 of Genesis. Again, this is leading up to where we're going to be. So if you wanted to turn there, you can. This is uh verse 21 of chapter 42. They said to one another, In truth, we are guilty concerning our brother, and that we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us, and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us. And then Reuben answered, Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy, but you did not listen? So now there comes a reckoning for his blood. It seems clear enough from that passage that the brothers are assuming that their current situation is a judgment on account of their mistreatment of Joseph. And it seems clear enough that Joseph did plead with them to not do this to him. He begged them, it says, but they did not listen. So, with that context, it is inaccurate to make the connection from Joseph to Isaiah 53 on account of him not opening his mouth in his defense, because clearly Joseph did open his mouth and beg for his life. So I set that up in that story for where we are this morning, and I need to make that connection, and once again points us to the fact that this demonstrates to us that Christ is the superior Joseph. Christ is the only defenseless one who didn't defend himself. Christ is the only one who didn't beg for his life but laid it down willingly for our sake. Christ is the only one who truly fulfilled all the prophecies and who is truly our Savior. That is the point that we should have established through that previous text, but the one I might have missed just a little bit, the full emphasis on, because of, again, a misreading of the previous passage. So accept my apologies there. As we begin our text this morning, though, the famine is in full swing now, right? We're two years into the famine, a seven-year famine. And Joseph's brothers and father are running low on food again, right? They've already gone once to get the food, and now they're running low on food again. They're in danger of starving if they don't make a second trip back to Egypt with Benjamin to free Simeon and to buy more food. And the theme I want us to draw out this morning is that God uses all situations for our redemption. God uses all situations for our redemption. We will see how all the pieces begin to fit together even more for the reconciliation of Joseph and his brothers and the preservation of the remnant of God's people. Okay? So all of that is what we're gonna see as we really begin to close up the book of Genesis. So, stand with me once more as we read Genesis 43. I'm jumping around just a little bit. We're gonna start in verse one. Now the famine was severe in the land, and when they had eaten the grain that they had bought from Egypt, their father said to them, Go again and buy us a little food. But Judah said to him, The man solemnly warned us, saying, You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you. If you will send, uh if you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food, buy you food. But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you. Skip to verse sixteen. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of the house, Bring the men into the house and slaughter an animal, and make ready for the men are to dine with me at noon. The man did as Joseph told him, and brought the men to Joseph's house. Finally, skip to verse 26. When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him that the present that they had with them, and bowed down to him on the ground, to the ground. And he inquired about their welfare, and said, Is your father well? The old man of whom you spoke, is he still alive? They said, Your servant our father is well, he is still alive. And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your youngest brother of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son. Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, again, for this word. Uh, and as as we always do, Lord, please, please speak for Christ's sake. It is in his name that I pray. Amen. We are all very fortunate and very blessed to not have ever been put in a situation where there is a real possibility that we could starve to death. Uh, sure, money may be tight sometimes, uh, and grocery budgets get squeezed at times, and you may have to scrape together some loose change, right, to make it through till payday. But no one here, as far as I know, has any real concern of actually starving to death. And if you do, please come see us and we will be glad to help. This is not the case, though, in the ancient world, where they depended solely on their agricultural, their local really agricultural output. There wasn't much cross-country trading, and there certainly weren't any Costco's, right? So if you didn't grow it, you didn't eat it. And if nothing grew, either plants and animals, you didn't eat. There have been hundreds of recorded famines over the course of world history, most of which were brought on by a combination of political and natural factors. But this famine recorded for us in Genesis, that happened around 1950-ish BC, is one of the first documented famines in human history, but not the first. As far as we are aware, climate scientists uh say that there was a hundred-year famine around 2300 to 2200 BC, which would place it in and around the time between Noah and Abraham. Okay, to say that there was a massive climate shift shortly after Noah that sparked a near-century-long famine and reset the entire world's climate is fully, is to fully back up the biblical text, and that's what some modern climate scientists say. I'm not going to digress there, but that is to say that if you believe that there's somehow a conflict between science and the Bible, this is laughable at best because it is continued, science continues to uphold our biblical text. So, Jacob and his sons, minus Joseph, who is in Egypt, and Simeon, who is there imprisoned with Joseph, they have eaten through most of the grain that they have received during their first trip, and with them being farmers and shepherds, they have grown little during this time, and they are, and they and their flocks are in serious trouble here. This presents the first major conflict in our passage. And that is, do they go back to Egypt to buy more grain? This is the question and the conflict. On one hand, they have to, because their brother is there, Simeon, and he's locked up, waiting on them to return. And on the other hand, they can't, because that would mean that they have to bring Benjamin. And Jacob is against that. Completely against that, really. The other concern is the fact, and we didn't really cover this, but we'll talk about it. They're in their first trip. The money that they used to pay for the grain was found back in their bags when they made it back home. So they're worried if they go back a second time, they will be accused of stealing and be thrown into prison or worse. So all of those factors, right, are swirling. They are running out of food and will die if they don't do something soon. They have to make a decision here. And this is where Judah returns to our story. Y'all remember Judah. He's grown up a little bit, I will say, significantly through the trials that we have previously read through. And Judah speaks up here and says that he will take full responsibility for Benjamin's safety and vows that he will return him well. And he accepts the blame forever if that does not happen. Right? So all of that, they go. They go back to Egypt for a second time. And this marks the beginning of the text demonstrating God's explicit mercy upon the brothers, despite all the wrongs that they have done, specifically to Joseph. They are feeling the weight of their guilt, right? And they go back to Egypt with the fear of being called thieves because of the supposed money mix-up, and worried that God is judging them because of their wrongs. Together with their fears of something already having happened to Simeon, they don't know, and that something may happen to Benjamin. Added to that is their worry that if things don't go well here, and they aren't given the grain that they so desperately need, they're all going to starve to death. Can you imagine the anxiety that they are filled with as they enter into Egypt with all of those questions? What happens though when they get there? What happens when they get there? We read it in verse 16 of our text. The red carpet of God's grace is rolled out to them. The red carpet of God's grace is rolled out to them. Joseph sees them coming from a ways off. You remember, does that language sound familiar to you? Somebody seeing from a ways off. Joseph now sees them coming from a ways off in much the same way the brothers saw Joseph coming from a ways off. When all this started way back, you know, many chapters ago now. But instead of plotting a way to wrong his brothers, Joseph tells his people to slaughter an animal and prepare a feast for them. And there are so many connections that can be made here, but the obvious is the story of the prodigal son, right? Who upon returning to the Father in a spirit of humility is received in grace. So certainly what we see here, but even more is that this text also makes it clear who is showing them grace. Who is showing them grace? They are a little worried because they get escorted into the house and think, something might be wrong here. Why are we being escorted into the house? Surely this is because of this money situation, they say, right? So they immediately confess to the steward of the house about the mix-up, and the steward's reply. The steward's reply is very, very important for us. This is verse 23. He, the steward, replied, Peace to you. Do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money, he says. After all they have done wrong to their brother. After everything that Joseph had to go through as a result of their selfishness and their jealousy, they come to this point where the steward of the house, like an angel messenger from the Lord himself, tells them, Do not be afraid. God is blessing you. What? Here we are worried about starvation. We're worried about being thrown in jail. We're worried about money. We're worried about our brother. We're racked with guilt. And God says to them, Don't worry, I'm giving you a treasure. I would have completely lost it right there, right, if I was their brothers. But they hold their composure and they make it to dinner, at which time Joseph comes in and sees his brother, right? His only full brother, his only connection to his mother, and all those emotions come flooding back on him, Joseph. And perhaps he even sees a little bit of himself in Benjamin and all the things that he went through, and he sees everything now coming together just as God foretold, and he's so overwhelmed with emotion that he has to leave the room. So he can weep. And this sets up the final test for the brothers, and more specifically here for Judah, which we'll get to in just a second. But just prior to Joseph being overcome emotionally and leaving the room, we see the official fulfillment of the prophecy. And I don't want to miss pointing this out. As we read, when Joseph came into the house, they presented him, the brothers presented him with gifts, and they bowed down to him. The brothers bowed down to Joseph, and this is the fulfillment of the first dream that Joseph had. And then Joseph asks about his father, right? They give him a good report, and they bow down to him a second time, right? At the mention of his father, they bow down a second time. This is the fulfillment of the second dream. So at this point, Joseph clearly knows that God is with him, and that everything has happened for a reason and according to a plan, the plan. And with that as a backdrop, Joseph sets up a test that he hopes, and is sure, I'm sure, will solidify their redemption. And that test begins by seating them at dinner in order from oldest to youngest. He seats them at dinner in order from oldest to youngest. The brothers are astonished by this. How could he have known the ages of them and seated them all in perfect order? Right? So Joseph has their attention here. The second setup is when the food is served to them at this dinner. Benjamin is given five times the portion than the older brothers. How unusual this would have been, right? It couldn't have been a mistake because of how they were seated in perfect age order, and yet the youngest, not the oldest, is given the largest portion times five. This looks like Joseph all over again for the brothers, doesn't it? Here's the youngest. The last remaining child of Rachel getting the special treatment all over again. Would this have angered them? Would this have made them jealous? And this is followed by him putting his silver cup in Benjamin's bag so that he can issue the final test. And we didn't read it, but they are sent back home after the dinner, only to have Joseph's men catch up with them and accuse them of taking Joseph's cup. They, of course, deny it, but upon searching their bags, they find the planted cup in Benjamin's bag. The punishment is that Benjamin is to become a slave of Joseph and to not be able to go home with his father. And this causes all of the brothers to tear their clothes in mourning. Which is also a connection. Previously, when it was them who betrayed Joseph, it was only the father, Jacob, who tore his clothes in mourning over losing Joseph. But here we see they are all now mourning in solidarity of having lost Benjamin. The change in them is already showing. This brings them all back to Joseph's house. Or they plead with him to have mercy on them. And Joseph makes a proposition to them that should be very familiar to them. He offers them their freedom, no questions asked, if they just turn over Benjamin to him. They can finally be free of all of their father's favorites. Right? Just as they did with Joseph, they can make their younger favored one disappear. And this time it really wouldn't be their fault. Not really. This is a choice between self-interest and sacrifice. Their own desires against the will of the father. Their father. Their love of self against their love of their father. Will the outcome be different now? Hear the words of Judah then. And mind you, Judah, the one through whom Christ our Lord has come. He says this in uh, this is verse 30. Yes, verse 30 of chapter 44. Now, therefore, as soon as I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us, then as his life is bound up in the boy's life, as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. And your servant will bring down the gray hairs of your servant, our father, with sorrow to Sheol. For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father. Saying, If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life. Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my Lord. And let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father? Judah offers himself in the place of Benjamin. Out of love for his father and in obedience to his father's will, Judah offers himself as a servant in place of the guilty so that Benjamin may go free. Twenty-two years previous, could Judah have ever imagined he would sacrifice himself to protect the life of the one of the privileged children of Jacob and Rachel? Surely not. But oh, how trials and circumstances change us, don't they? This is, of course, secondary to the fact that this is an obvious and clear foreshadowing of Christ. The gospel and the doctrine of substitutionary atonement. Here are the words of Christ from John chapter 6. And John chapter 6 has been a chapter that has been so foundational to us as of late, so much so that I would contend that the Lord should have us as a church memorize the whole of John chapter 6. I'm going to throw that out there. We would all be the better for it. But here's our Lord from John chapter 6. All that the Father gives me will come to me. And whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. So the Father presents the Son. The Father presents the Son with the children, with his children. And he sends Christ into the world and commands him to lose none of them. Lose none of my children. To which Christ makes a pledge that he will take on this responsibility, and he will take it upon himself, and that none will be lost. So Christ enters into our world to save us from our guilt and from a life of slavery, he offers himself in our place. We all, having been caught in our guilt, deserved all the punishment we have coming to us. But instead Christ stands in the way. And he receives unto himself the punishment reserved for us, that the will of the Father may be satisfied, having not lost any of his children, his precious children. Such incredible news, isn't it? That one would stand in our place and speak and act in our defense. That Christ would offer himself for you. Not because you deserved it, or because you earned it, but because the father said to the son, that one is mine. Don't lose that one. And he didn't. Who can explain the love of the father to his children? Who can explain the love of God to his children? We don't need to explain it. We need to receive it. And the gospel compels us then to stop asking why and start saying thank you. The gospel teaches us to live in the same sacrificial humility that has brought us to God in the first place. Such things are so clearly and obviously seen in this story, aren't they? Let's look at a few points of application then. First, the text teaches us again that God is working even in the most unlikely of circumstances. Joseph, in verses six to eight of chapter 45, this is after he has revealed himself and who he is to his brothers. In verses six and eight of chapter 45, Joseph says this for the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. And God sent me before you. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. It was not you who sent me here, but God. So his brothers selling him into slavery was ultimately not them working, although it was, but God working to bring him there and save everyone, including the remnant of God's people on earth. We talked about it many times now, but how God is actively working through sinful acts to bring about his purpose will forever be a mystery to us. It will. But the word is so clear that God is doing this, that it is again past time for us to stop asking why and start saying thank you. This is because the text also teaches us that with God nothing is ever helpless or in vain. God doesn't make mistakes. And even though we do, and we sin, those mistakes and those sins that we commit become the very means by which God transforms and brings about his will. In that respect, God is so good and so gracious that he has redeemed even our mistakes. He has redeemed even our sins to be the instruments of his grace. He does this so that when he wipes away our tears in glory, we shall see how he has truly worked all things for our good and for his glory. And then we will have no regrets. We will feel no guilt. For then we will see his purpose in all things that has led to our salvation. We will see that. And he is truly working all things for our good. And I have the full assurance that we will one day know this. We will know this to be true, even though I know we all still doubt that at times, right? Finally, the text shows us that God is the one who is ultimately and always in control. Again, I know it doesn't always feel that way, right? And the night may seem too long and too dark, but these stories should assure us that He has a plan. He has a plan and He is in control. Do not fear, and do not be dismayed, our God is in control. John 16, verse 33. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world. The words of Jesus again. And we sang this song this morning that echoes these truths. And I pray that this stays on your heart for many days and certainly many weeks to come. And this is the words that we sang this morning. This is my father's world. Oh, let us not forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my father's world. Why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King. Let the heavens ring. God reigns, let the earth be glad. And may it please the Lord to encourage our hearts with those truths this morning. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word as always. We thank you for the comfort and the assurance that you give us in your word, Lord. We thank you that you've redeemed our sins and our mistakes, Lord, and that you are truly working all things for our good. And we see that in the story of Joseph. And we see that in the gospel, Lord. Help us to know that, Lord. Help us to truly know that you are working all things. We are so thankful for you, Lord, and for your work. We love you. We ask all these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.