Hold on... Or Let Go?
Notes
Transcript
Out last two studies focused in on one truth that will come into play once again in or study tonight.
That truth was this: What we hold on to, matters.
We spoke of two areas of concern from Genesis 42.
Israel, the father of the brothers, was holding on to grief. It was controlling him and consuming him.
The brothers, the guys that sold Joseph into slavery, was holding on to guilt. It was overshadowing them and consuming them.
Joseph, the dreamer, the man sold into slavery, held on to the dream. He chose to look forward instead of holding on to other possibilities like hate, bitterness, blame, etc.
Joseph has now been elevated to a high position of authority in Egypt. His brothers had come to buy grain from him in the famine.
Joseph recognizes theses guys, but they do not recognize Joseph. They are sent home, minus one, with instruction to return with Benjamin among them.
But that is a problem… because dad is holding on to Benjamin tightly. He fears Benjamin might meet his demise along the way.
Dad… hasn’t learned his lesson. Benjamin isn’t his only son… yet he shows favor to this son… similar to how he favored Joseph. That didn’t play out well! And… it is not playing out well in this situation.
The brothers return home. And all is not well.
Remember the details.
They have food to eat, but they had to leave one brother behind.
They can’t go back, unless Benjamin is with them… and the famine remains severe. So dad… finds himself between a rock and a hard place. You might call it… a no win scenario.
They are running out of food. Genesis 43:1-2 makes this clear.
1 Now the famine was still severe in the land. 2 So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”
Dad says, “Go get more.” But then he is reminded of this difficulty in Genesis 43:3
3 But Judah said to him, “The man warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’
They were literally at the end of their rope… or end of their hope… however you want to look at it.
Dad had delayed the inevitable as long as he could. We are not given a specific time stamp in Scripture, but we know it was a significant span of time. Look at what Judah tells him in Genesis 43:10
10 As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice.”
Now, why do I see this as significant? Because in the fear of losing another son, the father had lost sight of the fact that one son was in captivity!
Poor Simeon has been stuck in Egypt this entire time hoping the “governor” would not suspect him of being a spy!
So here we are… no more food, plenty of fear, and nowhere else to turn. What could Israel possibly do?
So far, he has held on. He has held on to his grief. Yes, Simeon was a captive but he was still alive.
Israel finds himself without any more options… He could not hold on any longer. He had to let go.
BUT… in letting go, he learned to do something else that we must also learn to do.
Lesson One: Israel Gave it All to God.
Lesson One: Israel Gave it All to God.
Israel had to let go, and give God control of the situation.
Look at his declaration in Genesis 43:14
14 And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”
What does it mean to be bereaved? It means suffering the death of a loved one. So in this case, Israel is coming to the understanding that he might not ever see Benjamin again.
But it is important to note how the passage began. Israel prayed for God to grant his sons mercy. Israel, gave God control over the situation.
Now, this surrender has come after a long period of time. We’re not sure how long, but Judah told his dad they could have made this trip twice in the time that had passed.
Israel was holding on… NOT in hope, but in FEAR. Israel was looking not for a way forward, but for a way out of his situation. In this moment, he didn’t need to escape, he needed to endure. He was trying to control the outcome… He was trying to determine what would happen next. Fear will do that to a person.
Fear of our circumstances… has a tendency to move us away from faith. It moves us away from trusting the Lord.
Israel’s fear moved him to delay as long as he could. I’m not sure what he was hoping for in that delay, but the day had now come. Israel had to face his fear.
But is it really so much facing a fear as much as it is surrendering that fear to the Lord?
I want to go to a verse that God keeps bringing back to my mind that deals with fear.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
This passage confirms that even though we might find ourselves in a terrible situation, we do not have to fear. Why? Because God is with us!
Another thing we need to notice is the Psalmist doesn’t take up residency in the valley of the shadow of death… he moves THROUGH that dark valley. He doesn’t hunker down and hide in the valley, he trusts in the presence of the Shepherd whose rod and staff comfort him!
It’s no doubt that Israel is in a valley. The season he is in is NOT an easy season!
But troubling times… are never easy. That’s why we call them… troubling… or trials.
They hurt. They sting. They push us to our limits. They stretch our wisdom and understanding. They try to knock us down… they try to keep us from fighting the good fight and finishing the race.
But never forget… the Shepherd is with us!
Israel ALMOST got stuck in the valley. It literally was a do or die moment. Everything in his being was saying hold on… don’t risk losing another son! But something convinced him… to trust the Lord instead. Something moved him… to let go.
Here’s the thing I want us to consider: I wonder what would have happened if Israel would have sent his sons back immediately after they had returned? HOW LONG DID HE PROLONG THE TRIAL?
Our FIRST order of business when it comes to ANY TRIAL… is to give it fully to the Lord. If that is step three, or step seven, or step twenty five, then I would suggest we just extended the length of this season through our lack of faith.
What we hold on to… matters. And when we hold on when God says to let go… we risk missing what the Lord desires to do.
Joseph held on to a dream… not bitterness, not resentment, etc. He held on to what GOD had given him.
Interestingly enough, his brothers and his dad could have been doing the same thing. JOSEPH TOLD THEM THE DREAM.
But they chose not to bow… they rejected what God had shown Joseph. It was time to let go… and to let God.
Secondly… Israel was not the only one learning lessons in this season. The brothers were about to learn a solid lesson as well.
Lesson Two: The Brothers Reaped What They had Sown.
Lesson Two: The Brothers Reaped What They had Sown.
As the story continues, all the brothers are reunited, Joseph's identity remains a mystery, and the men, in their minds, had proven they were not spies to the governor.
So when it came time to depart, they were given sacks full of grain, their silver was returned once more, AND, a silver cup was placed in which bag? Benjamin’s bag.
So Joseph sends his steward to stop his brothers and present the accusation. And the brothers offer this assurance:
9 If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”
Little did they know that the had just condemned the brother they had worked so hard to protect. Per their words, at the discovery of the cup, Benjamin would have to die. AND, the rest of them would become slaves.
Interestingly enough… the Steward “agrees” to the terms… but does he really?
10 “Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.”
The cup is found, and the brothers are taken back to Joseph. Fear has gripped their hearts and Judah tries to explain the situation to Joseph.
And in this explanation, Judah does something… remarkable. He offers himself in place of Benjamin.
Why is this remarkable? Because it was Judah, in Genesis 37:26-27 that made the suggestion to sell Joseph as a salve.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.
And now look at his plea in Genesis 44:33
33 “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.
Here’s the deal:
The fact that the brothers were willing to become slaves for Benjamin’s sake proved that their attitude and character had greatly changed since they sold Joseph into slavery.
Judah’s plea for Benjamin was sincere. Their willingness to pay any price to save Benjamin and prevent overwhelming grief to their father showed that the brothers were finally ready to bear the blame for the evil they had done in the past.
God had brought this thing full circle… as only He could have done. The brothers were now reaping what they had sown.
Listen, church, the brothers may have thought they had escaped the “dream” Joseph told them about when they sold him into slavery. But mark my words: THERE IS NO SILVER LINING IN SIN.
Sin will ALWAYS lead to destruction and bondage. ALWAYS. You cannot escape it, you cannot hide from it. All you can do is… call on the name of Jesus to bring forgiveness and redemption.
Sin will always reap the consequence of death. It wants to make you its slave tonight. But Christ gave His life that we might be set free from the oppression of sin and death.
The brothers had to reap what they had sown… but in Christ, we have a different option. We can be set free through grace!
BUT… if we say no to God’s grace, our day of reckoning will come and the full weight of your sin will be realized.
I pray we learn this lesson BEFORE we reap what we sow regarding our sin.
Christ already took on the punishment for those who would call on His name for salvation. We sowed the sin, he reaped our death… and gifted to us eternal life.
BUT we have to leave that life of sin. We have to choose… to change. MORE than change, we have to choose for the old self to be crucified with Christ and to no longer live… and come alive through Christ who now lives within us!
Closing
Closing
Two lessons, with answers that both point back to God.
You can NEVER go wrong with God. He will get you through. He is the answer to whatever circumstance you might be facing.
Give Him control or…everything. Trust in Him and He will make you paths straight.