Fighting Against Despair

Introduction

Think about a time in your life when you felt overwhelmed by the circumstances you were facing. Most of us who are older than twenty-five have experienced a time like this.

Typically it doesn’t stem from one single event, though it certainly can. More often than not, these times come because of a sustained series of events.

As believers, many of us try hard during times like this to turn to the Lord and find strength in Him…at least at first. However, after awhile, it isn’t uncommon for us to start to become overwhelmed by our circumstances and our faith begins to waver, our hope of a brighter future becomes dimmer and we start to wonder if the dark clouds we are under will ever lift.

It is during times like this that despair can set in.

The dictionary defines despair as “loss of hope; hopelessness.” The Bible talks about times where people “abandon hope or lose heart”, when they are “in anguish” because of their circumstances, and/or when they become despondent.

Ecclesiastes 2:20 ESV

So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun,

The reality is, many people in the Bible experienced times of despair. Job, Elijah, Joseph, Jeremiah, and King David all experienced times of despair. In fact, David said this while fleeing Saul:

1 Samuel 27:1 ESV

Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.”

This reminds us that great people can at times, feel a sense of despair because of the circumstances they are experiencing. But, the question is, what do we do to stave off despair and how do we climb out of it if we find ourselves in the pit of despair?

This morning we are going to considered those questions as we see Jacob’s response to the news that his sons bring back from Egypt.

Body: Genesis 42:24-38

Verses 23-25

If you’ll remember back to last week, Joseph’s brothers, speaking Hebrew to one another, begin to wonder if they are receiving God’s retributive justice because of their sin against Joseph.

They feel comfortable having this conversation in front of Joseph because they have no idea he is their brother and can speak Hebrew. In fact, in eyes of his brothers, this Egyptian ruler needed an interpreter to understand them.

Of course, Joseph does understand them and he turns away because his emotions come flooding in.

It’s been often suggested that Joseph was flooded with emotion here because of his brothers admission of guilt.

I’m sure that had something to do with it, but Joseph further tests them, because he’s not sure they are really changed men.

Admitting guilt and repenting are two different things.

I wonder, however, if Joseph’s emotions stem more from the memory of how poorly he was treated, how he’s lost time with his family, all the trials he’s experienced, and even the understanding that God was clearly at work in his circumstances.

I tend to think it’s a combination of all of these.

However, Joseph hides his emotions from his brothers and, in fact, turns and speaks harshly to them, having his guards bind Simeon right in front of them.

Joseph must maintain his authority at the moment. Later, he will reveal who he really is, but for now he must maintain his position of strength to further test the brothers.

Truth be told, Joseph is harsh with his brothers at this point. But, his overall motives and plan for them is pure and it’s aim is to save them. But, it often takes severity to get people where they need to go, particularly people bent towards sinfulness and selfishness. God does this at times as well.

Romans 11:22 ESV

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

Why Simeon?

Simeon was the next oldest behind Reuben. Reuben revealed that he was against selling Joseph to the Midianites, so the next oldest in line, Simeon, bears the most responsibility because he had the authority to stop it, but didn’t.

Then Joseph fills their bags with grain. However, he also returns their money into the bags and gives them what they need for the journey.

By doing this, Joseph is making sure they can come back to Egypt in the near future and that money will not hinder them.

Additionally, it’s another test. How would his brothers respond when they found their money in the bags? We will see next week.

Verses 26-28

That evening the brothers are stopped for the night and go to feed their donkeys to discover that one of them still has his money in his sack!

They are terrified, believing that they would be accused of stealing the grain.

So, they go from being accused of being spies, to potentially being accused of being thieves as well.

Their interpretation of the situation is that God has done this to them.

Again, the doctrine of retribution, believing that God is getting even with them.

Something interesting to consider: This is the first time Joseph’s brothers are recorded as ever mentioning God.

Though it’s highly likely they heard much about God throughout their lives, particularly in their youth, they’ve never once made any mention of God that was significant enough to make it into their story. And their lives up to this point reflect that!

I’m reading into this, of course, but I can’t help but wonder if this doesn’t stem from their father’s influence, particularly over the last twenty years. Jacob had given to despair and likely didn’t have much to say to or about God.

Verses 29-34

The boys return to their father Jacob, and relate their entire experience with the Egyptian ruler…well, almost everything.

Notice that they leave out their revelation while in custody and again on the road back home, that God was doing this to them because of their sin against their brother Joseph.

More on this later.

Verses 35-38

They are shocked to discover that it wasn’t just one of the brothers, but all of them still have their money.

Of course, now they are even more afraid of what Joseph (who they only call the lord of the land, not knowing his true identity) will do to them.

Jacob is heartbroken by this news, lamenting the loss of Joseph, Simeon, and now possibly Benjamin.

Jacob believes that all this is happening to him because God is against him.

In essence, he is seeing his suffering from a purely human standpoint and, I assume, believes that if God was truly for him, none of this would have ever happened to him.

If that isn’t enough, Jacob lashes out at his remaining sons.

It truth, this is their fault. However, Jacob has no idea that God is at work in the midst of this awful experience for him.

Jacob even goes so far to suggest that if he lost Benjamin, then he would have no sons left. He says this to his other nine sons! Quality parenting there!

Reuben, ever the emotionally driven man, says that if he doesn’t bring Benjamin back, then Joseph can kill his two sons!

Why would Reuben do this? He’s allowing his arrogance and his emotions to cloud his judgment. It’s a foolish promise, to be sure. One Jacob doesn’t take him up on, thankfully.

But Jacob doesn’t relent and decides not to send Benjamin back.

It’s sad that Jacob is willing to just write off Simeon here.

But it’s not surprising that Jacob won’t send Benjamin with Reuben. Reuben, who would endanger the lives of his own sons could not be trusted with Jacob’s beloved son!

So What?

We see in Jacob a man who has given into despair.

I believe the despair set in for Jacob when he learned the Joseph was dead (or so he thought). Or, it might even go further back to the death of his beloved wife, Rachel. Regardless, we don’t see Jacob as the patriarch Israel, but as a broken man. This same man once wrestled with God and was blessed by God and given the new name Israel. He was a man, that even though he started as a heel-grabber and deceiver, he eventually becomes a man who followed God. At least for awhile.

But then things start to go bad for Jacob. Rachel dies, then his father Isaac dies. Then he’s made to believe that his favorite son Joseph was killed. And we don’t see anything of a walk with God from Jacob. In fact, when he believes that Joseph is dead, he believes he’s going to die from his sadness.

I believe it is at this point that despair had set in for Jacob. In fact, the next time we hear from Jacob, after the news about Joseph, he is afraid the family is going to die because of the famine. He forgot the promises of God.

Genesis 35:10–12 ESV

And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”

At this point, Jacob’s faith in God’s promises seem non-existent.

There are some vital lessons for us here, specifically how to resist the kind of despairing response we see in Jacob.

Remember that we aren’t owed earthly happiness.

I’m not sure if Jacob felt entitled to earthly happiness, but it’s certainly possible. And, when people believe they are entitled to happiness, then when it doesn’t come they often get upset at God about it.

It’s so important to understand this: the only thing we are entitled to is eternal destruction because of our sin. And, if we are in Christ, we don’t get what we are entitled to.

And, as for happiness, we are only ever promised to have joy in Christ, not happiness. Happiness is circumstantial. Joy comes from a deeper place. We can have joy in the midst of our trials and tribulations because we know that we will never receive what we are entitled to (eternal death) because of what Christ Jesus has accomplished. That’s where our joy comes from.

Spend time with the Lord in the midst of your trials and tribulations.

I’m going to go out on a limb here: After Jacob’s troubles came, he no longer spent any time with the Lord.

That’s very typical. As believers, we start to experience multiple trials and tribulations, despair sets in, and instead of spending time with God, we go into our own little shell, or worse, we start masking our pain with various bad habits, hoping they will make the pain go away, never realizing that they just make things worse.

When trials and tribulations come, and especially when they start to build up, we need to fight to spend quality time with the Lord. How?

Recommit to your prayer life; particularly your prayer for others.

Recommit to your personal Bible study.

Recommit to spending time with your church family.

Recommit to serving others in the Lord.

Remember that you probably aren’t seeing the full picture of what’s going on.

Jacob has no idea what God is doing. And, to be fair to Jacob, there is no way for him to know what God is doing. Well, unless maybe he was communicating with God!

We frankly don’t know if God was purposely keeping this from Jacob, or if Jacob wasn’t listening, but regardless, Jacob doesn’t realize that God is setting things up to save Jacob’s family from the famine. In fact, God is setting things up for many of the most important experiences for Israel. But, Jacob can’t see that right now.

It the same for us. We often won’t see what God is up to. But, we must believe that He is.

((My experience driving over Snoqualmie Pass…))

The example you set for others has far reaching impact .

One more thing about Jacob is this: Jacob set a horrible example for his family. He showed favoritism to his children, he didn’t lead them to be people of faith, and when troubles came he went into himself or lashed out at his family.

I’m convinced that Jacob’s son’s lack of godliness was at least in part Jacob’s responsibility. He needed to be an example of godliness, like his grandfather Abraham. But, he wasn’t. So, it’s not shocking that all but two of his sons live godless lives.

One of the greatest reasons to fight against despair is because others are watching us. It could be our children, our friends, our co-workers, our neighbors, our fellow church members, etc. But, others are watching.

Contrary to what the modern secular world tells us, it’s not just about our feelings of personal satisfaction.

I’ve done lots of funerals in my time as a pastor. Two things that always stand out to me is this: the most joyous funerals I officiate are the ones for believers (because we know where they are going) and the ones where the person we are honoring spent a good portion of their lives serving and caring for others. It’s that example that leaves an indelible impact on other people’s lives.

Why is that? I’m convinced that when we are more focused on setting a good example for others, then we are more like Christ, which is the purpose of the Christian life in the first place, isn’t it?