The Path to Repentance

We continue our journey with Joseph this morning by turning to Genesis 42. This morning, though, the focus isn’t going to be so much on Joseph as it is on his brothers. Because the main focus of today is on our need for repentance.

We have been talking all month about God’s process of conforming more and more into the image of his son Jesus. And I need to remind of you of something in case you have forgotten it, or maybe teach you something if you have never heard it before. Romans 8:28 is a verse we like to quote a lot. You may even know it by heart, or at least half of it:

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,

That’s the part everyone knows. I sometimes call it the Bob Marley verse— “Don’t worry, about a thing, cos every little thing gonna be alright”

But what we need to be reminded of is that this isn’t where the verse ends. the rest of the verse is

for those who are called according to his purpose.

Which leads to the question, well, what’s God’s purpose? You see, you can’t claim Romans 8:28 without taking hold of Romans 8:29

Romans 8:29 (ESV)

29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

See, sanctification is the process God uses to conform us to the image of his son. So really, its not “Every little thing’s gonna be alright.” It’s “Every little thing’s gonna be like Christ.”

And until we deal with our sin, God cannot complete the work of sanctification.

So this morning, we are going to use the story of Joseph’s brothers to talk about repentance. I’d like to talk about two kinds of sorrow. (I know, it’s out of order on your listening guide) But we are going to see that only one of them is actually what the Bible means by repentance.

Then we are going to look at two elements of repentance. What does being truly repentant mean from a biblical perspective?

Finally, we are going to close with an Old Testament picture of what Jesus did for us on the cross. So that’s our road map. Are you ready? Let me pray, and we will press on.

[pray]

Let’s begin by looking at two kinds of sorrow. You remember from last week that in Genesis 40-41 Joseph was placed second in command in Egypt after he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and said there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Joseph became Pharaoh’s “famine czar.” And everything happens exactly as Joseph said it would. Again, not because Joseph had any supernatural power to predict the future, but because God wanted to glorify himself through Joseph. The seven years of plenty begin, and Joseph executes his plan for storing away the excess grain to carry them through the years of famine.

When Genesis 42 opens, its probably around year two of the seven years of famine. The worldwide famine is now affecting Canaan as well. Jacob sends Joseph’s ten older brothers to Egypt to buy grain. Notice in verse 4 that he does’t send Benjamin. Losing Joseph apparently didn’t make Jacob stop showing favoritism; it just made him pick a new favorite, and now Benjamin is the golden child.

When they arrive in Egypt, they encounter Joseph, who is overseeing the buying and selling of grain. I want you to notice something. Look at Genesis 42:6

6 Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.

Sound familiar? You remember Joseph’s dream from 20 years before? The one that got him thrown into the pit and sold into slavery in the first place (see Gen 37:5-10)

Verse 7 says Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they don’t recognize him. Now Joseph immediately starts playing some mind games with his brothers. He calls them spies. They protest the accusation. They say “no, we are all the sons of one man.” Then Joseph doubles down. He says “no— you’ve come to spy out the weakness of our land!”

(side note— isn’t it interesting that about 400 years later, Moses sent twelve spies— each one a descendant of one of Joseph’s brothers, to spy out the land of Canaan for exactly this reason? (see Numbers 13:2))

That’s when the brothers let it slip in verse 13 that they have a younger brother at home.

Joseph detains them for three days, saying that they must send one brother to go and retrieve their other brother to corroborate their story. On the third day, Joseph tells them that instead, they can leave one brother behind while the rest go and retrieve Benjamin. As they leave Simeon behind, they say this to one another:

Genesis 42:21 “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in 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.””

They’ve been carrying this guilt for twenty years now. Can you imagine what a burden that must be? You definitely hear the regret, don’t you. And Reuben even calls it sin. Keep reading:

Genesis 42:22 (ESV)

22 And Reuben answered them, “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.”

So you have guilt, you have regret, and you have an acknowledgment of sin. So, do you have repentance? I think the answer is no, and here’s why:

There are two types of sorrow described in Scripture.

Worldly, leading to death

Godly, leading to salvation

Worldly sorrow is sorrow over the negative consequences, and is ultimately selfish and self indulgent. It may acknowledge guilt, the way it did for Joseph’s brothers, but it’s more cause and effect. Transactional. Because we did this to Joseph, this distress has come upon us. There’s no change of heart. And while Reuben calls it sin, its a sin against Joseph (or as he refers to him, “the boy.” ) There’s no acknowledgment of sin against God.

And there’s no change of heart, either. In contrast to worldly sorrow, Godly sorrow involves empathy. Responsibility, and most importantly, change.

Joseph's brothers have had over ten years to take responsibility and confess the truth of their evil to their father. But instead, they have kept their secret, unwilling to accept the consequences. They are evidently racked by guilt, but it doesn't seem to be a Godly guilt that has led them to take responsibility, and then towards change. It's a festering, unproductive guilt that fills them with fear of punishment from God.

I think that’s where a lot of people are today. They feel condemned for their sin, and so they turn away from God. And I think that is the devil’s plan. See, we think Satan’s strategy is to not call sin sin. To convince you that what you are doing is perfectly fine, that everyone’s doing it, that no one will ever know, and so on and so one.

But that is his strategy with temptation. Once you fall to it the strategy changes. Now Satan shifts into condemnation: Look what you did! Everyone’s going to find out about this. You can’t show your face at church ever again! God’s never going to forgive you. You pervert! You drunk! You cheater! You slut! You weakling! You addict! You might as well just keep going in the direction you are going, because God doesn’t want anything to do with you!

Satan has no problem calling sin sin once you commit it. Just as long as you never do anything about it, he will call you a filthy sinner all the way to hell.

But then, there is godly sorrow, which brings repentance, which leads to salvation, and leaves no regret.

And if you are stuck in self-condemnation for your sin, then I need you to hear me say loud and clear that God loves you. There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Turn with me to Romans 8 for just a moment. Keep your thumb in Genesis, but I need you to look at this with me. Romans 8:1–3:

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,”

God loves you so much that he sent his son Jesus to die for you. Look at the last part of the verse: Through Christ, God condemned SIN. Not YOU.

If you aren’t a believer, or if you feel like you have fallen so far that God can’t bring you back, then you are living in fear and not love. 1 John 4:18

1 John 4:18 (ESV)

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Remember a couple of weeks ago we talked about biblical perfection is wholeness and completion? Here’s that word before. The most powerful tool in God’s toolbox for sanctifying and perfecting you is love.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t feel sorrow and regret for your sin. There are Two Elements of Repentance: SORROW and CHANGE.

Back to the story of Joseph’s brothers, in Genesis 42-43 we see them move from sorrow to responsibility.

Joseph tells the brothers they have to bring Benjamin back with them or else Simeon will die. Then he fills their bags with grain, and sends them away. But get this: He secretly returns their money inside of the bags. On the way home, one brother discovers the money. He says in verse 28, “My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!” At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?” Back to that fear of punishment.

They get home and tell Jacob what happened. At first, Jacob refuses to send Benjamin. He would rather starve than lose his favorite son.

What’s the point of all these mind games Joseph seems to be playing with them? Why call them spies? Why put the money back in the bags? I think God is using Joseph to force the brothers to confront their hidden sin. God knows you can’t heal a wound until you open it, examine it, and clean out all the infection.

You cannot resolve sin without acknowledging and confronting the truth. You can’t! Time doesn’t fix it, time cannot remove the stain. Only repentance does. Joseph knows that the horrific sin of his brothers must be revealed and confronted before it can be healed, painful as that may be.

It's the goodness of Joseph that is leading them to repentance, just like it's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance (See Romans 2:4)

Genesis 43 -- Ultimately, the famine forces Jacob to reconsider. Judah promises to take personal responsibility to bring Benjamin back safely, and they go to Egypt with gifts and double the money to pay for more grain. Remember, Judah was the one who had the idea to sell Joseph into slavery instead of killing him. Now he is the sworn protector of Benjamin, and will be tested to see if he will put Benjamin’s welfare before his own, which is what he failed to do with Joseph.

Joseph receives them, releases Simeon to them, and invites them to come to his house to dine with him. The brothers are fearful, thinking he's setting them up for some sort of ambush. Instead, Joseph's servants receive them into the home and wash their feet and take care of them (again, kindness that leads to repentance).

Genesis 44 -- Now comes the climax to the story: Joseph forces the true colors of his brothers to be revealed; whether or not they are truly willing to take responsibility and make a change. He forces them into a situation where they will have a chance to abandon Benjamin, the way they abandoned Joseph, or sacrificially protect him.

After the meal, Joseph sends them home with all the grain they can carry, and all their money back. But he also has a servant plant a silver cup inside of Benjamin’s sack. Then he sends his men after the brothers. They accuse the brothers of stealing the cup. They all deny it, and vow that if Joseph’s men find the cup in any of their sacks, that brother will die. So they search the sacks and find the cup inside of Benjamin’s sack.

Tearing their clothes with grief, the brothers all head back to Joseph’s house together.

Joseph confronts the brothers and says, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?” Joseph is playing a part here. We know from last week that he always gave glory to God, but here, he is acting as the adversary. The accuser.

Genesis 44:16 -- Judah says, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.”

Realize that at this point, all the brothers think Benjamin is guilty. They don’t know its been a set up. But notice the change: Rather than advocate for his own innocence, Judah takes responsibility for something that he didn’t do. “God has found out the guilt of your servants.”

In this moment, Judah stops running away from the sins of the past, and takes responsibility, refusing to let any single brother be separated from the brotherhood.

Joseph keeps tightening the screws, saying that he will not allow all the brothers to suffer for what one brother did. He will only keep Benjamin, and the rest can go home.

At this point, Judah delivers one of the longest speeches in the entire book of Genesis, and it is one of the most moving passages in the entire Bible. talks to Joseph privately, and pleads for Benjamin, and mourns what will happen to their father if Benjamin is not returned home. And then he says the words that blow this whole situation wide open:

“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.” In other words, Judah says, “take me instead.”

Judah offers himself, one who was not guilty, as a substitute for Benjamin, who was. This is an Old Testament picture of substitutionary atonement. Substitutionary atonement is the doctrine that Jesus, the sinless son of God, bore the punishment that our sins deserve.

Just as Judah was the substitute for Benjamin, Jesus, the Lion of Judah, is the substitute for us.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV) tells us that God, for our sake,

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Sometimes God's dealings with us don't look like or feel like love, especially the ways he allows us to experience the consequences of our own sin in order to bring us to repentance. It may feel like God is dragging us through the mud.

But it is love. God desires us to be perfected in love. desires the relationship to be whole and healthy. If we hide our sin and become slaves to fear.

Here is an amazing truth: What we try to cover, God will expose. But what we expose to God, God will cover.

It is the goodness of God, it is the righteousness of God, and it is the love of God that leads us to repentance.

God shows that he is zealous for our healing. He will go to great lengths to call us out of the darkness of avoidance and secrecy into the light of truth and authenticity. Ultimately, we must decide if we will cooperate with God in this process, or if we will fight and reject change, and thus reject abundant life.

Judah and his brothers fought against this process, but they ultimately chose to submit to God and be changed. This process finally gave them closure on the secret that was eating them up from the inside.

There's more to this story. Tragically, they stopped short of complete restoration with Joseph, that was available to them. And we can see this in their insecure and fearful response to Joseph, years later when Jacob dies.

But for now, let's celebrate that this process led to a huge win -- a huge step forward in healing for the brothers, and the ability for reconciliation to happen in the next chapter.

CONCLUSION:

The rest of the Star Wars Story:

My mom paid the debt she didn’t owe, because I owed a debt I couldn’t pay.

The only way to deal with the divine price of sin is through the perfect, healing blood of Jesus Christ. This is the forgiveness that we enter into through faith in Jesus Christ, the son of God, who paid the ultimate penalty of death to restore us into relationship with God.

The only way to deal with the personal and relational consequences of sin is by bringing our sin into the light, and by entering the path of Penitence: empathy, responsibility, and change.

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