01(Gen 42-47) When the Guilt Wont Go Away

Read text 42:18-28.

I.    Guilt will not go away. (42:21-23)

A.    Guilt is still there more than 20 years later. (v. 21)

1.     They have lived, silently, with the plotting they did against Joseph and Dad.

2.     They ignored the pleading of their little brother.

B.    Sin is a terrible debt to owe. (v. 22).

1.     Reuben calls this “sin” to their attention.

C.    God has a way of dealing with the sin/guilt in our lives. (v. 23)

1.     Joseph is using an interpreter. God is not yet ready to reveal His purposes.

2.     God does not wave a wand and remove guilt. But He will bring about oppty.

D.    Our response to God’s working is often, to be afraid.

1.     God is doing a work in their lives.

2.     Response: Fear. Run away.

3.     “What is this that God is doing TO us?” (not FOR us.)

4.     Note how far different is Joseph’s “fear” (v. 21) from their being afraid (v.35).

5.     Blessing #1: grain. They choke on the grain that saved them; question their own means of deliverence.

5.     Blessing #2: money back. Response: afraid.

When they return, they explain the events to their father whose heart is double-broken.

He flat refuses to allow Benjamin to go to Egypt (his heir).

II.  Guilt will not go away (43).

A.    Once the provisions are gone, he wants them to go back. But they’re dead if they return without Benjamin.

B.    They are once again afraid (43:18). They are afraid of what God (42:28) is going to do to them because of their sin.

C.    Unconfessed sin does this to a person, even to us today.

I am convinced that one of the reasons many people are deeply distressed and mentally troubled is that they are carrying around a load of unresolved offenses, some real and some imagined, from their past. There is no debt so great as the debt of sin.

D.    How do we handle the guilt that comes from mistreating others?

1.     Might drink it away.

2.     Become a work-aholic.

3.     Get religious and think they are better than everyone.

4.     Find excuses and blame everybody else for your actions.

5.     Just ignore the pain, bury it deep and hope that time will carry it away.

E.    The passage of time will not erase the guilt.

1.     It did not for these brothers. (42:21).

2.     It did not for King David. (Psalm 32:3-4).

Do you want relief from the guilt that haunts your life? Real relief?

III. Repentance and, where possible, Restitution.

A.    Repentance only begins when we accept responsibility for our own actions.

1.     One of the hardest things to do in life is look in the mirror and admit your sins.

2.     Ezekiel 18:25-32.

3.     The idea is to turn away.

B.    Restitution actually frees you. It is an important part.

1.     “How can I make it right?” anything I can do, any price I can pay to make it right.

2.     Judah’s restitution was indirect, but none the less real.  (44:33).

C.    What about those debts with others that can’t be settled?

1.     Death, distance prevents it.

2.     Ask forgiveness from God. Allow Him to reconcile.

IV. Our offense to a holy God?

A.    Final thought – pain of guilt is never fully healed until we experience the gift of God’s grace!

B.    One of the most distressing realizations for any human is realization of sin.

1.     Caused Adam and Eve to hide from God.

2.     Psalm 139:7-12.

3.     God knows what we did, where we did it, and why!

C.    Repentance is the first step. Turn around. Change course.

1.     Step 2: 1 John 1:9. Confess your sins before God. Agree with Him it is sin.

D.    But about restitution, you don’t have to. Jesus already paid the debt.

1.     not with those on earth, but those in heaven.

E.    Joseph’s brothers were wracked with guilt. Joseph gave them grace. He could have ordered them killed, had them tortured, imprisoned for life.

1.     Instead, he looked for repentance. Finding it, he gave grace.

2.     He forgave them and offered full release from their guilt.

Conclusion:

Perhaps you’re like Joseph’s brothers. You’re dragging around an unresolved burden of guilt. How about letting it go tonight?

Is your life confused by unfinished business? Is your mind cluttered with memories of unpaid debts?

First, repent! Turn around and start down a new road.

Then, go make it right. Sure it’s hard to admit you’re wrong. Sure, that other person had a part in what happened, but that’s their problem. Own your part and make it right.

Does guilt separate you from really knowing God? Are you afraid of Him, afraid to pray? Like his brothers, do you think your problems are because God is “getting even?”

He loves you. He reaches out with a message of reconciliation, forgiveness, grace. What is your response?