Transforming Judgement Genesis 42-44

Psalm 103:1–13 NIV

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

Isaiah 55:1–7 NIV

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.” Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Romans 5:12–17 NIV

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned— To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

I. Transforming Judgement Genesis 42-44

Introduction:

Joseph has gone from slave to the ruler over Egypt. He knows that for his God-given dream to be fulfilled, somewhere along the line his family must come to Egypt. I am sure there were times when he wondered when that would be. In the meantime, I suspect he was a very busy man. Responsibilities of the sort he carried, are not respecters of days off, weekends or even holidays.

However, those kinds of responsibilities were probably a blessing as they did not give much time for him to spend thinking about his family and when the day would come that they would meet again. It would be a hope he would cling to tenaciously, but I doubt that he had much time to really worry about it.

The names he gives his sons communicate the truth of it.

He names his first son Manasseh meaning ”he who causes to forget,” and Joseph declares, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.”

His second son he named Ephraim meaning fertile, and he declared, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” (Genesis 41:50-52).

Joseph has moved on, but he has not left who he is behind. Pharaoh gives Joseph an Egyptian name, however, Joseph gives his sons Hebrew names. He never forgets God or God’s promise that his people will be a nation of their own and have land of their own as we will see in the last week of this series.

When we left off last week, Joseph has been promoted from prison to the Pharaoh’s chosen man to lead Egypt. For 7 years, Joseph works diligently with the Egyptian people to plant, harvest, and store food for a 7 year famine that is to take place.

Then the famine hits. For two years, Joseph works dishing out food as it is needed. The famine is so great, that even other nations feel the pinch and begin hearing of Egypts storehouses full of grain. So they begin to make their way there to buy food from Egypt.

Canaan is one of these other nations and after 2 years, Jacob and his family are struggling, yet for some reason, Joseph’s brothers are reluctant to go to Egypt. We can guess why they are reluctant. I do not think it was because they feared they would see Joseph, but the very mention of Egypt would bring to their guilty hearts the knowledge that they sold their young brother as a slave to Egypt. People tend to be reluctant to face anything that reminds them of a guilty past. Jacob, not understanding their reluctance, makes the decision for them.

Genesis 42:1–2 NIV

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”

For today’s text, I want to skip ahead in the story and we will pick it up after the brother’s second trip for grain. They still have no idea that the man they are doing business with is Joseph and they are preparing to return home to Canaan.

Stand with me for the reading of the text: Genesis 44:1-17

Genesis 44:1–17 NIV

Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said. As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’ ” When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.” “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.” Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city. Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?” “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.” But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.”

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

Prayer

Sermon Introduction:

The following story was shared in a 1996 Reader’s Digest. The son shares the story of his Scotland-born mother and his Italian-American father:

As in immigrant, my mother lived in constant fear of deportation. You could miss up to four questions on the citizenship test, and Mom missed five. The question she flunked on was: “What is the Constitution of the United States?” The answer she gave was: “A boat.” Which wasn’t entirely wrong. The USS Constitution was docked in Boston. But the judge instantly denied her citizenship.

My father stormed up to the judge. “What ... is this? Let me see the test! She’s not wrong—the Constitution is a boat!”

The judge rolled his eyes and said, “No, the Constitution is the basic governing—”

“It’s also a boat in Boston! The Constitution! Same thing! Come on!”

The judge finally couldn’t take any more. He said, “Fine. She’s a citizen. Now get out of here!”

So my father said to my mom, “you passed!”

“No, I didn’t pass,” she whimpered. “They’re going to come after me!” From then on, any time my mother was even in the proximity of a policeman, she quaked with fear.

(Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.)

Guilt is a very powerful emotion. It can effect everything we do, everything we think, and it is like poison eating away at our soul. On CBN News this week a man referred to a quote about how “forgiveness releases prisoners.” I heard this just prior to writing this sermon and it stuck in my mind as how true it is in this story.

I am sure it was difficult for Joseph to forgive his brothers. He must have done so long before he saw them again as he never really displays any resentment toward them. If he had not forgiven them, he would have been eaten away with resentment all those years. However, he was free of such resentment and able to blossom amid his difficulties.

However, his brothers had no one to ask forgiveness from. They also were prisoners. They were imprisoned by guilt. Sometimes guilt is false and unnecessary like in the story of the dear Scot woman. But Joseph’s brother’s guilt was very real. They lived with it day and night. The question was, did they ignore it and continue on in their wicked ways or had it softened their hearts so that God could transform them into the people He had called them to be?

Joseph was on a quest to find out if they were the same or if they had changed.

There is no way to know if God impressed upon Joseph in the moment how to respond or if God had laid a plan on his heart long before their arrival. But everything Joseph did was calculated to reveal the status of their hearts.

As we pickup the story in chapter 42, Jacob gets frustrated with his sons lack of response to their dire circumstances. For some reason, they seem lethargic and unwilling to do what needs to be done; that being going to Egypt to buy grain. So, Jacob makes the decision for them but he holds Benjamin back with him.

I suspect that the trip was not a very cheery one. I can just imagine the heaviness as they travel that road, perhaps thinking and imagining what their brother Joseph had experienced on his journey. Psalm 105 perhaps gives us an idea of what their last vision of Joseph was like.

Psalm 105:16–19 NIV

He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food; and he sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true.

They may even be thinking that Joseph at that moment is in the hands of one being mistreated and abused making their guilt all the more intense.

Of course, Psalm 105 goes on to share the rest of the story.

Psalm 105:20–22 NIV

The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom.

However, they had no way of knowing this. So, they dragged on feeling heavier with each step.

When they arrive, they probably marveled at all the things they saw that were new to them. They then find themselves standing before none other than Joseph, though he will look much like an Egyptian by this time. He will be clean shaven (not the practice of the Hebrew). He will have short hair, perhaps even straightened to make him appear more Egyptian. His clothing will be completely different and Joseph is now a man. He was a 17 year old kid the last they saw him, but 22 years have past, so Joseph is now 39 years old. He will have changed a lot. However, since Joseph’s brothers were so much older than he, they will not have changed in appearance much. They will still be the fuzzy shepherd’s they were when they last parted.

It would really have taken a lot of fortitude for Joseph not to give himself away in that moment. It would have been a bit mind-numbing in the moment he realized it was his brothers standing in front of him. However, he covered it up by being brusque with them. This was not so unusual since they were foreigners in the land.

But Joseph has something more he hopes to achieve here beyond not giving himself away. He wants to know the most important thing to him in that moment. “Is dad still alive? Is Benjamin still alive?” After what they had done to Joseph, he would be concerned for the welfare of his brother as well.

Joseph uses his accusations to pull out information about their family so he can gain the answers he is looking for. However, he is not ready to reveal himself yet. There is something more he needs to know about the brothers. Are they wicked men, or have they changed. He needs an excuse to make sure they return, so he allows the accusations to stand as it gives a reason to hold Simeon. (I doubt that there was any reason behind holding Simeon beyond the fact that he was the second to the oldest. That left the oldest to be in charge on their journey home.

We are not told how much time passes other than to find that Jacob has just accepted Simeon as another loss with no intention of doing what needs done to get him back. He is unwilling to risk Benjamin. But eventually, he faces losing Benjamin to starvation if he does not allow them to return. So, off they go back to Egypt and they are about to walk into what I call...

A. The Divine Setup (Genesis 43:15-44:1-5)

This time, Joseph is prepared. He has had time to think everything through and be ready for their return. The moment he sees Benjamin, he knows the plan is on.

It begins with a lavish party. At first, when they are told they are to go to Joseph’s house, they begin to get very worried. They fear they are about to be blamed for the silver they found in their sacks when they returned home that first time and that they are now about to be seized and made slaves.

When they arrive, they blurt out the story of how they had found their silver in their bags and they are now returning it with extra. The steward’s reply would probably shocked them senseless.

Genesis 43:23 (NIV)

“It’s all right,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

This pagan has just talked to them about how their God has supplied them. Now, for 22 years, they have carried around a load full of guilt. They have probably felt stifled when it came time for prayers because they knew they did not deserve anything from God. Now this pagan tells them this silver is from God. It would be like an arrow piercing the heart.

There are so many times when we have acted in sin or faithlessness, and then God provides some awesome gift. Undeserved gifts have a way of blowing up our guilt even greater. We become aware of just how undeserving we are.

Before they can think about it too much, they are interrupted as Simeon is reunited with them. You can just imagine the celebration as the brothers greet each other. (As guilty as Simeon was, my heart goes out to him. I am sure he was treated well, but in all that time, he must have felt his father had abandoned him forever).

Now, a lavish meal is prepared. Protocol would require Joseph sit alone by virtue of his office. The Egyptians in the room sit apart of his brothers due to their eating habits. Egyptians had ritualistic eating practices and they found Hebrew practices offensive. This provided Joseph a good opportunity to observe his brothers. They are shocked to find they are seated in birth order. Considering they are all about one year apart from each other, this seems impossible. However, they would be timid to ask how this is possible.

Then the brothers are served and Benjamin is served 5 times more. Joseph is watching to see how Benjamin is treated. Do they resent Benjamin as they had resented him? Do they mistreat Benjamin? Is there any evidence that they are envious of Benjamin? As Joseph watched, how encouraged he was to find that things looked to have changed.

We cannot even imagine the struggle all of this was for Joseph. He would want so much to reveal himself and to hug is brother. Early on in this meeting, Joseph did excuse himself as he was so overcome he couldn’t contain it, but he had been able to get control and continue on. Of course, the brothers were probably told he had business that needed attending to.

By the next day, the brothers are celebrating their good fortune. They do not understand how they warranted such a celebratory meal, but they are feeling good. They pack up and are probably poking and joking with each other. They headed out, only to be accosted before they get to far and once again they find themselves accused.

Which brings us to...

B. The Divine Indictment (Genesis 44:4-5)

Genesis 44:4–5 NIV

They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’ ”

Now, first of all. I do not want you to think that Joseph practiced divination. Divination was a practice of Egypt. One that God later condemns Egypt for. However, it was a common Egyptian practice and as such would be seen as a major violation to steal such a special cup.

Notice also how Joseph uses silver to accuse them. They sold him for silver, now he accuses them of stealing silver. They are innocent this time, but they were guilty in the past.

We need to understand something about accusations. Accusations and judgement are used by God and Satan differently.

Revelations 12:10 tells us that Satan stands before God’s throne accusing us.

Revelation 12:10 NIV

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

Satan wants us to be condemned as he is condemned. He accuses us to bring judgment upon us. However, God reveals our judgement in order to provide the condemned hope and transformation for eternal glory. For the sons of Jacob to find healing, they first had to recognize and accept their guilt and repent of it.

And so they did. They...

C. Accepted Guilt (Genesis 44:16)

Genesis 44:16 (NIV)

“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.”

Judah speaks for the clan in this moment. They are innocent of this transgression, but Judah acknowledges that this is God’s punishment for a past transgression and they are ready to accept the consequences of their guilt.

God cannot help us until we acknowledge our fault. When He accuses us, it is so we can come to the place we need to be for Him to bring healing. The summit of their tribulation has been reached. One more step will bring them over to the other side of healing. Joseph has one more test.

Genesis 44:17 NIV

But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.”

Joseph needs to know, will they throw Benjamin under the bus to save their own skins?

He quickly got the answer he needed and it came in the form of...

D. Loving Intercession (Genesis 44:18-34)

Genesis 44:18–20 NIV

Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’

Genesis 44:33–34 NIV

“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. How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.”

Judah steps forward and intercedes offering to take Benjamin’s punishment on himself. This is the ultimate act of love. It reveals a deep transformation that has taken place within the brothers. The brothers have acted in a unified manner (Benjamin included) throughout this full discourse and now, Judah offers himself for Benjamin.

Love and self-sacrifice have always been a true act of God’s people. We see it in the lives of others. Dr. Barnhouse summarizes it in a beautiful passage.

Genesis—Beginning and Blessing Judah’s Substitution (vv. 33, 34)

Here was the eloquence of true love.… Love so burningly manifest, so willing to take full responsibility before God, love which thought only of Jacob and Benjamin, melted the heart of Joseph. Such love moved Moses to ask God to blot his name out of the book of life (Exodus 32:32); such love prompted Paul to wish himself accursed for his brethren if only they could be saved. Judah was transformed by divine love.

Just as Judah stood and interceded for Benjamin, Jesus Christ stands before the Father interceding on our behalf. However, Jesus cannot do this for us until we repent of our sins and confess He is Lord.

Romans 10:9 NIV

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Then we find this beautiful promise from God that we will find...

E. Complete Forgiveness & Salvation (Genesis 45:1-7)

Genesis 45:1–7 NIV

Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Joseph not only forgave them, but he was going to save them! God does the same for us. We are told that his forgiveness is complete.

Psalm 103:11–12 NIV

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

We are forgiven and we are saved. God provides all this for us. Once we are forgive and saved, we find that we begin living...

F. Transformed Lives (Genesis 44:14-34)

It is interesting to see the transformation taking place among these brothers. Reuben who had slept with his father’s concubine to try to claim family authority. Simeon and Levi who tricked and murdered an entire town in cold-blood. Judah, who reneged on his promise to his daughter-in-law and later slept with her thinking her a prostitute. Now, we find them unified, standing by each other and protecting their young half-brother.

These men were wretches who had committed abominations and yet God worked to get them to see their sin so He could heal and forgive them and transform them into the men that would father the people known as the people of God. They were and are the nation God set apart for Himself and as Gentile believers we are grafted into this same family tree according to Romans 11.

If God can care about, and work to save these wretched men, you can be assured He cares and is working for your salvation also! He can transform your life and make it great just like He did for these men.

However, it doesn’t end there. There is one more jewel that we can dig up in this account.

God provides us...

G. Kingly Rewards (Genesis 45)

Genesis 45:16–18 NIV

When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.’

One day, we too will enjoy the fat of the land. God will return and we will be His children, co-heirs with Christ.

Romans 8:16–17 NIV

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Conclusion:

Joseph’s brother’s beat him and sold him. They counted him as dead, but he was not dead. Not only did he live, but he provided salvation for their entire family.

Does it have a familiar ring to it? It should. Jesus was sold, beaten and put to death. But Jesus arose from the dead and lived to provide our salvation. He was all that was needed to provide the salvation for all men. All we need do is repent of our sin, confess He is Lord and we will be saved through His intercession and sacrifice. Our sins will be no more and we too will live in kingly riches one day.

Romans 12:1–2 NIV

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Today as we close, I wish us to receive communion once again. We will start by singing Amazing Grace because it truly is amazing grace that saves a wretch like me. We rejoice in God’s mercy and grace. Then we will close with a time of quiet contemplation. Take time to pray and ask God to speak to your heart. Is there something you need to repent from? Have you confessed that He is Lord and that you need His forgiveness to release you from a prison you are in? Then as you are ready, you can come forward and be served. Once I have served you, you can be dismissed.

Sing Amazing Grace

Pray

Communion

Dismissed individually