Let’s begin by
putting this chapter within its larger context.
The book of Genesis is mainly about God’s plan to redeem this fallen
world through the family of a man named Abraham. God promises to make of Him a great nation and
to bless all nations through His offspring with salvation. So the redemption of the world hangs on the
promises made to Abraham.
Genesis 37-50 is the story of the family of Jacob, Abraham’s grandson. These chapters are much more than the story
of Joseph. Joseph is one of the main
characters, but He is not THE main character.
God is the main character and the major plot is what He is doing to keep
His promises.
In this account we have
two major threats to these promises.
First, we have the physical threat of the famine. It threatens the
very lives of Abraham’s descendants. Secondly,
we have the spiritual threat of this fractured
family, whose sins against one
another threaten to tear the family apart.
Now just as God has been
making a godly man out of Joseph in Egypt, He now wants to make a godly nation
out of Israel there. He wants to make
them this great nation in order to display His glory to the rest of the world
through them. This is the reason that
the story doesn’t end in Genesis 41. God is after both the physical survival of
this family, and their spiritual survival.
He wants to do more than just feed His people; He wants to change
them.
In Genesis 42, God begins to reconcile His people to Himself and to one another by
forcing them to deal with their past.
He does so because reconciliation among God’s people requires that we
deal with past offenses.
In this chapter, God is
going to call us to surrender our past
to Him and I want to show you three reasons why we must do so.
I.
We Will Repeat the Sins We Fail to Repent
Of (42:1-5,36-38)
As Genesis 42 begins, it appears not much has changed back in
Canaan. The sons of Jacob are still a
bunch of irresponsible sons (2) and Jacob is still a father who plays favorites
(4). Also, Jacob’s favoritism is just a
pronounced with Benjamin as it was with Joseph.
In 42:36-38, he basically
considers Simeon as good as dead and makes the statement
that Benjamin is the “only” son he
has left. This is because Joseph and
Benjamin were the only children that he had from his favorite wife, Rachel.
One lesson that we learn
here, especially from Jacob, is that we
are destined to repeat the sins that we do not repent of. It has been said that the one thing we learn
from history is that we never learn from history. This becomes true in our lives as well when
we fail to repent of sin. Whether the
sin is favoritism or something else, we will find ourselves in an endless cycle
of repeating it if there is no repentance.
Sometimes this is what it means to deal with the past: to repent of
sin.
Repentance is simply a
turning away from sin and to God. It
means we stop doing something that we shouldn’t be doing. Now understand that repentance is not
something we are capable of in and of ourselves. Ultimately it is something that God must
grant to us and open our eyes to the need for (2 Tim. 2:24-26). So
repentance is as much an act of faith as it is something that we do. Also, repentance sometimes requires the
involvement of others in our lives; something called accountability. But
without repentance, there can be no reconciliation with God or one another.
II.
We Will Carry the Guilt of the Sins We Fail to
Confess (42:6-35)
Pay special attention to 42:21-22. The brothers state that this “distress” is coming upon them because
they are “guilty” concerning what
they did to Joseph. This is a monumental
confession because it reveals that they have been carrying the guilt of
their betrayal of Joseph for over twenty years now!
There are a few truths we
about the brother’s guilt here. First, an unrepentant heart is always looking over
its shoulder. This is what I mean
when I say that we carry guilt. You get
the impression that these guys have been waiting for the hammer to drop for
over twenty years! Who wants to live
like that?
Second, an unrepentant heart often mistakes God’s
blessing for cursing (28). Joseph
replaces their money as a blessing and provision for them (Gen. 43:23) and they see it as God’s judgment on them. This is what an unrepentant heart and a
guilty conscience will do to you: it will blind you to God’s blessings.
Finally, we also see here
that an unrepentant heart destroys our
credibility (22,37-38). It is obvious
in this family that neither Jacob nor the brothers think much of Reuben so far,
and for good reason. He committed
adultery with one of his father’s wives (Gen.
35:22), but the way Genesis portrays what happened is that his sin remained
an “elephant in the room” with the family until Jacob was on his deathbed (Gen. 49:4). Jacob didn’t deal with it as far as we can
tell, and Reuben didn’t either. What was
the result? The result was zero respect for Reuben’s leadership whatsoever. Sin that we refuse to deal with destroys our
credibility with others.
What do you carry? Do you want to live under the burden of guilt
for decades? Do you want to live with a
frame mind that questions every blessing you receive? Do you want to be that person whom no one
respects when you speak to a matter?
Know that there is
forgiveness and freedom in Jesus Christ if you will confess and repent of your
sin. Confession simply means agreeing
with God out loud about your sin and asking His forgiveness for it. Proverbs
28:13 says, “Whoever conceals his
transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will
obtain mercy.”
III.We Will Experience the Sufficiency
of God’s Grace When We Give Our Past to Him (42:9,15-25)
There are many people who
think what Joseph’s treatment of his brothers is motivated by revenge to some
degree. While revenge was certainly a
temptation for him, I am going to be building a case that Joseph was motivated
by something else, that he was motivated by reconciliation rather than revenge. I believe that Joseph’s actions are his
effort to cooperate with the
providential working of God. His
actions, though they appear to be harsh, will in the end prove to be loving.
Let me give you some
reasons why I come to this conclusion.
First, this passage tells us that as Joseph recognized his brothers
bowing before him, he immediately “remembered
the dreams that he had dreamed of them” (9). He then brilliantly deals with them in a way
that causes them disclose that they have another brother at home so that he can
then demand that they bring Benjamin there as well. Why does he want Benjamin there? It will become obvious as this story unfolds
in the coming chapters, but for now one reason is so that the dreams will
ultimately be fulfilled.
Also, notice that Joseph
points his brothers to God (18). In the
Old Testament, one who fears God was someone who did not oppress the weak,
something that they have been guilty of.
So in pointing them to God, he is
also planting the seed of the fear of God in their own hearts.
Third, notice how their
confession touches him in 42:24. His heart is tender toward them. This is a marked contrast from the coldness
of the brothers in Genesis 37.
Fourth, notice also how
Joseph sends all but one of the brothers back home to in provision for the
family (19). He also replaces the money
in their sacks, which is another from of provision for his family. Remember
that Joseph has every legal right to seek retribution. These men are guilty of kidnapping, attempted
murder, and human trafficking and he is in a position to serve them with
justice. Joseph is showing these
brothers grace and mercy rather than the wrath that they rightly deserve. Remind you of anyone?
We see in Joseph the
instruction of Romans 14:14-21: [14] Bless those who persecute you;
bless and do not curse them. [15] Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep
with those who weep. [16] Live in harmony with one another. Do not be
haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
[17] Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable
in the sight of all. [18] If possible, so far as it depends on you, live
peaceably with all. [19] Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to
the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the
Lord.” [20] To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is
thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning
coals on his head.” [21] Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil
with good.
How is Joseph capable of
such grace and mercy towards people who had wronged him? There is one reason: because God was with him. What we see is the sufficiency of God’s grace
upon Joseph in this chapter. And the reason
that Joseph is experiencing this all-sufficient grace is because He has already
surrendered his past to God (Gen. 41:51).
How do you respond to
those who have wronged you? God can make
us a people who are capable of supernatural grace and mercy when we surrender
our past to Him. This act of surrender
is an act of repentance. It is an act of
faith. And it is an act of God’s grace that
requires the enabling power of the gospel of Christ.
This is a final, profound
lesson we must note before we leave this chapter: reconciliation requires more than forgiveness; it also requires
repentance. Joseph can forgive his
brothers, but if they remain a family in which nothing has changed, there will
be no reconciliation. This is why Joseph
must test this fractured
family. That is why the harshness. That is why the three days in prison. That is why Simeon is bound before their very
eyes, because it would’ve reminded them of another brother who was bound before
their very eyes. Joseph needs to know if
these brothers are still the type of guys who will betray one of their own brothers.
To be reconciled to God,
there must be forgiveness and there must also be repentance. Salvation requires both faith and repentance. We must rest our faith in Jesus’ finished
work to make us righteousness and to pay for our sins, and we must also be
willing to turn away from our sins and to Him for salvation. Just as in this story, the good news is that
there is bread for the coming famine, but the bad news is that we have all
betrayed the Bread-giver. Will you be
reconciled to Him today?
