God's Grace

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 the cup my master drinks from, and 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 servant's 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.

Then Judah went up to him and said, please, my Lord, let your servants 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.

Then you said to your servants, bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.

And we said to my Lord, the boy cannot leave his father.

If he leaves him, his father will die.

But you told your servants, unless your youngest brother comes down with you,

you will not see my face again.

When we went back to your servant, my father, we told him what my Lord had said.

Then our father said, go back and buy a little more food.

But we said we cannot go down.

Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go.

We cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.

Your servant, my father, said to us, you know that my wife bore me two sons.

One of them went away from me, and I said, he has surely been torn to pieces,

and I have not seen him sinned.

If you take this one from me too, and harm comes to him,

you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.

So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant, my father,

and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy's life,

sees that the boy isn't there, he will die.

Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow.

Your servant guaranteed the boy's safety to my father.

I said, if I do not bring him back to you,

I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life.

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 upon my father.

Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants,

and he cried out, make 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 not be 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.

So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.

He made me father to Pharaoh,

Lord of his entire household, and ruler of all Egypt.

Amen.

And we'll leave the story.

There's Judah and Joseph reveal God's grace.

We're coming towards the climax of this sort of epic Old Testament story

that dominates the last chunk of the book of Genesis.

Two observations before we get going.

First of all, and this is for you,

if you get drawn in by the drama of stories like I do.

If you find when you're watching movies or television,

you're reading books,

you really feel for the hero of the story.

You're pulling for them,

and you're sort of down with the villains.

This is one of those stories that really does have it all

in terms of drama,

in terms of a range of emotions,

in terms of tension.

But it's so important that we don't read this just as any old story,

as a really great and riveting read.

This is God's word.

And it's part of that story revealing God's promise

to bless and to save the family of Jacob

and the nations of the world through this family.

And it's important that we recognize,

and I hope we've been seeing it as the weeks go on,

that it points powerfully to Jesus.

And it points us towards that even bigger salvation story.

So we'll try not to read it just as a really exciting story.

And one other observation,

because this is a story that revolves around family

and family drama,

one of the things I guess that happens,

you know, in real life,

we know of other families that have highs and lows,

joys and sorrows.

And we feel that as people.

But we feel it in a sense at a distance.

You know, that the joy and the sorrow,

it fades more quickly for us

than it does for the family

that's right at the heart of this story.

But one of the things that I want us to do

and to try really hard

is to place ourselves into the story of Jacob and his sons.

Not just to stand on the sidelines and say,

there's a nice story about that family over there,

but rather to recognize that this story includes you

and it includes me.

Particularly in this section,

that we would see ourselves as those who need rescue.

That we would see ourselves as those

who are being offered grace and peace today.

That in a very real sense,

we come helpless before our King,

the one who has our lives in His hand

and we need His mercy.

So that we would make this good story

our good news story.

So that just as we come towards,

in a sense, one of the climaxes of this.

But before we get to there,

we need to see that tension is still being built.

The first 13 verses of chapter 44

are setting the stage

because here Joseph is introducing one final test

for his brothers.

Now, remember, God has raised Joseph up to power.

We saw that through the dreams that God sent him.

And we also heard it from Joseph's own mouth.

For example, chapter 45, verse 8.

So then, it was not you who sent me here,

but God, he made me father to Pharaoh,

lord of his entire household and over Egypt.

And so God's given him this position.

And as God's agent, he's acting for God,

he sets this last test for his brothers.

So first couple of verses, the test is set.

And we notice that it revolves around

Joseph's younger brother, Benjamin.

So the sacks of grain are to be filled with silver

as they were before.

But additionally, the king's special silver cup

is to be placed in Benjamin's bag.

What does that mean?

Benjamin, the brother, is going to find himself in danger.

And what will those older brothers do?

We see the plan essentially in verse 10,

in the words of the servant.

Once the servant is caught up with them

and they've had their conversation

and the cup has been found,

or it's about to be found.

Verse 10, obviously coming from Joseph,

we hear these words.

Let it be as you say,

whoever is found to have the cup

will become my slave.

The rest of you will be free from blame.

So there's the tension being introduced.

This whole test is going to show

that Benjamin stands guilty facing slavery.

Those brothers can go free.

What are they going to do in that situation?

Because they've been there before, haven't they?

Sometimes we have that experience

where we're placed in a test situation.

I guess driving theory tests

get us there a little bit,

where there's a simulation

where a driver is presented with

sort of stressful scenarios

and how will they cope.

Here Joseph's brothers are being put back

into a stressful scenario

or a dramatic situation

that they've already been in.

Takes us all the way back to chapter 37.

When they had a brother in distress,

Joseph,

and they left him down a pit.

When they had a chance to do the right thing,

but instead they sold Joseph to be a slave

and they took the money and ran home.

They knew how much their father loved Joseph,

but they did not care for their father then.

How will they act now 20 years later?

And we get some clues

in verse 7

and verse 9.

We see how united they are.

Verse 7,

Far be it from your servants

to do anything like that.

Verse 9,

If any of your servants

is found to have it,

he will die

and the rest of us

will become my Lord's slaves.

You see how they're united.

They're not all looking out

for number one anymore.

Now they seem to trust each other as well.

Verse 13,

As the cup is found in Benjamin's sack,

we discover they're not going to take the money and run,

though they were entitled to,

according to the test.

Rather,

they feel the misery of Benjamin.

They anticipate the misery of their father Jacob,

and they stay

so that they might defend Benjamin.

There has been change.

Stop and think just for a moment.

The disaster facing the family of Jacob

could not be greater at this moment.

You've got these brothers

who are all away in Egypt

while their families and their flocks

are away in Canaan

with no one to provide for them.

They also know that

if the situation stays as it is,

their father will most likely die of a broken heart.

They also know that

if the situation doesn't resolve,

this is the end of their family clan,

and importantly,

this is the end of God's promise.

God had said he was going to bless them

and the world through this family,

but if this family comes to an end,

then so too does the promise of God.

So there is tension here.

There is grief here.

In verse 13,

as we see them tearing their clothes

and heading back to the city,

they are now emotionally

walking in the shoes of Joseph,

their brother,

some 20 plus years earlier.

How does this story,

at this point,

connect us with Jesus?

One of the wonderful things

that the New Testament tells us,

especially the book of Hebrews,

that Jesus, in love,

has become our brother.

He identifies with us,

becomes one of us,

sympathizes with us in our grief.

We can think about the words of the steward

to the brothers in verse 4,

when he says to them,

he accuses them,

why have you repaid good with evil?

You apply that to our story,

we have received good from God.

Every day that we have life,

we are receiving good from God.

We have received the greatest good in Jesus,

but by our own natural instinct,

we return evil for good.

We turn our back on God.

We choose to rebel against God.

And unlike Benjamin,

our guilt is very real.

But then there's Jesus, our brother.

And Jesus, our brother, in love,

he walks the road to judgment for us.

He didn't need to do that.

In love, he came,

and he walked that path

all the way to the cross

where he takes on himself

the sin and guilt of his people.

All those who will trust in Jesus,

who are in Christ,

they are declared forgiven

and declared to be perfectly righteous

in God's sight.

And so we are reminded

of the cross

as God's greatest good

in response to our great evil.

That loving sacrifice of Jesus,

a gift for us to receive by faith

if we will turn to him

and believe.

So the test has been set.

And now we're going to see

how Judah passes the test.

And as he does so,

he's going to reveal to us

how God has been changing him.

He's going to show us

God's transforming grace.

So remember,

Moses is the one

who writes the book of Genesis.

And so far,

as we've thought about

the story of Jacob,

Joseph has been the main actor.

But we've also seen Judah

from time to time.

And we're beginning to see

his rising importance.

And just as he is beginning

to take center stage,

we're also being invited

to see how God has been changing

his moral character.

Again, one of the wonderful things

about the Bible

is its honesty.

It doesn't present,

you know, picture-perfect followers

of God.

No, it shows sinners

who are saved by grace

so that the glory always,

always belongs to God

and not to us.

We make a mess

and God fixes it up

and that brings glory to him.

So just to remind ourselves

very briefly,

what we've seen of Judah

up until this point,

we've seen him jealous

of his father's love

for his brother.

We've seen him angry

and hateful

towards his brother.

We've seen him sell

his brother into slavery.

We've seen him totally ruthless,

not caring about

his father's broken heart.

We've seen him failing

to keep his promises.

We have seen him guilty

of sexual immorality.

But now,

we're seeing a different side

to Judah

because of God's grace.

Verse 16,

as he begins to talk

to Joseph,

as he is clearly being seen

as the leader

among his brothers.

Do you see the language?

Verse 16,

what can we say

to my Lord?

What can we say?

How can we prove

our innocence?

This isn't a man

who's out for himself anymore.

This is a man

who is standing

to defend

his younger brother,

Benjamin.

Verse 17,

even when Joseph dangles

the carrot of freedom,

when he says,

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.

He refuses

to take that freedom.

He refuses to walk away

from his brother.

And what we have instead

from verse 18

to the end of the chapter

is we have Judah,

the leader among the brothers,

rehearsing

different conversations

that took place

up until this point.

But for our purpose,

what I want us to see

is how Judah

has changed.

We see it in verse

30 and 31

where he is now

profoundly concerned

for his father's heart.

If the boy is not with us

when I go back

to your servant,

my father,

he will die.

Your servants

will bring the gray head

of our father

down to the grave

in sorrow.

Didn't care about that

20 years ago

but now he cares

about his father's heart.

Now he wants to do

his father's will.

He wants to keep

that promise

that he made

to his father.

Verse 32,

your servant,

this is Judah speaking,

your servant guaranteed

Benjamin's safety

to my father.

I said,

if I do not bring him

back to you,

I will bear the blame

before you,

my father,

all my life.

He is going to do

what he has pledged

to do.

He will bear responsibility.

Verse 33,

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 brotherhood.

What a change

God has worked

in this man's life.

He's going to defend

his younger brother

to the end.

It's a beautiful thing

to see the change

that God makes

in a person's life.

Judah is one of those people

that really dramatic

testimony to God's grace.

You know,

if we could talk to Judah,

he would say,

you know,

I was like this.

I was jealous.

I was hateful.

I was immoral.

I was angry.

I turned my back

on God and his purposes,

but God intervened.

God showed me my sin.

God showed me mercy.

And now,

I'm living,

trusting in God's promises.

I'm looking to preserve

my family

because God has made

promises to my family.

God has changed me.

How do we explain

this kind of change?

We explain it in light

of the grace of God.

Christianity is not

work really hard

to become a better

version of you.

Christianity is not

try really hard

and keep the rules.

Judah is not here

turning over

a new moral leaf.

No,

Judah has been changed

by encountering

the mercy and grace

of God.

And Judah's story

is the story

of every Christian.

That there was

a time in our life

when we were blind

to our sin.

We were blind

to our need

of God

and his love.

When we took

our joy

from created things

and we didn't

give praise

and glory

to God.

There was a time

when we had

no care

for our Father

in Heaven's heart.

We did not care

to live for him

and for his glory.

And so that remains

until and unless

God by his Spirit

works in our heart.

In verse 16,

Judah says,

God has uncovered

your servant's guilt.

He feels in that test

God convicting him

of his sin

and that has changed him.

And that's what God

needs to do

for every one of us

if we are to be saved.

God the Spirit

needs to show us

our guilt

that we have not

lived to love God

and we have not

perfectly loved others.

So by God's standard,

we are condemned.

God the Spirit

needs to show us

our need.

I cannot save myself

but God has sent

Jesus, his Son,

to die for me.

He can save me.

And it's the Spirit

that calls us,

causes us

to put our trust

in Jesus

to show us

not just that

Jesus died for sin

but that Jesus died

for me

and for my sin.

The Spirit makes it

very real

and very personal.

Judah,

he was a mess.

Morally,

spiritually,

relationally,

but God's grace

was powerful.

God's grace

changed him.

God's grace

is greater

than our sin.

That means

Judah's story

can be anybody's story,

can be your story

today.

So we see

in the life

of Judah

a wonderful reminder

of God's

transforming grace

but we also

have a wonderful

reminder of Jesus

in the story

of Judah.

Judah,

in a few chapters

will be told

that kings

and nations,

kings of nations

will come from him,

that the king

God promised

would come

from the line

of Judah,

Jesus would come

from Judah's family

and we can see

lots of ways

in which

the story of Judah

connects to the story

of Jesus.

Just like Judah,

Jesus will keep

his promise

to his father

regardless of the cost

to rescue

his brothers.

Jesus came

to save sinners

by dying for us

and we get

in the garden

of Gethsemane

an insight

into just

what that would

cost Jesus.

So the night

before Jesus

died,

he is in

a garden

called Gethsemane

and he's praying

to his father

and there's sweat

coming,

drops of blood

coming,

the emotion,

the sense

of anticipation

of the cross

and Jesus,

it says,

if there's any

other way,

Father,

if there's any

other way

to save sinners

that doesn't

involve me

dying in their

place,

then let's do that

but nevertheless,

not my will

but yours

be done.

Jesus,

knowing what

it would cost him,

his very life,

causing him

to be forsaken

by his father

as he would bear

the sins of the world,

Jesus did not

walk away

from his father's

will,

Jesus did not

walk away

from those

he came to save

and Jesus

never will.

Just like

Judah too,

Jesus pleads

the cause

of his brothers.

Again,

to think about

a book like

Hebrews

in the New Testament,

Jesus is described

as our mediator.

It's as if

Jesus is our

defense

lawyer.

He becomes

our representative

but the remarkable

thing about

Jesus,

our representative

is that

although he is

perfectly innocent

and he knows

we are guilty,

he takes on

himself

our guilt

so that when

we are trusting

in him,

we can be

considered to be

absolutely perfect

and righteous

in God's sight.

There's that

wonderful great

exchange that

happens at the cross,

Jesus takes

my sin

and he gives

to me

his righteousness.

And now,

right now,

Jesus in heaven

is still

our mediator.

He's still

pleading the

cause of

his people

on the basis

of his

completed

sacrifice.

Accept them

because you

accepted me,

Father.

and because

of that,

if we are

trusting in

Jesus,

we have

total security

as the

people of

God.

Our freedom

is sure.

Unlike

Judah,

Jesus,

our brother,

pays the

ultimate price

to secure

our pardon.

One of the

amazing things

about Judah

is that he

was willing

to go into

slavery

for the

rest of

his life

so that

Benjamin,

his brother,

might go

free.

But that

didn't happen.

Instead,

there was

family reunion.

But Jesus,

Jesus said,

I've come

to serve

and I've

come to

give my

life as

a ransom.

I have

come to

pay the

price to

free people

from the

slavery to

sin so they

can enjoy

the freedom

of knowing

and enjoying

God.

God,

and he

paid the

ultimate

price.

His death

on the

cross is

where we

find our

freedom.

The only

way for us

to know

God,

to have

peace with

God,

to enjoy

life with

God,

is because

Jesus was

willing to

pay that

price to

secure our

ransom.

Just like

Judah,

praise God

for the

gospel,

Jesus

passed

his test.

So where

we stand

in our

place in

history,

everything

that is

needed for

our salvation

has already

been done.

If you're

not a

Christian,

you have

nothing to

do to

be saved

other than

to confess

your sin

and your

need,

other than

to trust

that when

Jesus died,

he died

for you,

and to

have him

as your

Lord and

King,

to receive

him as

a gift.

And when

we do

that,

we get

to live

and join

the freedom

that Jesus

came to

buy for

us.

That's

the story

of Judah

and how

Judah reveals

God's

grace.

Let's also

think about

Joseph.

Now when

Joseph reveals

his identity,

he's doing

more than

that.

He's also

showing them

God's

saving

grace.

I wanted

to get

to chapter

45 so

we wouldn't

have another

cliffhanger

moment but

rather we'd

get to this

point.

You know,

we've probably

seen TV

shows that

have the

big reveal

idea for

some of us.

We maybe

grew up

watching

Surprise,

Surprise or

maybe Michael

McIntyre's

big show you

see occasionally

those big

family reunions.

People haven't

seen each other

for decades

perhaps and

they're on

different

continents and

they're brought

back together.

You get this

wonderful reunion.

Everybody loves

those,

doesn't they?

Some of those

stories are

really profoundly

dramatic but

none of them

come close to

this amazing

family reunion.

Just imagine

Joseph's emotions

for a moment.

Imagine his

joy,

imagine all

that's going

on.

Think about

all that

he'd

suffered

as a

teenager.

The hate

that he'd

endured

from his

brothers,

the jealousy

being sold

as a slave

by your

brothers,

being thrown

into a pit

and then

moving from

slavery to

being a

prisoner,

falsely

accused and

having to

be there

for three

years.

He has

suffered so

much in

his story.

Think about

all he had

lost and

left behind.

he'd been

living in

the land

of promise.

He was

part of a

family that

God had

made great

promises to

but again

he's been

stripped from

that and

sent to

Egypt.

He has

gone through

a lot.

What about

his brothers

as this

reunion happens?

How are they

feeling?

Are they feeling

joy?

Hooray,

our brother's

back.

Look at

verse 3.

His brothers

were not

able to

answer him

because they

were terrified

at his

presence.

Remember

Joseph has

been talking

through a

translator

pretending he

didn't know

their language.

All of a sudden

they're realizing

Joseph has heard

every conversation

and that's

a cause for

terror.

But now

more importantly

they're also

thinking have

we found

ourselves the

enemy of the

second most

powerful man in

the world?

God now

we're in the

hands of our

brother.

When he was

in our hands

we sold him

into slavery.

What's he

going to do

to us now?

Two ways

we see grace

shining in this

reunion.

In the words

of Joseph

first of all

in verse 4

words of

comfort.

Joseph said

to his

brothers

come close

to me.

What is

Joseph saying

there?

He's saying

I am

your brother.

I am

not here

as an

enemy.

I am

not against

you.

I am

for you.

We've

seen it

in his

story.

There is

no bitterness

in Joseph's

life.

He has

forgiven

his brothers.

They gave

him evil

but now

he will

return

it with

good.

And then

in verse

five to

eight

obviously a

lesson they

really need

to hear

three times

he reveals

that this

was all

part of

God's

plan.

End of

verse five

it was to

save lives

that God

sent me

ahead of

you.

Verse seven

God sent

me ahead of

you to

preserve for

you a

remnant on

earth and

to save

your lives

by a

great

deliverance.

Verse eight

so then it

was not

you who

sent me

here but

God.

Behind

their

evil

stood a

faithful

promise

keeping

sovereign

God who

was in

control and

who was

going to

make sure

that that

promise to

Abraham and

his family

would

continue.

Just as an

aside it's

important for

us to

recognize that

both of

those things

are held

true.

Joseph will

say you

were responsible

you sold

me.

Human

responsibility

is never

denied in

the Bible but

also God's

sovereignty is

clearly in

view.

God is

clearly in

control and

that's one of

the tensions

for us as we

read the Bible

that both of

these things

are true.

It's not an

either or.

We are

responsible and

God is in

control when it

comes to our

actions.

But we

see in the

words of

Joseph a

wonderful response

to the grief

the brothers have

felt.

Remember back in

verse 13 they

tear their

clothes and

they trudge

back to

Egypt not

sure what's

going to

happen.

Wondering is

this the end

of God's

promise for

us?

Is this the

end of our

family?

And Joseph

in his words

of grace

answers with a

loud and

clear no.

God's promises

can never and

will never

fail.

We have a

God that we

can trust.

We have a

God who is

reliable.

Now of course

we won't

always know

his timetable

and we will

not always be

able to

understand why

certain things

happen but we

do know that

God is faithful

and God is

loving and God

always keeps

his promises

and so we

can hold on

to that.

as we see

it work out

in the story

of Joseph

and of course

we see this

reality again

in the story

of Jesus.

The very first

sermon of the

early church

in Acts

Acts 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

we find Peter

preaching and

he will say

to a crowd

quite clearly

you put

Jesus to

death.

You killed

God's son

and God's

savior.

He could

say to a

crowd you

are guilty

of sin

and unbelief

and of

sending Jesus

the son of

God the

savior of

the world

to the

cross but

he can

also say

that Jesus

was handed

over by

God's set

purpose

by God's

foreknowledge

and that God

raised Jesus

and God

made him

Lord and

Christ.

The greatest

evil that has

ever taken

place was

when the

perfect son

of God

was killed

on the

cross.

But behind

that great

evil was the

greatest good

we have ever

seen.

God's salvation

plan for

sinners like

us established

there in the

loving sacrifice

of Jesus.

When the

crowd in

Peter's day

heard his

words and they

were convicted

they said

what is it that

we need to

do?

Peter said

you need to

repent, you

need to turn

away from sin

and turn back

to God, you

need to be

baptized, you

need to show

that you

belong to

God to

believe in

Jesus.

It's a

message.

Just as

Joseph said

to his

brothers come

close to

me, Jesus

is the

brother who

invites us.

Come near,

come close

to me, enjoy

peace with

God through

me, enjoy

love because

of me, enjoy

reunion in a

place in the

family of God

in Jesus.

Have you

come to

Jesus your

brother?

Have you

found that

joy of

reunion?

If not,

what's

stopping you

today?

What is it

that's holding

you back from

knowing God's

love in

Jesus?

There is a

wonderful promise

that if you

will turn to

him, he

will never

turn away

from you, but

rather he will

welcome you to

enjoy life with

him now and

forever.

itor.

What?

Verse roman

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Emmanuel