Genesis Ch42v1-38 - Our Sins They Are Many, His Mercy Is More

Start us by praying, and then we'll look at God's Word together.

Father, as we've already been reflecting on this morning, I pray that we would be captivated

by this picture of your mercy and kindness and compassion that we see in your Word this

morning.

Lord, let our hearts be filled with genuine wonder and thankfulness at what we see.

And let it lead us to be merciful as you are merciful.

It's in Christ's name we ask all this.

Amen.

Well, we have been following the story of Jacob's family over the past few months, and now the

family of the promise is hanging in the balance.

God had promised that all the nations will be blessed through them, and ultimately through

this promised seed, the one who would deal with sin and death once and for all.

But instead of being a blessing to the world, we find a family on the brink of extinction,

desperately in need of God's mercy, his gift of undeserved kindness and compassion.

Read from verse 1 with me again.

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.

So then, ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.

But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm

might come to him.

See, on the one hand, this family is about to die of starvation.

And on the other hand, they're about to fall apart from dysfunction.

Let's take Jacob first.

I mean, over the last 20 years of grief following Joseph's sudden disappearance,

he's had a lot of time to reflect on what happened.

And we know that he knows that the brothers' story isn't quite adding up.

And that there's something that they know about Joseph's disappearance that they just aren't saying.

I mean, why doesn't he send Benjamin with them?

He simply doesn't trust them, does he?

In fact, at the end of the chapter, as we read, he has this furious outburst in which he shouts at the brothers,

you have deprived me of my children.

The tension in this family is rising.

And this family is hanging in the balance.

And as for the brothers, well, what a bunch of scoundrels they are.

I mean, for 20 years now, they've maintained this grand lie about Joseph, covering their tracks completely.

Jacob's name means deceiver, but now he's the one who's being deceived by his sons.

To date, there's been no hint of remorse on their part.

They don't care that their father has been suffering these last 20 years, let alone Joseph.

And now these rogues are desperate.

Their family's about to fall apart.

They're all about to die if they don't get to food.

They are in desperate need of mercy.

But the problem is, they don't deserve one bit of it.

But mercy is what they get.

In spades.

Totally undeserved.

And totally free.

And as we walk with the brothers all the way down to Egypt and back again, we're going to learn three things about what mercy is and is not.

Now, you're not going to see them on the screen, I think.

You've got to remember them in your head.

Number one, mercy is for the undeserving, not the deserving.

Mercy is for those who know they need it, not for the self-righteous.

And mercy, thirdly, is for the humble, not the proud.

So first of all, mercy is for the undeserving, not the deserving.

Now, in verse 5, the brothers set off for Egypt.

And we watch on as in God's amazing providence, they walk straight into the court of Joseph, now governor of Egypt.

And even more incredible, Joseph is the man in charge of all the grain supplies.

The only person in the world with the power to help these brothers is the very person that they sold into slavery 20 years ago.

Isn't that incredible?

I mean, you couldn't even dream that up.

Although, funnily enough, Joseph did.

You remember those dreams he had 20 years ago about his brothers bowing down to him?

God gave him those dreams.

And now, it has just happened.

Because God's word never fails.

Even if you have to wait 20 years or more for it to come to pass, it will.

Because he cannot go against his word to us.

Now, let's not presume that this was all joy for Joseph to see his brothers bowing down in front of him in the court.

Let's keep in mind that when it came to naming his firstborn son, this was just at the end of the last chapter,

Joseph called him Forget, or Manasseh in Hebrew.

And he called him Forget because, he said, it's because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's households.

See, Joseph was moving on with his life.

He put all that in the past.

But in a split second, that all changed.

Everything that these wicked brothers did to him dragged right back up to the surface.

And what is he going to do now?

Joseph now has the power of life and death over his brothers.

The tables have turned completely.

Their lives are all in his hands.

They've come for food to save them from dying.

But all they deserve is punishment.

What will Joseph do?

Well, verse 7.

As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them.

But he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them.

Where do you come from?

He asked.

From the land of Canaan, they replied, to buy food.

Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them,

You are spies.

You have come to see where our land is unprotected.

Now, pause a second.

What is Joseph doing here?

Well, I don't know what you think, but it seems to me like he's given them a little taste of their own medicine, isn't he?

I mean, he knows that they aren't spies.

But he accuses them of it anyway.

And now they begin to feel the sting of injustice for themselves.

Carry on in verse 10.

No, my lord, the brothers answered.

Your servants have come to buy food.

We are all the sons of one man.

Your servants are honest men.

Not spies.

Honest men?

Well, that's pretty rich now, isn't it?

Coming from them.

And they can't fool Joseph either, can they?

I mean, Joseph knows their history.

Now, I grew up in a home with a brother who was nine years older, wiser, and smarter than I am.

And I just clearly remember many times he would sit back on the sofa, arms folded, and look at me and say,

I can read you like a book.

And that was to say that I know what you're saying, but I know what you're actually thinking.

I know what's really going on inside you.

That's because my brother knew me so well, and I still couldn't figure out, how did you know that?

I couldn't hide.

I couldn't pretend with him.

He knew me so well.

And nor could Joseph's brothers.

They couldn't hide or pretend in front of him.

Well, Joseph continues to make them sweat in the next few verses, insisting that they are spies,

and throwing them all into prison for three days.

And once the three days are up, only one of the brothers will be released to go back to the family.

For the only reason, to bring back Benjamin.

Everyone else will stay in prison.

No grain.

It's a harsh sentence.

And as the brothers sit on the cold floor of that prison, they have officially hit rock bottom.

All the while, the food is running out for their starving families at home.

If they were desperate before, they're hopeless now.

Their lives are completely at the mercy of this Egyptian governor,

who they don't even realize is the very brother they betrayed.

These brothers need mercy, but they only deserve punishment.

And Joseph has three days to dream up his payback.

And we're watching on, and we're thinking, here it is, Joseph.

You have them now.

Make them pay for every ounce of pain that they inflicted on you.

Who would blame him?

But Joseph's response is not as we expect, is it?

Because in verses 18 to 20, Joseph shows mercy to his undeserving brothers and their starving families.

In fact, instead of keeping nine in jail, like he said he was going to do,

he lets nine go free to take grain back home,

keeping only one back as a guarantee to see Benjamin again.

And then he stacks kindness on top of kindness as he sends them home with provisions for the journey.

Now, he didn't have to do that, did he?

And after they have paid for the grain,

he secretly takes the money and puts it back in their sacks,

refusing to take any payment.

This is staggering mercy,

shown to those who are utterly undeserving.

And I think that we can all see ourselves in the brother's portrait.

Because we have all grievously sinned against our father in heaven

and betrayed him in his love.

Despite knowing that God is our creator, sustainer, and joy giver,

day by day, by the way we live,

we say,

I am king.

I know what's best.

I don't need you.

And just like the brother's sins were laid bare before Joseph,

so the full extent of our rebellion is laid bare before God.

I mean, we can't hide or pretend.

We are guilty.

And friends,

that leaves us in grave danger.

Something ultimately worse than starvation or a prison sentence.

God's word tells us that we deserve judgment for our sin.

Separation from God for eternity.

And no amount of good that we could ever do would make up for it.

Or make it right.

See, the bottom line for us is that we don't deserve mercy from God.

But the astonishing reality of the gospel

is that God doesn't treat us as our sins deserve.

If Joseph showed undeserved kindness to his brothers,

how much more has God shown extravagant mercy to us,

undeserving sinners?

He sent Jesus to take the punishment we were due.

The punishment we deserved for our betrayal.

Defeating our death.

Giving us eternal life with him.

That is mercy.

And his mercy doesn't stop there.

He pours out his kindness on us every single day.

Giving us life and breath.

Food and shelter.

Love and laughter.

As Lamentations 3 says,

His mercies never come to an end.

They are new every morning.

Brothers and sisters,

remember,

God shows his mercy

to the undeserving,

not the deserving.

Are you thankful for this?

Or if you have yet to receive it,

why do you wait?

Receive his mercy offered in Christ.

Not because you deserve it,

but because God's mercy is for the undeserving.

As we continue in the story,

we're also going to learn that secondly,

mercy is for those who know they need it,

not for the self-righteous.

I mean,

you can't ultimately receive God's mercy

if you don't think you need it,

if you don't realize that you have a sin problem.

And in verse 21,

the brothers finally realize

that they have a sin problem.

And obviously,

they're still feeling the sting

of having to leave Simeon behind in jail.

And that is leading them to reflect

on their own past actions.

We're going to read from verse 21.

They said to one another,

surely we are being punished

because of our brother.

We saw how distressed he was

when he pleaded with us for his life,

but we wouldn't listen.

That's why this distress has come on us.

Reuben replied,

didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy?

But you wouldn't listen.

Now we must give an accounting for his blood.

They didn't realize

that Joseph could understand them

since he was using an interpreter.

So for the first time that we know of

in 20 years,

the brothers acknowledge their guilt and their sin.

Or they knew the right thing to do, all right,

but they did what was evil.

And they don't have any complaints, do they?

Now they face the judgment they are due.

They see this as being from God.

And in all our lives,

we must come to the very same point

as these brothers did

if we are ever to receive God's mercy

and Noah's forgiveness.

But you see,

our problem is that we often deny

that we have a real sin problem.

We say things like this,

oh, I make a few mistakes here and there.

But, I mean,

essentially I'm a good person.

You know,

I do good things.

And this is what the religious leaders

in Jesus' time thought.

And in Luke chapter 5,

Luke 5 · chapter mention

they rebuked Jesus.

Because what was Jesus doing?

Well, he was eating with thieves

and prostitutes.

And they were like,

Jesus, hold on.

Why are you eating

with those bad people over there?

You should be eating with

good people like us.

And Jesus,

he knows that they've got it all wrong.

And this is what he says to them

in Luke chapter 5.

Luke 5 · chapter mention

He says,

it's not the healthy who need a doctor,

but the sick.

I have not come to call those

who are right with God

in their own eyes,

but sinners to repentance.

Now,

think about it.

Would you ever go to the doctor

without first admitting

that you were sick?

No, you wouldn't,

would you?

In fact,

sometimes that's the hardest thing

to admit,

that we are sick.

Because we want,

actually,

to be self-sufficient.

I know I find that hard.

When I start to feel

a little bit off,

I'm like,

no,

I'm fine.

I'm perfectly fine.

I'm just going to power on

with my day,

and then 10 minutes later,

I'm, you know,

throwing up or something.

But my problem is,

actually,

I'm just denying it

until I can't deny it anymore.

And you know what?

Jesus says,

this is kind of a picture

of our hearts,

because in the same way,

we don't want to admit

our sickness of sin

in our hearts

and our need for mercy.

We'd much rather say,

thanks, Jesus,

for your offer of mercy,

but I'm pretty good by myself.

Thank you.

But these brothers,

their eyes were finally opened

to see the extent

of their sin.

And for us,

when we first understand

our sickness of sin,

we instantly realize

we only deserve judgment

from God.

Thanks, Ralph.

But then we see Jesus,

who steps in

to take that judgment

for us,

which leads us

to confess

our ultimate need

of him

and what he's done

for us.

And that is the moment

that we receive

God's mercy

and are forgiven,

welcomed as children

of God.

Remember,

God's mercy

is for those

who know

they need it,

not for those

who falsely think

that they don't,

those who are

righteous

in their own eyes.

So I have to ask you

the question,

which description

best fits you?

If you don't really

see your sickness

of sin

or think that you're

that bad,

I encourage you,

read God's word

and ask him

to open your eyes

to see it

and he will.

So as the chapter

comes to a close,

these brothers

are going to discover

that Joseph's kindness

was even greater

than they had realized

before.

And we will learn,

thirdly,

that this mercy

that God offers

can only be received

by the humble,

not the proud.

Look at verse 25.

Joseph gave orders

to fill their bags

with grain,

to put each man's

silver back in his sack

and to give them

provisions for their journey.

After this was done

for them,

they loaded their grain

on their donkeys

and left.

And at the place

where they stopped

for the night,

one of them opened

his sack

to get feed

for his donkey

and he saw his silver

in the mouth of his sack.

My silver has been returned,

he said to his brothers.

Here it is in my sack.

Their hearts sank.

And they turned

to each other,

trembling,

and said,

what is this

that God has done

to us?

So they arrived

back to their father,

they relayed the whole saga,

and then look down

at verse 35.

As they were emptying

their sacks,

there in each man's sack

was his pouch of silver.

When they and their father

saw the money pouches,

they were frightened.

Doesn't that strike you

as strange?

At the moment,

they realize the extent

of Joseph's mercy.

They tremble in fear.

That might be the thing

we'd least expect them to do.

And we don't know

exactly why,

but here are three

plausible reasons

why they may have

trembled before his mercy.

A,

judging on their

colorful past,

these rogues don't seem

to be the kind

and merciful type.

I think you'd agree.

And maybe Joseph's

mercy and kindness

frightened them so much

because mercy like that

demands a life change,

doesn't it?

You can't just continue

on as you were

after experiencing

mercy like that

and they weren't

prepared to change.

Or B,

maybe they were

frightened of his mercy

because they just

thought it was too good

to be true.

I mean,

surely the ruler

of all of Egypt

would not be as kind

and merciful as this.

There must have been

some mistake

and they would have

to pay him back.

In fact,

in the next chapter

we read,

they would go back

with double the amount.

And Jacob,

Jacob is fearful

of the governor's

kindness also

because in the last

few verses of the chapter

he refuses

to allow his sons

go back to Egypt

despite all the kindness

that they were shown there.

for Jacob,

it was also

too good

to be true.

Or maybe

they realized

this was a gift

of mercy

and kindness

but they were just

too proud

to receive it.

Maybe they just

wanted to earn

it themselves

though they could

never earn

Joseph's mercy

after all

they did to him

nor ever compensate

him

for all the suffering

they caused.

You see,

here we learn

that God's mercy

can only be

truly received

by the humble

not the proud.

God's mercy

is for those

who humbly say

thank you

for a gift

of forgiveness

they never deserved

nor could

ever

pay back.

in a few moments

we're going to sing

a song together

called

His Mercy

is More

and I think

these words

say it better

than I could.

They're on the screen

there.

What riches

of kindness

he lavished

on us.

His blood

was the payment

his life

was the cost.

We stood

neath a debt

we could never

afford

our sins

they are many

his mercy

is more.

Brothers and sisters

we could never

repay God

the debt

of sin

we owed.

We could never

repay Jesus

for the ultimate

price

he paid

with his life

to purchase

our forgiveness.

forgiveness.

So today

if you are

trying to

earn God's

mercy

you will

never

receive it.

It's not

possible.

Or if you're

trying to

repay God

for the mercy

he's shown you

you haven't

understood it.

Unlike the

brothers

in this instance

we must

receive God's

mercy

as a gift

in humility.

all we must

do

is say

thank you

and rest

in his

mercy.

Because God's

mercy is for

the undeserving

not the

deserving.

It's for the

one who knows

they need it

not the

self-righteous.

And it's for

the humble

not the one

who's proud

who says

I can earn

it myself.

Which

description

best fits

you?

And as we

finish

here's one

last implication

of all that

we've heard.

If we really

have received

so great a

mercy

that changes

how we

respond to

other people's

sin and

failure also

doesn't it?

I mean

our wider

community

looking in

on us

in Cargoline

Baptist Church

they should

see a

people

who show

mercy and

kindness

that doesn't

make sense.

A kind

of mercy

that's given

even when

it's not

reciprocated

or deserved.

A mercy

given with

no ulterior

motives

no self-interest

not looking

for anything

in return.

what about

when someone

in your

family

snaps

at you

or is

selfish

in their

attitude

towards you?

Maybe it's

a sibling

parent

a spouse

our natural

reaction

is to get

our own

back

right?

But what

would it

look like

to be

merciful

in that

situation

instead?

Speaking

a kind

and gentle

word in

response.

Does any

one of us

find that

easy?

Absolutely

not.

But

we do

have the

Holy Spirit's

power

to draw

upon to

live this

new life

in Christ.

Life

as a

family

is a

life of

giving

and

receiving

mercy

day by

day.

Or what

about when

someone from

the church

family hurts

you?

Maybe

they passed

a throwaway

comment

or voiced

their opinions

in a way

that lacked

sensitivity

and kindness.

Our

natural

reaction is

to withdraw,

to resent

that person

or even

to gossip

about it.

What would

it mean

to show

mercy

instead?

What would

it look like

to choose

to love

even if

that person

doesn't

deserve

it in

that

moment?

Or what

about when

someone in

work or

school

goes out

of their

way

to

purposefully

undermine

your name?

Not hard

to imagine

what our

natural reaction

would be

right there.

To get

our own

back,

whatever the

cost.

mercy means

that we

won't

spread

gospel

about

them

or

return

ill

for

ill.

And I

don't know

what situation

you're

thinking of

in which

someone

doesn't

deserve

your

kindness

for the

way that

they have

acted

towards

you.

But the

point is

this.

If we've

been forgiven

so great

a debt,

one we

could never

afford to

repay,

that

frees us

to forgive

the debts

people owe

to us.

With God's

help,

we can

be

merciful.

So remember,

we are

more sinful

and undeserving

than we

ever realized.

But God's

mercy is

greater than

we have

ever dreamed.

In repentance

and humility,

we receive

it from

him.

And we

pour it

out on

others.

Let's

pray.

thank you,

Lord.

Thank you

for your

extravagant

mercy

poured out

on us.

Help us

to receive

it in

humility

and in

thankfulness.

Lord,

we confess

how often

we respond

in anger

and revenge

to others'

sin.

help us

to be

merciful

as you

are

merciful.

For

Jesus'

sake,

we pray.

Amen.

Well,

we're going

to sing

that song

now,

His

mercy

is

more.

Let's

use this

as an

opportunity

to wonder

anew

at God's

mercy

on us

and also

to put it

into practice

in our

own lives.

Please stand

if you're

able.

Thank you.