Persistent Faith and Severe Mercy (2)
A Sermon Series on the
Life of Joseph
Gen 41-45:1-8
God is using Joseph to bring real change in the lives
of his household. Let us not forget the great picture of God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God will use Joseph not just to feed the hungry mouths of Jacob’s family; God will use Joseph
to bring His chosen people come on their
knees and repent.
Joseph was harsh with his
brothers; but the response was important. We read in 42: 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 would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us.’”
Joseph went
inside and wept. (42:24) it was not
easy for him to hear this conversation.
-Tough situations
are good to awaken poeple.
Paul wrote boldly
and sometimes harshly to the Corinthians. He said,
“Even if I
caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret
it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 9yet now I am happy, not because you
were made sorry, but because your
sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended
and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to
salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2Cor
7:8-10)
-God sometimes
uses severe measures to bring healing and restoration to His people. God is
interested in seeing that we turn to Him
and restore our
relationships.
-Ruth’s story starts with famine in the land
(Ruth 1:1)
-Jonah went through severe storms. He finally
woke up.
-The prodigal son he came to himself and
turned back to his father only when he was extremely hungry (Luke 15:14)
Sometimes we need a shock to be awakened.
Going back to our
story, after 20 years of ignoring their
sin, Joseph’s brothers were faced with what they had done.
Joseph allows the
nine brothers to go and keeps one of them so that they would go and bring
Benjamin. He is not sure if Benjamin is alive. Although they say he is, but Joseph cannot
trust them anymore. He also gives them the grain they wanted to buy but puts
their money back in the sacks.
When the brothers
later find out that the money is in their sacks, they are afraid. They go to their
father and tell him the story. Jacob refuses to send Benjamin with them. For a
while they eat what they have, until they are out of food again.
-God is teaching them to trust Him. Especially Jacob needs to learn to
trust God. He needs to remember his place
as a patriarch. He needs to remember how he wanted to take his father’s
blessing to be the successor. He needs to remember how he “wrestled” with God
and how God blessed him. He was attached
to Benjamin, the only favorite son. He
is learning to give up his emotional attachments. He is learning that
favoritism among his sons is not good. So he decides to send his last “beloved
son” Benjamin. The time has come when Jacob
learns to trust God.
-Now
“Send the boy
along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may
live and not die. 9 I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally
responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before
you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.” (43:8-10)
We see a
different Judah here. We see a man who is learning from life experiences that
he needs to take responsibilities. He was ready to protect his younger brother at
all costs.
Jacob allows
Benjamin to go and asks the sons to take more than money. He asks them to take along gifts, “a little balm and a little honey, some spices
and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds.”(43:11) It is interesting to see that three of these
gifts, balm, spices and myrrh were the things carried by the Ishmaelite
caravans that bought Joseph(37:25). Do you see God’s hand in helping restore
the relationship? Do you see God’s hand
in bringing reconciliation?
The brothers
arrive back in Egypt with Benjamin this time. Joseph finds his brothers and asks
his men to prepare a good banquet. We read that when Joseph saw his brothers,
once again he went inside and wept (43:30).
Joseph plays
another trick with them. He orders his servants to fill the sacks with grain, and
place his own private cup in Benjamin’s sack as a stolen cup. So when the
brothers are on their way back to their land, the guards catch them and bring them
back accusing them of stealing. Joseph wants to punish them. He wants Benjamin to
stay with him while the others return home. Here we see Judah taking action and responsibility again. Judah says, “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. 34 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."” (44:33-34)
The climax of the story: We read chapter 45:1-8
Joseph burst into
tears. He could not hold it anymore. “And
he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard
about it.” (45:2)
What did Joseph say here that
is very important? I see severe mercy
and persistent trust and faith in God.
“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… But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on
earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”
What can we learn from these
chapters?
1-Genuine repentance is essential in our
lives.
20 years passed in Joseph’s
story, his brothers lived a “covered” life trying to hide their sin. Finally,
they were faced with sin. God “shocked”
them so they could restore their relationship with God and each other. The prodigal
son learned to go back to his father; “he
came to his senses,” says the Bible (Luke 15:17)
We need to be “shaken” in our
lives. Each person needs daily repentance. We need this in our churches. You
and I need to learn to repent. God is interested in restored relationships, not
offerings, but mercy.
2-Persistence in his faith, under all circumstances.
At different stages in his
life, Joseph was in the “pit, a chief of the household, in prison, chief of prison,
Egypt’s highest man after Pharaoh. Under
all circumstances, he was faithful to God. I see persistent, not
circumstantial, faith. God is faithful whatever our situation.
3-Severe Mercy.
Joseph could easily take revenge.
Perhaps he had the “right” for revenge. We do not see that kind of man. Joseph did
not blame his brothers, nor condemned them; he showed mercy, and gave a theological
reason why he was in Egypt. “And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). We often misquote
this verse. When something bad happens, we say, “Oh, something good will come
out of this.” No, this is not what the verse says. For those who love God, God
has plan. For those who trust God, all things can turn into “good”. God will
define what is good.
Three words:
Genuine repentance, persistent faith (trusting God under all circumstances),
and severe mercy that only Jesus can teach us.
I don’t know
where you stand today in your life. Take time for repentance. Ask Jesus to be
your personal savior. Without him we cannot have genuine repentance.
Remember Joseph’s
action helped the family to come together. We need this today. There are many broken
relationships in families. Ask God to help you take this decision.
Amen