1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,960 If you would open your Bible please at Genesis in chapter 44 we are in the second part of the 2 00:00:06,960 –> 00:00:12,960 story of Joseph part 1 was about the loved and the favored son part 2 is about the transformation 3 00:00:13,680 –> 00:00:18,320 of the brothers and we have looked earlier in this series at 4 00:00:18,320 –> 00:00:21,760 the character of these brothers. We’ve seen that their sins were many 5 00:00:22,719 –> 00:00:28,959 these were not good men they had sins of lies, deception, violence, sexual indulgence, 6 00:00:28,959 –> 00:00:35,119 disloyalty, betrayal, the list goes on, and on. And the question therefore at the heart of the 7 00:00:35,119 –> 00:00:42,560 story is how could men like this possibly enter into the blessing of God. And we’re following 8 00:00:42,560 –> 00:00:49,919 the story of how God in his great kindness brought a great change in these men in which they came to 9 00:00:49,919 –> 00:00:54,959 hate what they used to love and love what they used to hate. It is a remarkable transformation 10 00:00:54,959 –> 00:01:00,959 it is a story of hope. And it tells us that God can change the hardest heart. He can turn 11 00:01:00,959 –> 00:01:07,680 around the most wayward of lives. And the great value of this story and the reason that we’re 12 00:01:07,680 –> 00:01:16,320 following it on these weekends is that it actually tells us how God brings such a change about. And 13 00:01:16,320 –> 00:01:22,559 we’ve seen that it begins with an awakening of conscience and that God does this by breaking 14 00:01:22,559 –> 00:01:28,559 into a person’s life, shaking up the rhythm, perhaps through some unexpected event, arousing 15 00:01:28,559 –> 00:01:34,720 memories of things that had been forgotten, and creating an awareness in the mind and in the heart 16 00:01:34,720 –> 00:01:44,959 that I stand guilty before almighty God. And we saw that at the same time, God pours in undeserved 17 00:01:44,959 –> 00:01:51,519 love, kindness, and favor. We saw this last time through the money that had been paid for the corn 18 00:01:51,519 –> 00:01:56,639 in Egypt being returned to the brothers in their sacks. And then when they came to Egypt the second 19 00:01:56,639 –> 00:02:01,040 time you remember, they’re brought into the governor’s house. Why would the governor bring 20 00:02:01,040 –> 00:02:08,320 us into his house? They’re welcomed. They’re fed. They’re shown this undeserved kindness and favor. 21 00:02:08,960 –> 00:02:14,320 And gradually through all of this, a change has been going on in the hearts of these brothers, 22 00:02:15,279 –> 00:02:19,679 evidently from the fact that there had not been a single mention of God 23 00:02:19,679 –> 00:02:28,080 in their entire lives up to chapter 42 and verse 28. They become aware that God is there and that 24 00:02:28,080 –> 00:02:34,800 we stand guilty before him. And that we therefore have to focus our attention on where we stand in 25 00:02:34,800 –> 00:02:41,279 relation to Him. Their early thoughts are that this God must be against them. What is God doing 26 00:02:41,279 –> 00:02:46,960 to us? They say. And it takes an Egyptian steward to come and to say to them, you don’t seem to 27 00:02:46,960 –> 00:02:53,679 realize that your God is doing you amazing favor and amazing kindness. He seems to be for you. 28 00:02:53,679 –> 00:03:01,600 Don’t you realize this? Well, these brothers are beginning to experience a gradual transformation. 29 00:03:01,600 –> 00:03:08,320 And today, what I want us to do is to look at the big picture of their story, which will take us 30 00:03:08,320 –> 00:03:13,279 into chapter 44 that’s been read. But it’s also going to mean us looking back to the beginning 31 00:03:13,360 –> 00:03:18,559 of the story. That’s the only way that you can see change if you look at it over the whole span, 32 00:03:19,199 –> 00:03:24,720 and we’re going to see the remarkable transformation that has taken place 33 00:03:24,720 –> 00:03:32,399 in the lives of these men. Now, I want to try to open this up today with two very simple questions. 34 00:03:33,199 –> 00:03:38,720 The first is, what needs to change? We talk about transformation, 35 00:03:39,440 –> 00:03:44,720 we talk about this great change in the lives of the brothers. If you boil it all down to its core, 36 00:03:46,240 –> 00:03:52,800 what is it that really needs to change in a human life? What is the great work that 37 00:03:52,800 –> 00:03:59,440 God’s Holy Spirit brings about in the transformation of a man or a woman’s life? 38 00:03:59,440 –> 00:04:05,759 And it’s really two things. The first is, the first thing that needs to change relates to grieving 39 00:04:06,720 –> 00:04:12,000 the father. Grieving the father. Now think back with me over the story. 40 00:04:13,520 –> 00:04:20,480 When these brothers sold Joseph, back in chapter 37, as a slave into Egypt, 41 00:04:21,519 –> 00:04:26,959 you remember they covered their tracks by lying to their father. 42 00:04:27,839 –> 00:04:34,320 They dipped Joseph’s multicolored coat in the blood of a killed animal, 43 00:04:34,320 –> 00:04:38,160 and they brought it to Jacob, and Jacob said back in chapter 37, 44 00:04:38,160 –> 00:04:40,160 A fierce animal has devoured him. 45 00:04:40,880 –> 00:04:43,760 Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces. 46 00:04:45,359 –> 00:04:49,839 Joseph, you remember, was the son of Rachel, the great love of Jacob’s life. 47 00:04:50,720 –> 00:04:58,399 And so when the brothers communicated to Jacob that his dearly loved son, Joseph, was dead, 48 00:04:58,959 –> 00:05:03,600 they were plunging a dagger, as it were, into the heart of the old man. 49 00:05:16,399 –> 00:05:18,880 the sons tell a lie that the dearly loved son is dead, 50 00:05:18,959 –> 00:05:21,600 inflicted this sorrow, they rise up to try and comfort him. 51 00:05:21,600 –> 00:05:22,559 And it’s extraordinary. 52 00:05:23,679 –> 00:05:33,839 But, it says he refused to be comforted and he said no, I shall down to Sheol, down to the grave, 53 00:05:33,839 –> 00:05:37,600 down to my death, to my son, mourning. 54 00:05:38,880 –> 00:05:40,880 I’m never gonna get over this sorrow. 55 00:05:41,519 –> 00:05:42,880 And the sorrow was a lie. 56 00:05:43,600 –> 00:05:49,119 And this is how it was for more than 20 years. 57 00:05:49,119 –> 00:05:52,160 Every day, these brothers, go out working for their father. 58 00:05:53,359 –> 00:06:00,079 Every day, they perpetuate a lie to their father that causes him unimaginable grief 59 00:06:00,079 –> 00:06:03,920 and sorrow that he lives with, day after day after day after day. 60 00:06:03,920 –> 00:06:10,160 Picture the old man, sitting in front of the farm, and he is on his rocking chair. 61 00:06:10,160 –> 00:06:18,559 And there’s a deep sadness over him, and his eyes are far away, and he’s looking out over the field, 62 00:06:18,559 –> 00:06:19,480 sort of out into the distance. 63 00:06:20,920 –> 00:06:22,279 And his heart is broken. 64 00:06:23,320 –> 00:06:27,880 And Joseph is no more, the light has gone out of his life. 65 00:06:28,839 –> 00:06:33,160 The brothers have been out working in the field, and they come back towards the home. 66 00:06:33,160 –> 00:06:37,799 And there they see the old man sitting in his chair, there’s sadness in his eyes, 67 00:06:38,119 –> 00:06:44,359 they know exactly why there is this forlorn sadness and hopelessness in his eyes. 68 00:06:44,359 –> 00:06:52,359 And never once, never once in 20 years did one of the brothers say, 69 00:06:53,640 –> 00:06:57,160 what if we tell the old man that his son might still be alive after all? 70 00:06:58,440 –> 00:07:02,760 What if we just confess that we lied to him? 71 00:07:02,760 –> 00:07:05,720 What if we put the old man out of his agony 72 00:07:05,880 –> 00:07:11,160 imagining as he is his own dearly loved son being torn to pieces by a wild animal— 73 00:07:11,160 –> 00:07:14,119 He’s replaying that in his head every day as he sits in that chair. 74 00:07:14,119 –> 00:07:16,200 Why don’t we relieve him of that sorrow? 75 00:07:16,200 –> 00:07:19,000 Because it was all induced by a lie that we told. 76 00:07:20,600 –> 00:07:23,720 No, confession would be too hard. 77 00:07:25,079 –> 00:07:27,079 Way too costly for the brothers. 78 00:07:28,440 –> 00:07:31,320 Imagine where we would be if the truth came out. 79 00:07:31,720 –> 00:07:35,079 But better to sustain the lie, 80 00:07:37,160 –> 00:07:43,320 better to leave the old man in his sorrow than risk what might happen to us if we told the truth! 81 00:07:45,239 –> 00:07:48,679 So day follows day and week follows week and month follows month 82 00:07:48,679 –> 00:07:54,440 and year follows year. For more than 20 years of lies and pretence 83 00:07:54,440 –> 00:08:00,200 every day to the grieving of the father’s heart. 84 00:08:01,000 –> 00:08:04,679 What needs to change? Grieving the father. 85 00:08:06,600 –> 00:08:10,440 Second, what needs to change if a human life is to be transformed? 86 00:08:10,440 –> 00:08:17,079 What is the great work of God’s Holy Spirit, to turn a rebellious heart around? 87 00:08:17,079 –> 00:08:24,519 First it relates to grieving the father. Second, it relates to heating the dearly loved Son. 88 00:08:25,559 –> 00:08:29,880 Now again we’re back in Genesis in chapter 37, because we’ve got to see where the whole 89 00:08:29,880 –> 00:08:35,799 story started in order to understand the great change that God brings about in these men. 90 00:08:36,840 –> 00:08:40,599 But at the beginning of this story, chapter 37, we’re told that the brothers 91 00:08:41,320 –> 00:08:46,119 hated Joseph. That’s the word. And it’s a very strong word, and it’s used multiple times. 92 00:08:47,159 –> 00:08:52,440 And they hated Joseph, because he was the loved and favored son. That was the thing that they 93 00:08:52,440 –> 00:08:56,440 couldn’t stand about him. If it wasn’t for that, they might’ve got on with him well. 94 00:08:56,520 –> 00:09:01,960 But he was the loved and favored son. Genesis 37 in verse four, when his brothers saw 95 00:09:01,960 –> 00:09:07,239 that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, 96 00:09:08,359 –> 00:09:15,280 and they could not speak peacefully to him. So think about that. 97 00:09:15,280 –> 00:09:23,080 If the brothers are in the same room as Joseph, there’s this angst, there’s this visceral 98 00:09:23,119 –> 00:09:27,559 antagonism towards him. You know there’s going to be an argument. They can’t have a civilized 99 00:09:27,559 –> 00:09:35,159 conversation with their own brother. They’re so intense in their despising and their hatred 100 00:09:36,280 –> 00:09:40,919 towards him. And that was because he was the dearly loved son. 101 00:09:42,840 –> 00:09:47,799 And then you remember from chapter 37 that something happened that made matters even worse. 102 00:09:48,440 –> 00:09:56,919 God gave Joseph a dream and it was a prophecy that one day the brothers would all bow down 103 00:09:56,919 –> 00:10:00,440 to the dearly loved son who would be exalted to the highest place. 104 00:10:02,200 –> 00:10:06,760 Joseph had not asked for this dream. It was given to him. Given to him by God. 105 00:10:08,359 –> 00:10:13,559 And it was given with the purpose that he should tell the brothers so that when this came to pass 106 00:10:14,119 –> 00:10:18,599 as it did afterwards they would know that it was God who had brought it about. 107 00:10:20,440 –> 00:10:26,679 And so Joseph told them the dream chapter 37 and verse 7. Behold here he’s describing the dream 108 00:10:26,679 –> 00:10:32,599 we were binding sheaves in the field and behold my sheep arose and stood up right and behold 109 00:10:32,599 –> 00:10:39,799 your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheep and his brothers said to him are you 110 00:10:39,799 –> 00:10:51,239 indeed to reign over us or are you indeed to rule over us. So they hated him even more. 111 00:10:51,239 –> 00:10:56,359 You see that he did them already because he was the dearly loved son but when you now say the 112 00:10:56,359 –> 00:11:01,799 dearly loved son is going to rule over us that made them hate him even more the bible says 113 00:11:02,599 –> 00:11:10,679 for his dreams and for his words so when Joseph comes on a long journey to go and find his 114 00:11:10,679 –> 00:11:18,039 brothers in Dothan it’s not surprising to us with that background that they conspired together to 115 00:11:18,039 –> 00:11:24,679 kill him indeed Judah says we can do better than that we can get money for him we can sell him for 116 00:11:25,479 –> 00:11:31,559 20 pieces of silver and then we get rid of him as well he will be sold as a slave to 117 00:11:31,559 –> 00:11:36,599 Egypt and the ishmaelites come along and the deed is done now that’s the story 118 00:11:38,039 –> 00:11:47,159 that’s the story of the 10 brothers grieving the father and hating the son 119 00:11:47,359 –> 00:11:56,599 now I think that that speaks very powerfully to us today it it raises this question are you 120 00:11:56,599 –> 00:12:05,479 grieving the father are you grieving the father the apostle john wrote to a community of christians 121 00:12:05,479 –> 00:12:11,159 these words if we say we have fellowship with him fellowship with the father while we walk 122 00:12:11,239 –> 00:12:20,599 in darkness we lie and we do not practice the truth that’s exactly what the brothers were doing 123 00:12:20,599 –> 00:12:24,359 isn’t it they’re professing to love the father oh yes and we work for the father oh yes we’re 124 00:12:24,359 –> 00:12:28,840 doing the father’s work we’re good people but they were actually walking in darkness 125 00:12:28,840 –> 00:12:35,479 they were living a lie they were maintaining a pretense there was a secret sin that caused 126 00:12:35,479 –> 00:12:43,479 grief to the heart of the father and what about hating the dearly loved son 127 00:12:45,799 –> 00:12:57,080 see this world has no place whatsoever for a dearly loved highly favored son of god 128 00:12:58,359 –> 00:13:04,359 who says i am the way and the truth and the life no one comes to the father except by me the world’s 129 00:13:04,359 –> 00:13:10,359 got no place for that that’s always going to produce from the world a visceral hatred because 130 00:13:10,359 –> 00:13:16,359 well that would mean that that you’re placed above us and a dearly loved son who is exalted 131 00:13:16,359 –> 00:13:22,760 at the right hand of the father and lays claim to every life that produces a visceral response 132 00:13:23,640 –> 00:13:26,200 we will not have this man to reign over us 133 00:13:28,679 –> 00:13:36,520 the agenda of God according to Ephesians in chapter one is to unite all things together 134 00:13:36,520 –> 00:13:44,840 through Christ the agenda of the world is to unite all things together without Christ 135 00:13:45,239 –> 00:13:55,159 and these two things always clash hatred because he is the dearly loved Son and hatred because 136 00:13:55,159 –> 00:13:59,400 he is exalted over us and we want to be exalted ourselves 137 00:14:02,359 –> 00:14:12,400 Jesus says to his disciples if the world hates you keep in mind that it hated me first 138 00:14:12,479 –> 00:14:19,520 So what needs to change in these brothers is very very clear and its application 139 00:14:19,520 –> 00:14:26,880 to our world today is very very obvious, grieving the Father with lies and with pretense 140 00:14:28,159 –> 00:14:34,880 hating the Son because we do not like his exclusive claims and we do not want him 141 00:14:35,840 –> 00:14:43,919 to rule over us. Now when you see that it becomes very clear as to what the transformation is all 142 00:14:43,919 –> 00:14:48,719 about. What is repentance? What is the transformation that is brought about in a 143 00:14:48,719 –> 00:14:55,599 human life by the Holy Spirit? You can boil it down to this, it is to stop grieving the Father 144 00:14:55,599 –> 00:15:00,799 and to start loving the Son. That’s what a transformation in a human life is like. 145 00:15:00,960 –> 00:15:05,520 That’s what it is at its root. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit that He would bring you to 146 00:15:05,520 –> 00:15:16,320 stop grieving the Father and start loving the Son. So that’s the first question. What needs 147 00:15:16,320 –> 00:15:22,080 to change? Now, I think it’s very, very clear from this story. Second question is as we look 148 00:15:22,080 –> 00:15:27,280 at the story of these brothers, has this change actually happened? And that’s where we come to 149 00:15:27,280 –> 00:15:32,640 the passage that was read for us today in Chapter 44. We’ve seen what needs to change in them. 150 00:15:33,200 –> 00:15:39,440 Now we’re asking the question, has that change actually happened? And so Chapter 44 151 00:15:40,719 –> 00:15:48,799 tells us the story of how after more than 20 years these brothers now show up in Egypt. 152 00:15:49,760 –> 00:15:56,559 And Joseph has indeed been exalted to the highest place. The dearly loved Son is exalted. And power 153 00:15:56,559 –> 00:16:03,760 has been given to him. And Joseph needs to know if these brothers have changed. 154 00:16:04,880 –> 00:16:09,039 And as you read through the story it really does address these two questions. 155 00:16:10,479 –> 00:16:20,400 Will the brothers still grieve the father and do the brothers still hate the dearly loved Son. 156 00:16:21,359 –> 00:16:27,039 Joseph needs to know that. He wants to know has there been a change or are these men still exactly the same. 157 00:16:29,119 –> 00:16:36,000 And so he devises a test that will show give evidence if these brothers have changed or if 158 00:16:36,000 –> 00:16:42,559 they have not. And the test centers around the youngest brother whose name is Benjamin. 159 00:16:43,520 –> 00:16:49,200 And we saw last week the significance of Benjamin that like Joseph, he was born to Jacob through 160 00:16:49,280 –> 00:16:56,799 Rachel, the great love of his life. So Benjamin also had this experience of being 161 00:16:56,799 –> 00:17:02,960 the dearly loved son. Jacob loved Benjamin as he loved Joseph. And remember the brothers 162 00:17:02,960 –> 00:17:08,319 hated Joseph because he was so greatly loved by the father. Well would they also hate Benjamin? 163 00:17:08,319 –> 00:17:14,160 That’s the question. They had sold out on Joseph because they hated the dearly loved son. Would 164 00:17:14,160 –> 00:17:20,479 they sell out on Benjamin? Because he also was the dearly loved son of the father. Would they 165 00:17:20,479 –> 00:17:26,560 bring even greater grief to the father, in order to save their own skins? Or 166 00:17:28,000 –> 00:17:36,000 had there been some change? Now the test that Joseph devises really comes in two parts, 167 00:17:36,000 –> 00:17:41,040 a smaller one and a much more significant one. The smaller one is right at the end of chapter 168 00:17:41,040 –> 00:17:49,359 43, where the brothers are brought to the banquet in Joseph’s house and I wonder if you noticed 169 00:17:49,359 –> 00:17:59,040 this when it was read last week, the last verse of 43, portions were taken to them from Joseph’s 170 00:17:59,520 –> 00:18:09,040 table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. 171 00:18:09,040 –> 00:18:14,359 Put a bunch of brothers together and give one five times as much on his plate as all 172 00:18:14,359 –> 00:18:15,359 the rest. 173 00:18:15,359 –> 00:18:18,099 What kind of reaction do you think you’re going to get? 174 00:18:18,099 –> 00:18:19,920 Now you see what’s happening here. 175 00:18:19,920 –> 00:18:22,439 Joseph is watching very, very carefully. 176 00:18:22,439 –> 00:18:23,439 What’s going to happen? 177 00:18:23,439 –> 00:18:26,719 Are they going to start muttering and complaining? 178 00:18:26,760 –> 00:18:31,000 Are they going to immediately start up on, why does Benjamin get more than us? 179 00:18:31,000 –> 00:18:32,640 He always seems to be the favorite. 180 00:18:32,640 –> 00:18:33,900 Why is he so favorite? 181 00:18:33,900 –> 00:18:35,859 Is that antagonism going to come out? 182 00:18:35,859 –> 00:18:41,520 Is what was so visceral within them going to be evident, even around the table? 183 00:18:41,520 –> 00:18:46,680 Why is this person blessed more than me? 184 00:18:46,680 –> 00:18:52,160 But nothing like that happened, so, so far, so good. 185 00:18:52,699 –> 00:19:01,380 Then, chapter 44, the brothers leave and Joseph has the steward place his own silver 186 00:19:01,380 –> 00:19:07,619 cup inside the sack that belonged to Benjamin. 187 00:19:07,619 –> 00:19:13,020 Shortly after the brothers have left Joseph’s home, and left the city, Joseph’s men go 188 00:19:13,020 –> 00:19:16,920 out after the brothers in order to confront them. 189 00:19:16,920 –> 00:19:24,760 In verse 4 of chapter 44, they say, why have you repaid evil for good, and they accused 190 00:19:24,760 –> 00:19:28,939 the brothers of taking the silver cup that belonged to Joseph. 191 00:19:28,939 –> 00:19:34,760 Well, of course, the brothers are very confident that they have done nothing wrong. 192 00:19:34,760 –> 00:19:39,479 Verse 8, how could we steal silver, our gold, from your lord’s house? 193 00:19:39,479 –> 00:19:45,520 Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord’s servant. 194 00:19:45,839 –> 00:19:48,479 I mean, that’s a statement of huge confidence. 195 00:19:48,479 –> 00:19:52,939 There’s no way in the world that any of us has taken the silver cup. 196 00:19:52,939 –> 00:19:59,439 Well, one by one, they take their sacks down and the sacks are opened. 197 00:19:59,439 –> 00:20:01,520 Try and imagine the scene. 198 00:20:01,520 –> 00:20:08,939 As Joseph’s men make the inspection, there’s nothing in Reuben’s sack, he was the oldest. 199 00:20:08,939 –> 00:20:11,180 Nothing in Simeon’s. 200 00:20:11,180 –> 00:20:13,380 Nothing in Levi’s. 201 00:20:13,380 –> 00:20:15,219 Nothing in Judah’s. 202 00:20:15,219 –> 00:20:21,060 The brothers are standing there going, see, told you, told you. 203 00:20:21,060 –> 00:20:27,560 Then verse 12, they come to Benjamin’s sack. 204 00:20:27,560 –> 00:20:32,319 And when the sack of the youngest brother is opened, there’s a glint of the sun reflecting 205 00:20:32,319 –> 00:20:35,199 on silver. 206 00:20:35,199 –> 00:20:41,239 And all the brothers are astonished and they are dismayed. 207 00:20:42,180 –> 00:20:49,859 Now friends, this moment is the turning point of the story. 208 00:20:49,859 –> 00:20:54,780 Because I want you to think about the situation that the brothers are now in. 209 00:20:54,800 –> 00:21:00,040 The cup is in Benjamin’s sack. 210 00:21:00,040 –> 00:21:09,199 The easiest thing for these brothers would be to look at each other and say, the only 211 00:21:09,339 –> 00:21:12,459 way out of this is for us to give up Benjamin. 212 00:21:12,459 –> 00:21:20,660 I mean, let’s face it, it’s his life against ten of ours. 213 00:21:20,660 –> 00:21:22,479 And the cup is in his sack. 214 00:21:22,479 –> 00:21:25,699 And he’s the dearly loved son. 215 00:21:25,699 –> 00:21:27,579 Let him go and join Joseph in Egypt. 216 00:21:27,579 –> 00:21:32,439 I mean, maybe the two of them will meet up, for all we know. 217 00:21:32,439 –> 00:21:38,699 The gain for the brothers would be far more than the twenty pieces of silver that they 218 00:21:38,699 –> 00:21:39,719 got for Joseph. 219 00:21:39,719 –> 00:21:44,640 The gain for the brothers is they gave up Benjamin at this moment, was they could go 220 00:21:44,640 –> 00:21:46,300 back and have their own freedom. 221 00:21:46,300 –> 00:21:47,680 We can live our lives. 222 00:21:47,680 –> 00:21:53,040 All we need to do is give him up, then we can live as we please. 223 00:21:53,040 –> 00:21:56,439 And he didn’t even need to lie. 224 00:21:56,439 –> 00:21:59,719 They could go back to the old man and they could tell him the truth. 225 00:21:59,719 –> 00:22:00,900 They could say, here’s what happened. 226 00:22:00,900 –> 00:22:02,800 And it’s very, very sad. 227 00:22:02,800 –> 00:22:05,500 We know it’s gonna bring you intolerable grief. 228 00:22:05,599 –> 00:22:08,939 But the man in Egypt, he made Benjamin a slave. 229 00:22:08,939 –> 00:22:10,140 What could we do about it? 230 00:22:10,140 –> 00:22:11,300 We were completely overpowered. 231 00:22:11,300 –> 00:22:14,959 I mean, they were all in their military there inspecting the sacks. 232 00:22:14,959 –> 00:22:16,959 The cup was in Benjamin’s sack. 233 00:22:16,959 –> 00:22:18,920 It was beyond our paradox. 234 00:22:18,920 –> 00:22:24,260 There was absolutely nothing we could do. 235 00:22:24,260 –> 00:22:31,020 So do you see that when the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack, the brothers were put 236 00:22:31,119 –> 00:22:38,140 right back in the same position as they had been standing over the pit with Joseph more 237 00:22:38,140 –> 00:22:40,099 than 20 years before. 238 00:22:40,099 –> 00:22:44,979 And the two questions in front of them were exactly the same. 239 00:22:44,979 –> 00:22:49,140 Would they grieve the heart of the father? 240 00:22:49,140 –> 00:22:55,160 And would they give up the dearly loved son? 241 00:22:55,160 –> 00:22:59,339 And I say that verse 13 is the great moment in the story. 242 00:22:59,540 –> 00:23:04,160 Though it would be very easy to pass over it but look at the transformation that becomes 243 00:23:04,160 –> 00:23:06,339 evident here. 244 00:23:06,339 –> 00:23:12,540 Whereas before they had been very happy to grieve the father and very happy to give up 245 00:23:12,540 –> 00:23:14,060 the dearly loved son. 246 00:23:14,060 –> 00:23:22,020 Now when they stand with exactly the same test verse 13 says, and they tore their clothes 247 00:23:22,219 –> 00:23:29,219 and every man loaded his donkey and they returned to the city, that is with Benjamin they came 248 00:23:31,780 –> 00:23:33,780 back to Egypt. 249 00:23:33,780 –> 00:23:37,439 There is the evidence of the transformation right there. 250 00:23:37,439 –> 00:23:43,160 Brothers, we cannot go back to the father and add sorrow to his sorrow. 251 00:23:43,160 –> 00:23:50,160 We cannot give up Benjamin, his dearly loved son, who is indeed our brother. 252 00:23:51,160 –> 00:23:58,160 I picture Joseph in his mansion, the governors house and he is looking out the window and 253 00:23:58,540 –> 00:24:00,380 there is only one question in his mind. 254 00:24:00,380 –> 00:24:06,880 There are two possibilities here, one is that if they give up the dearly loved son as they 255 00:24:06,880 –> 00:24:13,880 gave up me, then Benjamin will come back alone with my men. 256 00:24:14,880 –> 00:24:21,880 But, if they have changed, they will not bring grief to the father. 257 00:24:21,880 –> 00:24:26,640 If they have changed they will not give up the dearly loved son and when I look out that 258 00:24:26,640 –> 00:24:31,939 window, I am going to see every one of them, standing in solidarity with the dearly loved 259 00:24:31,939 –> 00:24:38,719 son and standing with him irrespective of whatever that is going to cost them. 260 00:24:38,719 –> 00:24:45,420 Can you imagine the joy of Jospeh’s heart when he looks out and he sees, verse 13, every 261 00:24:45,420 –> 00:24:51,359 man having loaded his donkey and every one of them returning as one with Benjamin to 262 00:24:51,359 –> 00:24:53,800 the city. 263 00:24:53,800 –> 00:25:00,979 We cannot give up the dearly loved son. 264 00:25:01,119 –> 00:25:16,540 Now, when they come back to Joseph, and who knows what’s going to happen now, it is Judah 265 00:25:16,540 –> 00:25:21,300 who steps forward and speaks to Joseph. 266 00:25:21,300 –> 00:25:25,640 And remember, he still doesn’t know that the one he’s speaking to is his brother. 267 00:25:26,540 –> 00:25:34,040 And I want you to notice, because this theme runs right the way through, that the two great 268 00:25:34,040 –> 00:25:42,020 themes in the passage that was read to us, the two great themes in the intercession of 269 00:25:42,020 –> 00:25:49,560 Judah are love for the Father, and love for the favored Son. 270 00:25:49,560 –> 00:25:50,560 Notice this with me. 271 00:25:50,560 –> 00:25:52,560 Turn your Bible open. 272 00:25:52,560 –> 00:26:02,579 But Judah refers to his Father no less than 15 times in verses 18 to 34. 273 00:26:02,579 –> 00:26:05,839 When the passage was read to us, I wonder if you noticed that. 274 00:26:05,839 –> 00:26:07,660 Father, Father, Father, Father, Father. 275 00:26:07,660 –> 00:26:08,660 It keeps coming. 276 00:26:08,660 –> 00:26:12,540 I’m not going to point all 15 to you, but you can count them if you were inclined to 277 00:26:12,540 –> 00:26:13,540 do so. 278 00:26:13,540 –> 00:26:14,800 But look at verse 19. 279 00:26:14,800 –> 00:26:19,119 My Lord asked His servants saying, Have you a father or a brother? 280 00:26:19,119 –> 00:26:23,920 And we said to him, We have a father,an old man and a young brother, the child of his 281 00:26:23,920 –> 00:26:24,920 old age. 282 00:26:24,920 –> 00:26:26,640 And his father loves him. 283 00:26:26,640 –> 00:26:32,160 Verse 22 we said to my Lord, The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his 284 00:26:32,160 –> 00:26:34,819 father, his father would die. 285 00:26:34,819 –> 00:26:35,819 Verse 34. 286 00:26:35,819 –> 00:26:39,000 How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me. 287 00:26:39,000 –> 00:26:44,479 I fear to see the evil that would find my father. 288 00:26:44,479 –> 00:26:47,920 Now put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. 289 00:26:48,040 –> 00:26:51,119 Because he’s listening to all this from Judah. 290 00:26:51,119 –> 00:26:55,859 Who’s brought such grief to the father’s heart. 291 00:26:55,859 –> 00:27:02,140 And Judah is pouring out, My father, my father, I can’t bring this pain and sorrow to my father. 292 00:27:02,140 –> 00:27:09,420 And Joseph’s thinking, my brother has really changed, really changed. 293 00:27:09,420 –> 00:27:13,199 He cares about the father. 294 00:27:13,219 –> 00:27:19,660 And then notice the love for the fevered son for Benjamin, verse 33. 295 00:27:19,660 –> 00:27:26,339 Judah says, Now, therefore, please let your servant, he’s referring to himself, please 296 00:27:26,339 –> 00:27:32,420 let me remain instead of the boy, instead of Benjamin. 297 00:27:32,420 –> 00:27:40,680 Let me be a servant to my Lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. 298 00:27:41,520 –> 00:27:46,520 Now again, put yourself in Joseph’s shoes, as he hears this pleading, 299 00:27:46,520 –> 00:27:50,079 that is put out by Judah here. 300 00:27:50,079 –> 00:27:52,280 This is a remarkable transformation. 301 00:27:52,280 –> 00:27:58,000 Judah was the one who proposed selling Joseph as a slave. 302 00:27:58,000 –> 00:28:04,219 Now, Judah is the one who proposes that he himself should become the slave, in order 303 00:28:04,219 –> 00:28:06,020 that his brother should go free. 304 00:28:06,079 –> 00:28:11,979 He is the one who proposes that he should become a substitute for his brother, and that 305 00:28:11,979 –> 00:28:16,180 whatever might happen to his brother, instead would happen to him, in order that his dearly 306 00:28:16,180 –> 00:28:19,599 loved brother could go free. 307 00:28:19,599 –> 00:28:22,160 What needs to change? 308 00:28:22,160 –> 00:28:28,739 The core of transformation, that is brought about in a human life, by the Holy Spirit, 309 00:28:28,800 –> 00:28:37,219 to stop grieving the father and to start loving the son. 310 00:28:37,219 –> 00:28:43,739 And it happens in these brothers who had the most extraordinary history of a moral mess 311 00:28:43,739 –> 00:28:46,939 of a life. 312 00:28:46,939 –> 00:28:51,020 And it’s the same transformation that God’s Holy Spirit can bring about in the life of 313 00:28:51,020 –> 00:28:54,520 any person. 314 00:28:54,520 –> 00:29:00,500 I want to draw three very simple applications from this story today. 315 00:29:00,500 –> 00:29:07,280 One from Judah, one from the brothers, and then one very briefly from Joseph. 316 00:29:07,280 –> 00:29:11,199 First, the application from Judah. 317 00:29:11,199 –> 00:29:21,040 Judah stepping forward as the intercessor, Judah saying, let me take the place off Benjamin. 318 00:29:21,040 –> 00:29:23,000 Judah offering himself as a substitute. 319 00:29:23,219 –> 00:29:30,300 You can’t help but see in that, as he makes this great intercession, a forecasting of 320 00:29:30,300 –> 00:29:36,239 Jesus Christ, the son of God, who gave himself as the substitute for us. 321 00:29:36,239 –> 00:29:38,920 By the way, isn’t one of the most beautiful things about this story? 322 00:29:38,920 –> 00:29:43,119 That you start seeing pointers to Jesus Christ all over the place. 323 00:29:43,119 –> 00:29:48,959 Primarily through Joseph, but also through Benjamin, and now even through Judah. 324 00:29:48,959 –> 00:29:51,640 And think about how he points us to Jesus. 325 00:29:52,540 –> 00:29:56,719 I wonder if you’ve noticed that as the story goes on, it’s Judah who steps forward and 326 00:29:56,719 –> 00:29:59,079 takes the lead in the story. 327 00:29:59,079 –> 00:30:04,060 Like in chapter 43, it was Judah who stepped forward and said to Jacob, “‘Let the boy 328 00:30:04,060 –> 00:30:05,079 go with me.’” 329 00:30:05,079 –> 00:30:08,239 And he offered himself as a surety for Benjamin. 330 00:30:08,239 –> 00:30:14,479 Now in chapter 44, it’s Judah who steps forward as the great intercessor on behalf 331 00:30:14,479 –> 00:30:16,880 of his brothers. 332 00:30:16,920 –> 00:30:23,619 It’s Judah who offers himself as the substitute, taking the place of whatever might come to 333 00:30:23,619 –> 00:30:27,459 Benjamin and taking it on himself. 334 00:30:27,459 –> 00:30:30,380 Why Judah? 335 00:30:30,380 –> 00:30:34,160 Which tribe was the Lord Jesus Christ born into? 336 00:30:34,160 –> 00:30:40,560 The tribe of – yeah, not Joseph – Judah. 337 00:30:40,560 –> 00:30:42,760 He is – help me with this phrase. 338 00:30:42,800 –> 00:30:50,300 He is the lion of the tribe of Judah. 339 00:30:50,300 –> 00:31:02,380 And here you have these wonderful pointers from Judah, gloriously redeemed himself towards 340 00:31:02,380 –> 00:31:10,300 his greater son, Jesus Christ, the dearly loved son of God, who will be born into the 341 00:31:10,319 –> 00:31:13,660 world through this lion. 342 00:31:13,660 –> 00:31:19,160 And the pointers are beautiful and so are the contrasts. 343 00:31:19,160 –> 00:31:21,660 Think about this. 344 00:31:21,660 –> 00:31:30,439 Judah was the brother who offered himself in place of the loved and favored son, but 345 00:31:30,439 –> 00:31:39,219 Jesus is the loved and favored son who offers himself in the place of his brothers. 346 00:31:39,219 –> 00:31:40,699 Judah was the guilty one. 347 00:31:40,699 –> 00:31:45,400 That is, he was guilty of grieving the father and in his earlier life of hating the son. 348 00:31:45,400 –> 00:31:49,400 These were particular sins of which Benjamin was not a part. 349 00:31:49,400 –> 00:31:54,119 Judah was the guilty one, offering himself in the place of the innocent. 350 00:31:54,119 –> 00:32:03,760 But Jesus was the innocent one offering himself in the place of the guilty. 351 00:32:03,780 –> 00:32:10,619 Judah offered to become a slave in order to set his brother free. 352 00:32:10,619 –> 00:32:20,699 Jesus had to go to a cross in order to set his people free. 353 00:32:20,699 –> 00:32:28,540 Judah made an offer to do something very, very great but in the mercy of Joseph he was 354 00:32:28,540 –> 00:32:32,339 prevented from going through with it. 355 00:32:32,339 –> 00:32:38,140 Jesus not only offered to become our substitute, he did it. 356 00:32:38,140 –> 00:32:47,859 Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he stood. 357 00:32:47,859 –> 00:32:53,560 And he sealed my pardon with his blood. 358 00:32:53,560 –> 00:32:55,599 Hallelujah. 359 00:32:55,599 –> 00:32:57,819 What a Savior. 360 00:32:57,819 –> 00:32:59,939 That’s Judah. 361 00:33:00,599 –> 00:33:04,060 An application for the brothers. 362 00:33:04,060 –> 00:33:09,839 And here’s where the challenge of this passage I think comes to all of our hearts. 363 00:33:09,839 –> 00:33:15,020 We’ve seen that the heart of true repentance, the transformation that God by his holy Spirit 364 00:33:15,020 –> 00:33:20,599 brings in a person’s life is to stop grieving the Father and to start loving the Son. 365 00:33:20,599 –> 00:33:25,459 So now let’s apply the challenge of that to ourselves today. 366 00:33:25,459 –> 00:33:28,640 Stop grieving the Father. 367 00:33:28,719 –> 00:33:34,560 My prayer for today is that God will bring many of us to a place of saying, you know 368 00:33:34,560 –> 00:33:35,560 what? 369 00:33:35,560 –> 00:33:43,680 There are areas of my life where I have been following the impulse of my own sinful heart. 370 00:33:43,680 –> 00:33:48,660 And I’ve been bringing sorrow to the Father through my thoughts, through my words, through 371 00:33:48,660 –> 00:33:56,959 my deeds, through my pretense, my lies, my secret. 372 00:33:56,959 –> 00:34:01,060 And I can no longer grieve the Father. 373 00:34:01,060 –> 00:34:03,579 It has to end here. 374 00:34:03,579 –> 00:34:07,979 I see what I’ve been doing and it has to stop. 375 00:34:07,979 –> 00:34:11,379 From today, I live to please the Father. 376 00:34:11,379 –> 00:34:14,979 I want to live under the Father’s smile. 377 00:34:14,979 –> 00:34:18,280 I want to be a joy to the Father’s heart. 378 00:34:18,280 –> 00:34:24,679 I am done with grieving God, my Heavenly Father. 379 00:34:24,679 –> 00:34:30,239 Do not grieve the Spirit. 380 00:34:30,239 –> 00:34:38,280 And then, to start loving the Son, think about these brothers taking their stand with Benjamin. 381 00:34:38,280 –> 00:34:41,479 We can’t give him up. 382 00:34:42,320 –> 00:34:45,439 We’re all in with him. 383 00:34:45,439 –> 00:34:50,340 We don’t know what that’s gonna mean when we get back to Egypt, and those many things 384 00:34:50,340 –> 00:34:54,899 that we might fear could happen when we get there. 385 00:34:54,899 –> 00:34:57,219 But we’re all in with Benjamin. 386 00:34:57,219 –> 00:34:59,080 We’re with the dearly loved son. 387 00:34:59,080 –> 00:35:02,659 Whatever it takes, whatever it costs, whatever that leads. 388 00:35:02,659 –> 00:35:09,020 Are you ready to take your stand with Jesus Christ as the brothers took their stand with 389 00:35:09,020 –> 00:35:12,399 Benjamin today? 390 00:35:12,399 –> 00:35:17,040 You say today, I am all in with Jesus Christ. 391 00:35:17,040 –> 00:35:18,600 Whatever that costs. 392 00:35:18,600 –> 00:35:21,500 Whatever it leads. 393 00:35:21,500 –> 00:35:24,760 Whatever it takes. 394 00:35:24,760 –> 00:35:31,360 I am taking my stand with Jesus Christ. 395 00:35:31,360 –> 00:35:37,300 You know, when Benjamin saw that the brothers were not going to give him up, I could imagine 396 00:35:37,360 –> 00:35:40,760 if he lived in another time and place, he might have said something like this. 397 00:35:40,760 –> 00:35:45,939 Well, if you guys are really going to come with me, you know what? 398 00:35:45,939 –> 00:35:51,020 You’d better be ready to tae up your cross and follow me. 399 00:35:51,020 –> 00:35:52,699 That’s what Jesus said. 400 00:35:52,699 –> 00:35:56,939 You’re going to be all in with me, the crucified, in this world. 401 00:35:56,939 –> 00:36:02,780 You’re going to stand for me in the world that hates the dearly loved son and has a 402 00:36:02,780 –> 00:36:07,020 visceral reaction to one who lays claim to be sovereign over our lives. 403 00:36:07,020 –> 00:36:08,080 You’re going to stand with me. 404 00:36:08,080 –> 00:36:09,500 You’re going to have to take up your cross. 405 00:36:09,500 –> 00:36:12,919 You’re not going to be liked for that. 406 00:36:12,919 –> 00:36:17,600 I’ve gotta stop grieving the father with the lies and pretense. 407 00:36:17,600 –> 00:36:23,520 I’ve gotta be all in with the son, whatever it costs, whatever it takes. 408 00:36:23,520 –> 00:36:31,080 And the very last thing is what we learn from Joseph at this point in the story. 409 00:36:31,080 –> 00:36:35,139 And it’s simply this, it points us to the fact that Jesus Christ makes himself known 410 00:36:35,199 –> 00:36:38,540 as a brother to repentant sinners. 411 00:36:38,540 –> 00:36:45,280 It’s when this transformation has taken place that the brothers come to know Joseph 412 00:36:45,280 –> 00:36:49,860 not only as the sovereign ruler, they’ve already come to know him that way. 413 00:36:49,860 –> 00:36:54,320 But now they discover that he really is Joseph and that he is their brother. 414 00:36:54,320 –> 00:36:59,620 And of course that’s chapter 45 and really it’s for next week, but I can’t wait till 415 00:36:59,620 –> 00:37:02,659 next week, I mean, you know, it seems to take forever. 416 00:37:02,939 –> 00:37:06,179 So let me just read the first couple of verses as we draw to a close here. 417 00:37:06,179 –> 00:37:08,179 Look at this chapter 45. 418 00:37:08,179 –> 00:37:15,860 Then, see then, when there’s this transformation, the brothers are no longer grieving the father 419 00:37:15,860 –> 00:37:19,699 and they’re no longer hating the son, there’s been a change. 420 00:37:19,699 –> 00:37:21,979 Grace has come into their lives. 421 00:37:21,979 –> 00:37:29,760 Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, he cried, make 422 00:37:29,800 –> 00:37:36,399 everyone go out from me, so no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to 423 00:37:36,399 –> 00:37:39,439 his brothers. 424 00:37:39,439 –> 00:37:47,219 And he wept aloud so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it, 425 00:37:47,219 –> 00:37:54,300 and Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph. 426 00:37:54,300 –> 00:37:58,080 Can you imagine that moment? 427 00:37:58,080 –> 00:38:08,159 The Holy Spirit pours out the knowledge of the love of God into the hearts of those who 428 00:38:08,159 –> 00:38:15,320 stopped grieving the Father and start loving the Son. 429 00:38:15,320 –> 00:38:20,959 You want to know the love of God poured out into your life today, you say, yeah, I know 430 00:38:20,959 –> 00:38:24,719 that there’s a great God and He’s a sovereign ruler and He knows everything about me, but 431 00:38:24,719 –> 00:38:30,919 what I really need is to know the love of God poured into my heart today. 432 00:38:30,919 –> 00:38:41,580 Stop grieving the Father, start loving the Son, bow before Christ as your Sovereign Lord 433 00:38:41,580 –> 00:38:50,500 and He will make Himself known to you as your gracious Saviour, and as your loving Brother. 434 00:38:50,500 –> 00:38:52,399 Let’s pray together. 435 00:38:52,699 –> 00:39:00,879 Father, we want to bring to the foot of the Cross about which we have heard 436 00:39:00,879 –> 00:39:11,399 so beautifully sung today, all that grieves you, and all of that selfish spirit 437 00:39:11,399 –> 00:39:15,739 that resists the Sovereign claim of your dearly loved Son over our lives. 438 00:39:16,320 –> 00:39:23,820 Father, we want to be done with grieving you. We want to take our stand today 439 00:39:23,820 –> 00:39:30,780 with your dearly loved Son, to be all in with Him wherever that takes us, 440 00:39:30,780 –> 00:39:37,739 whatever it costs us, whatever it means for us. And so we ask that the knowledge 441 00:39:37,739 –> 00:39:41,399 of your love and of your grace may be poured out afresh by your Holy Spirit 442 00:39:41,840 –> 00:39:48,179 into our hearts today. And that we may know you as our Brother, our Saviour, our 443 00:39:48,179 –> 00:39:53,320 Friend, as well as our Lord. For these things we ask in Jesus’ name. And everyone 444 00:39:53,320 –> 00:39:55,820 together said. Amen.