THROUGH THE BIBLIE - Genesis..

Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.

com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Genesis chapter 44. We'll read the chapter as we always do.

I'll give a brief summary of the chapter. Brothers and sisters, there are so many blessed truths in this chapter that we cannot possibly meditate upon them all. But by God's grace, I trust that the Lord will bless us in the few moments that we have and the few points of meditations that we have to meditate upon. So if you have your Bibles, I invite you to open them up to Genesis 44, and we'll read the whole chapter together. Then he commended the steward of his house, that's Joseph, fill the men's sacks with food and as much as they can carry and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest and his money for grain.

And he did as Joseph told him. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, up, follow after the men. And when you overtake them, say to them, why have you repaid evil for good?

Is it not from this that my Lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this. When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words. And they said to him, why does my Lord speak such words of as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing.

Behold, the money that we found in the mounds of our sacks, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then, how then can we steal silver or gold from your Lord's house? Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my Lord's servants. He said, let it be as you say. He who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent.

Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack, and he searched for the eldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city. When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. And Joseph said to them, what deed is this that you have done?

Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination? And Judah said, what shall we say to my Lord? Shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants.

Behold, we are my Lord's servants, both we and he also whose hand the cup has been found. But he said, far be it from me that I should do so. Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father. Then Judah went up to him and said, oh my Lord, please let your servant speak a word in my Lord's ears and let not your anger burn against your servant for you are like Pharaoh himself.

My Lord asked his servant saying, have you a father or a brother? And we said to my Lord, we have a father, an old man and a younger brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead and he alone is left from his mother's children and his father loves him. Then you said to your servants, bring him down to me that I may set my eyes on him. We said to my Lord, the boy cannot leave the father, for if he does leave his father, his father would die.

Then you said to your servants, unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again. When we went back to your servants, my father, we told him the words of my Lord. And when our father said, go again, buy us a little food, we said, we cannot go down if our youngest brother goes, we cannot go down if our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us. Then your servant, my father, said to us, You know that my wife bore me two sons.

One left me, and I said, Surely he has been torn to pieces, and I have never seen him since. You take this one also from me, and harm happens to him. You will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol. Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy's life, as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant, our father, with sorrow to Sheol. For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.

Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my Lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father. Amen. This is the word of the Lord.

It's incredible. What a contrast. one single night can bring. From sheer joy, chapter 43 ends, to pure misery content of the boys' hearts, or the brothers' hearts, in chapter 44. You see, last week, we followed the continued story of the great famine that had affected the whole land.

as we saw in that chapter, or up until now, that God in His sovereignty is actually orchestrating all the events through Joseph to faithfully preserve His covenant people during this famine, a people who otherwise would surely So the journey to Egypt in these chapters for these boys, or Jacob's sons, was essential for their livelihoods and that of their families. As you would remember, the first trip had resulted in food being brought back from Egypt to Canaan, but their brother Simeon was detained. He was detained with Joseph until they returned with Benjamin. At first, that request was denied by Jacob. But now desperate to avoid his whole family from perishing from starvation, Jacob reluctantly accepts to send his son, Benjamin.

But not before Judah steps up and pledges for his safety. He pledges that he will bring Benjamin home. Their second journey to Egypt had panned out much better than their first. In fact, they were treated with unusual hospitality, respect, and honor, even dining in the house of the prime minister of the whole land. But unbeknown to them, the prime minister was actually their brother, Joseph.

And the Lord their God was using Joseph to sanctify them with a series of tests. Chapter 43 concluded with the brothers passing the test of jealousy. You see, 20 years ago, Jacob's prejudice towards his son, Joseph, had resulted in the brothers' hearts becoming callous, becoming envious and jealous, and they acted with a great evil. Now, however, it seems like they have changed. They do acknowledge the five-fold favor given to Benjamin in Joseph's house, but their hearts are, or at least seem, to be unaffected.

No jealousy, no envy. The last verse of chapter 43 tells us they simply ate, they drank, and they were merry. They had a great time. You see, beloved, God has been at work. God has been at work sanctifying the hearts of these men.

But that's chapter 43. Little did they know that their greatest test is yet to come. You see, a superficial reading of Genesis or these chapters in Genesis may paint the wrong picture of Joseph. His actions and words may be a bit harsh at first, but in fact, he does love his brothers and he does care for them deeply. even though they betrayed him years earlier.

He has shown them respect, he's shown them honor, and on two occasions, he'll provide for them and their families food at no cost. Joseph's display or displays no resentment towards his brothers, no grudges at all, just a brother who seems to love and care for them. We'll see this clear as we reach the conclusion of this book. But his actions, or their seemingly harsh actions, are necessary, because God's sovereign hand is upon Joseph, not only to preserve a nation, he does that, but also to transform his covenant people towards holiness. Now the morning after the feast, the brothers load their donkeys and they begin the trek back to Canaan.

The mood was that of joy and happiness. They're heading home with their brother Simeon who had been in prison for a time and their donkeys, well their donkeys are carrying all the food they can handle. They can't wait to see their father and talk to him and tell him about the favor they received by the prime minister of Egypt. Life is good. But then, not far into their journey, they look over their shoulder and what do they see?

Well, they see the royal steward heading straight towards them. The mood has changed from joy to fear. What have we done? What's going on? Well, soon enough, they realize they're being accused, accused of theft.

The theft of Joseph's valued silver cup. The cup was said to give Joseph supernatural insight. Now it's unlikely a godly man like Joseph would practice these things. Rather, this was said, I believe, to instill fear into the hearts of these boys, or these men, whilst also concealing Joseph's true identity. He wanted them to keep thinking he is indeed an Egyptian from a pagan land.

The brothers were greatly disturbed by these accusations. But interestingly, they remained resolute. What once was a dysfunctional, apathetic group of men have now become brothers who intimately know each other's character. Their explicit confidence in one another dismissed the accusation that either one would ever think of doing such an evil act. That confidence was even to the point that they vowed to become servants for the rest of their lives if any of them was found or caught with that silver cup.

Beloved, this sort of trust in one another doesn't come overnight. The Lord has been at work in producing trustworthy character in these men while unifying their hearts or the hearts of his covenant people. But when the silver cup is actually found and found in the sack of the youngest Benjamin, their heart sank. But what do they do? I want you to get this point.

In verse 10, the steward says, he who is found with the cup shall be my servant, but the rest of you shall be innocent. This is their break. In the eyes of the steward, it's Benjamin who's guilty. The rest are innocent. Benjamin must pay the price, but they're free to go.

Sure, it'll break their father's heart, and probably send him to his grave in great sorrow, but why should they all suffer if only one can pay the penalty? This is their chance. This is their chance to pick up and leave and save their own lives. But what does the text tell us that they did? Verse 13, Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

None of them rebuked Benjamin or laid the blame game on him, but rather every man, that's every one of the brothers, loaded up the donkey and went back with Benjamin to the city. Beloved, this sort of unity is incredible. Only 20 years earlier, they would have sold Benjamin for a lot less. But now the evidence of God's sanctifying work is starting to show fruit in the lives of these covenant people. You see, this is the thing.

Anyone can talk the talk. Anyone can say the right things at the right time, but the test of true authenticity comes when you're placed in an impossible situation. And then, and only then, if you have true substance, a reality that has apprehended and trusted in God and His sovereignty over your life, only then will your fruit be shown to be authentic. So these men displayed love for Benjamin, and they showed their fruit to be authentic. So they head back to the city, all of them head back to the city, and they say, we will do it together.

We're in this together. We will not abandon one of our own. The first thing they do, what is the first thing they do when they meet Joseph? They fall to the ground in complete humility. They know that they have no leg to stand upon.

Realize they don't try to acquit themselves of guilt. I want you to see that in the passage, but instead, verse 16, what shall we say to my Lord, they say? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants.

Behold, we are my Lord's servants, both we and he also whose hand the cup has been found. We might not be guilty of this offense, but God has enlightened our hearts to the guilt of a much greater offense. We all stand guilty before you, oh Lord. And we are all prepared to stand by our brother Benjamin and pay the price. No doubt they remembered the shameful treatment of Joseph, the other son of Rachel, 20 odd years earlier, But this time they won't act in a disgraceful manner.

They've grown to know and understand what love is. And now they put that love on display in a pagan foreign land. So now Joseph knows his brothers have certainly changed from the hard-hearted men who years earlier threw him in a pit, planning to kill him, but only by the providence of God, they end up selling him for 20 pieces of silver to some traders. But the thing is, how deep is their love? How deep and true is their change?

See, in order to find out, Joseph takes this test one step deeper. Sure, these brothers did not abandon Benjamin. They came back to the city with him, and that's commendable. But was it truly an honest act of nobility and love? Or are they trying to seek favor in the Lord's eyes so that maybe somehow he'll release their brother back to them in pity?

Now it's the real deal. There before, the second most powerful man in the world. Now, now they can fathom the sheer weight and the terror of the situation. Do they have regrets? Do they have second thoughts about their stand with their brother?

Well, there's only one way to find out. Listen to what Joseph does. He offers their freedom. Verse 17. Only the man in whose hand the cup, this is Joseph speaking, only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant.

But as for you, go up in peace to your father. But they don't take it. Instead, Judah approaches Joseph. And in a beautiful narrative from verses 18 through the end of the chapter, he explains the whole situation with Jacob and the pain of losing his first son to his beloved wife, Rachel. If he now loses Benjamin, it will surely bring him to death in sorrow.

You see, this is the first time Joseph hears of his father's pain of losing him years earlier. What strength he had in the moment not to break down and weep as he had done on two occasions as Judah told the story. But then Judah spoke the following words that brought undeniable confirmation to Joseph that his brothers have been supernaturally changed from within. Proof that this was not a show of pity, or a show for pity, or mercy, but rather an act of true love. Verse 33, Judah says, Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my Lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers.

What's Judah's proposal? Judah's proposing because of love for his father, and I want you to hear this, because of love for his father and love for his brothers, he's proposing that he himself would be the substitutionary sacrifice. Take my life and let my brothers go back. Let my brothers be united with my father. Despite Judah being a guilty sinner, his actions are a display of great love.

Beloved, this story speaks of the true sanctification that takes place in the heart of every believer, of every child of God, yes. And this story also speaks of God's supernatural sovereign hand in preserving a people, yes. But it's also a picture of something truly profound. a picture of the love of God in the greatest son of Judah, Christ Jesus, sinless, perfect, and righteous. He was willing also because of his love for his father and love for his brethren to sacrifice himself as a substitute for his people so that they may be united with his father, not temporarily like the case in Genesis, but for all eternity.

Greater love has no one than this and someone laid down his life for his friends. My prayer is that all of us in this room have experienced this amazing love of God in Christ Jesus. Amen.