JOSEPH’S LOVE

Genesis 42:1-45:3, Key Verse: 45:1

““Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, "Have everyone leave my presence!" So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.” 

Last week we learned that God was the center of Joseph’s life whether he was in troubles or glory, and God blessed him to live a victorious life. When God is the center of our life, we can be successful in whatever we do, and we can experience God’s grace even in trials. Today’s passage shows us how the Lord trained Joseph’s brothers. Especially through today’s passage, we can learn what true love is. May God bless us to grow to be a man of true love like Joseph!

Part I: Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt (42:1-38)

Joseph’s brothers needed a lot of discipline in order to be used as the ancestors of 12 tribes of Israel. They had to know how terrible the result of their sin was. They also needed to experience the joy of forgiveness. Most of all, they should learn true faith and obedience to God. How did God help them? Today’s passage tells us that God helped them through Joseph. 7 years of abundance had ended and the whole world was under severe famine. Today people go to the Jewel, Walmart, or even have food delivered by ordering online from Peapod.com. But in Joseph's time people of many nations came to Egypt to buy food. Famine also reached far into the land of Canaan where Jacob lived.

So Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy grain. However, Jacob did not send Benjamin to Egypt. Do you know why? It was because Jacob did not want to lose Benjamin like he lost Joseph in the past. Finally, after a long trip Joseph’s brothers came to Joseph and bowed down before him. Then Joseph recognized them and he remembered his dreams. According to God’s revelation, his dreams were fulfilled before his eyes. Now what would Joseph do? If Joseph had no faith to believe God’s sovereignty and love for his brothers, he could have punished them immediately or torture them in various ways. 

Yet, Joseph began to train them with God’s heart. Joseph spoke harshly against them, saying that they were spies. M. Rebekah Park from Saudi Arabia can understand Joseph’s brothers very well because she was persecuted as a Christian spy in a Muslim country. Joseph asked them to prove their innocence by bringing their youngest brother, Benjamin. Then he locked them in prison. Read 42:18-20. "On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die." This they proceeded to do.” 

What was the response of Joseph’s brothers? Look at 42:21, 22. “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." 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 remembered their sin of 20 years ago, and they said that they had to give an accounting for Joseph’s blood. We tend to forget sins of the past and equate forgiveness with forgetting. Their response shows thought that 20 years of time did not solve their sin problem. 

Our sin problem is solved only when we receive God’s forgiveness. As soon as a man sins, his happiness disappears. There is a wage for sin, and it is not $9.50 and hour; it is death. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Joseph turned away from them and began to weep, but then turned back and spoke to them again. His weeping shows his pure and sincere heart. It reveals how much he loved them in his heart. Joseph sent money together with grain when they left him. They found money on their way back and there were trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?" 

Joseph gave money out of his love, but they were terrified, thinking that God was punishing them. When they returned home, they reported all things to their father Jacob. Jacob said that they were bringing down his gray head down to the grave in sorrow because he lost Joseph, Simeon, and now he was going to lose Benjamin. Jacob should have trusted God in all circumstances. Instead of trusting God, he was grieved, thinking that everything was against him. However everything was working for his good. We must believe that in all things including unfavorable circumstances, God works for the good of those who love him. (Rom 8:28) 

Part II: The Second Journey to Egypt (43:1-34)

Why did Jacob have to send his sons with Benjamin to Egypt again? Look at 43:1, 2. “Now the famine was still severe in the land. So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go back and buy us a little more food." The famine was still severe in the land of Canaan and their houses were no grain left to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They needed food to survive. Then Judah told his father that they could not go to Egypt without Benjamin. He persuaded his father, saying that he would be responsible for the safety of Benjamin. 

Then Jacob allowed Judah to take Benjamin, expressing his faith, saying, “May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you” (14a). Jacob decided to entrust the matter into the hands of God even if it did not come as he wanted. He said, “As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.” (14b) Jacob’s faith became strong. We cannot be responsible for our life, our parents’ life, our children’s life, and our sheep’s life. Only God Almighty can be responsible. When we entrust everything into the hands of God, we can be free from all of our anxiety, worries, and fear.

Now they took Benjamin together with the best products of the land and went down to Egypt. Joseph invited them to his house for lunch. They presented to him the gifts they had brought, and they bowed down before him to the ground. When Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, he was deeply moved. So Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there. After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, "Serve the food." (31) The word “controlling” shows that he was not controlled by his emotions but by the Holy Spirit. If Joseph had shown his tears to his brothers, he could not have disciplined them anymore. However, by controlling himself he could train them spiritually. Galatians 5:23 says that ‘self control’ is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Joseph had them seated in the order of their ages. They looked at each other in astonishment. No one had checked their ID's, how did they know the age order? Joseph served them with the food from his table, and gave Benjamin five times more food than those of others. Then they feasted and drank freely with him. They had already shown to Joseph that they were truly grieving for their sin and that they loved their father and that they feared God. They did not have any jealousy against Benjamin. However, Joseph did not have complete confidence in them. If push came to shove they might throw their younger brother Benjamin under the bus in order to save themselves. In order to prove true repentance, they needed to show the fruit of their repentance. So Joseph had to test them just once more.

Part III: A Silver Cup in a Sack (44:1-34)

When they returned home, Joseph asked his steward to put his silver cup into the Benjamin’s sack. When they had not gone far from the city, Joseph sent his steward and charged them with theft, and his cup was found in Benjamin’s sack as Joseph planned. They could not make any excuse because of the evidence. They became terrible criminals because they repaid evil for good or so it seemed.

If they were the same people of the past, they could have dumped the sin upon Benjamin and looked for a way to save themselves. They could have thought that they should not suffer because of Benjamin’s sin. They could have given Benjamin away as a slave like they did to Joseph in the past. They could have thought that their father was already old and could not live long so that they could inherit more portions from their father if Benjamin’s portion was gone. So they could have silently agreed with Joseph’s steward and just left Benjamin there and went back home. But what was their response? They all tore their clothes and returned to Joseph. They all said that they would be Joseph’s slaves (44:16). 

Joseph told them that they should all return home in peace except Benjamin. Then Judah approached Joseph and pleaded with him. 44:18-34 is Judah’s plea. It is called ‘the most moving speech in the Old Testament.’ Judah was speaking not only for the life of Benjamin but also for the life of his father. Although he was innocent, he wanted to be a slave in the place of Benjamin for the sake of his father’s life. His decision shows the principle of Christ’s redemption to save others through his sacrifice. In this way, Judah became a shadow of Christ. Jesus Christ gave us true freedom and life by sacrificing himself completely for our sins.

From what Judah had said, we can find the evidence of his repentance in two ways. What are they? First, he became a responsible man. He promised his father that he would guarantee the safety of Benjamin. According to his promise, he volunteered to become a slave for Benjamin. In the past, he was not faithful to his word, not even to his daughter-in law, Tamar. He broke it for the sake of his interest (38:11, 26). Now he became a faithful man who wanted to keep his promise even at the cost of his own life. Second, Judah became a man of love. In the past, he was jealous of Joseph and he was the ring leader to sell Joseph as a slave. 

Judah was not interested in how much Joseph was distressed and how much he would suffer and how much his father would go through pain. But now he was thinking about his father and he thought that his father would lose his life if Benjamin did not return home. Judah became a man of love who valued the life of his father and his brother more than his own life. He became a man of sacrificial love. God accepted Judah who repented, and used him as the main figure to inherit his redemptive work. Joseph’s brothers went through several tests. However, these tests were absolutely necessary for their spiritual growth. 

Part IV: Joseph’s Cry (45:1-3)

Look at 45:1. “Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, "Have everyone leave my presence!" So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.” When Joseph saw his brothers’ repentance, he did not need to hide himself anymore. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it (2). He gave them so much trouble so far. But it was not to revenge against them. Joseph loved them truly. That was the reason why he went away and wept when he saw that his brothers were suffering from their guilty conscience. 

In the past, Joseph’s brothers were useless before God because they were sinful and self-centered and emotional and irresponsible. They must be changed into spiritual men through repentance in order to be used by God. Joseph trained his brothers in many ways so that they could realize their sin and become useful men of God. How could Joseph have trained them spiritually? It was because he received God’s discipline before God. The one who receives God’s training well can train others well. Joseph also knew the heart of God toward his brothers. Joseph knew the reason why he could train his brothers with God’s heart. 

Here we can learn what true love is. True love is not love that buys delicious food or gifts. True love is to discipline men to become useful men before God. God wants to use men preciously. However, each person has some sinful character which prevents God from using him. Some people are lazy, and others are selfish. Still others are emotional, and still others fall into lust problem too easily. These kinds of weaknesses do not go away even though they go to church for a long time. In order to remove those sins, one should recognize his sin as sin before God through training, and he should repent truly. True love is to help others to repent their sins before God and help them to become useful men of God. 

However, such training is not easy at all. True love requires deep concern for others and a shepherd’s heart for them. There is much pain and suffering in discipline. Those who receive discipline have pain to be broken. But the trainer also goes through suffering and even more pain. However if we love someone truly, we should not leave him alone in his sin. We should train people whom God put under us despite any misunderstanding and pain so that they could fight against their sinful habit and become useful men of God. Many times we feel sorry when our shepherds rebuke our sins and train us. But true love is the love that helps us to repent our sins. 1 Corinthians 13:6, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

How many years did God train the Israelites in the desert? For 40 years! Their concern was how to enter the Promised Land quickly and eat overflowing milk and honey and live comfortably. But God’s concern was for them to become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation and serve God’s redemptive work. In order to fulfill God’s purpose for them, training was necessary. So God trained them with daily bread, keeping Sabbath and other basic training topics for 40 years. Through the discipline, God raised them up as independent and adventurous and holy children of God, overcoming their slave mentality and dependent spirit. Only God’s holy love can change sinful men and help them to have new life in God. Joseph could train his brothers because God’s holy love was engraved in his heart through God’s discipline.

Conclusion* Today’s passages showed us how the Lord trained Joseph’s brothers. Through Joseph who helped his brothers to repent of their sins, we could learn what the true love is. I want to say that Joseph’s love for his brothers is redemptive because God used Joseph’s love to raise 12 sons of Jacob to be 12 tribes of Israel. While I was preparing this message, I thought about Jesus who forgave all sinners and even those who were crucifying himself on the cross by saying, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34). Because of Jesus’ unconditional and sacrificial redemptive love for this, I am here and you are here and we forgive each other and love each other and have a living hope in the Kingdom of God. May God always remember M. Rebekah Park’s family who has lived like prisoners in the hot desert of Saudi and who has persecuted and misunderstood and suffered in the loneliness! You may use them like a Joseph in your redemptive history for saving Muslim souls.