JOSEPH’S ABILITY TO FORGIVE CAN INSPIRE US ALL

Genesis 45:4-8; 50:15-21

Rev. Paul Wrightman  ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​​​ 8/6/23

WE PICK UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF.

IN OUR FIRST SERMON ON JOSEPH, WE SAW HOW HE HIMSELF

WAS A SPOILED BRAT AND HOW HE NEEDED TO GROW UP.

HE GREW UP IN MULTIPLE WAYS ONCE HIS JEALOUS BROTHERS

SOLD HIM OFF TO SLAVERY IN EGYPT​​ 

AND HE WAS UNJUSTLY IMPRISONED.

IN PRISON HE BECAME KNOWN AS A BRILLIANT INTERPRETER​​ 

OF DREAMS – SOMETHING THE EGYPTIANS GREATLY VALUED.

EVENTUALLY HE SUCCESSFULLY INTERPRETS​​ 

ONE OF PHAROAH’S DREAMS ABOUT SEVEN YEARS OF PLENTY

FOLLOWED BY SEVEN YEARS OF FAMINE.

PHAROAH IS SO IMPRESSED THAT HE MAKES JOSEPH

SECOND IN COMMAND OF ALL EGYPT.

JOSEPH WISELY STORES UP PLENTY OF GRAIN​​ 

DURING THE SEVEN YEARS OF PLENTY.

THEN THE FAMINE STRIKES, AND IT AFFECTS NOT JUST EGYPT,

BUT ALL NEARBY TERRITORIES, INCLUDING THE LAND OF CANAAN

WHERE HIS FAMILY STILL LIVED, INCLUDING HIS VIOLENT BROTHERS.

ON THE ONE HAND, EXPERIENCING A MAJOR FAMINE

MUST HAVE BEEN TERRIFYING.

AS IF THEIR PHYSICAL SUFFERING WEREN’T ENOUGH,

THEY WERE UNDOUBTEDLY INFLICTING UPON THEMSELVES

THEIR PRIMITIVE NOTION THAT THIS MUST BE A CURSE

DIRECTLY INFLICTED UPON THEM BY GOD.

ON THE OTHER HAND, IT IS PRECISELY THIS FAMINE

WHICH PRECIPITATES A CHAIN OF EVENTS

WHICH EMPOWERS​​ THEM TO DEVELOP​​ ​​ 

SOME MORAL AND SPIRITUAL DEPTH.

THUS, WHAT THEY PERCEIVED AS THEIR GREATEST CURSE BECOMES –

THROUGH GOD’S GUIDING HAND – THEIR GREATEST BLESSING.

SURELY EACH OF US HAS ALREADY EXPERIENCED

A SIMILAR PATTERN IN OUR OWN LIFE:

SOMETHING WHICH WAS ABHORRENT TO US AT THE TIME

TURNS OUT EITHER BEING A BLESSING IN ITSELF,

OR SETS OFF A SERIES OF EVENTS WHICH LEAD TO BLESSING.

IF THIS HAS ALREADY HAPPENED TO US IN THE PAST,

THERE IS GOOD REASON TO BELIEVE

THAT IT WILL OCCUR AGAIN IN THE FUTURE.

SO STRONG IS THE SCRIPTURAL CONNECTION​​ 

BETWEEN SUFFERING AND BLESSING

THAT IT WOULD NOT BE GOING TOO FAR TO SAY

THAT, FROM A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE,

OUR PRESENT SUFFERING UNDOUBTEDLY CONTAINS

THE SEEDS OF FUTURE BLESSING.

THE ONLY CONDITION FOR RECEIVING THIS BLESSING

IS THAT WE SEE OUR OWN PARTICULAR “TESTING”

THROUGH TO THE END.

IN OTHER WORDS, THE ONLY CONDITION​​ 

IS OUR OWN FAITHFULNESS, NOT GOD’S.

IT IS A GIVEN FACT THAT GOD​​ WANTS TO STRENGTHEN US

THROUGH OUR SUFFERING.

ABRAHAM, JACOB, JOSEPH – THESE PERSONS​​ 

WERE POWERFULLY BLESSED BECAUSE EACH OF THEM

WENT THROUGH WHAT THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH

TO ATTAIN MORAL AND SPIRITUAL DEPTH.

WHAT PAST AND PRESENT TESTS IS GOD PERMITTING

TO TAKE PLACE IN YOUR LIFE SO THAT GOD MIGHT GET YOU

TO MOVE IN THE DIRECTION OF DEEPER FAITH?

AS ANYONE WHO HAS BATTLED THROUGH AN ADDICTION

OR HUNG IN THERE WITH GOD​​ 

THROUGHOUT A SERIOUS ILLNESS KNOWS,

HELPING US TO GROW SPIRITUALLY IN IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS

IS SOMETHING THAT GOD DELIGHTS IN.

RETURNING TO THE STORY OF JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS,

WE MIGHT SAY THAT GOD WAS FACED WITH A REAL PROBLEM

WITH THESE LOW-MINDED, LOW-MORALED BROTHERS OF JOSEPH.

HOW WAS GOD TO MOVE THEM FROM POINT A​​ 

(MORALLY BANKRUPT) TO POINT B​​ (PERSONS SUITED

TO HELP GUIDE A PEOPLE WHO WERE TO FURTHER GOD’S PLAN

OF ABRAHAM’S DESCENDANTS BECOMING A BLESSING​​ 

FOR ALL PEOPLE?

SO JOSEPH COMES UP WITH A COMPLICATED PLAN​​ 

FOR THE MORAL REHABILITATION OF HIS BROTHERS,

A PLAN THE DETAILS OF WHICH WE WILL SEE

AS THIS SERMON UNFOLDS.

THE QUESTION IS OFTEN RAISED AS TO HOW JOSEPH​​ 

CAN POSSIBLY BE SO “JUST” AND “WISE” WHEN HE PURPOSEFULLY​​ 

PUTS HIS BROTHERS THROUGH SO MUCH PAIN?

ON THE SURFACE IT LOOKS LIKE HE’S ABLE TO WITHSTAND

THE TEMPTATION OF GETTING EVEN BY KILLING,

BUT THAT HE CERTAINLY INDULGES IN RETALIATION

THROUGH PUTTING HIS BROTHERS THROUGH

NOTHING LESS THAN HELL.

BUT IS THIS REALLY WHAT’S GOING ON?

JOSEPH CERTAINLY DOESN’T SEEM TO BE ENJOYING HIMSELF

VERY MUCH AS HIS PLAN UNFOLDS.

FOR SOMEONE WHO SUPPOSEDLY TAKES SUCH DELIGHT IN REVENGE,

HE’S CONSTANTLY WEEPING, AND SEEMS CONTINUALLY​​ 

ON THE VERGE OF “THROWING IN THE TOWEL”

AND PREMATURELY REVEALING HIS TRUE IDENTITY.

THE GAME PLAN, IN OTHER WORDS,​​ DOESN’T SEEM TO BE

REALLY HIS, BUT SOMEONE ELSE’S, A DIVINE SOMEONE​​ 

WHO IS DETERMINED TO MOVE THESE BROTHERS

FROM POINT A TO POINT B​​ FOR THEIR OWN GOOD

AND THE GOOD OF ALL THE WORLD.

IN THIS CONTEXT JOSEPH’S COMMITMENT TO GOD’S PLAN

FOR HIS BROTHER’S MORAL REFORMATION IS ACTUALLY

THE SUPREME TEST FOR HIMSELF, AS WELL AS FOR HIS BROTHERS.

TO PERSONALLY INFLICT THIS KIND OF SUFFERING​​ 

ON PEOPLE HE LOVES IS THE HARDEST THING HE’S EVER HAD TO DO,

MUCH HARDER EVEN THAN BEING SOLD INTO SLAVERY,

BEING FALSELY ACCUSED, OR BEING UNJUSTLY IMPRISONED.

HAVING EXONERATED JOSEPH, THE APPARENT CAUSE BEHIND

ALL THIS PAIN APPEARS TO BE NONE OTHER THAN GOD.

WHAT KIND OF A GOD IS IT, WE MAY ASK,

WHO CAN COME UP WITH SUCH A DEVILISH SERIES OF TESTS

AND THEN USE JOSEPH (WHO, AFTER ALL, HAS BEEN THROUGH

ENOUGH SUFFERING OF HIS OWN) TO INFLICT​​ 

THIS PAINFUL “MEDICINE” ON HIS OWN BROTHERS?

--A GOD, WE MAY ANSWER, WHO LOVES SO STRONGLY

THAT ANYTHING LESS THAN REAL CONVERSION​​ 

AND REAL RECONCILIATION IS SIMPLY NOT AN OPTION. ​​ (REPEAT)

PRIOR TO WORLD WAR II THE GERMAN LUTHERAN​​ 

PASTOR-THEOLOGIAN DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

COINED THE PHRASE “CHEAP GRACE.”

BY THIS HE MEANT THE SUPERFICIAL, EASY, UNREAL “SOLUTIONS”

WHICH SO MANY CHRISTIANS OF HIS DAY – AND OURS –

PROPOSED FOR SO MANY OF LIFE’S DEEPEST PROBLEMS.

GOD’S WAY, BONHOEFFER INSISTED, WAS NOT THE WAY​​ 

OF “CHEAP GRACE,” BUT OF “COSTLY GRACE,”​​ 

GRACE WHICH, WHEN NECESSARY, EMBRACED PAIN, SUFFERING,

AND SACRIFICE .

IN OTHER WORDS, “COSTLY GRACE,” GOD’S WAY,

IS SOMETHIMES THE WAY OF THE CROSS.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASIER AND LESS PAINFUL

IF GOD HAD ALLOWED A RECONCILIATION​​ 

BETWEEN JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS TO TAKE PLACE IMMEDIATELY.

BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A “CHEAP” FORM OF FORGIVENESS,

A RECONCILIATION WITHOUT ANY REAL DEPTH OR MEANING.

GOD WANTED AND DEMANDED MORE.

GOD KNEW THAT IT WOULD TAKE A PROLONGED AND PAINFUL​​ 

SERIES OF TESTS TO BRING THESE BROTHERS OF JOSEPH,

THESE HARDENDED CRIMINALS, AROUND.

BUT GOD ALSO KNEW THAT IT WAS ONLY BY MEANS OF THESE TRIALS

THAT THEY COULD ACHIEVE A REAL CHANGE OF HEART,

COULD EXPERIENCE A CONVERSION THROUGH WHICH

A RECONCILIATION WORTHY OF THE NAME WOULD BE POSSIBLE.

SO GOD CHOSE THE WAY OF “COSTLY GRACE,”​​ 

AND DEMANDED IT OF JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS,

JUST AS GOD DEMANDS IT OF US.

JACOB, TYPICALLY THE MASTER OF MOST SITUATIONS,

MEETS THE FAMINE HEAD-ON AS SOON AS HE HEARS

THAT THERE IS FOOD IN EGYPT.

HIS INITIATIVE IN SENDING ALL HIS SONS EXCEPT BENJAMIN​​ 

TO EGYPT TO PROCURE FOOD SETS IN MOTION A SERIES OF EVENTS

WHICH WILL NOT ONLY SAVE HIS FAMILY,

BUT ALSO REUNITE HIM WITH HIS BELOVED SON JOSEPH (42:1-5).

JOSEPH’S INSTANT RECOGNITION OF HIS BROTHERS

BETRAYS THE FACT THAT HE HAS BEEN ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THEM.

WHY DIDN’T HIS BROTHERS IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZE HIM?

REMEMBER THAT JOSEPH IS NOW, TO ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES,

AN EGYPTIAN. ​​​​ HE SHAVES HIS HEAD LIKE AN EGYPTIAN,​​ 

HE DRESSES LIKE AN UPPER-CRUST EGYPTIAN, AND AT THIS POINT

SPEAKS ONLY EGYPTIAN TO HIS BROTHERS,​​ 

NECESSITATING THE USE OF AN INTERPRETER.

THE FIRST STEP IN THE RAISING OF HIS BROTHERS’

MORAL CONSCIOUSNESS IS TO REVIVE THE MEMORY

OF WHAT THEY HAD DONE TO HIM SOME FIFTEEN YEARS BEFORE.

ACCORDINGLY, JOSEPH ACCUSES THEM OF SPYING,

THE SAME “CRIME” OF WHICH THEY HAD ACCUSED HIM EARLIER.

THE BROTHERS PLEAD THEIR CASE, BUT TO NO AVAIL,​​ 

JUST AS JOSEPH HAD EARLIER PLEADED HIS CASE TO THEM.

THE “WE ARE HONEST MEN” OF 42:11b IS AN IRONY OF WHICH

ONLY JOSEPH AND THE READER ARE AWARE AT THIS POINT.

GIVEN THEIR GROSS MISTREATMENT OF JOSEPH,

THEY ARE ANYTHING BUT HONEST MEN.

EVEN MORE IRONIC TO JOSEPH MUST HAVE BEEN

THEIR CASUAL REMARK CONCERNING HIS DISAPPEARANCE:

“THE OTHER ONE IS GONE” (42:13b).

IT IS NOT BY ACCIDENT THAT THE BIBLICAL AUTHOR

HAS INCLUDED THESE LITTLE, BUT SIGNIFICANT,​​ 

DETAILS IN THE NARRATIVE.

IT IS THE AUTHOR’S WAY OF CLUEING THE READER INTO THE FACT

THAT JOSEPH’S BROTHER ARE STILL MORALLY BANKRUPT,

AND RICHLY DESERVE THE TREATMENT THEY ARE ABOUT TO RECEIVE,

BEING UNJUSTLY CAST INTO PRISON, WHICH CORRESPONDS

TO JOSEPH’S EARLIER BEING THROWN INTO THE PIT.

ALSO NOT ACCIDENTAL IS JOSEPH’S TWOFOLD MENTION

OF THE WORD “TEST.”

IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT HE IS DOING IS NOT SOME​​ 

ARBITRARY WHIM OR ACT OF REVENGE,

BUT A CAREFULLY THOUGHT OUT PROGRAM

FOR THEIR MORAL REFORM.

IT IS CLEAR BY NOW THAT JOSEPH’S INITIAL ENCOUNTER

WITH HIS BROTHERS IN EGYPT IS AN ALMOST POINT BY POINT

REPLAY, WITH ROLES REVERSED, OF WHAT THEY HAD DONE TO HIM

FIFTEEN YEARS BEFORE.

JUST AS JOSEPH’S “SENTENCE” HAD BEEN MITIGATED

FROM DEATH TO SLAVERY, JOSEPH LIGHTENS HIS JUDGMENTS,

REQUIRING THAT ONLY ONE OF HIS BROTHERS REMAIN AS HOSTAGE.

GOD’S HARSH TACTICS AS EXERCISED THROUGH JOSEPH​​ 

ARE BEGINNING TO PAY OFF. ​​ 

FOR THE FIRST TIME, IN 42:31, WE HAVE AN HONEST ADMISSION

OF GUILT AND SORROW:

“ALAS, WE ARE BIENG PUNISHED BECAUSE OF OUR BROTHER.

WE SAW THE ANGUISH OF HIS HEART WHEN HE PLEADED WITH US,

YET WE PAID NO HEED; THAT IS WHY THIS ANGUISH

HAS NOW COME UPON US.”

JARRINGLY, THIS IS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY REUBEN’S

SELF-RIGHTEOUS “DIDN’T I TELL YOU NOT TO DO WRONG

TO THE BOY? ​​ BUT YOU WOULDN’T LISTEN! ​​ (42:22),

A STATEMENT WHICH, HOWEVER, GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES,

PROVIDES JOSEPH WITH A TELLING BIT OF INFORMATION.

AT THIS POINT JOSEPH JUST ABOUT CRACKS UNDER THE STRAIN

OF THIS NECESSARY CHARADE, AND HAS TO TURN ASIDE AND WEEP (42:24a).

HOW HE MUST HAVE WANTED TO REVEAL HIMSELF

AND SPARE HIS BROTHERS AND HIMSELF

THE AGONY OF THE TESTS TO COME.

BUT HE KNEW THAT HIS BROTHERS’ REPENTANCE –

GIVEN THE SHORTNESS OF TIME AND THE MILDNESS OF THEIR TRIALS

TO THIS POINT – WAS ONLY SKIN-DEEP.

SO HE STEELED HIMSELF AND WENT ON.

HIS NEXT MOVE (42:24b) IS A SURPRISING ONE

GIVEN THE CUSTOMS OF THE TIME, BUT SHREWD​​ 

CONSIDERING WHAT HE HAS JUST LEARNED.

REUBEN, AS FIRST-BORN, WOULD HAVE BEEN THE LOGICAL CHOICE

TO STAND AS HOSTAGE. ​​ INSTEAD, JOSEPH HAS SIMEON BOUND.

AGAIN, HIS ACTION IS INTENDED TO MAKE THEM REMEMBER

AND TO CHALLENGE THEM TO THINK – IN THIS CASE​​ 

TO COME UP WITH THE CONNECTION BETWEEN​​ 

REUBEN’S UNEXPECTED REPRIEVE

AND HIS EARLIER COMPASSION FOR JOSEPH.

BEARING IN MIND THAT THE BROTHERS BY NOW​​ 

MUST HAVE BEEN FRANTIC WITH ANGER AND FEAR

(THE SAME WRENCHING COMBINATION OF EMOTIONS

THAT JOSEPH HIMSELF MUST HAVE FELT IN THE PIT,

AND ON HIS WAY TO SLAVERY),​​ 

JOSEPH DECIDES TO UP THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ANTE​​ 

BY SECRETLY PLACING THE MONEY THEY HAVE PAID​​ 

FOR FOOD IN EGYPT BACK IN THEIR PACKS.

THIS ACT IS DESIGNED TO KEEP THEM GUESSING

IN A STATE OF PAINFUL PERPLEXITY.

JUST AS JOSEPH HAD HAD TO LEARN TO OVERCOME​​ 

HIS OWN ANGER AND FEAR, AND HAD BEEN FORCED TO GROW

PRECISELY BY WORKING THROUGH HIS OWN PERSONAL HELL,

NOW HIS BROTHERS ARE BEING FORCED TO WORK THROUGH THEIRS.

GOD’S “MEDICINE” SEEMS VERY HARSH,

BUT IT IS THE ONLY MEDICINE THAT CAN CURE.

JOSEPH HAS TOLD THE BROTHERS THAT SIMEON​​ 

WILL BE RELEASED ONLY UPON THEIR RETURNING TO EGYPT

WITH THEIR YOUNGEST BROTHER, BENJAMIN.

AT FIRST JACOB REFUSES TO LET BENJAMIN GO,

FEARING THAT HE WILL LOSE ANOTHER SON.

BUT THE FAMINE DRAGS ON,​​ 

AND THE ONLY PLACE WHERE GRAIN CAN BE HAD IS EGYPT,

SO JACOB IS EVENTUALLY FORCED TO RELENT,

AND THE BROTHERS RETURN TO JOSEPH WITH BENJAMIN.

JUDAH PROMISES JACOB THAT, IF NECESSARY, HE WILL

STAND AS SECURITY FOR BENJAMIN, TAKING HIS PLACE IN PRISON.

THIS IS A HUGE MORAL STEP FOR JUDAH TO TAKE,

AND HE NOW BECOMES SPOKESPERSON​​ 

FOR THE COLLECTIVE MORAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE BROTHERS.

IMMEDIATELY UPON THEIR RETURN TO EGYPT,

THE BROTHERS ARE TREATED TO MORE OF​​ 

JOSEPH’S CHALLENGING TESTS.

THEY ARE STILL QUITE UNNERVED ABOUT THE RETURN​​ 

OF THEIR MONEY, AND THE FIRST THING THEY DO

IS TO TRY TO SETTLE THE ISSUE WITH JOSEPH’S STEWARD.

UPON SEEING HIS BELOVED BROTHER BENJAMIN,

JOSEPH ONCE AGAIN NEARLY FAILS HIS OWN TEST

OF BEING ABLE TO TEST HIS BROTHERS.

IT IS OBVIOUS FROM HIS EMOTIONAL RESPONSE

OF HAVING TO LEAVE THE ROOM TO GO OFF​​ 

AND WEEP BY HIMSELF THAT HE WOULD GIVE ANYTHING

TO BREAK THE PRETENDING AND EMBRACE HIS FAMILY.

BUT HE IS UNDER HIGHER ORDERS AND FORCES HIMSELF TO GO ON.

SO HE​​ PLAYS THE EGYPTIAN BY FOLLOWING THEIR CUSTOM

OF NOT EATING WITH FOREIGNERS,​​ 

AND GOES ON WITH THE BANQUET.

THE MEAL ITSELF IS A TEST.

SEATING HIS BROTHERS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER (43:33)

IS CALCULATED TO ADD TO THEIR CONFUSION.

AND BENJAMIN’S RECEIVING SUBSTANTALLY MORE FOOD

THAN THE OTHERS IS A BLATANT EXPRESSION OF FAVORITISM

DESIGNED TO AROUSE THEIR JEALOUSY.

THE TEST IS CLEAR – ARE THEY GOING TO REJECT BENJAMIN

IN THE SAME WAY THAT THEY REJECTED HIM,

OR HAVE THEY MATURED TO THE POINT OF BEING ABLE

TO TAKE LIFE’S BUILT-IN INJUSTICES IN STRIDE?

THIS LITTLE TEST AT THE BANQUET TABLE SETS THE STAGE

FOR JOSEPH’S FINAL TEST OF HIS BROTHERS,

WHICH AGAIN REVOLVES AROUND THEIR TREATMENT OF BENJAMIN.

AS THEY ARE GETTING READY TO RETURN TO THE LAND OF CANAAN

WITH THEIR NEWLY BOUGHT GRAIN, THE RETURN OF THEIR MONEY

IS REPEATED, THIS TIME WITH THE HORRIBLE ADDITION

OF JOSEPH’S SILVER CHALICE TO BENJAMIN’S SACK (44:1-2).

A SHORT WAYS OUT OF THE CITY, THE BROTHERS ARE DETAINED

AND SEARCHED, THIS TIME WITH THE ACCUSATION

THAT ONE OF THEM HAS STOLEN JOSEPH’S SILVER CHALICE.

THEY ARE OFFERED AN EASY WAY OUT, NAMELY,​​ 

HANDING OVER BENJAMIN​​ FOR SLAVERY​​ (44:10).

THIS IS THE ULTIMATE TEST OF THE BROTHERS’ CHANGE OF HEART –

WILL THEY FORSAKE THEIR BROTHER TO SAVE THEMSELVES?

GOD’S STRONG MEDICINE PRODUCES THE HOPED-FOR RESULTS

AS SOON AS THE BROTHERS REENCOUNTER JOSPEH.

THE STRATEGIC TIMING, THE FALSE ACCUSATIONS,​​ 

THE UNCANNY HINTS, ROUND AFTER ROUND​​ 

OF BEWILDRING HAPPENINGS HAVE DONE THEIR WORK

OF TRANSFORMATION AND GIVEN BIRTH TO A SITUATION​​ 

IN WHICH REAL RECONCILIATION IS POSSIBLE.

JUDAH, SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF ALL HIS BROTHERS,

CONFESSES THEIR COLLECTIVE GUILT (44:16).

NOT ONLY THIS, BUT JUDAH EXPRESSES THE BROTHERS’ DECISION

TO STICK WITH BENJAMIN, EVEN IF IT INVOLVES THEIR OWN SLAVERY.

JOSEPH REFUSES THEIR OFFER, INSISTING THAT HE WANTS​​ 

ONLY BENJAMIN. ​​ 

THIS REFUSAL IS, OF COURSE, THE FINAL TEST OF THEIR SINCERITY,

AND TRIGGERS JUDAH’S IMPASSIONED PLEA ON BEHALF OF THEIR​​ 

AGED FATHER JACOB. ​​ IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT JUDAH’S SPEECH

CULMINATES IN HIS OFFERING HIMSELF TO TAKE THE PLACE

OF BENJAMIN (44:32-34).

HERE WE HAVE TANGIBLE EVIDENCE​​ 

OF THE TREMENDOUS MORAL GROWTH​​ 

WHIOCH HAS TAKEN PLACE IN JUDAH,

AND PRESUMABLY ALL THE BROTHERS,

AS A RESULT OF GOD’S DEMAND FOR “COSTLY GRACE.”

WHAT GOD HAD AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS ADVENTURE

WAS A BUNCH OF MORAL AND SPIRITUAL DROPOUTS,​​ 

PERSONS TOTALLY UNFIT TO HELP WITH GOD’S MASTER PLAN

OF BLESSING THE WORLD THROUGH THE DESCENDANTS

OF ABRAHAM.

WHAT GOD HAS NOW IS A POWERFUL GROUP OF LEADERS

WHO HAVE THE MORAL AND SPIRITUAL STRENGTH NECESSARY

TO CARRY OUT THEIR CALLING.

ONCE AGAIN JOSEPH BREAKS DOWN AND WEEPS,

BUT THIS TIME HE CAN DO IT IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS BROTHERS

BECAUSE HIS WEEPING CELEBRATES HIS OWN RELEASE​​ 

FROM THE TORTURE OF HAVING TO ADMINISTER

THESE TESTS TO HIS BROTHERS, AND HIS JOY AT THE​​ 

REAL RECONCILIATION WHICH COULD NOW TAKE PLACE.

HIS BROTHERS, OF COURCE, ARE SPEECHLESS.

THEY ARE IMMOBILIZED BY THE POWERFUL COMBINATION

OF FEAR, JOY, AND DISBELIEF.

JOSEPH QUICKLY REASSURES THEM, AND HIS REASSURANCE (45:5-8)

IS NOT ONLY A MAGNIFICENT EXPRESSION OF FORGIVENESS,​​ BUT A PROFOUND EXPOSITION OF THE MEANING OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE:

“AND NOW DO NOT BE DISTRESSED, OR ANGRY WITH YOURSELVES,

BECAUSE YOU SOLD ME HERE; FOR GOD HAS SENT ME BEFORE YOU

TO PRESERVE LIFE. ​​ FOR THE FAMINE HAS BEEN IN THE LAND

THESE TWO YEARS; AND THERE ARE FIVE MORE YEARS IN WHICH

THERE WILL BE NEITHER PLOUGHING NOR HARVEST. ​​ GOD SENT ME

BEFORE YOU. . . ​​ SO IT WAS NOT YOU WHO SENT ME HERE,​​ 

BUT GOD. . .”

JOSEPH, AND THE REST OF THE BIBLE, FOR THAT MATTER,

UNDERSTANDS GOD’S PROVIDENCE WHOLLY IN THE POSITIVE SENSE​​ 

OF GOD’S WILL TO SAVE. ​​ WHILE MODERN THEOLOGIANS​​ 

WOULD WANT TO REFINE THE OVERSTATEMENT OF GOD’S​​ 

BEING THE DIRECT CAUSE OF JOSEPH’S ENSLAVEMENT,

THEY WOULD CERTAINLY NOT DISAGREE WITH THE SUBSTANCE

OF THIS TEACHING, WHICH IS THAT GOD IS PRESENT IN ALL EVENTS

(EVEN TERRIBLE ONES), SEEKING TO BRING A BLESSING​​ 

OUT OF A CURSE, WHOLENESS OUT OF BROKENNESS.

THE BROTHERS RETURN TO CANAAN,

WHERE THEY SHARE WITH JACOB THE GOOD NEWS​​ 

THAT JOSEPH IS ALIVE.

JOSEPH’S ENTIRE FAMILY THEN MOVES TO EGYPT.

THERE IS AN INTERESTING FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY,

AND IT OCCURS IN OUR SECOND SCRIPTURE READING FOR TODAY.

JACOB EVENTUALLY DIES, AND WITH HIS DEATH JOSEPH’S BROTHERS

DOUBT THE REALITY OF THEIR RECONCILIATION WITH HIM​​ 

AND EXPECT TO RECEIVE REVENGE.

THEIR DOUBT WAS ROOTED IN THE FACT THAT THEY HAD FAILED

TO RECOGNIZE JOSEPH’S FORGIVENESS AS THE UNCONDITIONAL

FORGIVENESS WHICH IT WAS.

THEY WERE AFRAID THAT SINCE CONDITIONS HAD CHANGED –

THAT IS, SINCE JACOB HAD DIED – JOSEPH WOULD SURELY DO​​ 

THE “HUMAN” THING AND GET EVEN.

THEY DID NOT REALIZE THAT JOSEPH – THROUGH THE POWER​​ 

OF HIS CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – WAS ACTUALLY “MORE”

THAN HUMAN, AND WOULD NOT REVERT TO THE VIOLENT PATTERNS

OF A BROKEN HUMANITY.

HERE JOSEPH WITH HIS ABILITY TO FORGIVE UNCONDITIONALLY

IS A DIRECT FORERUNNER OF JESUS, AND HIS OFFER​​ 

OF UNCONDITIONAL FORGIVENESS.

AMEN.