Return and Redemption

If you have a Bible, go ahead and grab it and turn it to the book of Genesis. To the book of Genesis. If you don't have a Bible, you can use the Pew Bible that's in front of you. Genesis is the very first book in the Bible, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding it.

You turn to Genesis. The big number is the chapter number. We're going to be looking at chapter 42 to 45. So big numbers are chapter numbers.

The little numbers are the verse numbers. We are overviewing three and a half chapters of Scripture this morning, as the cadence in the book of Genesis starts to pick up as you get towards the end of the book. You start looking at what I would call full strides in the story.

Joseph’s Story and the Brothers’ Guilt

And as we overview really the climax of the story of Joseph, in order to understand this dialogue that happens between his brothers and him in the restoration, you kind of have to look at the whole thing as one piece. So in order to do that, we're going to look at three and a half chapters of scripture, which means this isn't going to be a run, but think of it kind of like a power walk. The hips are rotating as we try to walk through this passage. So let me go ahead and read for us chapter 42, verse 20 to 22 and then we pray. Genesis chapter 42 verse 20. This is Joseph speaking to his brothers.

He says,

Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won’t die.” And they consented to this. Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.” But Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to harm the boy? But you wouldn’t listen. Now we must account for his blood!”

— Genesis 42:20-22 (CSB)

Let's pray. We do pray, "Lord, that as we look towards this story of true redemption and forgiveness, that you would help us to be able to trust in your blood alone to cover our guilty conscience." We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. What do you do with your guilt? If you live the Christian life long enough, you will sin. That is a guarantee as a part of having a sinful nature.

And when you sin, which you will do today and this week and for the rest of your life, I wonder what you do, what you think will help you. Maybe you come up with different strategies to be able to adjust your behavior. I think that's good and godly to do in the process of sanctification.

Maybe you try to distract yourself by focusing on other things. Maybe you try to do enough good stuff so that in the great divine balance, God will kind of see the good stuff and the bad stuff that you do and hope that he will balance the scales a little bit. What we see in the story that we're reading this morning as Joseph's brothers interact with the brother that they tried to kill and then decide to sell into slavery is attempt after attempt to try to clean their guilty conscience and to be able to stand right before an authority that determines whether or not they live or die. And what Genesis 42 to 45 shows us is that true redemption doesn't come from faking it or by trying to save face, but it comes from forgiveness.

And that obtaining forgiveness is a matter of life or death. So what do you do with a guilty conscience this morning? Our passage tells us that you are to go to the Lord who exposes you to forgive you. First, we'll walk through the story.

There are no points because this is a super long story. So I'm just going to walk through the entire story, and then at the end we'll spend some time reflecting on what this story means for us as Christians. Let's start with chapter 42 verses 1 to 4.

Read with me. It says,

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at each other? Listen,” he went on, “I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we will live and not die.” So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, “Something might happen to him.”

— Genesis 42:1-4 (CSB)

We've been following the story of Joseph. Joseph was the favorite child of his father, Jacob. He receives a rainbow coat. His brothers are filled with jealousy, the favoritism that their youngest brother receives.

Betrayal and Rise of Joseph

And so they resolve to kill him. Eventually, they decide instead to sell him into slavery in exchange for 20 pieces of silver. They lie to their father and tell him that Joseph has died. And then Joseph goes into Potiphar's house, lives as a slave there, and then resists the seduction of Potiphar's wife, ends up in prison.

And then, in interpreting the Pharaoh's dreams, he ends up second in command over all of the land. And his interpretation of the dream happens exactly the way that Joseph said that it would. They have seven years of plenty where they're able to store up harvest and then seven years of famine. And now that famine has hit, the camera cuts to Jacob and Joseph's brothers in Canaan starving. So Jacob sends his sons to Egypt in order to obtain grain. And when you read stories like this, I just want you to observe the language that Moses is using in writing this story.

Jacob says that the purpose of this trip is so that they will live and not die. So that they will live and not die. And I don't know if you know this, but if you don't eat food, you will die. You'll die.

But it's more than just a literal statement of the obvious. We know that the themes of life and death are more than just about survival. If you've read the book of Genesis, if you've been following with this series as we've been going through this book, we understand that the themes of life and death are spiritual, that experiencing famine and suffering in this world isn't arbitrary. It's a result of the fall. Because of sin, God told Adam and Eve, "If you eat this fruit, you will surely die." And because of the fruit that they ate, because they rebelled against the God of life, death enters into the world, and you see the drumbeat of death repeat itself all throughout the book as person after person dies and dies and dies.

Now, as the seed of the woman is threatened with possible starvation, Jacob hears of good news, the potential for life. So he sends his sons out to Egypt in order to obtain it, except he doesn't send all of his sons. He keeps Benjamin, the youngest, just in case something happens to him.

Because the last time he sent his favorite son out with his brothers, things didn't go so well. Rather than letting history repeat itself, Jacob is trying to circumvent the possibility of losing his son by keeping Benjamin back. And so his brothers go— in verse 5, read with me.

The sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied. Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies. You have come to see the weakness of the land.” “No, my lord. Your servants have come to buy food,” they said. “We are all sons of one man. We are honest; your servants are not spies.” “No,” he said to them. “You have come to see the weakness of the land.” But they replied, “We, your servants, were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no longer living.” Then Joseph said to them, “I have spoken: ‘You are spies!’ This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

— Genesis 42:5-15 (CSB)

Brothers Arrive in Egypt

Brothers come to Egypt and bow before Joseph. Joseph recognizes them immediately. Not only does he recognize them immediately, the first sight he has of these brothers is them coming and bowing before him, and he remembers his dreams.

The dreams that ticked them off in the first place, that after decades of waiting for the Lord to fulfill his promises, his dreams were coming true before his very eyes. But Joseph is harsh with them and begins to interrogate them. I mean, you can imagine why you would be harsh with your brothers after all the things that they did to you, based on this story. But it's also strategic.

It puts these brothers on the back foot, where he can ask them questions and interrogate and get more information from them. And the brothers respond by trying to save face. Did you notice what they're trying to say? They identify themselves as servants and 12 brothers even though the youngest is at home and one is no longer living. That is what we call a euphemism. I recently watched an interview of Kathy Keller, Tim Keller's wife, where the interviewers were trying to be kind and asking about her deceased husband's life and mentioned that Tim had passed away, to which Kathy, always very logical, interrupted them and said, "No, no, he didn't pass away."

He died. Tim is dead. Euphemisms try to mask the harsh realities with pleasant, softer language. Except what these brothers are doing is they're not trying to be kind for the sake of being hospitable or gentle or considerate.

They are using euphemisms so that they can cover up their sin. Our brother is no longer with us. Well, I wonder how that happened. They don't state causes, even though to Joseph it's obviously their fault.

In fact, did you notice that they identify themselves as honest men? That is the irony of ironies, and so Joseph, in response to the way that they have presented themselves, devises a plan. You see his plan there in verse 14. Let me read that again.

Then Joseph said to them, “I have spoken: ‘You are spies!’ This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” So Joseph imprisoned them together for three days. On the third day Joseph said to them, “I fear God—do this and you will live. If you are honest, let one of you be confined to the guardhouse, while the rest of you go and take grain to relieve the hunger of your households. Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won’t die.” And they consented to this. Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.” But Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to harm the boy? But you wouldn’t listen. Now we must account for his blood!” They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them. He turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes. Joseph then gave orders to fill their containers with grain, return each man’s silver to his sack, and give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out. They loaded the grain on their donkeys and left there.

— Genesis 42:14-26 (CSB)

Joseph’s Test with the Silver

Joseph wants Benjamin to come, so in order to ensure the return, he imprisons them and insists that only one go to retrieve Benjamin and come back. And then after three days, he revises his plan. He tells them that only one of them has to be in chains, and the rest of them can go back to go get their youngest brother. And notice that the brother's consciences are pricked.

They are able to connect the dots between their past sin and the present. That the reason why they're being punished in the moment isn't because of the harshness of this Egyptian ruler or something that they did. harshness of this Egyptian ruler or something that they did wrong to him, but because of the wrong that they've committed against their brother Joseph. Reuben even highlights this by mentioning, I told you guys not to do this, and now they must account or reckon with his blood.

it's not just that these brothers had committed evil but that it stuck to them this entire time this is almost 20 years after the evil that they had committed and they are still carrying the weight I wonder if you feel that way this morning when you think about your regrets the sins that you've committed, if they weigh on you, if they stick with you, what do you do in response to that guilty conscience? Joseph recognizes their guilty conscience and he weeps but he keeps his distance He turns away and they bind Simeon and he sends them on the way But before they go Joseph puts the silver that they paid back in their sacks Because the test that he's giving his brothers is about more than just seeing his youngest brother.

It's about continuing to pry, to prod at their conscience. You can see that in verse 27. Verse 27.

At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver there at the top of his bag. He said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned! It’s here in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What has God done to us?” When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them: “The man who is the lord of the country spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country. But we told him, ‘We are honest and not spies. We were twelve brothers, sons of the same father. One is no longer living, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’ The man who is the lord of the country said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go. Bring back your youngest brother to me, and I will know that you are not spies but honest men. I will then give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the country.’” As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver! When they and their father saw their bags of silver, they were afraid. Their father Jacob said to them, “It’s me that you make childless. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything happens to me!” Then Reuben said to his father, “You can kill my two sons if I don’t bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him to you.” But Jacob answered, “My son will not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If anything happens to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.”

— Genesis 42:27-38 (CSB)

Brothers return home. They're terrified to see the silver that they used to pay. We're back in their sacks, and rather than viewing that as a reason for gratitude it becomes a reason for them to fear. Their hearts sink. They begin to tremble, to shake, because that's what sin does. It takes blessings and turns them into reasons to fear. They retell these stories to their father. They explain that they were afraid when they saw the silver.

Notice what language they used when they spoke with the lord of the country. They say they're honest men, and the lord of this country is now testing to see if they are truly honest, whether they will do what they said.

And with the test comes the most tangible proof that they are anything but honest. This silver is more than just currency. It is a mirror that every coin of silver in their sack is a reminder to them that they sold their brother Joseph into slavery for 20 pieces of silver. Tangible reminders that they sold out their brother for some money.

It's no wonder that Reuben's words and appeals to his dad have pretty much no effect, because their words don't really mean much. They have proven themselves to be dishonest, disloyal, and disobedient. It doesn't matter what you say when you're a sinner, because trust isn't something that's demanded.

It's something that's earned. It's something that's proven. Just because someone begs for forgiveness doesn't mean that they're necessarily worthy of it, especially if they've proven time and time again not to be trustworthy.

And these brothers have shown the dissonance between their words and their worst. As they continue to reckon with this tension in their hearts, it only gets worse for them. Let's start with chapter 43, verse 1.

Second Journey and Further Testing

Now the famine in the land was severe. When they had used up the grain they had brought back from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little food.” But Judah said to him, “The man specifically warned us, ‘You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.’ If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you. But if you will not send him, we will not go, for the man said to us, ‘You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.’” “Why have you caused me so much trouble?” Israel asked. “Why did you tell the man that you had another brother?” They answered, “The man kept asking about us and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?” Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me. We will be on our way so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our dependents. I will be responsible for him. You can hold me personally accountable! If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, I will be guilty before you forever. If we had not delayed, we could have come back twice by now.” Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balsam and a little honey, aromatic gum and resin, pistachios and almonds. Take twice as much silver with you. Return the silver that was returned to you in the top of your bags. Perhaps it was a mistake. Take your brother also, and go back at once to the man. May God Almighty cause the man to be merciful to you so that he will release your other brother and Benjamin to you. As for me, if I am deprived of my sons, then I am deprived.”

— Genesis 43:1-14 (CSB)

the brothers don't go back immediately to egypt they continue to live through the famine they try to live off of whatever limited resources they have they're essentially avoiding or punting the problem and you can try to avoid judgment all you want but it is as inevitable as hunger they run out of food and they have to reckon with the reality of the conditions that they've been given and yet the patterns of sin continue to stick to this broken family. Jacob doesn't seem concerned with the fact that Simeon is in prison.

He was willing to wait two years and let this guy go in chains but what he can't bear is the thought of losing his favorite son Benjamin and the only reassurance that convinces Jacob to be willing to send Benjamin to Egypt is the reassurance that doesn come from the firstborn Reuben but comes from Judah the one who initiated selling Joseph into slavery, the one who was caught taking advantage of his daughter-in-law. He's the one who steps forward to be personally accountable, that he would save his whole family by being willing to put himself forward as a substitute. And that is the thing that convinces Jacob. And so they bring the silver and some of the best products of the land.

Did you notice a list of things that they're bringing with them in addition to the silver? They're bringing balsam. They're bringing honey. They're bringing aromatic gum.

Does that remind you of anything? Those are all of the things that they smelled right before Judah suggested selling Joseph into slavery—those are the things that those Ishmaelite traders were carrying with them as they sold their brother for the sake of some silver. So now the brothers, not only carrying the silver—the reality of what they did—they are literally carrying their regrets on their backs as they travel back to Egypt. The weight of sin, their lives at stake, wandering through famine towards a Lord who may unleash his wrath on them. I wonder if you've ever felt that way, scared to go to God because of your sin.

And yet the Lord's response to these brothers isn't judgment, but grace. You see that in verse 15.

The men took this gift, double the amount of silver, and Benjamin. They immediately went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his steward, “Take the men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they will eat with me at noon.” The man did as Joseph had said and brought them to Joseph’s house. But the men were afraid because they were taken to Joseph’s house. They said, “We have been brought here because of the silver that was returned in our bags the first time. They intend to overpower us, seize us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys.” So they approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the doorway of the house. They said, “My lord, we really did come down here the first time only to buy food. When we came to the place where we lodged for the night and opened our bags of grain, each one’s silver was at the top of his bag! It was the full amount of our silver, and we have brought it back with us. We have brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in the bags.”

— Genesis 43:15-22 (CSB)

Brothers don't go to Joseph because they're afraid of him. So instead they go to a middleman. They go to the steward at the door. They beg him for mercy.

They try to explain their innocence. They appeal to how they didn't really mean it, and they brought extra stuff to try to appease this lord. We tend to do that too, don't we?

When we feel guilty, we go, "Hey, I know we did some things wrong, but look at all the things we did right." Yet none of these things affect the disposition of the steward. It has no effect. Thankfully, this guy's disposition is one of grace.

Look at how he responds there in verse 23.

Then the steward said, “May you be well. Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your bags. I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. The steward brought the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and got feed for their donkeys. Since the men had heard that they were going to eat a meal there, they prepared their gift for Joseph’s arrival at noon. When Joseph came home, they brought him the gift they had carried into the house, and they bowed to the ground before him. He asked if they were well, and he said, “How is your elderly father that you told me about? Is he still alive?” They answered, “Your servant our father is well. He is still alive.” And they knelt low and paid homage to him. When he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother that you told me about?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.” Joseph hurried out because he was overcome with emotion for his brother, and he was about to weep. He went into an inner room and wept there. Then he washed his face and came out. Regaining his composure, he said, “Serve the meal.” They served him by himself, his brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, since that is detestable to them. They were seated before him in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest. The men looked at each other in astonishment. Portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, and Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of theirs. They drank and became drunk with Joseph.

— Genesis 43:23-34 (CSB)

The steward attributes their riches to God, specifically the God of their father, the Hebrew God, that the silver they received wasn't a setup for judgment, but an expression of grace. Simeon comes out of prison. Joseph meets with Benjamin. He's overcome with emotion, but he keeps his distance.

He weeps in a private room. Then he hosts a dinner feast with everyone there. Even though they feel and know that they don't belong, they've been welcomed to the table. At the same time, there's still separation.

Because you're not allowed to eat with Hebrews if you're an Egyptian, Egyptians don't mingle like that, and they're still unsettled business. This story isn't over.

They may have brought back their silver. They may have grappled with the guilt of selling their brother. But notice in verse 34 the setup for the second test. Benjamin is treated five times as well as his other brothers.

That is something that we call favoritism. Benjamin is receiving a culinary equivalent of a rainbow coat. And here comes test number two. What are you going to do when your youngest brother gets treated better than you again?

The Final Test and Judah’s Sacrifice

Let's see what happens in chapter 44, verse 1.

Joseph commanded his steward, “Fill the men’s bags with as much food as they can carry, and put each one’s silver at the top of his bag. Put my cup, the silver one, at the top of the youngest one’s bag, along with the silver for his grain.” So he did as Joseph told him. At morning light, the men were sent off with their donkeys. They had not gone very far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Get up. Pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? Isn’t this the cup that my master drinks from and uses for divination? What you have done is wrong!’” When he overtook them, he said these words to them. They said to him, “Why does my lord say these things? Your servants could not possibly do such a thing. We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found at the top of our bags. How could we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? If it is found with one of us, your servants, he must die, and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.” The steward replied, “What you have said is right, but only the one who is found to have it will be my slave, and the rest of you will be blameless.” So each one quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. The steward searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Then they tore their clothes, and each one loaded his donkey and returned to the city. When Judah and his brothers reached Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell to the ground before him. “What have you done?” Joseph said to them. “Didn’t you know that a man like me could uncover the truth by divination?”

— Genesis 44:1-15 (CSB)

Joseph tests his brothers again by putting his cup in Benjamin's bag. He lets them go, chases them down, and then the servants immediately begin, or the brothers immediately begin to defend themselves. And the basis of their security is their past record. Again, it's ironic.

They're so confident that they're innocent that they tell the steward that whoever has the cup must die. And so the steward goes sack by sack from oldest to youngest, cutting him one by one, and the cup is found in Benjamin's sack. And the question is clear. You can send your youngest brother away, and the rest of you, in the steward's words, will be blameless.

they will never have to deal with this problem ever again. What will they do? Will they abandon Benjamin the same way that they did Joseph years ago? Well, instead of abandoning him, they return back to the city with their brothers So try to plead one more time And Joseph stands before them and asks a very specific question He asks what have you done On one level, he's confronting them on what they did wrong.

If you know anything, as we've been walking through the book of Genesis, is that things rhyme all throughout this book. That phrase, what have you done, comes up a lot in the book of Genesis. You can remember Genesis 12, when Abram sells his wife off to Pharaoh by lying and saying that she's his sister. And when Pharaoh finds out and Abraham is caught in his sin, Pharaoh calls Abram and asks him, what have you done?

And now the second in command, the lord of Egypt, looks at these Hebrews and asks them the exact same question. But it goes deeper than that. In Genesis 4, the first brotherly rivalry, when you see Cain, the older brother, kill his younger brother Abel, God shows up on the scene, looks at the older brother and says, "What have you done?" And to deflect, Cain asks in response, "Am I my brother's keeper?"

Sounds like a tension in the story here between brothers. That goes even deeper than that. In Genesis 3, after Adam and Eve fall into sin, They hide in the bushes. And God, after exposing them and getting them to admit what they've done, he asks them, what have you done?

And Adam deflects by blaming Eve, and Eve deflects by blaming the serpent. Every single time a human being has been confronted with this question, they have deflected. They have tried to defend themselves. That's the pattern that you've seen with these brothers over and over again.

They keep trying to make excuses for themselves. They try to establish themselves as good enough. They try to appeal to their past record. They try to bribe them with good gifts to try to earn the good favor Everything that they done up until this point is trying to save face Trying to survive another day even if it happens at the expense of others Every single time, what have you done has been met with excuses.

Except for this time. Look at verse 16.

“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed your servants’ iniquity. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.” Then Joseph said, “I swear that I will not do this. The man in whose possession the cup was found will be my slave. The rest of you can go in peace to your father.” But Judah approached him and said, “My lord, please let your servant speak personally to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ and we answered my lord, ‘We have an elderly father and a younger brother, the child of his old age. The boy’s brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’ Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him to me so that I can see him.’ But we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he were to leave, his father would die.’ Then you said to your servants, ‘If your younger brother does not come down with you, you will not see me again.’ “This is what happened when we went back to your servant my father: We reported to him the words of my lord. But our father said, ‘Go again, and buy us a little food.’ We told him, ‘We cannot go down unless our younger brother goes with us. If our younger brother isn’t with us, we cannot see the man.’ Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. One is gone from me—I said he must have been torn to pieces—and I have never seen him again. If you also take this one from me and anything happens to him, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.’ “So if I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us—his life is wrapped up with the boy’s life— when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. Then your servants will have brought the gray hairs of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow. Your servant became accountable to my father for the boy, saying, ‘If I do not return him to you, I will always bear the guilt for sinning against you, my father.’ Now please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave, in place of the boy. Let him go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father without the boy? I could not bear to see the grief that would overwhelm my father.”

— Genesis 44:16-34 (CSB)

Judah drops the act. He approaches Joseph and finally admits it. There is nothing they can do to defend themselves. There's no plea.

There's no strategy. There's no words. There's nothing he can do to cover his guilt. And he doesn't attribute that exposure to Joseph, but to God.

He says, "God has laid them bare." And now they are all Joseph's slaves. Joseph responds by leaving one more lure out: just leave Benjamin.

The rest can go. And Judah doubles down. He cannot do this evil against his father. He refuses.

And that if he does not do this, not just that it will cause his father sorrow or not just that it will cause his father sorrow or bring him death, but that Judah, he will always bear the guilt for sinning against his father. And so he begs Joseph if he could take Benjamin's place, he offers himself as a substitute. No excuses. No negotiation.

One substitute. And everything changes. Look at verse 1.

Joseph’s Forgiveness and the Gospel Parallel

Joseph could no longer keep his composure in front of all his attendants, so he called out, “Send everyone away from me!” No one was with him when he revealed his identity to his brothers. But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and also Pharaoh’s household heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But they could not answer him because they were terrified in his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please, come near me,” and they came near. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt. And now don’t be grieved or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. “Return quickly to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay. You can settle in the land of Goshen and be near me—you, your children, and your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and all you have. There I will sustain you, for there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you, your household, and everything you have will become destitute.”’ Look! Your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin can see that I’m the one speaking to you. Tell my father about all my glory in Egypt and about all you have seen. And bring my father here quickly.” Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder. Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept, and afterward his brothers talked with him.

— Genesis 45:1-15 (CSB)

Joseph weeps, but not at a distance anymore. You could imagine how much emotion has been welling up in this man over the course of these years. His brothers are repentant and Joseph's relationship with them is restored. He doesn't enact revenge.

He asks them to come near, to come close to him. And his mercy isn't drawn from his own goodwill, but in what the Lord has done, that even though they were the ones that sold him into slavery, God was the one who sent Joseph into Egypt to preserve life, that God was the one at work. And so he calls his whole family, his father, to return to him.

Joseph throws his arms around his youngest brother and weeps. He kisses each of his brothers, and afterwards his brothers talk with him. They talk. It might seem anticlimactic after years of that much animosity to just sit down and have a conversation, but if you've ever had long‑standing conflicts with those you love, you know that a long‑awaited conversation marked with humility and true repentance is filled to the brim with grace. I mean, what a blessed conversation! In Genesis 37 the brothers were so jealous, so bitter toward their brother, they couldn't even bear talking to him.

And now, in chapter 45, decades later, after receiving forgiveness, they're finally able to sit and talk. This story of redemption is long, and it's epic. The reason why it's long is because reconciliation like this requires long, thorough restoration, and it points to a deeper restoration that's available to all of us.

That God's purpose for this story was to preserve life, that all of us are like Joseph's brothers bearing the guilt of our sin—not just against each other, not just against our siblings, but against a holy God.

That all of us, as sinners, walk day to day with constant reminders of how we don't measure up. How we've rebelled against Him. How we've Betray the one who we were supposed to love. And all of us carry the silver of our sin on our backs.

And rather than negotiating our salvation, rather than working our way up to getting back in our Lord's good graces, our Lord has provided something so much better. He's provided a true substitute.

The descendant of Judah who stands in our place, who takes the punishment of sin in our place—that Jesus on the cross would bear all the wrath that we deserve to receive for our sin and pay that penalty in full—in such a way that you and I can stand righteous before a holy God. We talked as we walked through this Joseph story about how Joseph stands as an example of who Jesus is like: a righteous man who lives a perfect life, who doesn't fall into sin, who ascends to the right hand of power. But it's here in chapters 44 to 45 that you see something that the book of Genesis did not set up. It's a complete surprise, which is that in the gospel, the picture of Joseph's holiness and Judah's redemption collide.

That not only is Jesus represented by Joseph's righteousness, but by Judah's willingness to stand forward as a substitute on behalf of his brother. That in the gospel, that in Christ, God is both just and the justifier. He is both righteous and he is the one who makes us righteous. He is the one who declares redemption and he is the one who himself redeems.

That Jesus takes your place in such a way that he can declare you forgiven and righteous. That even though you may have betrayed your Lord that God the Son goes ahead of us to preserve life and rise from the dead to declare that sin and death has no hold on you anymore that you carry no debts before your Lord and King, not because of anything that you've done, not because of any persuasive plea, but because of the good grace that is stored for you in Christ Jesus. Do you want that kind of peace? Do you want that kind of true justice and true reconciliation?

Then, friend, do not cower away in fear from the throne. Don't waste away living on meager portions as you avoid the inevitability of starvation; you can go to the cross where love and mercy meet, where you can admit, "I have no plea. I have no justification for myself. You have utterly exposed my sin."

And where in response your Savior and your Father can reveal His love for you in completely covering your sin and embracing you in love. It's when that forgiveness covers your heart and restores your relationship with God that you then are able to extend that kind of grace to your neighbor, where you can overcome the separation even of Egyptian and Hebrew, of Jew and Gentile, where you can sit at the same table and talk. Not because you proved yourself right, not because people need to live in a permanent redemption arc where they prove to you that they're worthy of your forgiveness, but because you are able to extend the love of Christ to them.

Now, that isn't to say that genuine repentance isn't unimportant; it's super important. Joseph is slow; he is measured, he is intentional with measuring exactly where his brothers are at, and the answer is pretty simple, because if his brothers are not repentant, they're not able to receive that kind of grace. That kind of hardness of heart does not open them to be able to receive the grace that Joseph is able to provide. But his tests weren't so that he can get back at them. The tests weren't there so that he could get revenge or retribution.

His tests were there so that he could reveal their sins, so that they could finally own that they are completely exposed before their Lord and Master, and then in response he could restore the relationship and reveal himself to them. That the antidote, the true antidote to guilt, is not burying things under the rug, is not trying to save face; the only true solution to decades of guilt is grace. When the true Judah stands in your place, when the true Joseph declares you forgiven, and when you and other Christians— they're all covered by the blood of a lamb— can sit with our Lord and Savior and enjoy blessed fellowship with Him forever. Let's pray. Lord, we do thank you for this incredible story of grace and forgiveness.

Do pray, Lord, that if there's anyone here who hasn't placed their trust in you, that they would turn from their sin, that they would trust in you as a true Savior, and that they would be able to restore that relationship with you and be able to enjoy the fruits of fellowship and harvest, rather than the famine of their sin. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.