In case I forget later, to quote from that hymn in my sermon, I did that last week I think two times. Taken with that line, I was taken with it as a college student. I had never really grasped the thrust of Newton's words. It was grace that taught my heart to fear. It's a powerful piece of Gospel truth there. A familiar hymn, but we rejoice to sing. Turn with me if you would this morning to Genesis chapter 42. Genesis chapter 42. This is a somewhat lengthy chapter, but I want for us to read the chapter, certainly to provide the context. But it is a narrative that I'm sure you as I repeatedly find precious as we read together this experience of the Lord's people, this history, and yet this inspired record for us to dwell upon. Genesis chapter 42. Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his son, why do you look one upon another? Behold, I have heard that there is corn Let you down, fither, and buy for us from thence that we may live and not die. And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. But Benjamin's brother Jacob went out with his brethren, for he said, Blessed peradventure, mischief befall him. And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came. for the famine was in the land of Canaan. And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brethren came and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them. And he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan, to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew him not. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies, to see the nakedness of the land, ye are come. And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man's sons, We are true men. Thy servants are no spies. And He said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land, ye are come. And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. And behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. And Joseph said unto them, This is that I have spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies. Hereby ye shall be proved. By the life of Pharaoh, ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother. And you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely ye are spies. And he put them all together in ward three days. And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do and live. For I fear God. If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison. Go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses, but bring your youngest brethren to me. So shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die." And they did so. And they said one to another, we are very guilty concerning our brother. and that we saw the anguish of His soul when He besought us, and we would not hear. Therefore, is this distress come upon us? And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child? And you would not hear. Therefore, behold, also His blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them. For he spake unto them by an interpreter, And he turned himself about from them, and wept. And returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way. And thus did he unto them. And they laid their asses with the corn, and departed thence. And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the end, he espied his money. For behold, it was in his sack's mouth. And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored, and lo, it is even in my sack. And their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us? And they came unto Jacob their father into the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them, saying, The man who is the Lord of the land spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. And we said unto him, We are true men, we are no spies. We be twelve brethren, sons of our father. One is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. And the man, the Lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men. Leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. And bring your youngest brother unto me. Then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men. So will I deliver you and your brethren, ye shall traffic in the land." And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack. And when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children? Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me. And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee. Deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. And he said, my son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he is left alone. If mischief befall him by the way in which you go, then shall you bring my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Amen. We trust the Lord to add His blessing to the public reading of His inspired Word. I will ask you again to join together, bow your heads and your hearts with me in a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we come and ask today that again You will, by Your Spirit, quiet our hearts and give us help as we consider Your Word together. Lord, give us to marvel afresh at something of Your amazing grace. We ask these things in Jesus' worthy name. Amen. I might just ask, brother, if you would circulate some air without freezing us out. If you freeze us, I'll be happy and others will complain and we'll deal with them later. Or deal with me later, however it plays. See what you can do. We've been looking at the life of Joseph, really the life of all the patriarchs these last many weeks in our Lord's Day mornings. The broad outlines of Joseph's story repeatedly have provided parallels, at times striking parallels, to the person and work of the Lord Jesus. The beloved Son, sent unto and yet despised and rejected of His brethren, delivered as it were into death as He's given over to the Gentiles, abused by them as well, and finally left in the prison for dead. And yet so suddenly and strikingly, He's delivered from prison and exalted to the right hand of the throne. All of these have reminded us of our Savior. But all the while, the lesser details of Joseph's story have provided a most encouraging and yet challenging illustration of what we like to call Gospel thinking. We're often impressed to think of his victory over the furious and powerful temptations of Potiphar's wife, and rightly so. But what of his countless other victories? during the low and lower points of his humiliation. When he gained victory not merely over the occasional and brief bouts of temptation towards sensual pleasure, but against the constant and deep temptations to bitterness, to doubtful, perhaps even unbelieving thoughts with regard to not only his brethren, but with regard to his God. I think here are the deeper and greater temptations that Joseph knew victory over. He had a right heart toward his God. Even when God's dealings with him were perplexing and seemed almost at times inexplicable. These are the lessons we've found along the way as we've followed Joseph into Egypt. But remember, the main purpose of the narrative is to convey to us the story and the history of Israel. All the while Joseph has been in Egypt, Israel and his sons have remained in Canaan. Twenty years now, the chosen family has continued on, seeking to build a life and forge a nation in the land that God has promised to give them. But unlike Abraham and Isaac, who bore good testimony, And even it appears at times, as we discovered in our studies, they had good relations. They began to win the trust and the hearts of the other inhabitants of the land. But Israel and his sons have worked deceitfully and violently and have marred their testimony, not merely among the Canaanites, that they've marred their testimony among themselves. The murderous betrayal of their brother and the corporate lie that they have lived out before their grieving father have laid buried, sometimes less, sometimes more deeply, just beneath the surface. But to quote from a familiar portion of Scripture we find elsewhere, be sure your sins will find you out. I remember a sermon on that text when Jan and I were in college. It was entitled, The World's Greatest Detective. The mighty convicting sermon for college students. You thought certainly it was known that you had held your girlfriend's hand under the table in the library or some great transgression like that, at least at our school. The truth that's quoted to those two and a half tribes is where the context is of that. It is one of those giant texts that we can apply in many, many other places. Certainly for these brethren of Joseph, it is a text that is coming home to them. Their sin is finding them out. And we can add to that truth in that meditation. Let us thank God that it is so. God is not leaving Israel and His other sons alone. Events beyond their control compel them to stand before Joseph again. I want us to turn our attention today to this first of the two visits of Joseph's brethren that are recorded for us here in Genesis. We find in this visit a fresh illustration of that truth. The goodness of God. leadeth thee to repentance." I want to speak just very simply today on the theme of conviction. This goodness of God leading these brethren to repentance. There's certainly pieces of this theme and even our thoughts today that we'll have to carry over to next Lord's Day as we find them in their second visit and Joseph making himself known unto them at that time. But I think just as we've seen in that broad outline of Joseph's own story, there's certainly an outline of gospel truth in the story here with regard to Joseph's brothers. So firstly today, I suggest with you the thought that circumstances compel them to seek Circumstances compel them to seek." Now, we need to be careful because as we go through the story and we see the pieces of there being drawn out as it were, God doesn't deal with all of us in the same way. Sometimes I think believers get into trouble and sometimes more doubtful Christians wrestle. They might hear the testimony of some other believer at a dramatic conversion. overpowering, deep conviction of great sins. And they think, I haven't had an experience like that. And then they begin to bring their own experience somewhat into question. God deals in different ways. He finds us, as it were, in different places. So some of the things that are true of them may not be true of all of us. But yet again, the broad outlines are there. But I say circumstances compel them to seek. You think about this. This has been 20 to 21 years since that day or those days, the weeks that Joseph was sent out to find his brothers as they took the flocks and sought places for them to find pasture away from home, as it were. They planned to kill him. They changed gears and think, well, let's just sell him into slavery and let the killing be done by somebody else. They come home and they bring that coat of many colors which they have stained with the blood of an animal. And the report, certainly it must be whoever's coat this was. You tell us, Dad. Is this Joseph's coat? We're really not sure. You know, at times we say we'd like to be a fly on a wall and hear the tone of voice. I mentioned often I'd love to have heard the tone in Pilate's voice when he uttered the words, what is truth? But I wonder what the tone of voice was for these brothers or whoever their spokesman was at that point. We can't tell. Whose code is this? Twenty years, this lie, this horrible, wicked reality has been under the surface. How many times it got mentioned? How many times the question was reviewed or The report was brought into some doubt. How many times one of the brothers said something and the other brother said, be quiet, keep it buried, leave it alone? We can only imagine. Twenty years. They press on. Nobody fesses up. Nobody brings the truth to Jacob. They just keep living the lie. Keep going on. Well, in the mercy of God, He doesn't let them go on. We've been reading and looking and rejoicing at the many chapters preceding this one that follow just Joseph. The 20 years of his life that are recorded for us. But just try and imagine the 20 years and the lives of these brothers. What must it have been? God, I say, doesn't leave them alone. They will not, of their own accord, face up to this, perhaps bind themselves together in more prosperous times and go as a search party into Egypt to find their brother and see if they can possibly buy him back. No, no one has thought of that. But circumstances compel them to seek. Can I read you something of the words of Robert Canlish? That's what we've been wont to do often in this place. The chosen family, he says in Canaan, visited by the famine are in sore straits, looking, as Jacob plaintively expresses it, looking helplessly upon one another. They hear of corn in Egypt and of embassies going thither from all surrounding countries to obtain, if possible, a share For themselves they may have tried to put off the evil day, to husband their resources, effecting a self-sufficient independence, while their neighbors have been fain to bend the knee to this new ruler in Egypt, who holds, as it would seem, the destinies of the world in his power. But it will not do. These proud sons of Jacob must be given at last. And like others, bow with suppliants before this prince in whom alone all fullness dwells. They are in want. Themselves and their little ones are like to perish. Their father's voice, too often unheeded in their prosperity, is now heard in their distress. Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt. The Lord brings to them this famine. The famine that is affecting all the surrounding countries. The known world is in unprecedented need. And as we know, God has sent Joseph before to preserve life. To be, as we could even use the phrase, the Savior of the world. But the underlying purpose has been to preserve Israel. to fulfill the promise to this promised seed. And now these ten of the twelve brothers come to the land." It's another remarkable testimony of Joseph. You just have to wonder, especially after all the distress, all the sorrow, all the affliction that he's endured, if being second only unto Pharaoh, of the whole nation, now the whole world bowing the knee to you, of the prosperity and the power that you have, that it's gone to your head. Give your sons Egyptian names. No. He gives them Hebrew names. Ignore these twelve scoundrels and pay attention to all the really serious other business that's going on. No. This is what it's all about. This is why God has sent me. What a gospel heart He has all along the way. Circumstances compel them to seek. God sends the famine. They are in great need. They can't ignore it. They can't hide from Joseph anymore. This is a gracious providence. And this is one of those times, certainly we perhaps have not experienced it with such extremity and drama, But those providences that we find hard, again, what do we often like to sing? Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face. This is a sore famine sent for a gracious, happy, Circumstances compel them to seek. Do not run from difficulties. Do not impute wrong things to God when you face difficulties. But consider with me secondly, conviction causes them to confess. Here's where we have to anticipate and blend, as it were, together some of the pieces of their first and their second visits to Joseph. But I say conviction causes them to confess. Many suggest and give elaboration on their thoughts with regard to the fact that Joseph has not communicated with Jacob. He obviously in the many years of his incarceration, his slavery, and then his time in prison, he's unable to send any word. But now it would have been easy enough for him to send an embassy, send a diplomat, go himself. That would have been an interesting visit. But Joseph Noe has kept himself hidden and unknown Some seek to blame him here. I can't see it. I tend to agree with the thoughts of Robert Candless afresh. Joseph must all along the way be acting under divine guidance. Just as the dreams in his youth, which it's noted he remembers, he's thoughtful of, as it's mentioned in this chapter. God is giving direction. He would know what to do and not to do. The things that he does with regard to his brethren in this first visit and the opening portion of the second, to be sure, are actually contrary to his nature. Joseph has forgiven his brothers long ago. How else could he survive and not know this bitterness? I've stated this to you more than once over the years, but I remember a dear brother of mine that meditations together once spoke of bitterness. He said, bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. How often do our sinful hearts go in that direction? No, Joseph is not embittered toward his brethren. He's dealing wisely. And if Canlis is correct, dealing under divine guidance to discern the hearts of his brothers. To find out what is really there. To, as we read in Romans, with goodness lead them to repentance. Again, we read the words with respect to this incident. In this respect, Joseph fitly represents a greater than himself, one raised to a higher glory for a wider purpose of grace. Jesus is, we read, exalted, a Prince and a Savior to give repentance unto Israel and remission of sins. Not the remission of sins only, but repentance. and the remission of sins together. Joseph could have no difficulty about giving his brothers remission of sins. He's forgiven them long ago in his heart, and right gladly would he assure them of that at once. But acting under divine guidance, he must so deal with them as to force upon them a deep and salutary exercise of soul, which in the end is to be blessed. for their more complete peace. The more thorough in unity and prosperity they'll enjoy in the day when their full reconciliation is to be experienced. You know, it's interesting. It's not just a meditation of an 18th century Scotsman. It's the quotation of Scripture that Jesus is to grant to Israel repentance and the remission of sins. How often, when we don't engage with Gospel hearts, we get it wrong. We can actually mix it up from both directions. We can misuse the preaching of repentance, and we can ignore the preaching of repentance. You're begging your patience today for a multiplied series of readings, but I was greatly taken back in reading a very modern commentary on this section. It moved me because my own thoughts are much in this vein. Listen to these words. There's often a reluctance today among preachers to bring before the minds of their hearers the heinous nature of sin in the sight of God. Perhaps in the past, such attempts have been too censorious or even tinged with both sadism or Phariseeism on the part of the preacher. The consequence that in our generation, the pendulum has swung to the other extreme. I'll pause and give my words and continue with this brother's in a moment, but isn't that the case? So much we used to speak of in our seminary days of bondage preaching. Guilt people into a decision and not preach to them the person and work of Jesus. And yet now the pendulum has swung and there's a desire to preach remission. To preach freedom and grace without understanding the price of redemption. without understanding that repentance and turning from sin is part of conversion. But listen to these words. It's this brother. This was written a dozen years ago. But he speaks of that pendulum swing. He said when Robert Mary McShane was told by Andrew Bonner, one of his ministerial colleagues, some of our heroes, Bonner told McShane that he had preached the previous Lord's Day on the subject. The wicked shall be turned into hell. McShane responded, were you able to preach it with tenderness? Were you able to preach it with tenderness? It takes a Gospel heart. to with tenderness and yet faithfulness preach, the wicked shall be turned into hell." In this episode, if you will, this sequence of events and the interaction between Joseph and his brothers is exactly to this point of preaching repentance and remission of sins. to discern what has happened, what has transpired in these 20 years? Have these men dealt with their sin? Are they new? Are they changed men or not? Conviction causes them to confess. I always marvel when we read this. We go through our Bible readings and often, you know, we're clicking through the chapters in Genesis. The years and at times the decades and the centuries are going by pretty quickly. But to read here of these brothers as he casts them into the dungeon, you just have to wonder, was it the same cell block where he had been for those two plus years? And they're there for three days to think. And he appears before them again. And just those pieces of the story that tug at our heartstrings. He can understand them. They don't know that He can understand them. He speaks through an interpreter. And they cry out, we're very guilty this day concerning our brother. That was 21 years ago. Why does that pop into their minds? This has been on their hearts every day of those 21 years. What sin they are guilty of with regard to their brother Joseph. Conviction of sin is wearing upon these brothers. But let me come to our third point, and here's where we perhaps just anticipate our thoughts from next Lord's Day. But comforts encourage them to believe. Comforts encourage them to believe. Joseph speaks harshly to them. He holds before them, if you will, the law. The thunders of Sinai for these brethren, for all sinners, are very real. I think about the preaching of the law and what was true in our Lord's ministry. As He appeared in a season in which Israel was led by chief priests, by scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, the whole spectrum of ecclesiastical experience was there just as it is here with us today. The liberals were there. The Sadducees, they were influential, many of them quite wealthy. that they compromised even cardinal doctrines. They're seeking to preserve and promote the existence of the church in a world so powerfully dominated by Gentile empires. The Pharisees reacting, you guys got it all wrong. You're working under the philosophy if we're going to survive, we've got to work with these people. No, if we're going to survive, we've got to be different than these people. That's what got us into captivity in the first place. And that takes separation. A clear, necessary, biblical truth. Don't be like the world. You're my peculiar people. But they miss the Gospel. They apply it with a self-righteous temper. The legal spirit overtakes them. What does Jesus do? He takes legalists to the law. A legalist always reduces the law to a keepable standard. He pats himself on the back that he checked the box and got it done. Jesus, in the opening paragraph of the Sermon on the Mount, exposes their ignorance of the law. You need a righteousness that far exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. You need a righteousness you can't obtain on your own. He wounds them before He pours in the oil. Come unto Me, all ye that are weak and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. What these needed to hear, yes, was of their culpability, of their guilt with regard to the law of God. And then to hear and marvel at God's willingness and God's righteous power to grant forgiveness. Of course, not by casting His law aside, but by fulfilling it. in precept and penalty in the person of His Son. But these brethren, as they are feeling something of the spirituality of God's law, as that murderous crime haunts them, and they speak of it in Joseph's presence, he has to turn away and fight back the tears. These aren't the actions of a bitter man who wants to bury them forever. They're actions of a prince who loves them and is drawing them to himself. He instructs his servants to fill their sacks to the full with grain. Put their money back in there. and send them home. He's made arrangements certainly for them to see Him again. What must the news have been? What must it be when they come back nine instead of ten and say, by the way, the only way to get Simeon back is to send Benjamin with us? and what straits they'll be brought to to bring Jacob to agree to that. The Lord's wrestling with Jacob here. Israel is in a measure of unbelief. Whatever his thoughts, whatever his opinions, whatever his pieces of knowledge are about what these brothers have done, he's wrestling with the Lord. All these things are against me. Oh, Jacob. No. The God of heaven is for you. You don't deserve it. You've confessed as much yourself. You're not worthy the least of his favor, but all of this that you think is so much against you. You are going to be blown away with how good. Cods purposes to you have been. Comforts. Encourage them. To believe. These brothers, when they come back to Egypt, are going to come. You think of this approach with what a different tenor of thought, what humility, what trepidation. They come. They're asked to come to His house. We'll see for a banquet what is put before them. This Prince in whom all fullness dwells. They come to receive mercy, and yet they'll confess we don't deserve mercy. I wanted to sing, we sing in open with so often, O blessed God, how kind. Because that stanza preserved by Jesus, when my feet made haste to hell and there should I have gone. Do you ever think about this? That in eternity, In both heaven and hell, all the inhabitants of each place in the eternal state, as we learned last Lord's Day evening, all of them, heaven and hell alike, are going to be impressed with the thought, I don't deserve to be here. But only one of them will be right. It's only those enjoying God's heaven that will say accurately, I don't deserve to be here. Those in hell still impenitent, gnashing their teeth, perhaps in pain, yes, but perhaps, as some suggest, in rage. Still impenitent. Still haters of God. still amazingly saying, I don't deserve to be here, when they do. Conviction of sin. The goodness of God leads us to repentance. So it is that Joseph Loving, Christ-like Joseph deals with his brethren. Let's bow our heads together. Our Heavenly Father, we ask today that You'll give us grace and wisdom. As we read this precious portion, Lord, we marvel that You've preserved pieces of history for our learning Lord, give us to learn much gospel truth as we meditate upon this selective history that you have penned for us. We pray these things in the worthy name of our greater Joseph, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.