If you open your Bible, we're in the series I'm doing called From the Pit to the Palace, the story of Joseph. We are going to be in Genesis 42 and try to go through chapter 43 today. Last week we did see Joseph go from that pit and he finally got elevated to the palace. He was called in in front of Pharaoh. He interpreted a couple of dreams for him. He went far beyond that though and he also gave him some solid advice on what they needed to do. Because Pharaoh saw that God was with Joseph and how wise he was being, Pharaoh elevated him to be in the number two person. We finish up by showing how Joseph started the work, he finished the work, he stored up all the grain during the time of the plenty, so when the time of famine came, Egypt was prepared. Right. We finished up here when it finished up in verse 41 it said in all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn because the famine was so sore in all the land. So that brings us to where we are now. The famine is going across all the lands and today we're going to see Joseph as a merciful savior. That's the title of today's lesson lessons. All right. We're going to attempt to try to get all the way from chapters 42 through 43. A lot of verses to to cover today and in these verses he's going to be reunited with his brothers. During this story he's going to know them but they are not going to know who he is. And the main theme of what I want to talk about today is reconciliation. The brothers are going to reconcile or try to get reconciled with Joseph. And this theme is mirrored as we can see how we also need to be reconciled with Jesus. And we're going to see some steps here. So hopefully you'll be able to apply this lesson in your life today. If you've never accepted Christ, it's going to show you how you can go about accepting Christ. But even if you already have, maybe you've stepped away, maybe you backslid a little bit, or maybe you just want to grow your relationship. You want to have a better fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ. You want that relationship to go stronger. You're going to maybe hopefully take something away that will let that relationship grow. I want you to keep kind of three major ideas in the forefront of your mind as we read through this book today. Number one, God is in control. God is always in control. You know, it is God's will and that he's working through Joseph to save the family of Jacob and keep a hold of that birth line that's going to lead to Christ. Because there's a famine, they need to be saved. And he's also going to fulfill a prophecy that he gave to Abraham back in Genesis 15, 13 through 14. And God said to Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not thirst, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years. Also that nation whom they serve will I judge, and afterwards they shall come out with great substance." So God is in control. He's fulfilling his plan here. He's eventually going to get the nation of Israel to move into that land, to move into Egypt where they're going to grow wealthy and they're going to grow large. And that is all part of God's plan. You know, God is in control of our lives also. He's made it known to us that if we want to reconcile with Him, that it must be through Jesus. There is no other way. You know, John 14, 6, Jesus saying to them, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. If we want to reconcile and get a better relationship with God, we got to play by His rules. We got to do it the way that He says to do it. It's His scheme and He will accomplish His plans. But it's not like he's forcing us to do what he always wants us to do, right? Because the second thing, while God is in control, the second thing I want you to keep in mind as we study is that we are responsible for our own actions, right? Our actions and our choices, those are on us. Joseph's brothers today, they're going to realize that their past behavior was of their own doing. They're going to be presented with some choices on how to move forward. And we need to realize the same thing in our lives. God is in control. His plan will be fulfilled, but we're given free will. This is a concept that is presented all throughout the Bible. It begins in the very first book of the Bible. In Genesis 2, chapter 16 and 17, the Lord God commanded the man, saying, every tree of the garden thou mayest eat freely, but the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat, for in the day thou eatest of, thou shalt surely die. So God didn't stop them from eating it. He didn't put protection on them, saying, I'm not even going to let you get to this tree. No, he gave man free will right from the beginning. You have a choice to do what is right and wrong. He made the rule. He was in control. but they had a choice. We also have a choice. Like I said, it goes from the first book of the Bible to the last book of the Bible. If we look in Revelation chapter three, Jesus says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come unto him and will sup with him and he with me. So it is up to us to open that door to Jesus when he knocks. He's not commanding us, we're not predestined, it is our own free will. So we are responsible for our own actions. So the three things, right, God is in control, we are responsible for our own actions, and the third thing I want you to remember, that Jesus was sent to save us. In this book, Joseph is seen as kind of a type of Jesus. He's providing the bread of physical life for all the lands here in Genesis, whereas Jesus, he's the spiritual bread of everlasting life. As we read through the chapters today, you know, a cursory reading, a quick reading might make one think that Joseph didn't care about his brothers and he wanted to punish them. The same way that someone doesn't understand the Bible may look at God and think that he doesn't love us or just want to punish us. You know, have you ever heard anyone say, well, if God loves us, why didn't he create a perfect world? We all know the answer to that, right? He did. He did create that perfect world, but it was our choices that brought it down and made it imperfect. Or an unbeliever might say, well, God loves us. Why would he ever send people to hell? He just seems like he wants to punish you. That's all he wants to do. We know the answer to that, but the reality is God doesn't send people to hell. We send ourselves there by our own choices. Our loving God sent Jesus to save us from hell. God wants no one to spend eternity in that fiery pit. Jesus came to save, not to punish, not to hurt us. In John chapter 6, Jesus said, that of all which he hath given unto me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone who seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up on the last day." So Jesus has come to save us. He's not come to punish us. You know, the same way we're going to see Joseph today. Joseph is not there to punish his brothers. There's going to be some times where you might think that's what he's doing. But we have to remember the big picture. God is in control. We are responsible for our own actions. And Jesus was sent to save. So let's keep those things in mind. Let's read through the text kind of piece by piece. And we'll discuss it as we go. So we're in Genesis chapter 42. Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do you look upon one another? And he said, Behold, I have heard there is corn in Egypt. Get you down tither and buy for us thence that we may live and not die. So that's the first place we're going to kind of stop here and look at this. Jacob and his family, they're in a dire situation here, right? They were close to death. Famine was all throughout the land. They probably tried everything they could to survive off of what they had. But it just wasn't enough. So Jacob looked around, and he saw and he heard that corn was in Egypt. So he must have seen other people. I say he saw it, right? He must have seen other people. They had food. He must have went and talked to them. Where'd they gotten it from? They'd gotten it from Egypt. So he asked his boys, you know, why are you just standing around staring at each other? We've all seen that look, whether it be in the workforce or maybe from our children, just that empty, the blank stare. You want to say to them, like, what are you waiting for? Get to work. Go do it now. We have the answers. All you got to do is go do it. Why didn't they catch on to this on their own? They'd probably seen the same thing Jacob had. They probably knew that there was food down in Egypt and they could go get it. There may be a few reasons. Maybe they were afraid of the journey. It was a long journey. It was a hard journey. It was a few miles they had to walk to get from the land of Canaan to the land of Egypt. All right? Maybe they thought when they got there, maybe they wouldn't get the grain given to them. Maybe they were worried that they would just be wasting their time by making this trip. Or maybe, just maybe, when they thought about Egypt, they thought back about what they had done to their brother. They thought about how they threw him into the pit, and how they had sold him off, and they knew that he was a slave in the land of Egypt. And if they went to Egypt, that would just bring those feelings back up. It would be a little bit too much for them. They'd have to face their own sins, the own things that they had done wrong in their past, and maybe they just did not want to face it. You see the parallel to our spiritual lives here? Oftentimes, people have to be at their lowest. They gotta have some type of famine in their lives, they have to be brought low, where they think there's no other way out, there's no other hope, there's no other choice but to go to Jesus, just the way Jacob was thinking, there's no other choice but for us to go to Egypt. And it's in those times when they need to hear about the gospel, right? Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt. When we see other people at their lowest, they need to hear the gospel from us. They need to get that bread of life to survive. They need to know that salvation is available to them. When a sinner's facing a spiritual demise, right, he needs to hear the good news. He needs to hear the gospel and have faith that salvation comes through Jesus. As it says in Romans 10, 17, so then faith come by hearing and hearing by the word of God. But some people, we can tell them and we can hear it, but they're going to be like Jacob's sons, right? They're going to be afraid. They're going to hear that word of God, and they're going to be afraid to come to Jesus. They may be afraid that that road is too tough. They might have to give up too much, or maybe they'll have to give up some friends and give up their past. Maybe when they get there, maybe they think they're just too bad, that Jesus is not going to accept them, is not going to love them. And maybe, maybe they're afraid. They're afraid that they're going to have to look at all the evil things they've done in their lives and come to terms that they are a sinner. It's the same way that Jacob's sons were afraid to go. These people need to be encouraged. They need to be encouraged to get into church, to study a Bible, to constantly hear the word of God, the same way Jacob encouraged his sons to make that journey to Egypt. So let's continue reading here in verse 3. And Joseph's 10 brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren. For he said, let's pre-adventure 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 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 not him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them. And he 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 come to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man's son, we are true men, thy servants, and no spies. And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land are ye 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, That is that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies. So here we see Jacob did get his sons to go. He got them to go to the land of Egypt. However, he wasn't gonna send them all, right? He held something back. He held Benjamin back. In a way again, Jacob was playing favorites with his son. The way he had done, he hadn't learned anything from chapter 37 when it happened with Joseph in those times, right? And this choice, it's gonna make a huge difference in the way that Joseph's was going to receive his brothers into him by not having his youngest brothers with him. But those other ten, they made their way into Egypt. They found Joseph, who was in charge of selling the grain. And Joseph recognized them, but they did not recognize him. It says he made himself strange unto them. You know, of course, he looked like all the other Egyptians. He had shaved himself. He made himself up. But imagine the emotion that must have come over Joseph at that time. It had been 20 years since he had seen his brothers. There may have been some joy and some excitement in his face. Maybe there had been some anger for what they had done to him all those years ago. The Bible doesn't tell us exactly what he was thinking at that time, other than he remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. Remember back in chapter 37, the dream that Joseph had? Joseph had dreamed two dreams, and in both of those dreams, his brothers, and in the second one, his family, they had all bowed down in front of him. And now it was happening. Now it was coming true. His brothers were there bowing in front of him. It must have been difficult for Joseph not to reveal himself at that moment to his brothers. I know in my flesh, I would want to. I want to step out and say, I told you. I told you all those years ago that you were going to bow down before me. And you guys got angry at me. You threw me in a pit. But look, who's laughing now, right? I got you right where I want you. You're bowing down. But that was not God's plan, right? That is not how it happened. Instead, Joseph kept himself hidden, and he decided that he was going to speak harshly to them, right? In all the stories we've read about Joseph, Joseph was being guided by the Holy Spirit. They always say God was with him. And I believe at this point in time, God was with him too. God was guiding his choices. God was guiding Joseph to speak harshly to his brothers. He told them, hey, you're spies. You came to check out this land. They said, no, we're not. And he said, yes, yes, you are. Right? What Joseph was basically saying here is, you are not who you say you are. You say you're my servants, you just come to buy grain, and you want me to believe that you're a good people that come here for a just cause, but I say that you're evil. I say that you are spies. Isn't that merely the way sometimes God has to talk to us? Sometimes doesn't God have to be harsh? with us, we think we're doing right, and we think we are serving him, or we think we are good people, but God tells us, you're not who you think you are, right? We get convicted by the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit lets us know, speaking into our heart, right? He speak to us, as it says in John 16, eight, and when he has come, he will reprove the world of sin and righteousness of judgment. The Holy Spirit is convicted of saying, hey, you need to repent, you need to change, you need to admit that you're not right. For true repentance and true reconciliation, there must be an acknowledgement of sin. Joseph wanted to reconcile with his brothers, but first he had to get them to know that they were sinners. They were not this true great people that they thought they were. In the same way, God needs us to recognize our sins before we can have true fellowship and true reconciliation with others. But the brothers, they weren't ready to admit their sins yet, right? Instead they plead them case and they give Joseph some family information that he really never asked, right? In verse 13, 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. They even spoke of Joseph, they're sitting right there in front of them, they didn't know it was him. And Joseph could tell from this that they thought, or at least they have convinced themselves, that Joseph was dead. They said he is not. Right? So they had no regard for their sins against him. They weren't thinking that, what happened to my brother? What have we done to him? Where's going on in his life? They had no thought of him. They convinced themselves that he was dead. He just is not. And then most of it made Joseph wonder too, how were they treating that younger brother? If they were willing to do this to me, what about the younger brother that's flesh of my flesh, had the same father, the same mother as me? They're saying I'm not, they obviously have no caring for me, and they say that youngest brother is home, but how can I trust them? How do I know what they are telling me is the truth? So Joseph is gonna devise some tests for them. Some tests for them to realize how they are sinners, and test them about the younger brother. So let's keep reading on here in verse 14. And Joseph said unto them, that is that I spake unto you, saying, ye are spies. Hereby shall you be proved. By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye 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 a ward three days. And Joseph said unto them on 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 families of your houses. But bring your youngest brother unto me, so your words be verified, and ye shall not die.' And so they did. And they said to one another, we are verily guilty concerning our brother, and that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us. And he would not hear, therefore, this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered unto 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 he returned them again and communed with them. And he took from Simeon and bound him before their eyes. So here Joseph has devised a test for his brothers to see if they are true people, or if they are telling the truth, if they are going to be men of their word. He tells them he's going to allow one of them to leave while the rest are going to stay here in prison. If there'd be any truth in what they're saying, that one would return with Benjamin. Then he put them all in ward. Right? In the study of this, this doesn't mean that he threw him in prison. He kind of kept him room bound, put him under house arrest there, put him all together, and he kept him there for three days. And when those three days were passed, though, it's amazing, Joseph kind of changed his mind about what his test was going to be. You know, before he had said, I'm going to let one of you go back, and the rest of you are going to stay. But now Joseph says, you know, how about you all leave and take food back to your family, but I'm just going to, I'm going to keep one of you here. You know, I'm not exactly certain why Joseph changed his mind here, you know. Maybe he was trying to send grain for the entire family and he knew that one person wasn't gonna be able to handle all that to get it back to his father and all the other family members that were there. Or maybe he realized that it was just the direction of God. Maybe it was God working through him again, right? Because in verse 18, The Bible tells us when Joseph said unto them the third day this do and live for I fear God. Joseph feared God so maybe God changed the plans on him. God said you know you need to send just all of them back just keep one but it didn't change the fact that he wanted to have Benjamin brought back the second time because verse 20 It says, but bring your youngest brother unto me, so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. He's saying, if you do this, you shall live. Don't bring your brother back, and you're going to die. And this direction of God, I believe it probably came about because God knew what they were talking about in that room when they put them three days in there all alone together, right? They had probably truly repented about what they had done to Joseph. They had come to terms with it when they were locked in there for three days. Because what did they say when they got out? They admitted it. In verse 21, and they said to one another, we are verily guilty concerning our brother, and that we saw the anguish of his soul. You know, they got to the point where they weren't blaming their father. They weren't saying, oh, we had to do that because our father was spoiling him, because he was the favored son. You know, they didn't blame Joseph because he had the dreams, right? All the excuses that they had used that they had probably used for so long to justify their sins, they had put all that aside, and they had finally got to the point where they realized, hey, it is us. The blood is on our hands. It was us that had done this. They were taking full responsibility. And when they did that, boy, it made Joseph weep. And what I could only imagine were tears of joy, tears of relief, you know. Even though he was joyful and reliefful, the plan still, God's plan, God was in control. His plan still wasn't finished yet. So we went and bound Simeon, tied him up, and kept him as the prisoner. and sent the others away to take food back to his home. So hopefully they can return with Benjamin. You know, when we turn to God, there's great rejoicing too. There's great weeping and rejoicing in heaven. Tears of joy when a sinner admits his faults. As illustrated by Jesus in the parable of the sheep, in Luke chapter 15, it says, I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over 99 just person who needs no repentance. We need to remember the story of Joseph in our lives, right? How sometimes harsh words, tough situations, realizing our punishments, it brings us to repentance. And without true repentance, without a true humbling of ourselves, we can never reconcile, we can never grow in fellowship, right? God is in control. God is gonna have his plan happen. But we are responsible for our actions, and Jesus was sent to save. So let's continue reading on and see what else happens in our story here in verse 25. 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. Thus did he unto them. And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence. And one of them opened his sack to give his ass for a vendor in the inn, and he And he has spied his money, for behold, it was in his sack's mouth. And he said unto his brother, My money is returned, and, lo, it is even in my sack. And their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying to one another, What is this that God hath done to us? So here, Joseph, he sent the brothers away. He sent them with all the corn and the grain that they needed, but he gave them more than that. He gave them provisions for the trip so they could feed their animals, so they could sustain themselves for that. And he put the money back, the money that they had brought to pay for their food. And on the way back when their brothers found his money, oh man, that made them all afraid. It just shows what a guilty conscience. can do to us, right? When we're not right with God, when we're hiding something from God, when we're not being truthful, even when God is blessing us, God is doing something nice for us, we don't see it that way. We see it as God, what are you doing to me here? Because they thought they were going to get punished for this. But we know this is a blessing from God because when we read in chapter 43, they tried to bring it back. And in verse 23 of chapter 43, they are told, to fear not, your God and the God of your father hath given you treasure in your sacks." So it was the gift of God giving it back to them. It wasn't anything that they deserved. And I also believe you know that this was Joseph showing mercy and love unto his brothers. And he's demonstrating the love of God here in this, right? We come to God, all we need to do is repent. We can't bring our treasures to him. We can't bring our good works to him. There's nothing we can do to buy our fellowship back with God, just like Joseph's brothers couldn't buy their fellowship back with him. All our good deeds and our treasures are just as filthy rags to God, right? All he wants is our love and our repentance and a trust in him. So symbolically, I think that's what it's saying here. It's God saying, hey, you can't buy your salvations or your blessings from me. All right, continuing on, verse 29. And they, speaking of the brothers, came unto Jacob their father, unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befall 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 they 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 you are true men. So I will deliver your brother, and 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 they 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 ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow. to the grave. So the brothers made it back here at the end of 42. They made it back to Canaan and they recounted their story to Jacob, to the patriarch of the family. And once again, Jacob didn't show the kind of godly Christian leadership that needs to be shown by the patriarch of the family, right? He still had kind of a, whoa, poor me, type of attitude. He could have praised God. He could have blessed God, praised Him for all the blessings. They returned, look at that. They've come back, they've got food for the entire family, you know. Even their money was restored to them. They could say, this is a great blessing from God. But all he could think about was all his sorrows and the troubles that had come on them. He goes back to Joseph, oh, Joseph's still dead. Right? Now Simeon. Now Simeon's dead. He didn't even, they didn't tell him Simeon was dead. They just told him Simeon was there in prison. But what does he say? He says, Simeon is not. So he makes the leap to the conclusion, oh, Simeon's dead too. And now you're going to try to take Benjamin away. What does he say? All these things are against me. Whoa, poor me. How could you all do this to me? Reuben even tried to convince him that it wasn't that bad By telling him he could slay his two sons if they could not return with Benjamin You know as if that could really make anybody feel any better right hey you lost a couple of your sons But let me take another one if I don't come back go ahead and kill a couple of your grandsons To make up for it right doesn't seem like it was a very Good deal there right it probably wouldn't make anyone feel better alone Jacob who's already feeling sorry about himself But Jacob refused, and he said, you know, if Benjamin were to leave and something would happen to him, I would just die. And that's where we leave off in chapter 42. Let's continue on and try to get through chapter 43 here. And the famine was sore in the land, and it came to pass when they ate up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food. But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down. For the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? And they said, the man asked us straightly of our state and of our kindred, saying, is your father yet alive? Have you another brother? And we told him, according to the tenor of these words, could we certainly know that he would say, bring your brother down. And Judah said unto Israel his father, send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and thou, and also our little ones. I will be sure to eat for him. Of my hand shalt thou require him. If I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever. For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned a second time. And the father of Israel said unto them, if it must be so, now do this. Take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds. And take double money in your hand, and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hands. Peradventure, it was an oversight. Take also your brother, and arise, and go into the land. And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send you away your other brother, and Benjamin, and Benjamin. And if I bereaved of my children, I am bereaved. So here it wasn't long, here's the chapter 43, they're in that dire situation again. They're in that life and death situation again, they're out of food. And that's what it took. That's what it took for Jacob to kind of wake up and realize. He said, you guys need to get on back down to Egypt. This time it was Judah that spoke up. He said, hey, remember what that man told us? We can't return empty handed. We got to have our little brother. We can't hold anything back from him. We got to give him what he is asking for. Right? Israel was upset. He didn't like it. He kind of berated his sons there a little bit, like, why are you even telling him this stuff, right? But you can't change the past. There's no use being upset about something that happened in the past. That's the way it was. They had told Joseph about the younger brother that was there. And that was the conditions. So although Israel was upset, he finally, when Judah offered himself as a surety, or what that means is a guarantee, right, he finally gave in and said, go ahead, go. But he still wasn't displaying much faith, was Israel, right? Because he ordered his sons to take extra stuff. He said, take out some fruits. Take some alms. Take a present. Take double the money, right? This was not requested at all. This is not what Joseph said. He didn't say, go home and tell your father to send me more treasure. Go home and have him send more money. Send me a present. No, all he told him was, come with your younger brother. Bring him back and he shall live. This had to be a last resort in the mind of Israel as we can see from his attitude in the last verse we read there, right? He said, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen. Either I'm going to die here with my son or he's going to die out there. This is my last resort. I wish I didn't have to do this, but he has to. Isn't it sad that it had to be that way? Isn't it even sadder that sometimes that we are also this way? We try to figure things out ourselves. We want to do it on our own. We want to get by. And it isn't until we've come to our last straw, our last little hope that we say, all right, God, I've tried it all on my own. But if this is the way it has to be, if this is the way you want it, I guess we'll try to do it your way now. Wouldn't it just be so much easier if we would just do it God's way from the beginning? As they said there, for except we surely had lingered, surely we could have returned a second time. They could have been blessed by Joseph already. They could have had food. They wouldn't have had to go through the starvation time where they ran out and now had to struggle about what they were going to do. So let's continue reading here, verse 15 in chapter 43. And the man took the present, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin, and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay and make ready, for these men shall dine with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade, and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house. And they said, because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time we were brought in, that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondsmen, and our asses. And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, and said, O sir, we came indeed down the first time to buy food. And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight, and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food. We cannot tell who put money in our sacks. He said, Peace be unto you, and fear not. Your God and the God of your father have given you treasure in your sacks. I had your money. And he brought Simeon out to them. And the man brought them into Joseph's house and gave them water. And they washed their feet, and he gave their asses for vendor. And they made ready the present against Joseph, came at noon. For they heard that they should eat bread there. So now all Joseph's brothers who had left Canaan, except for Simeon who was still there, right? They got back there, and when Joseph saw that they returned, and he saw that Benjamin went with them, he was overjoyed. They had fulfilled his request. So he orders all his men to go gather up those brothers, let's bring them to my house, slay the best food, let's make a meal for them. He's ready to dine with them, he's ready to have some fellowship with them now. Of course, then, though, Michigan immediately ignited that brother's guilty conscience. They had no idea what was going on, right? They thought they were going to be punished for something. They thought that, hey, we came back now, and now they're asking us to his house because he's going to use this as an occasion to put us into slaves. It's going to put us into bondage. So they begged, and they pleaded with Joseph's men. You know, hey, this is what happened. We weren't trying to rip you off. We're not thieves. We didn't take it. We even brought extra back for you. Then they were reassured that it was a gift from God. Then they took the brothers inside, washed their feet, took care of their animals. Couldn't imagine what was going on in their minds right now. Those brothers, they had to be really confused. They had to be thinking, I don't know what is going on. Why are these Egyptians treating like this? What is their purpose here? There must be something behind this. But remember, God is in control. God is working them to repentance right now. And not only were they confused now, I believe they're probably about to get even more confused in what happened next. So let's finish up the chapter here. And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house and bowed themselves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their welfare and said, is your father well, the old man of whom you spake? Is he yet alive? And they answered, thy servant our father is in good health, and he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads and made obeisance. And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, is this your younger brother of whom you spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste, for his bowels did yearn upon his brother. And he sought where to weep, and he entered into his chamber and wept there. And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, sit on bread. And they sat on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians which did eat with him by themselves. Because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. And they sat before him the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth. And the men marveled at one another. And he took and sent messes before them. But Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with them. So Joseph came in and he was talking to his brothers again. Still, they didn't know who he was. He was still strange to them, still speaking through an interpreter. And he asked about their father, confirmed that it was Benjamin that was brought there. And he became so overcome with joy at the sight of Benjamin up close that he saw his son, his brother, the one of the same blood as him, the same father's blood, the same mother's blood. He had to leave the room to hide his tears. I imagine at that point it's probably really, really tough for him not to reveal himself to his brothers at that time. He probably really wanted to have that family reunion, but yet it was not God's time to do that. Joseph kept up the ruse and he went back in. He kept that he was different from him, right? So he told him to eat food and Joseph ate over by himself and had the brothers eat by themselves because that was the Egyptian custom. He couldn't sit there and eat with them. But imagine the confusion. This says that the boys marveled because he sat the brothers down there in order by age. And them all sat from the firstborn just right down the line, all sat in order. What are the chances of that, right, when you have the 12 factorial, right? I'm not a statistician, but the fact to get all of those in line has to be astronomical, right? And they had to be very, very confused about that. And he fed them well. And not only did he feed them well, he gave Benjamin an extra portion. Because the brothers had held nothing back, because the brothers had done what Joseph had asked, he could now have fellowship with them. You know, just as we want to have fellowship with God, we need to give God everything we have. We can't be holding anything back. In Mark 12, verse 30, it says, And thou shalt love thy guard with all thy heart and all thy soul, in all thy mind and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. You see the key word there? All the heart, all the mind, all the soul, all the strength. Not just part of it, God wants every bit of us. And just like when Joseph got every bit of his brothers, he was able to sit and have fellowship with them, we can sit with Jesus and have fellowship with him when we are willing to give everything we have over to him. Finish up here, Joseph did not reveal himself to his brothers even at this point though, right? However, because God still had one more test for them before that could be done. And that's what we're going to see next week. But as we wrap this up, I hope you saw today what I said there at the beginning. You know that God is always in control. God's plan is going to happen. We are responsible for our own actions. Sometimes God has to deal harshly to bring repentance in our lives through others. And it's up to us on how we react to that. Because if we want to have fellowship with God, we need to repent and not think that we're being punished because Jesus came to save us. The events of this chapter, I think, can be summed up in the words of Paul when he wrote to the church of Corinth. Flip over to 2 Corinthians chapter 7, my Bible, in verses 8 through 12, Paul writes to the Church of Corinth. For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent. Though I did repent, for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were for a season. Now I rejoice that ye were made sorry, not that you were made sorry, but that you sorrowed to repentance. For you were made sorry after a godly manner, that you might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold, this selfsame thing that you sorrowed after a godly sort. what carefulness it was wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge, in all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Wherefore, though I did write unto you that I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for the cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you. What's Paul saying there? I'm not sorry that I hurt your feelings. I'm not sorry that I spoke harshly to you because it was that sorrow It was those harsh words that led you to repentance. Godly sorrow works to repentance. Calling out your wrongs, it's not to shame you, it's not to make you feel bad, not to make the wrongdoer feel bad, but it's to show we care and to bring you into the mercy and grace of God so that it may appear to you. That is what Joseph was doing to his brother in there, and that is what the work of the Holy Spirit does in our hearts to bring us to Jesus Christ. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the story of Joseph. Thank you for the story of bringing his brothers to him and letting us know that sometimes you gotta speak harshly to us, Lord. You gotta deal harshly with us so we may come to repentance, so we may know that we are just sinners in need of a Savior. Lord, we thank you for everything you've done for us, and most importantly, we thank you for sending Jesus Christ to be that savior for us. And I hope that if there's anyone that is struggling with anything, that they repent from their sins and what they're doing now, Lord, and they turn to you and come to have deeper fellowship with you today. As we move forward in the morning service, I pray that your spirit fill up this room, that you bless our worship service, you bless pastors who bring the morning message, and everything that we do in here will bring glory and honor to your name. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.