What a wonderful blessing reconciliation is! This is what we see in today’s reading with Joseph and his brothers. Pray the same may happen in all our families where needed. Be blessed.
Genesis 44: Joseph Tests His Brothers
1 Then he commanded the steward of his house, "Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack,
2 and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain." And he did as Joseph told him.
3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys.
4 They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, "Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid evil for good?
5 Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.'"
6 When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words.
7 They said to him, "Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing!
8 Behold, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord's house?
9 Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord's servants."
10 He said, "Let it be as you say: he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent."
11 Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack.
12 And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
13 Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.
14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground.
15 Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?"
16 And Judah said, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord's servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found."
17 But he said, "Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father."
18 Then Judah went up to him and said, "Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.
19 My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father, or a brother?'
20 And we said to my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him.'
21 Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.'
22 We said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.'
23 Then you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.'
24 "When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25 And when our father said, 'Go again, buy us a little food,'
26 we said, 'We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.'
27 Then your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons.
28 One left me, and I said, Surely he has been torn to pieces, and I have never seen him since.
29 If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my grey hairs in evil to Sheol.'
30 "Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy's life,
31 as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the grey hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol.
32 For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.'
33 Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers.
34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father."
Genesis 45: Joseph Provides for His Brothers and Family
1 Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, "Make everyone go out from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
2 And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it.
3 And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.
4 So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." And they came near. And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.
5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.
8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry.
10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.
11 There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.'
12 And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you.
13 You must tell my father of all my honour in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here."
14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.
16 When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, "Joseph's brothers have come," it pleased Pharaoh and his servants.
17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan,
18 and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.'
19 And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, 'Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
20 Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'"
21 The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey.
22 To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes.
23 To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey.
24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, "Do not quarrel on the way."
25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob.
26 And they told him, "Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them.
27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.
28 And Israel said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."
Things to think about…
Joseph in Gen 44 is like Christ. Joseph plants the cup in Benjamin’s bag and as such brings the brothers – especially Judah to the point of admission and confession of the full situation concerning Jacob and Benjamin. Judah promised his father Jacob that Benjamin would be brought back or he would take personal responsibility. We must be brought to this point in our lives if Christ is to truly have our hearts. What character faults need work in your life for you to conform more to Christ. Pride is an ongoing one for me and self-will expressed through frustration at times. Feel free to pray for me J.
Joseph sees the hopelessness left in Judah and the brothers as they are finally brought to face their past. Like Christ – Joseph weeps, Gen 45:1,2. The brothers are stunned – they cannot believe it, could Joseph be alive and in such a position?! Is there any news that you have heard that is too wonderful that you cannot believe it? Surely it must be this, that Christ, like Joseph is not dead but alive and that we will spend eternity with Him in His house. Is there any better news than this?
Joseph was not bitter with his brothers. His take on it is found in Gen 45:8 ‘So it was not you who sent me here, but God.’ What do you make of difficult situations in your life that were imposed on you, over which you had no control? Yes they may ultimately have arisen from sin or rebellion in some way, but the Lord ultimately has His hand over all. In the end we should say, “The Lord has done this and it is marvellous in our eyes”, Ps 118:23.
4. Joseph knows his brothers. He tells them to return to Canaan, but not to “quarrel on the way”, Gen 45:24. Remember Jesus challenged the disciples as they walked and discussed (quarreled) who would be the greatest in the kingdom. We can do this even when we have received wonderful news and even though we should maintain a spirit of joy and wonder, we still manage to find something to whinge about. Let’s maintain a spirit of joy and take the advice of Phil 4:8 “whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things”.
5. For Jacob, Joseph (like Jesus) was dead and now is alive again and he will once again see him face to face, Gen 45:28. This is our joy and our hope for all those who have passed away in Christ. This is not the end, we will see them again – hallelujah!
Vision Point
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Questions for Cell groups
Sunday’s sermon, “A new name - Israel” came from Gen 35 by Ps Jay.
1. Jacob was told to return to Bethel. He wrestled with an angel (pre incarnate Christ) and receives a new name “Israel”. Israel means “wrestles with God”. When you got converted Christ gave you a new heart. Jacob rather than going to Bethel, goes to Shechem. He reaps from his rebellion. Discuss what happened and how this lesson instructs us today as Christians.
2. Bethel means ‘house of God’. Jacob asks his family to put away their foreign gods and idol symbols – earrings etc. He travels to Bethel and is told his name “Israel” again by the Lord. As Christians we often need reminding of our new identity. This is why it is important to go to the house of God – church, our modern day Bethel. Discuss this and the current pandemic crises and the new challenges Christians find themselves in.
3. We have a name from the Lord we will receive from him. This name is written on a white stone, Rev 2:17. What does this name and this white stone represent do you think?
4. It is important to maintain identity in Yeshua – Jesus. There is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved, Acts 4:12. Discuss the importance of sharing the gospel in a world that has lost its identity in the Creator and what it means for you to preach Jesus as a Christian.
5. Pray for your cell group and prayer/praise points. Pray for our “Blessing Beirut” appeal as we endeavour to help these ‘sons of Abraham’.
Prayer Points
1.Pray for Lebanon and the people of Beirut with this accidental blast from the storage of ammonium nitrate. 157 confirmed dead. 5000 wounded, 300, 000 left homeless. $10 - $15 billion to rebuild.
2.Pray for those who heard the gospel on Sunday. Pray for Christ to grant them salvation.
3.Continue to pray for Victoria but also Qld as these new cases have arisen and the infections that will no doubt be confirmed over the next 2 weeks.
4.Pray for our church services would reach out into our community and beyond every Sunday.
5.Continue to pray for our government for wisdom and economic management.
6.Sunday’s messages and for Kids church. The message this week – “Joseph just like Jesus” Gen 40-50 – Graham Willey.
7.Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
8.Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
Praise Points.
1.New visitors. Please pray that they receive Christ as their Saviour. Pray they keep coming back to CBC.
2.Wonderful spirit of joy in our church. Thankyou Jesus.
3.Finances being maintained and donations to Café roof ($5,145) and Blessing Beirut ($900). Thankyou!
1.We have established a “Blessing Beirut” fund. After prayer and seeking after a support partner the Lord has led us to Ras Beirut Baptist. We have received word back from them. More about this on Sunday morning..
2.One service at 9:30am Every Sunday morning. This service will also be live streamed. No kisses, hand-shakes or hugs are allowed. Hand sanitizer is to be used, tables will be wiped and chairs arranged for appropriate distancing. Families can of course sit together. CBC is allowed up to 50 people inside, then we will have an overflow in the house and Kids church will be in the crèche in the cafe.
3.Cell groups – Ask for details as to how and what is required.
4.Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5.Kids Church will be run in the house when the message starts.
Q. 15. What do we pray for in the fifth petition? A. That God would pardon our sins for Christ's sake, and enable us to forgive those who have wronged us.
