Pastor Scott
Jonas
7/22/18
Genesis
42-45
Joseph and
his Brothers
One of the
things you learn as a Pastor is that every family is weird and broken. This includes my greater family. If you dig deep enough into my family tree
you will find alcoholism, dementia, premature death, and divorce. I’m sure your family history is equally
complicated. Evidently this is a
systemic issue for the people of God because our text today describes one
messed up family. The Dad, Jacob,
changed his name to Israel. He has
thirteen children but one favorite, Joseph.
This causes so much jealousy that ten of the brothers agree to sell him
into slavery. For over a decade, the
brothers keep the secret from their Father and youngest brother. They pretend that he was killed by a wild
animal. Secrets kill and this family has
been dying for a long time. You think
your family is dysfunctional.
Have you
ever had to live with a family secret?
Maybe it wasn’t a secret but no one talked about it. I know of one family in which the oldest son
died in a motorcycle accident in his early twenties. The mom and dad never talked about him
again. It was just this fog that sat
over the home. It was a sick kind of
grief. Sin and it’s affects can’t be
ignored. They have to be dealt with but
some can never get past the denial stage.
That is the
type of home that the brother’s betrayal has created. The sin against Joseph was never discussed,
never repented, never forgiven and never allowed to heal. The same goes for Joseph in Egypt. At first, he couldn’t try to restore the
relationship, being a slave and all. But
he has been in a position of power for a decade now. He correctly interpreted 7 years of plenty
and is in the middle of 7 years of famine.
Pharaoh is eternally grateful for Joseph’s insight and service. It has made both of them wealthy men. Certainly, Pharaoh would have let Joseph
travel the 300 miles to Canaan to visit his family if Joseph wanted. But joseph hasn’t dealt with the trauma, the
sin against him and his immaturity that led to it.
Joseph is so
not over his brother’s betrayal that he names his son Manasseh which means “I
have forgotten all of my hardship in my father’s house.” Let me get this right. He has forgotten his misery so he names his
son so that he remembers that he has forgotten it. Makes no sense. It’s like naming your daughter after an
ex-girlfriend who dumped you because you are so over her. Or it’s like writing a song “ I ain’t missing
you at all.” The effort shows the
opposite. Joseph has not forgiven and he
has not forgotten.
Meanwhile in
the midst of the greatest famine in generations, his father Jacob, says to the
ten brothers, “What are you staring at?
What are you waiting for? The
only place with food is a month long ride to Egypt. Get going.
But don’t take your brother, Benjamin.
He’s all I got left. Can you
imagine? What about the other ten? Jacob was his mom’s favorite. Then Joseph was his favorite. Now Benjamin.
Family habits are hard to break.
But maybe
there is more than that. Maybe, since
the Joseph tragedy, Jacob has never really trusted the brothers. Their story sounded rehearsed, the coat felt
staged but Jacob couldn’t prove anything.
His intuition has felt that the brothers covered up something
terrible. He certainly is not going to
entrust Benjamin with them. At the same
time, Simeon and the brothers aren’t too enthusiastic about traveling south to
Egypt. Too many reminders along the way
of their shame.
But they go
and get in line with a caravan. It seems
like the whole world is heading that way.
Once there they get into another line.
Somehow, the brothers are brought to the attention of Joseph. He recognizes them thirteen years later but
they don’t recognize him in his expensive Egyptian garments and Make-up. He was 17 last time they saw him. Who knows what Joseph was thinking? Did his first dream stay on his mind? Remember how he told his brothers that their
sheaves of wheat bowed down to his.
After God interpreted the baker, the cupbearer and Pharaoh’s dreams
correctly, did joseph wait for this moment when the first dream would come
true?
Whether it
came in the moment or it was a plot long in the making, Joseph pretended to be
a stranger to his family. He plays the
part of a high official suspicious of spies.
He accuses them of checking Egypt for vulnerabilities. He demands to
know their relation to one another.
The brothers answer honestly about them being brothers, one brother is
at home and one has died. Joseph puts
them in custody for three days. Make
them feel just a taste of the incarceration that he felt for years. They are getting off easy. Then he tells them that Egypt will sell them
food but they must prove that they are not spies. They will leave their brother, Simeon,
incarcerated. If they are spies then
they will leave him for dead. But if
they truly are a family then they will come back and bring their youngest
brother. True families will do anything
to save each other.
The brothers
have no choice but to agree. They receive
large bags of grain and sadly leave Simeon behind. They travel wondering how are we going to
tell father about this? He is right not
to trust us. When they bed down the next
night, one of them opens the food bags and discovers silver. Immediately, they feel guilty. This is a rouse by God to punish them for
Joseph. You can’t ignore sin. They hurry back home to Jacob. Jacob is beside himself. He is reliving the worst kind of trauma. They have a choice to make: write off their
brother Simeon or return to Egypt with Benjamin and face possible execution for
theft. They make the choice they should
have made before. They put their
brother’s life ahead of their own.
They turn
around to travel the 300 miles for the third time. Each step could be closer to their
death. They approach the house of the viceroy. They laid the silver in front of them plus
more. They bowed down to him. The second dream came true. The moon and the Stars bowed down to
him. This is the second time they’ve
humbled themselves before their brother.
Joseph is
not ready to forgive. He saw his brother
Benjamin and almost lost it. Ben had
nothing to do with his betrayal. But
Joseph is bound to determine if the others have really changed. They came back for Simeon, that’s a start. He invites them to dinner. But they aren’t allowed to sit at his table
because it is an abomination for Egyptians to lower themselves to hillbillies
like the Canaanites. He doesn’t talk to
them. He is ignoring them.
Joseph is
setting them up again. He has their
donkeys mounted with more bags of grain.
They are allowed to leave and take all of the brothers with them. They get out of there in a hurry, all
eleven. Before they are too far away,
Egyptian guards over take them and force them back to the viceroy’s house. In front of Joseph, the guards open the food
bags and the viceroy’s expensive personal cup spills to the floor. It is in Benjamin’s bag. Complete silence except the tinking of silver
on stone. The brothers look at the
viceroy and know this means death. They
have one move available. They can throw
Benjamin under the bus. If they blame
him, then they live and he dies. It is
13 years ago all over again.
Judah, the
oldest, stood in front of Benjamin and pleaded,
“Viceroy, if we don’t return with Benjamin it will kill my father. We can’t do that to him. Take me instead. I will stay and receive the due punishment.” Joseph knew that his brother’s hearts had
changed. They weren’t the same selfish
bunch. They were ready for forgiveness
and healing. Joseph wept aloud and
shouted “I am Joseph!” They were too
shocked to understand. He made them come
right up to him and see his face, “I am the one you sold into slavery. Stop beating yourself up. I forgive you. God sent me here to save lives. This was all part of his plan. Go get Dad, bring him and all of your
families to Egypt where you will live in health and prosperity.
That is
family restoration. It starts with
dysfunction. Then God works repentance
and a changed heart. Then someone needs
to make the first move towards forgiveness.
It’s hard. God is calling you, as
far as it is possible to bring forgiveness to your family. That’s both your family of origen and your
second family. Don’t wallow in dark
secrets and grudges. Allow Jesus to turn
death into life.