Dr. Michael D. Halsey
“TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT”
GENESIS 44
INTRODUCTION
Joseph has one last test of his brothers. There is one thing they haven’t done that must be done before the move into Egypt can take place. What will they do if everything comes down to one choice: their lives or Benjamin’s? What if it comes down to their lives or the life of their father’s favorite? What will they do?
Joseph has forced their hand; he’s made them bring Benjamin down to Egypt. They get no food unless they do. They’ve done that. So far, everything has gone well and they are showing that they’ve changed—they took care of their little brother on the trip. When Joseph showed him favoritism at the dinner, it didn’t bother them. It’s on this trip that he tests their concern and care for their brother. Is it all for one and one for all? So far it has been, but what it we push them to the limit? What will they do?
In verses 1-6, Joseph will raise the temperature and the pressure on the brothers. Under pressure, will they repeat the same sin? Will they abandon their brother? So the test is to place Benjamin under arrest for stealing a silver cup from Joseph that Joseph had planted in Benjamin’s sack. And Joseph is very specific as to what the arresting party is to say: “Why have you repaid evil for good? You have done evil.”
He wants his brothers to hear this because that’s what they did—they repaid only evil to someone who was good.
In verses 7-13, the brothers say that they’re innocent. The arresting party tells them that the person who has the cup is under arrest and will be a slave in Egypt. Of course, Joseph has planted it in Benjamin’s sack.
In verses 14-17, they come back to Joseph and bow down to him. It’s here, at this time that a momentous thing happens—confession of an earlier sin on the part of the brothers. In verse 16 they make the confession. They see God as using this incident to punish them for what they did to Joseph. Judah tells Joseph that they’ll all be his slaves, but Joseph says that only the one who has the cup will be his slave, which is, of course Benjamin.
In verses 18-34, Judah makes a long appeal. In this appeal, he shows that he’s changed—he loves his father and his little brother. This isn’t the old Judah. He tells Joseph that if they return without Benjamin, it’ll kill their father. Remember that earlier, he didn’t care what the consequences were when he and the others faked Joseph’s death. They didn’t care if it killed their father or not. This is the perfect test, because if they hated Benjamin, this would be an excellent way of getting rid of him through no fault of their own—their hands would be clean in the matter.
Judah tells Joseph that he’s willing to take Benjamin’s place and stay and die as a slave in Egypt, just don’t do this to Benjamin or our father. What a change!
Conclusion
The brothers have passed the test. They’ve shown that they’ve repented about their sin against Joseph and they show that they love both Benjamin and their father. This band of brothers is the “nation” so far. If the “nation” is to survive, they’ve got to take care of each other. He brothers are showing that they know this. One is willing to sacrifice his life for all the others. They show that they know what the family needs. They show that they know that evil results from hating one’s brother. They don’t want that same evil to happen again, so Judah says he’ll sacrifice himself. Had they hated Benjamin, they’d have been delighted to return to Canaan without him and it would have been good riddance.
Their unity is based on Gen. 12:1-3. The Abrahamic Cov. is the rallying point for the family, something they must always come back to. They were to be on the same team in regard to being a blessing. They were to unify in being a model of what it’s like to know God. They were to unify in regard to being a magnet in regard to drawing others to a knowledge of God. They were to unify around being a mediator between others and God. They can’t fulfill these roles if they hate each other and don’t care about each other.
The church isn’t Israel, but the church is to keep the unity God has worked for it. As the N. T. says, God has worked it, we keep it. We don’t rally around Gen. 12; our rallying point is Matt. 28 and Jesus’ call to turn people into His followers. Our gifts and talents, our various personalities are to mesh together to take a first time visitor to our church, move him from the parking lot into salvation, then persuading him to be a follower of Jesus. If we’re not united in that undertaking, we’re headed down the wrong road.
God sometimes puts us through stressful situations to make us realize how much we must do for our fellow believers to prevent great evil in the family of God.
Now the brothers will lay down their lives for the other, even if he’s the favorite!