“An Enlightening Test” – FBC Morning Light (1/22/2025)

A good morning to you. I'd like to encourage you for the day's journey ahead with a few thoughts from Genesis chapter 44. This is the account where Joseph's brothers have come back to Egypt for the second time.

Remember earlier in chapter 41 -42, the famine is severe, Joseph's brothers come in chapter 42, all of them except for Benjamin. Joseph recognizes the brothers, they don't recognize him. He accuses them of being spies.

Initially he puts them in prison because he accused them of being spies. Eventually he lets all of them go except for one who has to remain behind. Joseph tells them, don't come back and see me unless you bring your younger brother with you.

They had told him they had a younger brother back home. They go back home, famine gets severe, they need food again. Finally, in chapter 43, dad Jacob relents. He didn't want to send Benjamin along with them.

He was afraid that some travesty would happen to Benjamin and he'd lose his youngest son as he had lost Joseph years before. He finally relents because they need to eat. Off they go. They come before Joseph again.

Joseph is very aloof. He's treating them... on the one hand, he treats them very kindly because he puts all the money back in their food bag, but he also puts... Joseph puts his cup... has his cup placed in Benjamin's sack.

He sends these guys on their way. Benjamin doesn't know that cup is in his sack, and neither do the brothers. Off they go. Then Joseph tells his servant, chase after them and bring back, arrest for me, the guy who has my cup in his sack.

The servant catches up with Joseph's brothers, they all bring down... he accuses them, somebody stole my master's cup. They say, no way, no way, no way. They take their sacks down off the animals, and they open up the sacks, and they finally find the cup in Benjamin's sack.

Everybody's weeping and wailing because, oh no, what's going on here? They don't understand what's going on here. They all have to go back to Joseph. Joseph says that the one who had the cup in his sack is going to be my slave, going to be my servant.

It seems like he's treating them really harshly. Why? These are his brothers. Why would he do that? Now, some might hear of this and say, well, he's exacting revenge on them. That's exactly what they deserved.

After all they did to him, they deserve for him to treat them this way. But that's not what's going on. Joseph isn't interested in revenge. What Joseph is interested in doing is finding out, have these men changed since they sent me into slavery over 20 years ago now?

Remember, that's how long it's been. Joseph was 17 when he was sold into slavery. He was 30 when he came before Pharaoh and interpreted Pharaoh's dreams for him. Joseph said there's going to be seven years of plenty.

We need to store up grain for those seven years, and then there's going to be seven years of famine. Well, the seven years of plenty have come and gone. Joseph is now 37 years of age, 20 years after he was sold into slavery by his brothers.

Two decades have passed, and then the famine starts. It is during the time of famine that his brothers come. It's been more than 20 years. What Joseph wants to know, have my brothers changed? Have they repented of what they've done to me?

He goes through these processes of devising tests to help discern whether or not they've really changed. He finds out they have. In fact, he realizes by what they say to him that they know that they did him wrong, that they sinned against God and against him.

We see this in chapter 44 when the brothers are confronted, and Judah becomes the spokesman. He says, what shall we say to my Lord? What shall we speak, or how shall we clear ourselves? He says this, God has found out the iniquity of your servants.

Now, Judah knows all that he's talking about with that statement. He doesn't think Joseph knows, and he doesn't tell Joseph. He doesn't even know who he's speaking to. But here's the thing, Joseph knows what he's talking about.

Joseph understands. Judah realizes that what they have done to him, what they had done to him 20 some years ago was iniquity, and they're paying for it. As the story unfolds, Joseph also realizes that yes, they have had a change of heart toward the brother that they might be jealous of.

Benjamin has basically taken the place of Joseph in his father's heart. Remember, Joseph was the favored son. That's why all the brothers resented him. That's why they sold him into slavery. Benjamin basically has taken Joseph's place in the favored status with Dad.

Do they have the same attitude toward Benjamin? Clearly, they don't. As Judah begins to explain the situation to Joseph, and Judah says, look, take me instead. Let my brother go back to Dad, because it would destroy Dad if he doesn't go back alive.

Here's the significant thing. Not only has their attitude changed, but the spokesman has changed dramatically. This is Judah speaking. Why is that significant? Because remember, it was Judah that had the idea of selling Joseph into slavery in the first place, so that they could profit from selling Joseph and getting him out of their hair.

Oh yeah, this has been a very effective test, and the brothers have proved that yes, they have truly repented. That's the nature of repentance, true repentance. True repentance is going to be seen not only by a change of mind, a change of heart, but a change of action.

Clearly, Joseph learns, my brothers are repentant. Father, I pray that you would help us to be truly repentant. Grant unto us, O Lord, the grace of real, true, deep, life-changing repentance. We pray it in Jesus' name, amen.

All right, listen, have a good rest of your day. May God bless you.