Fear from Sin vs. Fear of God (Photo credit: Bjorn Giesenbauer, Creative Commons)
Read Genesis 42:3-38
In our last post on Genesis, we saw how Jacob encouraged his sons to go to Joseph for help from the famine, and where you and I can go to receive help when we experience famine, be it financial, physical, or emotional famine. (see previous post: Help in Times of Famine)
In today’s post we’ll see what happens to Joseph’s brothers when they meet with Joseph, for the first time in years, to buy grain. Then we’ll look at the secret to eliminating fear from your life.
Genesis 42:3-38
After Jacob tells his sons to stop looking at each other for answers, and to go to Egypt for grain, ten of Joseph’s brothers head for Egypt. But Jacob keeps Benjamin with him, because he’s afraid something bad might happen to him. So Israel’s (Jacob’s) sons go to buy grain, because their area, Canaan, is one of the many areas devastated by the famine.
Joseph’s brothers will try to buy their grain, which will be their salvation, but they won’t be able to purchase it, because Joseph will give it to them for free. Our Joseph, Jesus, is the same. Our salvation can’t be bought, but we receive it freely, from the One who already paid the price, on the cross. (Isaiah 55:1)
So Joseph is the governor, and as the governor, it’s his responsibility to sell grain. So when Joseph’s ten brothers arrive, they bow down to him, all the way to the ground. Joseph recognizes his brothers immediately, but he pretends he doesn’t, and he speaks harshly with them.
Where are you from? He asks.
From Canaan, they reply. We came to buy food.
Joseph realizes, even though he recognizes his brothers, they don’t recognize him. It’s at this moment he remembers his dreams about them bowing down to him.
You’re spies! You come to scout our land to find where our defenses are weak. Joseph says.
Not so, my lord, the brothers answer. Your servants have come to buy food. We’re all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest. We’re not spies.
We’re honest, they say? Honestly, how can they claim such a thing. They sold their own brother into slavery, then lied to their own father about it. They told him Joseph was dead. Joseph had to test them, to reveal to them what was really in their hearts.
No way! Joseph says. You’ve come to see where our land is unprotected.
But they reply, Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man. We’re all from the land of Canaan. The youngest of us is still with our father. One of our number is no more.
Joseph says to them, It’s just like I said, you’re spies! And here’s how you’ll be proven to be so: On Pharaoh’s grave, you won’t leave unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you to get him, the rest I’ll keep in prison, so your words can be tested to see if you’re being straight with me. If you’re not, then as sure as Pharaoh lives, you’re spies!
Then he puts them in prison for three days.
On the third day, Joseph says to them, Do what I say and you’ll live, because I’m a man who fears God: If you’re honest, let one of your brothers stay here, in prison, while everybody else goes back with grain for your starving families. But, you have to bring your youngest brother to me, so I can verify your words, and so you may not die.
So they say to one another, We see what’s happening here. We’re being punished because of what we did to Joseph. We saw how upset he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we wouldn’t listen; that’s why this distress has come upon us.
Reuben says, I told you! I told you not to sin against the boy. But you guys wouldn’t listen! Now we’re paying the price for his blood.
In Matthew 27:25 the descendants of these very brothers said of Jesus, “His blood is on us and on our children!” (see Matthew 27)
They don’t realize Joseph can understand every word they’re saying, (let alone he’s the very one they’re speaking of) because Joseph is using an interpreter.
Joseph turns away from them and begins to weep,
Jesus wept over his brothers in Luke 19:41.
…but then he comes back and gives instructions for Simeon to be taken from them and bound, right in front of them.
This is very interesting because Simeon’s name means hearing or hearkening. So the brothers leave Joshua without hearkening, even as the Jews left Jesus for crucifixion without hearkening. (Isaiah 6:9-10)
He gives orders to fill their bags with grain, and, to put the silver he received from them, back in their sacks with the grain. He also gave them provisions for their trip home. After all this is completed, they load the grain on their donkeys and head for Canaan.
On their way home, when they stop for the night, one of them opens his sack to get some grain for his donkey, and he finds his silver in with the grain.
My silver’s been returned, he says to his brothers. It’s right here in my sack with the grain.
Ohhhhhh man, their stomachs do flips, and they turn to each other trembling with fear and say, What has God done to us?
When they arrive home, they tell their father Jacob everything that happened. They say, The man who’s lord over all the land spoke harshly with us and treated us like spies. But we told him, We’re not spies, honest! We’re twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is gone, and the youngest is with our dad in Canaan.
Then the man who’s lord over all the land said, This is how I’ll know you’re telling the truth: Leave one of your brothers here and take your food home to your starving households. But bring your youngest brother back to me, so I know you’re not spies and are honest. Then I’ll give your brother back, and you can do business here in the land.
As they’re unpacking, when they empty their sacks, each one of them finds his silver in his pouch with the grain! When Jacob and his sons see the money, their frightened. Their father says, You’ve deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone, Simeon’s gone, and now you want Benjamin. Everything’s against me!
Then Reuben says to his father, You can put both my sons to death if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. Entrust him into my care, and I’ll bring him back.
But Jacob says, My son won’t go down there with you; his brother’s dead and he’s the only one I have left. If anything bad were to happen to him on your journey, you would cause me to die from sorrow.
Fear from Sin:
All else being equal, the peace and absence of fear you experience is in direct proportion to how holy you live. Joseph’s brothers rightly determined their problems with the Egyptian governor were a result of their sinful behavior toward their little brother Joseph. As this dawned on them, their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling… (42:28)
Those who strive to live as close as they can to the words of Christ and the scriptures have less to fear. Think about it. Are you a heavy drinker? If you are, you fear getting nailed for a DUI — your heart sinks when you see the police officer’s light bar in your rear view mirror. Are you promiscuous? If you are, you fear catching an STD, or you fear pregnancy — you tremble when you see the pregnancy test strip turn pink. Are you someone who steals from work? If you are, you fear getting fired — your heart sinks when your boss calls you into his office. Do you like to look at porn? If you do, you fear getting caught — you tremble when your wife, or father, or mother walks in on you.
Fear is one of the inevitable byproducts of sin.
I’ll never forget the time a grade school age relative came to spend a few nights at a log cabin, owned by a friend of mine. This log cabin is deep in the mountains of Oregon, where cougars, coyotes, bobcats, and bears are found. This young boy was used to having his way with his parents and with his mother in particular. He was spoiled and not accustomed to living with limits and boundaries. When his mother dropped him off, she shared that she often had trouble getting him to go to sleep at night. At my friend’s cabin, when it came time for bed, this little boy put up quite a fuss. “I can’t go to bed because I’m afraid,” he said.
My friend didn’t wait for the boy’s excuses to escalate. Instead he bent down to his level, looked him in the eye, and said very deliberately, “Listen, I’ll protect you from everything. So when you’re with me, you don’t have to be afraid of anything — except for one thing — me. Do you understand?”
The little boy nodded, and within a few minutes he fell asleep. And he went to bed just fine every night, for the rest of his stay. In fact, when it was time to go back to his mother, he cried, because he wanted to stay with my friend at his cabin.
Fear of God:
That’s how it is with God. He wants you to know you don’t have to be afraid. He wants you to know He’ll protect you from everything. He wants you to know, when you’re with Him, you don’t have to be afraid of anything — except for one thing — Him. There’s a peace that comes with that. Fear of God results in obedience to Him. It results in a holier lifestyle. And a holier lifestyle results in less fear from sin.
God wants you to know fear of Him, so, like Joseph, you won’t have to live in fear of anything or anyone else.
In verse 18 Joseph told his brothers, “…I fear God.” (Genesis 42:18) Joseph’s life is a great example of someone who lived with a fear of God. He’s one of only a few people in the Bible of whom there’s no mention of sin. Joseph lived in fear of God, so he didn’t have to live in fear from sin.
Over the years I’ve noticed something. The closer I am to God, the more I fear Him. And the more I fear Him, the less I fear everything and everyone else.
Draw close to Him, and learn to fear Him.
And He’ll deliver you from every other fear.
“But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”
-Jesus Christ, Luke 12:5
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Matthew Henry
Jon Courson
J.B. Jackson, A Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names (Bible Students Press 1908)
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Starving but Afraid to Return: Genesis Chapter 43
Photo by What What, Creative Commons
Read Genesis Chapter 43
To see the last post on Genesis click on: Everything is Against Me!
Genesis Chapter 43:
So time passes and the famine is still brutal in Canaan. All the grain they brought back from Egypt is gone. Jacob says to his sons, Go back and buy us some more food.
But Judah says, The man warned us, he said, You won’t see me again without your little brother. So if you’ll send Benjamin with us, we’ll go. But if you won’t, we can’t go, because the man in Egypt said, You won’t see me unless you bring your brother.
Israel asks, Why’d you bring this down on me, by telling the man you had a little brother?
They answered, He questioned us closely about us and our family. Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother? We just answered him. How could we know he’d say, Bring your brother down here?
Then Judah says to Israel his father, Send the boy with me and we’ll leave right away, so we and you and our kids can live and not die from the famine. I guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I don’t bring him back, I’ll bear the blame all my life. If we hadn’t waited, we could have been there and back twice by now.
Then their father Israel says, If this is how it has to be then do this: Pack up some of the best we have and take them to the man as a gift — some balm, and honey, and spices, and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. And take twice the amount of silver with you, because you have to return the silver that was put back into your sacks. Maybe it was a mistake. Take your brother too, and go back to the man at once. And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so he’ll allow your other brother and Benjamin to come back with you. As for me, if I’m bereaved, I’m bereaved.
So they gather up the gifts and double the amount of silver, and their brother Benjamin. They hurry to Egypt and present themselves to Joseph. When Joseph sees Benjamin with his brothers, he tells his steward, Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal for us; they’ll eat with me at noon.
The man does as Joseph tells him and takes them to Joseph’s house. Now his brothers were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought to themselves, We were taken here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to overpower us and take us as slaves and take our donkeys.
So they approach Joseph’s steward and speak with him at the entrance to the house. Excuse us lord, they say, when we came down here the first time to buy food, on our way home we stopped for the night, opened our sacks, and each of us found his silver — the precise amount — in the mouth of his sack. So we brought it back with us this time. We also brought additional silver to buy food. We don’t know who put the silver in our sacks.
It’s OK, the steward says. Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, gave you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver. Then he brought Simeon out to them.
The steward took them into Joseph’s house, he gave them water to wash their feet, and he provided food for their donkeys. The brothers prepared their gifts for when Joseph would arrive at noon, because they heard they would be eating there.
So Joseph comes out, they present their gifts to him, and they bow down to him to the ground. He asks them how they’re doing, and he asks, How’s your aged father you told me about? Is he still alive?
They answer, Yes, he’s alive and well. And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him.
As Joseph looks around he see his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son. He asks, Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about? And he says, God be gracious to you, my son. Joseph is overcome with emotion at the sight of his brother so he hurries out and looks for a place to weep. He goes into his private room and he weeps there.
This is the first of two occasions when Joseph weeps over his brothers. Jesus also wept for the descendants of Joseph’s brothers, the Jews, on two occasions: once at the tomb of His friend Lazarus, and once over His people in the City of Jerusalem. (John 11:35, Luke 19:41)
After he collects himself, he washes his face and comes back out. Then he gives the order, Serve the food.
They serve him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians eating with them by themselves, because Egyptians couldn’t eat with Hebrews, it was detestable to them. The brothers are seated in order of their ages, from oldest to youngest, and they look at each other in amazement. The portions are dished out, and Benjamin’s is five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feast, and drink freely with Joseph.
Returning to Our Joseph:
So Jacob and his family are hanging around, subsisting on the food they had from their first trip. Of course the inevitable happens and they run out, but Jacob and his sons are afraid to go back to Joseph. Jacob thinks it’ll cost him something, something dear to him — Benjamin.
That’s how it is with many of you. You’ve been to your Joseph, who is Jesus. You’ve received from Him the bread of life and the way of salvation. And you’ve been hanging out all this time subsisting on what you received from Him previously. The only thing is, as it was with Jacob, what you received from before doesn’t last forever. Oh, your salvation does, of course. But you, and I, all of us, need to go to Jesus for nourishment, regularly. Not doing so is the same as if you stopped eating. You’ll become spiritually lean. You’ll lose strength — the strength of your relationship with Jesus will weaken. Your soul needs to receive from Jesus in His house, even as Joseph’s brothers received from Joseph in his house.
What’s striking is how we’re just like Jacob, we’re afraid of what it will cost. There’s those things you’re hanging onto that you think you’ll lose if you return to your Joseph, who is Jesus: sleep on Sunday morning, or time with friends, or ESPN time, or time on the internet, or time devoted to your thing. There’s those things I’m clinging to, that I think I’ll lose if I draw closer in my relationship with Jesus: success at work, or time to exercise, or time to recreate. The fear of losing Benjamin kept Jacob from moving in a direction toward Joseph. Your fear of losing your thing keeps you from moving in a direction closer to Jesus.
But in reality, the best thing possible for Jacob was for he and his family to return to Joseph. And the best thing possible for you and your family, and for me and mine is to return to Jesus. As it was with Jacob, what you’re afraid of losing is a false perception.
After Jacob returned to Joseph, imagine how badly he must have wished he had done so sooner. All those wasted years without his son Joseph, and without the provision and multiplied blessings that came when Jacob and his family came together with him in Egypt. Instead of losing another son, he gained back two. And he was blessed beyond anything that would have happened had he stayed away.
So return to Him.
You’re only losing if you stay away.
You’ll be gaining great blessings if you return.
After you come back, like Jacob, you’ll wish you had done so sooner.
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Jon Courson
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Posted on July 28, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Christ, church, prodigal, Return to Jesus