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35 Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. 36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.” 37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” 38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.” ~ Genesis 42:35-38
Today, we conclude our study of Genesis 42 where the primary lesson from the life of Joseph is being fleshed out. That primary lesson is forgiveness. It was Lewis Smedes who once said, "To forgive is to set a prisoner free and to discover that the prisoner was you." As we mentioned earlier in our study of Genesis, forgiveness involves three parts: the injury, the debt created by the injury and the choice to cancel that debt. Joseph's brother injured him by stripping him of his robe that his dad had given him, by shoving him into a pit that he could not get out of, and by selling him to Ishmaelite traders from Midian who were on their way to Egypt.
In v.35 of today's passage we read, "Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid."
The brothers already knew that the man in Egypt had their money returned to their sacks. Just after departing from Egypt one of them found the money in his sack and later, when they got back home, they all discovered their money in their own sacks. They had traveled at least a day before finding the money. Once again their fear factored into their lives. With reference to fear, there is quite the dichotomy being given here between Joseph and his brothers. We all fear. It is what we do with our fears that is most important. I love the words of Tolkien when he said, "Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens." Most say farewell thinking they have averted their fear. Not so fast my friend! Ultimately that which we fear the most defines us most. And, that which we believe in the most determines how we react to our fears. This was the great difference between Joseph and his brothers. Joseph consistently turned to God through his fears.
In v.36 of today's passage we read, "And Jacob their father said to them, 'You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me."
Jacob believed his son Joseph was dead and he believed it was the brother’s fault. Whatever his state, he demonstrated here a continued lack of faith in the God of the Bible. When we are in the habit of feeding the flesh, we lose sight of God's power and sovereignty, but when we are consistent at feeding the Spirit of God in us, we will see God more clearly. As a result, we will see that God is bigger than whatever we fear.
Jacob cried out, "all these things are against me." No wonder his sons were defined by a victim's mentality with him as their example. Jacob, not his brother Esau, was the covenant son. Regardless of what happened, God was in control of his past, present, and future. The Lord had appeared to Jacob personally several times and had made unconditional assurances to him. But, Jacob had his eyes fixed on himself and his circumstances far more than he did on the Lord.
The last time God had spoken to Jacob directly was when he had returned to Bethel from his father-in-law's house after many long years. At that time, God made certain promises to Jacob about his descendants and the land of promise. About twenty years after that, God gave to Joseph two dreams which showed that God was with Joseph like he was with Jacob. Since then, as far as the Bible records, the Lord remained silent, although he revealed truth to Joseph right on. Jacob had taken the silence of God as abandonment. But, the very things that Jacob felt were against him, every one of them that he mentioned here, actually worked out for his good. Joseph’s removal from Jacob's life seemed to him to be an evil which weighed him down. Instead, God used it all to bring Joseph into the land that could save them all during the time of famine. God always has a plan behind all of the trials that come into our lives, we must be determined to trust Him no matter what comes.
In v.37 of today's passage we read, "Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, 'Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you."
Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob and Simeon was the second. Reuben was also the full brother of Simeon. Reuben was the son who tried to save Joseph from being killed by his brothers, hoping to eventually get him back to Jacob. Here, Reuben was most concerned about getting Simeon released from prison in Egypt. In his desire to get him back, he knew that he had to take Benjamin with him to Egypt. And in order to do that, he made a crazy offer.
In v.38 of today's passage we read, "But he said, 'My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.'"
Jacob was not ready to let Benjamin go to Egypt with his brothers. The famine hadn’t taken its full toll on him quite yet. This meant that the time hadn’t reached its fullness. Jacob was worried about losing the only other son whom Rachel had borne to him. Here, in troubled Jacob, we are given a picture of you and me at any given moment of weakness, when we lose sight of God’s promises and His faithfulness to us. When in our lives we have seen God’s hand at work in an evident way, it is then that we are quick to praise the Lord and to allow Him to have His way with us. But when things do not go the way we think they should go, we start to question God's goodness. It is in these moments that God wants to do His deepest work in us. The question is always, "Will we let Him have His way?" True faith, growing faith trusts Him through these times. Of course, this is a lot easier said than done, but it is a must if we are to truly grow deeply in the Lord.
It is the nature of biblical faith to hold onto God's faithfulness when we have no clue how things will turn out. The blindness involved in the development of our faith in God is of an utter necessity because without it our faith will not grow. The tearing of the muscle of our dependency upon the Lord is always painful. This development of our heart's ability to trust God causes us to act on what we haven't experienced yet and to believe the promises that God has given us in His Word that haven't been fulfilled yet. This is a must scenario because there is no development of intimacy with Him without it. There is no intimacy to any relationship without simply trusting.
CS Lewis once said, "To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."
